rence County, and, since its return, has had no 
cases of abortion. The Hon. A. B. Conger con¬ 
tended strongly for the theory of abortion be¬ 
ing produced by fungi, which he thought could 
be discovered by miscroscoplc examination. 
Mr. Geddcs and Mr. Willard showed that the 
disease prevails just as much upon farms where 
there Is no old pastures and no fnngi (as sugges¬ 
ted by Mr. Conger) upon the grass as It docs in 
any other locality. Mr. Willard read a letter 
from. Dr. Bell of Ohio, suggesting spiders’ webs, 
which abound some seasons npon grass, as the 
poison that produces the trouble, as It is well 
known that this substance administered to ani¬ 
mals will produce abortion. Mr. Lewis said 
that a pint of ergot given to a cow produced no 
effect, and that upon two grain farms, all at 
times under the plow, all the cows upon one, 
and none upon the other, suffered abortion. 
It therefore seems to remain an unsettled 
question what is the cause or cure. 
bred by Vicroa Wright. No's R, 1* and to are trip¬ 
let*. and 11 and 12 twins, sired by Sweepstakes. These, 
took the flret premium at the late State Sheep Fair at 
Rochester, and all the Sweepstake* premium at the same 
place. They are,as these records show, ol moderate size 
but of nnc form and appearance, having all the points of 
superior aheep. It may be proper to remark that they 
were shorn on a cold day. and their wool was quite 
clean and free from oil for unwashed sheep. The same 
mar be said of all the sheep reported above. Mr. WnitxL- 
Er.'a ram Tiger, weighing Only 115 pounds, produced the 
remarkable yield of 26 pounds. It Is safe to say that few 
rams ever acquitted IhewartTW as well. lie bids fair for 
a National reputation. 
Messrs. Wheeler and Townsend deserve great credit 
for the “aid and comfort*' they are reuderlnK to wool 
growevs and sheep breeder*. They delightln good stock, 
and appear to be very fair and honorable dealers. C. P. 
Bissell, Esq., of Le P.oy. and TI. T. Brooks of Pearl 
Creek, being called npon, congratulated the farmers 
upon the great Improvement they had made In sheep, and 
acknowledged our obligations to the sagacious and en- 
terprbing sheep men of Vermont. Mr. C. Mol-luox of 
Pearl Creek, Wyoming Co., was present, who baa lately 
Introduced many valuable sheep from the Cocks of 
Messrs. Hall, Stowell, Remelee and others of Ver¬ 
mont, and has done very ranch for the sheep breeders of 
Western New York.—it. t. b. 
as the animal advances in years. The legs, as 
already indicated, should be bony, short, 
straight, and wide apart, (innovations Nos. 8, 
9, 10, II.) 
Now for the “fancy touches!" The nose 
wrinkled—the skin of the neck hanging In huge 
folds, the larger the better, say the public; a 
“ wrinkle’’ or two back of the elbow; wrinkles 
on each side of and about the tall, giving it ex¬ 
traordinary breadth, and some projection from 
the surrounding mop of wool; wrinkles on the 
breech ; and over the entire carcass a Bjstem of 
“ wire wrinkles” rippling the surface into little 
close waves, almost touching each other, of the 
size of a pipe stem, or thereabouts, which will 
puli out smooth and not iraxiede the shears. 
“Young America" says, “give us wrinkles 
on the side, too,—and for that matter, every* 
The Wheat Crop — Prospects East and FPwt—An 
intelligent correspondent of the Rural thus confirm* 
recent reports:—“Having traveled quite extensively 
in the Western StateB the last few weeks, I #m #! / e 
to give you an eet.imate of the probable crop of win. 
ter wheat in the West this season. Taking the States 
of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky the crop will 
scarcely be half the average yield. In Indiana snq 
Ohio the wheat is so badly win ter- killed that it will 
not average more than one-fonrih the usual crop, anf 
the same may be said of the eastern section of the 
State of Illinois. But in the weetem portion of th e 
latter State (from Alton northward up the valley of 
the Illinois River,/ It looks very fine. I never »a w 
winter wheat look better in the month of April. An 
old resident of Kentucky informed me that in a large 
portion of that State they would scarcely get their 
seed; In fact, so poor is the prospect for a crop, that 
where they can get help they arc plowing uptbeir 
wheat and putting in epring crops. Of course, this 
To Correspondents.—M r. Randall'S address Is Cort¬ 
land Village, Cortland Co., X. Y. All communications 
Intended lor this Department, arid all inquiries relating 
to sheep, should be addressed to him as above. 
SELECTION OF BAM LAMBS, 
An old and valued correspondent asks “ our 
rules for the selection of lambs which are to he 
reserved ior stock rams." We do not know that 
we have anything to offer on the subject which 
wc have not already presented to our readers, 
but the matter is pertinent to the season of the 
year, for the mass of fanners make their selec¬ 
tions at shearing time, and we will, therefore, 
reiterate views which may be of some use, at 
least to new beginners. 
Assuming that the sire ram has proved a good 
one, t hat his male gel are sufficiently promising 
to choose stock rams from, we would first give 
pariicular attention to the qualities of the dam. 
Every flock has ewes in it which are better and 
which breed better than the average of the flock. 
Two ewe6 may possess equally good individual 
characteristics. One breeds with uniformity— 
always has good lambs—the other sometimes 
drops good ones, and at other times not. As 
between two ram lurnba of equully good appa¬ 
rent qualities, dropped by these ewes, we should 
decidedly prefer the progeny of the uniform 
breeder. Why? Because we should expect 
there would be a better chance that his get 
would be uniform. We should decidedly dislike 
to select the produce of an inferior ewe, or of a 
ewe possessing any bad point, however prom¬ 
ising the appearance of her offspring. Why ? 
Because, although the fault of the ewe had been | 
counterbalanced by the excellence of the sire, 
or by accident, we should fear that the progeny 
might, in its get, breed back to the faults of its 
dam. Excellence cannot be relied on, until It 
becomes established, by steady reproduction, or 
continuance, through more than one generation. 
The more times It has been reproduced, the 
greater is the certainty that it will continue to 
be reproduced. Among the requisites of the 
dam whieh ought to he considered indispensa¬ 
ble, is constitution. Observation shows that 
the sire, much more than the clam, give tho size, 
form, and covering of the progeny. But it just 
as clearly shows that the dam generally impresses 
her own characteristics in a superior or equal 
degree on the vital organs, that is to say, on 
that interior mechanism of the system on which 
health, strength, and endurance, or, to sum up 
all in a word, •onstitutlon, depends. Many a 
man owns a uwe with a very superior fleece and 
abundance ol' l’uucy points. Perhaps she has an 
excellent pedigree. Perhaps lie. has bought her 
at a high price. She is the “show sheep” of his 
flock. But he finds that she is often amiss. 8he 
requires careful management. A heavy rain 
storm gives her the snuffles. She is not a good 
GOOD BUTTER 
A farmer, residing near Philadelphia, writing 
to the Baltimore 8un, on the subject of butter 
making, says I have my cows come to profit 
about March, when I commence to feed them 
on cut feed, corn meal and wheat middlings, 
mixed, which I continue to feed till I turn out 
to pasture, when I feed four quarts of corn meal 
per cow per day for a month or six weeks.! I 
generally sow com to cut for my cows when 
pasture gets short, which I find pays well. We 
never allow the milk to stand to cream over 48 
hours, skimming it twice a day, and keeping the 
cream in the coolest place in the milk-bonse. 
We churn once a week. We like to have the 
cream at a temperature of about 60 degrees be¬ 
fore commencing to chum, when it will require 
about ten minutes to bring the butter. Imme¬ 
diately after taking the butter from the chum it 
i’ salted and worked; in the evening it is work¬ 
ed again, and on the following morning it is 
worked the third time and done up for market. 
Before pasture we flavor our butter with carrots 
grated and 6tewed up in new milk, strained and 
left to get cold. It ie put Into the cream before 
churning. 
CHEESE MAKING, 
From the address of Mr. Willard of Herki¬ 
mer, before the American Dairymen’s Associa¬ 
tion, delivered at Utica, January 10th, 1866, we 
. present- a few quotations. He says: 
“In manufacturing there are several points 
that are Important to insure high flavor. The 
first is pure, clean, sweet milk when it goes into 
the. hands of the manufacturer. If we are to 
arrive at the highest excellence in flavor, ma¬ 
nures and dirt, or tho droppings of unclean ud¬ 
ders, with filthy hands, must be kept from the 
milk. The [/ails and all the utensils used should 
be kept scrupulously clean. The nature of milk 
ferments is very imperfectly understood by most 
dairymen." These are found in the dirt from 
the hands of the milker; from that pertaining 
to improperly cleansed pails und other dairy 
utensils. “Sometimes these ferments are of 
such a bad character and proceed eo rapidly, 
that the curds bucome filled with gas and float 
upon the surface of the whey before they are of 
a proper texture for the press. This makes bad 
work and oilen results in the loss of cheese, J 
have bad but little experience in flouting curds, 
and shall not try to point out the best manner 
in which they should be treated. But it would 
seem that some means should be immediately 
taken to check the progress of fermentation. 
This can be done in a measure by diminishing 
heat, or by the addition of salt. I have tried 
two methods, and in both have been successful 
in obtaining a firm cheese, but, of course, of 
unequal flavor from that of good milk. First, 
by drawing the whey, cooling with sour whey 
and salting. In both instances the curds were 
pressed two days, and cheese cured in a temper¬ 
ature between 50 and 60 degrees. I do not pre¬ 
tend to give a rule lor others to follow, but am 
only giving my own experience. The subject is 
alluded to for the purpose of fastening the ba^l 
condition of milk upon the guilty parties — un¬ 
clean, negligent dairymen, or those in their 
employ. 
“ In making cheese the rennet used is of great 
importance, as much of the bad flavored samples 
found in the market, comes from the use of a 
tainted article. None should be used but such 
as has been properly cleansed and preserved. 
It is stated that in several cases of poisoning, 
whieh occurred from eating ciieese last season, 
the cause was traced directly to the use of bad 
rennet. The stomach of a healthy calf is nearly 
white. The contents should be turned out and 
all the specks or dirt wiped off with a cloth, aud 
the skin thoroughly salted inside aud out, 
stretched on a board or crotclied stick and hung 
up to dry in a place of moderate temperature. 
If taken out in the summer it may be dried in a 
hot sun. 
“In making skim cheese the milk is set at 
S2 degrees; the highest heat at 96 to 98 degrees, 
aud three pounds of salt to 100 lbs. of curd. 
The curd is usually pressed in 16 inch hoops 
from four to six inches high. These are less 
rich tbau those made from pure milk, but deem¬ 
ed more healthful as food by many. In making 
cheese from pure milk the temperature should 
be generally 
Catalogues of Aq’i. Machines, Ac.—We are in 
receipt of a “Catalogue of Agricultural Machinery, 
mamiractured at The Joseph i Hall Ayricultural Works , 
Glen &■ Hall, Proprietors, Rochester, N. Y." Messrs. 
Glen & Hall announce that they “ have secured the 
Work* so long owned and occupied by the late 
JosBru Hall, together with all the patterns, tool* 
and facilities; and, retaining in their employment all 
his laie Foremen and experienced Mechanics, they 
are now prepared to supply the celebrated Hall 
Threshing Machines and Clover Mill. The ex perl 
cnce of a long association with Mr. Hall, while 
assisting in the management of hla buslneea, having 
enabled them to become thoroughly acquainted with 
his views In the construction of Agricultural Machin¬ 
ery, they feel warranted in guaranteeing their Ma- 
chines to be in no degree inferior lo the well known 
and justly celebrated Hall Thresher and Separator,** 
heretofore made by him. In building Machines, they 
intend to spare no expense necessary to secure dura¬ 
bility or successful operation. They will be built of 
thoroughly seasoned lumber, well painted iu vermil¬ 
ion, handsomaly ornamented—and warranted to be 
capable of doing first-class workmanship when prop¬ 
erly used.” As the new proprietors arc young men 
Of enterprise and “to the manor born," we have no 
doubt they will fully sustain, if not increase, the rep¬ 
utation of tho long-established aud widely known 
“ Work*." See their advertisement. 
We have also received a Catalogue of the “Ameri¬ 
can Ag’l Works; Olflce and Salesroom No. 17Cort- 
laudt St.; Manufactory comer 34 th street and 10th 
Avenue, Now York,—Manufacturers of the Columbian 
Mower and, Jleaper , Smalley's Improved Corn Plow 
and Cultivator Combined, Bette’ Branch Beam Hilling 
Plow, aud Agricultural Implements of all kind*. 
Also, Agents for Self-Acting Gas Machine—ail sixes, 
from 10 to 800 burners. Duane H. Nash, General 
Agent.” Several of the machines and implements 
made at these Works arc superior and highly ap¬ 
proved. Tho Columbian Mower and Keapcr-ndvcr- 
tiaod in tho RuRAt^-is soon to be placed within the 
reach of our farmers, through the agency of C. B. 
C'obser, Esq., of Rochester. 
Sources of Farm Manure, 
W. H. White of South Windsor, Ct., wri¬ 
ting to the Boston Cultivator on the resources 
a farmer has from which to draw fertilizers for 
his land asks:—“ Does the reader make the most 
of his resources ? Is there nothing left that can 
be converted into fertilizing material? When 
every resource is exhausted, then it is time to 
resort to commercial fertilizers. How is it with 
the hog-pen ? Is that well supplied with good 
material to absorb the liquid as well as the am¬ 
monia ? A free supply will tend to keep the hogs 
clean and furnish a quantity of rich manure. 
Then there is a privy, which Is too frequently 
allowed to waste its ammonia, instead of having 
absorbents supplied to fix it. A tight vault, into 
whieh dry muck, plaster, loam, &e., may be in¬ 
troduced and mixed, will supply several loads 
of pondrettc, superior to what the market af¬ 
fords, w ith little labor. The hen-roost will sup¬ 
ply several barrels of good guano, the quality 
of which there is no question, w*hen home-man¬ 
ufactured, by supplying dry loam, plaster, &c,, 
with frequent overhauling. 
Does Rinderpest attack Sheep,— The following 
from a Scotch newspaper has been forwarded to us 
by a friend: 
Messrs. Swan and Son of Edinburgh (whoee earn¬ 
est representation to the authorities to stop all the 
Falkirk market* was disregarded to Scotlaud’s sor¬ 
row,) have spent a large amount in testing whether 
sheep are susceptible of the disease by infection, or 
[ capable of conveying it to cattle. The report- was to 
this effect: 
Two aged Cheviot sheep, two three-year-old ditto, 
two Danish sheep, two Swedish sheep, and two lambs, 
comprising live different- breeds, from different coun¬ 
tries and counties, were selected. Oar intention 
originally Was to have them confined one hour daily 
amongst the cows, as close confinement (being con¬ 
trary to the nature of sheep) might generate disease 
of some kind. According, however, to the instruc¬ 
tions of Professor Dick, who thought an hour insuf¬ 
ficient, they were, in addition to Hie hoar in the mid-' 
die of the day, shut up from six iu the evening to 
eight next morning —in all fifteen hours out of the 
twenty-four—in contact with the worst possible cases 
of rinderpest. The sheep wore treated in this man¬ 
ner for twenty-two days, and were eventually re¬ 
leased by Professor Dick's certificate to the effect 
that they were clear of any disease whatever, hi 
accordance with Dr. Andrew Wood's suggestion, and 
as arranged at a meeting with the Lord Provost, 
magistrates, aud members of the scientific commit¬ 
tee, the sheep (loss two, handed over to Dr. Smart) 
were conveyed to a email field, and were put into it 
for the purpose of tceting whether sheep, if not sus¬ 
ceptible of plague, would infect cattle — four cattle— 
viz., one ehorthorn cow, one calf, and two foreign 
cows. The cattle and sheep were together for over 
thirty days, and have been inspected by Professor 
Dick, whose certificate is to the following effect: 
“I certify that 1 have this day examined eight 
sheep and four cattle at Gilmore-place. The sheep 
were kept for upwards of three weeks in the sani¬ 
tarium amongst, diseased cows without being affected 
with plague, and have been rather longer in afield 
with lour healthy cattle, and all still remain in good 
health. (Sigued) " Wst, Dick.” 
The Town Council of Edinburgh passed a vote of 
thanks to Messrs. Swan for the expense and trouble 
they have been at. 
Two or TureeInquiries.— Mr. D. G. Wyeth, Lick¬ 
ing Co., Ohio, wishes to propound the following in¬ 
quiries to Rural readers. “ Is there any composi¬ 
tion roofing sufficiently valuable to justify its use An 
substantial dwellings? Which is the most profitable 
roofing, tin, slate or shingles t Can a living spring of 
water be produced by excavating a deep gutter any 
certain number of feet into the side of a hill (having 
an angle, say, of 4b degreee,) and making a good 
drain in the bottom of It Y Iu ■ Rural Brief Mention 
April 2$th, you speak of wagon axles, Ac. If ‘axles 
ol' solid iron are the most reliable, durable and light¬ 
est of draft 1 for heavy loads, why are ‘ thimble axles 
beet for ordinary fnrrn purposes ?! A leading wagon 
aud carriage maker once told me that in his opinion 
the thimble axles run easiest, stating thut if the axle 
turned in the box it would alter the cubb materially. 
I havenever been able to believe it. The less surface 
the leas friction, the less frietion the easier all ma¬ 
chinery runs." 
In the notice of wagon axles, referred to by out 
correspondent, we wrote particularly of axles de¬ 
signed to bear up extremely heavy loads,—say from 
three to eeven tons. For such purposes experience 
has demonstrated that solid iron axles are better 
than the thimble axles. But when Iron axles are 
made light enough for ordinary farm purposes, they 
are more liable to break than thimble or wooden 
axles. Besides, where the bearing of the load is 
constantly varied, as on a wagon axle when passing 
over nneven or stony ground, a large axle, having 
free play, seems to run eaeiest. 
Was the Reaping Machine Known Anciently 1 
A correspondent of a foreign journal 
uncovers the following bit of curious Agricul¬ 
tural history:—That those “barbarians” who 
were our ancestors had reaping machines there 
can be no doubt- lu the minds ol’ those who 
read the following much overlooked passage of 
Pliny. who wrote between the years 60 and 70 
of the Christian Era: 
Of reaping there are various methods. On 
the broad plains of the Gauls enormous ma¬ 
chines, with teeth set in a row, placed on two 
wheels, are driven through the standing corn, a 
horse being attached t® it in the contrary way of 
attaching horses. Thus the com being cut off 
falls into lire furrow.— Pliny's Natural History , 
Book 18, Chop. 30. 
Food in the Natural State. 
The Boston Cultivator objects to grinding 
or cooking food for farm stock, or rather ques¬ 
tions the utility of the practice. It says“We 
have less faith than many, in interfering with 
the laws of the animal economy, as is done by 
cutting, grinding or cooking feed, so often rec¬ 
ommended .in these times. Rapid eating is 
condemned in man and in the race horse; why 
may it not he injurious to sheep and oxen, hens 
and hogs ?’’ 
Is it a necessity to eat rapidly because tliefood 
presented is prepared or cooked ? If it is inju¬ 
rious to prepare food for stock or lost labor to 
do it, is it not equally so in the case of man ? 
or3 degrees lower, though some 
make no distinction in temperature in conse¬ 
quence of the quality of the milk. A clean 
cloth is then put around the cheese, when it is 
turned over and again subjected to the action 
of the cheese press. It is left thus till the 
following day, when it is turned two or three 
times and subjected to such pressure as is deemed 
requisite to impart the necessary consistency 
and dryness. Three days is about the usual 
time devoted to the process till the cheese are 
transferred to the store room, where they are 
frequently turned and annoiuted with melted 
butter. Cheese require much attention as they 
are subject to cracking, and if not attended to, 
will soon become infested with a lively popu- 
latum." 
-In the Sooth the aspect ofaf- 
Cotton Prospects 
airs is brighter, as a general thing, than could have 
been reasonably expected so soon after the trying and 
exhaustive struggle through which these States hare 
passed. So sudden a change in the system of labor 
practiced there could not well occur without produ¬ 
cing more or less derangement, but reports generally 
concur in the conclusion that business is adjusting 
itself to the altered circuuisthnces of tho country 
with a celerity as remarkable as unexpected. Im¬ 
mediately preceding the late rebellion, in the South¬ 
ern States, the product of cotton was five millions 
of bales a year. It is now estimated that, ehould no 
untoward circumstances occur, the crop of the pres¬ 
ent- year wilt be from three aud a half to four mil¬ 
lions of bales. Even the less amount ie better than 
could have been anticipated under the circumstances- 
Sheep Shearing.— 1 The admirers of good stock had an 
opportunity of witnessing tlie shearing of some fine 
sheep at Mr. E. Townsend's, FavlUou Center, Gen. Co., 
N. Y., May 16th, belonging to Mr. Townsend and to Mr. 
N. E. Wheeler of Vt. Mr. Wheeler's ewet were two 
years old—their weight ol carcass aud fleece, as follows: 
No. 1. Carcass 65 fts. Fleece. 13 tbs. It ozs. 
A New Stump Machine. 
A correspondent of the Rural Register 
states that Mr. John Barnes, of Baltimore, re¬ 
moved a troublesome stump from near his house 
in the following, manner:—“Last fall, with an 
inch auger, he bored a hole in the center of the 
stump ten inches deep, and into it put about 
half a pound of oil of vitrol, and corked the 
hole up tight. This spring the whole stump 
and roots, extending through all their ramifica¬ 
tions, were 60 rotten that they were easily eradi¬ 
cated." Auy one, having faith in this stump 
extractor, can try it at small expense. 
ABORTION IN COWS, 
At the winter meetiag in Albany of the N. 
Y. State Agricultural Society, the subject of 
abortion among cows was brought up, aud call¬ 
ed forth the foilwing discussion : 
Mr. Gould suggested the appointment of a 
Committee to collect statistics. Mr. Lewis said 
that the Farmers’ Club of Little Falls, Herki¬ 
mer Couuty, had collected a mass of facts with¬ 
out any satisfactory result. Mr. Peters said that 
abortion did not prevail in the wheat region—it 
is only serious in the districts of old pastures. 
Mr. Prentice said that IS of his cows upon his 
farm near Albany lost their calves, and he sent 
his whole stock for nearly a year to St. Law- 
One 2 year old ram, Tiger —weight of carcass 115 as 
fleece 26 lbs., one year and four days' growth. 
Mr. Townsend’s sheep—Ewes, 2 years old : 
No. 1, weight of carcass 78 as.—fleece, 11 lbs. 12 ozs 
Hops in Michigan. — Hop culture is increasing in 
that State. It has proved profitable thus far, and new 
yards are being set extensively. Hops are one of the 
products of the soil that can be profitably transported 
to a distant market. There is no kind of “fancy 
farming ” that Western farmers can engage in, with 
better prospects of success, than the growing of 
hops. 
Cheshire Pigs.— Those who have inquired for 
Cheshire Pigs, are referred to advertisement of J. L. 
Clark. j 
Plow Deep. 
In an address, recently delivered in Massa¬ 
chusetts by John A. Goodwin, he says: —“ Ag¬ 
riculture is an exception to the general rule, and 
thrives the more as you run it into the ground,” 
In other words, plow deep and form a good base 
for the seeding which is to follow. 
Rams. 
No. 1, age 13 mo., 10davs, carcass 65 Be., fleece 15 Bs. C6 o: 
" 2, “ 13 “ 6 ■" “ IS “ “ 1-1 “ 06" 
No. 1 and 2, sired by the Goodhue Ram bred by Nelson 
Saxon, Waltham, Vt., from Hammond stock. No. 3, 
sired by Little Wrinkly; dam bred by Reuben Hall, 
Vt.; Cwes bred by Mr. Townsend. 
