TERMS, $3.00 TER YEAR.] 
“PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT.” 
[SINGLE NO. TEN CENTS 
VOL. XVII. NO. :3Ai 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 , 1866. 
[WHOLE NO. 867. 
ESTABLISHED IN 1S50. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AS ORIGINAL •WEEKLY 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER, 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
With a Corps of Able Assistants and Contributors. 
HENRY S. RANDALL, LL, D., 
Editor of the Department of Sheep Husbandry, 
HON. T. C. PETERS, 
Late Pres't N. Y. State A|j. Soc’y. Southern Cor. Editor. 
Tub Rural New-Yorkeb is designed to be unsur¬ 
passed In Value, Purity, and Variety of Contents. Its 
Conductor earnestly labors to render the Krr.AL a Reli¬ 
able Guide on all the Important Practical, SctentlQc and 
other Subjects connected with the business of those 
whose Interests it zeslously advocates. As a Family 
Journal (t is eminently Instructive and Entertaining— 
being so conducted that It can be safely taken to liie 
Homes of people ol intelligence, taste and discrimination. 
It embraces more Agricultural. Horticultural, Scientific, 
Educational, Literary and News Matter, interspersed 
with appropriate engravings, than any other Journal,— 
rendering it by fur the most complete Agricultural, 
Literary a.vi> Family Newspai-he in America. 
S3'" For Terms and other particulars see last page. 
THE TIME TO SOW WHEAT. 
There is a disposition with--aome farmers to 
sow winter wheat too early. Wp have, indeed, 
known those who finished, solving in the sum¬ 
mer—the last days of August. Bat ivc have 
observed of such, that the result was not favor- * 
able enough to induce them to continue the 
practice.- Others we have known to sow very 
late in the season. £ucb, as a general rule, are 
the easy sort of farmers, and the preparation 
they give their land lor seeding is none tdo 
thorough. Their go-ahead neighbors shake 
their heads and remark “1% couldn't raise 
wheat sown so late, and they guess that crop 
won’t amount to much.” But the crop com¬ 
monly turns out better than it is expected to, 
perhaps because high expectations are not form¬ 
ed. And if the preparation of the land has been 
excellent the late sown crops are sometimes the 
very best grown in the locality. 
VVe do not advocate very late sowing of wheat 
nor do we believe in extremely early; in the one 
instance the plant does not have time to attain 
sufficient growth —to become well established 
and store up a supply of nutriment for a future 
vigorous growtli —before winter; in the other it 
advances too rapidly and far, it is apt to turn 
yellow and be attacked by insects and worms, 
and there is even danger that the seed-stalk will 
Btart. During the early stages of their growth 
the root6 of onr cereals Increase much more than 
the leaves of the plant. There is reason to 
• believe that, at this period, most of the organ- 
izable matter Is stored In the roots and that this 
store is afterwards applied to the formation of 
the seed-stalk. It has been observed that rye 
plants, six weeks after sowing, had leaves live 
inches long and the roots of the same plant, 
measured two feet. After a certain time has 
elapsed, and the requisite development taken 
place, the energies of the plant are concentrated 
on throwing up the main stalk and perfecting 
the seed. The nutriment stored in the roots is 
withdrawn and appropriated to the seed-stalk 
which now grows with great rapidity. The 
autumn aud winter are the proper seasons for 
the root growth of the plant to take place, and 
for it to store up its supply of nutriment, and 
the spring is the proper season for the seed-stalk 
to shoot. But if wheat be sown too early, a long, 
warm autumn may push it too far ahead, and 
induce the main stem to start, and thus a por¬ 
tion of the strength of the plant, needed for 
thrifty growth the next season, will be wasted; 
and if sown too late the plant may fail to store 
up in its roots matter sufficient to ensure a vig¬ 
orous growth before the season shall urge it 
[,] forward. 
Many farmers say “I 6hall sow when I get my 
ground ready.” If one manages to nave it in 
order at just the right time this is a good rule, 
otherwise not. It is certainly a mistake to be 
r[ late in cultivating the soil; but if it is thoroughly 
jjl prepared it Is wiser to let it remain a few days 
^ and give it an extra harrowing, than to sow too 
fa early. In this locality we think the best average 
success is had with wheat sown between the 
tenth and eighteenth of September. 
SEED WHEAT-PLANT DEVELOPMENT. 
The iollowing is taken from “Lieblg’B Natural 
Laws of Husbandry.” The author’s remarks in 
relation to seed and the development of the 
wheat plant are of Interest to wheat growers at 
the present time: 
“The development of a plant depends upon 
its first radieation, and the choice of proper 
seeds is therefore of the highest importance for 
the future plant. A crop of the same wheat, 
reaped in the sRme year, and from the same 
field, will exhibit differences in the 6ize of the 
grains, some being larger, others smaller; and 
among both kinds, some when broken up will 
present a mealy, others a horny appearance, the 
one being more, the others less completely de¬ 
veloped. The cause is this—that the stalls in 
the. same field do not all shoot into ear and 
flower at the same time, and that some of them 
produce seeds much more maturely than others; 
hence, the seeds of the one are far more devel¬ 
oped, even in unfavorable weather, than the 
seeds of the others. A mixture of seeds une¬ 
qual In their development, or differing in the 
quantities of amylum, gluten, and Inorganic 
matters which they severally contain, will pro¬ 
duce a crop of plants as unequal in their devel¬ 
opment os the seeds from which they sprung. 
“ The strength and number of the roots and 
leaves formed in the process of germination are 
(as regards the non-nitrogenous constituents) in 
direct proportion to the amount of amylum In the 
original seech A seed poor in amylum will,indeed, 
germinate in the same fashion as another seed 
abounding in it; but by the time the former has 
succeeded, by the absorption of food from with 
out, in producing roots and leaves as strong and 
numerous, the plant grown from the more amy¬ 
laceous seed is again just as much more ad¬ 
vanced in growth, its food-absorbing surface 
was larger from the beginning, and the growth 
of the young plant is in like proportion. Poor 
and sickly seeds will produce stunted plants, 
which again will yield seeds bearing, in a great 
measure, the same character.” 
So there are good scientific reasons as well rb 
practical ones to urge a farmer to sow souud, 
plump seed. Let the mill blow out all it can 
and use for seed what is heavy-enough to fall in 
spite of the blast, llemember, also, that one 
grain of rye may produce in the wheat thirty or 
forty stalks, and each stalk bear fifteen or twenty 
grains. Cockle, and other weeds, are just as 
productive. It won't pay to waste the strength 
of the soil and deteriorate the quality of the 
wheat by sowing them. 
SOUTHERN EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE. 
A Trip to Winefoettr, Va.—Patapsco VaHley—Monoca- 
cy Valley—Ifurjier's Ferry—John Brown—Charles¬ 
town—Appearance of the Country—Richmond— Win* 
Chester— Memories. 
As I had heard so much of the “Valley of 
Virginia,” it was with great pleasure the other 
day I made a short trip into it as far as Win* 
Chester. Taking the cars of the B. & 0. R. R. 
at EUicott’s Mills the route 16 by that road to 
Harper’s Ferry, and thence by the Valley road 
some 28 miles to Winchester. The B. & 0. 
road wind3 up the narrow valley of the PatRpsco, 
crosses the summit near Mount Ayr, and reaches 
the Potomac through the valley of the Monoca- 
cy. The valley of the Patapsco is little better 
than a gorge through which the river runs with 
great rapidity, and thus furnishes a series of fine 
water power on its way to tide level, which it 
reaches near the Relay House and the junction 
of the Washington branch of the Railroad. 
Here TO years ago vessels nsed to lay at anchor 
and discharge and take on cargoes; these is 
now a large bed of basket willows. At that 
time this point was a port of entry. 
One sees but little of the country until after 
the Monocaey valley is reached. Here the land 
becomes gently undulating, and the whole ap¬ 
pearance of the country is changed. The whole 
valley seems to be occupied by thrifty aud In¬ 
dustrious farmers. Good houses, and barns, 
and out-houses are visible on every farm; and 
the growing crops indicate a fertile and prolific 
soil. It is a limestone region, and is considered 
one of the best in Maryland. The land is con¬ 
sidered very valuable, and improved farms are 
held as high as from 1150 to $200 per acre, and 
not many sellers at even these prices. Near 
the Point of Rocks the Railroad strikes the 
C'besepeake and Ohio Canal, and both go through 
the mountains on the same side of the river till 
they reach the Ferry, where the road crosses to 
the other side. 
The scenery around Harper's Ferry is worth 
more than a day’s journey to any one. It took 
me only three hours to reach it, and I hope to 
visit it again with time enough at my disposal 
to ramble over the mountains, and among the 
ruins which now mark the site of one of the 
busiest little manufacturing towns in the Union 
before the war. 
At this point the Shenandoah comes in from 
the Eouth and joins the Potomac, which cornea 
from the west, and.the united rivers find a nar¬ 
row, rocky passage to the north-east, through 
the Blue Ridge Mountains, and a water power is 
thus created which for purposes of utilization 
has no rival in the Union. The government 
used but a small fraction of it for the purposes 
of its immense armories. The mined canals, 
broken wheels, and dilapidated buildings re¬ 
main, but the machinery and the mechanics 
have gone, never to return again in government 
employ. But it does seem to mo that capital 
will not long neglect so tempting a point for 
profitable employment. If the property could 
be bought up by a company with means enough 
to build up cotton and woolen manufactories, 
I know of uo point where textile fabrics can be 
produced so cheaply'. 
I had little time for sight-teeing, but the en¬ 
gine house where old John Brown was taken is 
pointed out to you near the bridge where you 
change cars. It’s in ruins—doors and windowB 
gone—but still it baa a historic interest. For 
some three miles above the junction, the Shen¬ 
andoah flows over a rocky bed, and has quite a 
rapid fall, yet the rlvera at this point are both 
grand and beautiful. The whole region is one 
where the lover of the grand and beautiful might 
spend a day with great profit. 
At the point where the road diverges to the 
west the river has become smooth and placid as 
a lake and the country begins to assume the ap¬ 
pearance of a farming region. From hence the 
route is marked and the scenery marred by the 
havoc of the late war, though not to the extent 
I had expected, for comparatively few dwellings 
were destroyed. Barns, mills, and fences suf- 
ferrtd pretty generally, and the stock were an¬ 
nihilated, but the dwellings were generally 
spared. Fencc-s have been repaired to some ex¬ 
tent, and large fields of corn are on every side, 
and the crop will he a very large one through¬ 
out the valley. Personal property was nearly 
swept out and nothing left tc the people but 
their land. They are yet comparatively poor, 
but with a country so marvelously productive 
as this valley they cannot long remain so. 
Charlestown is the first town, of any impor¬ 
tance you reach after leaving the Ferry. It was 
from this town that “ Jon.N Brown’s soul went 
marching on.” History has made both im¬ 
mortal. And what a history lays between 
Charlestown and Richmond l At the one cul¬ 
minated a rebellion inaugurated by a feeble 
crazy old man, executed with many of bis de¬ 
luded followers with all the rigors of a justly 
offended law. At the other, ended one of the 
most fearful rebellious of which history has a 
record. But with them I have nothing at pres¬ 
ent to do. The country around Charlestown 
is slowly recovering from the waste of the war. 
The country must be, when well cultivated, a 
very productive and desirable one to live in. 
The town is pleasantly situated, and when re¬ 
paired and built up again, kg it will be in a short 
time, it must he a very attractive place. 
To Winchester the country is much the same 
in its topography and soil^ u below and around 
Charlestown. Those of your readers who arc 
familiar with that portion of New York which 
lays upon aud along the upper terrace of lime¬ 
stone through the wheat region, and in Ontario, 
Seneca, Monroe and Genesee Counties, have a 
very good idea of the general topjography and 
soil of this famous region. It is a lime-stone 
region throughout, except :n occasional low 
range of slate bills that come in from the moun¬ 
tains, and which often furni.-a the best of soil 
when properly cultivated, like that region it 
is deficient in water, but very fertile, and pro¬ 
duces all the grains and clover, and the grapes 
in great perfection and abundance; and like 
that region sheep are better adapted to its dry 
soil and deficient water than cattle. They told 
me I had not 6een the best of it, but from what 
I did see I am satisfied that Its importance as au 
agricultural and fruit region has not been exag¬ 
gerated. The farms are generally large. Two 
small farms are for sale and those at high figures 
—from $75 to $150 per acre. If the large farms 
were broken up into from 50 to 100 acre farms, 
and sold at a price that would warrant the ex¬ 
pense of the improvements, I know of no more 
desirable lands for convertible fanning. The 
climate is variable, but not bud. Of the society 
I prefer not to speak until after further acquaint¬ 
ance, for I might not do it justice, 
Winchester! What a cluster of memories 
cling around this old town! Before the war, 
for its society one of the pleasantest in all Vir¬ 
ginia. During the war a foot-ball between two 
mighty foes. ‘Few towns In any country can 
boast such a record as having changed masters 
seventy-six timc6 in less than four years; one- 
day as often as three times. Nearly or quite 
twenty battles of note have been fought in its 
vicinity; and yet the town is uot as badly dam¬ 
aged as oue would think. In any other country 
It would have fared very differently, for war is 
not a school where the gentler virtues are much 
cultivated. 
But I find I have so far exceeded my usual 
limit that I must postpone any further remarks 
till another visit.— t. o. p. 
FAEM NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
Fall Feed —Seasonable rains have made fall 
feed flush. The meadows and pastures are 
green. Newly seeded fields are also doing well. 
There Is certainly grass enough "to fatten stock 
designed for the butcher, and to put that kept 
for store in good condition to enter the winter. 
Farmers should take timely measures to pre¬ 
vent injury to last spring’s seeding by bard and 
late pasturing. 
bait as Manure,—A correspondent of the Can¬ 
ada Farmer experimented with salt this season 
as a manure. He sowed it on barley and oatB 
at the rate of ene hundred and fifty pounds pet- 
acre, leaving strips of unsown grain in each field 
in order to test the efficacy of the salt. He is 
confident that It added one-third to his crop. 
John Johnston, we believe, claims that salt is 
a valuable manure on his land. It Is probable 
that the best results with it are produced on 
rich land. 
In the Albany Cultivator of March, 1835, (a 
journal “Published by the N, Y. State Agricul¬ 
tural Society—J. Duel, Conductor,") is an inter¬ 
esting account (under the heading of “ Large 
Sheep,”) of the exhibition of some fat sheep ia 
the rear of B extent's Hotel In that city. The 
account, states that the show comprised “eight 
very superior wethers of the Leicester with a 
cross of the C'otswold breed” —that “they 
were bred and fattened by Mr. Thos. Dunn, 
of this city, on his farm in the town of Guil- 
derlaud, fourteen miles west of Albany” — and 
that they were purchased at 815 per head by 
Messrs. Kilpatrick & Co., butchers. 
A portrait of one of tho sheep was given 
(which our engraver has re-produced as above,) 
and the writer of the article (C. N. Bement, 
Esq., who is still living and widely known us a 
correspondent of agricultural journals and au¬ 
thor of a standard work on Poultry,) says of it: 
“ The above cut Is a good likeness of the smallest 
of the sheep, taken by a geutloman on the spot, 
which will give those unacquainted with the 
breed some idea of their appearance when fat.” 
The gentleman alluded to as taking tho drawing 
was Hon. H. G. Warner, now a resident of this 
city, and whose taste and practice in rural mat¬ 
ters (especially horticulture and landscape gar¬ 
dening, as his fine garden and bcautifel grounds 
attest,) are highly creditable. Judge Warner 
Baade the sketch hurriedly, in the cold yard, 
yet —with due respect to friend Page and other 
modern artists — the amateur’s picture of over 
thirty years ago compares favorably with the 
sheep portraits of the present day. 
When the eight sheep alluded to were slaugh¬ 
tered, “ the carcasses were exhibited and excited 
the admiration of a numerous body of specta¬ 
tors for their great size and general appearance.” 
* * “Their net weight averaged, when 
dressed, 35 lbs. per duarter, or 140 lbs. per ani¬ 
mal. Wool on an average, say eight lbs. It 
must he remarked, however, that these were the 
refuse lambs, which Mr. D. declined to sell for 
breeders. The pelts sold for $2.50 each.”— 
“Mr. Dcnk’s present flock consists of about 
150 head, old and young, from which he sup¬ 
plies, in part, the great demand made every fall 
—selling his ewes from 11.3 to §15, and bucks 
from $30 to 850 each,” • 
jjuch is the substance of an account of a sheep 
show over thirty years ago, with weights, pri¬ 
ces, etc. We might compare and comment up¬ 
on size, weight, prices, etc., then and now, but 
leave that for out associate, Dr. Randall, .and 
his correspondents, in the more appropriate 
department. 
Remedy for Red Lice on Cattle.— One of the 
best remedies for red lice on cattle is strong water 
where potatoes have been boiled and not washed. 
If the first washing does not kill them the sec¬ 
ond will.— Leo, 
Fightiny the Potato Buy .—An Indiana corres¬ 
pondent says that a very good way to head tho 
potato bug is to whip tho vines lightly with a 
hnndlul of brush—willow twigs arc good; this 
causes them to drop into the furrow where they 
may be lashed to death with the twigs, tramped 
on, or destroyed by the cultivator passing along 
immediately. The best time is when the sun 
shines. Our correspondent states that the bugs 
are very destructive to beets and tomatoes as 
well as potatoes. 
Clover Seed.—We believe that a crop of clover 
seed taken from the land exhausts the soil more 
than the crop which is cut for hay. Any seed 
crop, It Is well known, Is more exhaustive than 
a mere fodder crop. One strong reason for cut¬ 
ting timothy for hay early, Is to remove it from 
the soil before it has abstracted those elements 
which form the seed. It impoverishes the soil 
much less than jf cut later. The first growth of 
clover Is not generally disposed to seed much; 
hence it is not so exhaustive as other grasses 
if cut late. But the second crop, which bears 
the seed, is injurious to the land—at least tho 
taking It away is. Unless remuneration is 
made to the soil it will pay better to let the 
second growth of clover rot on the laud, or 
feed it off. 
The Potato Crop .—There is an extraordinary 
breadth of potatoes planted this season so far as 
our observation extends. The high prices of last 
spring stimulated the farmers to plant. Gene¬ 
rally they are looking well; we hear no serious 
complaint, and the season has been favorable. 
In the event of a good yield they will still bring 
a fair price, for they will, t.o a great degree, be 
used in the stead of wheat, which must be dear. 
Generally when potatoes are very high in the 
spring they are low the next autumn; for obvi¬ 
ous reasons many are planted; the reverse Is 
also apt to be true. Tho potato crop Is gene¬ 
rally well tilled — better on an average than tho 
corn crop. Properly managed it is less labor to 
hoe potatoes and keep them free from weeds 
than it i3 corn. On free land it is hardly neces¬ 
sary to hoe them by hand. 
Protection to Winter Wheat .—It is suggested, 
by a Western farmer, that wheat fields may be 
protected from the severe weather of winter by 
sowing oats with the wheat, or rather sowing 
oats first and covering them and then follow in 
a day or two with wheat. It is thought the oats 
will help protect the wheat during the winter, 
disappearing, of course, in the spring. Another 
plan Is to mulch the wheat, Jate in tho fall, with 
fine manure, or lacking this, with a coating of 
straw. What effect either of these plans may 
have iu protecting the wheat from the severity 
of the winter we do not know. Onu or all of 
them might be tried on small lots of ground, 
and their comparative merits be tested at a tri¬ 
lling expense. As the country becomes divested 
of the forest trees the wheat fields are exposed 
to increasingly severe trials from wind and frost. 
Less snow falls now than formerly, and what 
does come is borne from the wheat fields by the 
winter blasts which career over them since di¬ 
vested of the protection of surrounding forests. 
Foot-rot in Cattle.— A correspondent «f 
the “Independent” says the “foot-rot” is 
quite prevalent among the cattle in some parts 
of Massachusetts. An application of pine tar 
has been found efficacious as a cure. It should 
be applied frequently till a cure is effected. 
\ 
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