ss 
TgRICULTURF 
ESTABLISHED IN 1S50 
then get sufficient growth to injure the grain. 
Sowing timothy seed in the spring would be far 
more successful if, by some means, the cru6t of 
earth could be broken between the stools of 
wheat. Where the grain is drilled this result 
could be attained, on most land, by using alight 
harrow. The time will come, we think, when 
wheat will be almost entirely drilled, and ma¬ 
chinery adapted to stirring the soil between the 
rows will be as common as the drill itself. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN 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, 
GROW A VARIETY OF GRASSES, 
HON. T. C. PETERS, 
Late Pres’t N. Y. State Ag. Soe’y, Southern Cor.Editor, 
A Farmer should not depend on a single 
variety of grass alone to stock kb land. Neither 
clover, timothy,%lue-grass, red-top, or any other 
of the grasses will yield as largely when grown 
separate as will different kinds mixed in the 
same field. In pastures the difference in profit 
is greater than in meadows, between stocking 
with one or several varieties. Where there is 
variety there Is the best for each season; one 
kind starts early; another grows vigorously lu 
the summer-time and withstands dry weather; 
a third may supply an abundance of late fall 
feed, enduring frosts well. Then stock has a 
choice and a variety, and the land is apt to have 
a denser covering and more pasture is thereby 
afforded. 
For manorial purposes it is also better to 
grow a variety of grasses and plants on the same 
spot. Some draw more nutriment from the air, 
others more from the soil; some send their 
roots down deep into the subsoil, others thrive 
near the surface. Ferhaps, too, the soil may 
be wanting in some materials necessary to 
the proper growth of one kind of grass, but it 
may be well supplied with what will promote 
the success of another. The elover may winter- 
kill— then there should be timothy and blue- 
grass. There Is room and food enough in the 
soil for many kinds to use at once; give Nature 
time enough and she will put them there. The 
farmer should anticipate and place them In his 
soil in the beginning. 
The Rural New-Yorker la designed to bo unsur¬ 
passed in Value, Purity, and Variety ot Conteuts. Its 
Conductor earnestly labors to render tire Rural a Reli¬ 
able Guide on all the Important Practical, Scientific and 
other Subjects connected with the business of those 
whose Interests It zealously advocates. As a Family 
Journal It Is eminently Instructive and Entertaining— 
being so conducted that It can he solely taken to the 
Homes ot people ot 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 l'ar the most complete Agricultural, 
Literary and Family Newspaper In America. 
tar For Terms and other particulars see last page, 
SEEDING DOWN LAND 
It frequently happens that in seeding land to 
timothy and elover both prove a partial failure 
the first year and yield but a scanty crop of hay 
the second year. This is sometimes owing, prob¬ 
ably, to the rank, heavy growth of wheat, rye, 
barley or oats, as the case may bo, by which the 
grass is choked out before it has attained suffi¬ 
cient vigor to hold its own against the crop with 
which it is sown. At other times the severity of 
the winter season may have kUled out both the 
grain and the grass, or they may suffer from the 
effects of extreme drouth, involving a partial or 
entire destruction of both. These are casualties 
not easily provided against, and when they oc¬ 
cur it requires more time to repair the damage 
than is agreeabls to the farmer who has Btock in 
want of hay. When the failure is pretty general 
in a seeded field. It would seem to be good pol¬ 
icy to plow again as a preparation for another 
trial instead of waiting the slow process of self- 
seeding, as is sometimes done. The end, be sure, 
will be attained in time, if the partial crop of 
grass is cut late in the season, but in this way 
there is a loss of the customary avails of the 
capital invested, which Is rarely sustained with 
equanimity by the live farmer. But partial fail¬ 
ures of newly seeded lands to return promptly 
the expected crop of hay, not infrequently occur 
from the parsimoniousness with which the far¬ 
mer dispenses his grass seed when laying down his 
lands to meadow, This article is often rather 
expensive, hence the amount allotted to each 
acre is so small that It would hardly suffice, did 
every seed germinate and continue to grow, hut 
if only one-fourth of the amount does this, ow¬ 
ing to the drouth or severe frosts, the crop of 
hay the first season will not he worth the ex¬ 
pense of gathering. The better and safer way is 
to seed liberally, a peck or so to the acre, instead 
of half that amount, and then, if a failure oc¬ 
curs, the farmer will not have the unpleasant re¬ 
flection that to his own parsimony is possibly to 
be attributed the loss to which he has been sub¬ 
jected by the failure of his grass seeding. 
Ocr engraving represents two of a lot of twelve 
hogs fed and slaughtered by Mr. D. R. Prindle 
efEast Bethany, Genesee Co,, N. Y. Mr. P, 
claims that his porkers were a very good illus¬ 
tration of the old adage, that “ it’s a good deal 
in the swill-pail breed." They were, however, of 
fair breed, though no particular pains had been 
taken in that direction, and were of too small 
bone to make great carcass or weight. They 
were of a mixed breed —mainly Native and 
Suffolk. When killed, these hogs were a little 
over 19 months old, and dressed about 540 lbs. 
each. They were remarkably fat, the meat 
measuring from 11 to 13 inches thick above their 
shoulder, and afforded, of clear mess pork and 
lard, about 300 lba. each. The most rapid 
growth of these hogs was made while being fed 
on cooked food, such as carrots, potatoes, 
pumpkins, &e., well cooked and mashed up 
while hot — when just taken from the steam- 
box— and a little provender added, with salt, 
&c. Their last days were devoted to the con¬ 
sumption of good, well-cooked Indian pvMinff. 
Mr. Prindle is of opinion that more depends 
upon the feeding (and kind, quality and quantity 
of feed,) than the breed in pork-making, and 
offers the above portraits as proof of his theory. 
11c believes in cooking food for hogs, and prac¬ 
tices accordingly, and evidently used the Agri¬ 
cultural Caldron and Steamer (of his own inven¬ 
tion) to advantage. Wliat say experienced pork 
raiscre on the comparative advantages ot using 
cooked and uncooked feed ? 
FARMERS’ HORSES IN AUTUMN 
Farmers’ horses are often neglected in the 
autumn — perhaps we should be jsstified In say¬ 
ing abused. The heavy work of the season is 
done, and, though there are almost dally Jobs 
for the horses to perform, it is frequently con¬ 
sidered well enough to drop their grain, and let 
them thrive as best they can on the pasture. 
Another serious complaint the horse would 
make, had he the power, is that proper and 
There is searce- 
HOBSES AND THEIR FOIBLES, 
not only when one passes near them, hut even 
when standing undisturbed in their stalls. The 
cause of this is not dearly apparent, but, be it 
what It may, the practice is a dangerous one 
and requires to be repressed. It is said that 
this propensity to kick can bo overcome In a 
short time by simply confining the animal in a 
stall with a plank or board placed across it so as 
to just clear his loins. The horse should be 
fastened so that the plank shall cover that sec¬ 
tion of his body all the time. The consequence 
will be that, when he attempts to throw out his 
heels, the plank will keep him down and defeat 
his purpose. The abortive efforts at kicking for 
a day or two will disgust him with the business 
and it will require much provocation thereafter 
to Induce the horse to resume the practice. The 
plan is worthy a trial. If it fails no harm is 
done; if it succeeds much good will result. 
Judea, as we learn form the Parable of the 
Wheat and Tares. In selecting whent, for seed 
great care should be taken that no portion of it 
has been in contact with smut; or, if it has let it 
be well cleaned before being sown. This course, 
generally adopted, would cause the gradual dis¬ 
appearance from our grain fields of this ebon 
pest. 
The horse family, as a general thing, receives 
more rough usage than any other class of quad¬ 
rupeds, yet, takiug their numbers into account, 
and the tasks imposed upon them, they are the 
most amiable of the beasts subject to the con¬ 
trol of man, and deserve better treatment than 
is sometimes accorded them. Occasionally a 
tough customer is presented for manipulation- 
one that neither force nor kindness can concili¬ 
ate, or hard usage fully subdue. These are ex¬ 
ceptional cases, which may he turned over to 
Rarey or any other person who believes in the 
possibility of rendering such animals docile, and 
their labors avallabe. 
Other classes of horses there are in which bad 
habits predominate, but these aro not, properly 
speaking, yisclous. They result from improper 
training when young, in most cases, and will 
disappear with a change of management. Among 
these defects may bo classed the disagreeable 
and dangerous habit which some horses have of 
suddenly shying or jumping aside at the sight of 
an object suddenly presented to view or a uoise 
abruptly made. This Infirmity is not colined to 
the equine race, but pertains to that of the hu¬ 
man also, yet, in the one case, commisseration, 
or, at the worst, ridicule is extended to the vic¬ 
tims of fright, while in the other the lash is 
the rule and forbearance the exception. Is this 
right ? 
This species of involuntary timidity is a de¬ 
fect, no doubt, and often involves serious conse¬ 
quences. Yet harshness is not the means by 
which it can be removed. It Is a habit, so to 
speak, hard to break, and requires the exercise 
of a good temper and a patience not easily ex¬ 
hausted. The best way, and the only sure one, in 
such cases, is to coax the frightened animal up to 
the object of alarm,ifitlie6t!;Uonary; if moving, 
pursue it. In the first Instance the horse will 
soon discover that the alarli was csusele66 and 
will not be readily deceived again by a like oc¬ 
currence: in the second he will enter into the 
spirit of the pursuit, the effect of which will 
prove equally salutary. IYis method of treat¬ 
ment is almost certain to prove effective, while 
harsh measures and boisterous language will as 
certainly augment the evil intended to be cured 
or removed. 
Some horses, not otherwise objectionable, 
have a propensity or acquire a habit of kicking, 1 
timely shelter is not furnished, 
ly a night after the middle of September during 
which the farmers work horses should not be 
sheltered in the stable. Preservation of their 
health and economy in their keeping demand 
this. Suppose it is a cold, windy, frosty night 
—we will not discuss the absolute cruelty of ex¬ 
posing these faithful servants of man to a furi¬ 
ous storm — after feeding awhile they become 
chilled and resort to running to get warm; they 
accomplish their object, but often at the cost of 
a stumble and fall in the dark, a cut or a sprain 
which puts a blc-mish on them for life. Then, 
being warm and tired from running, they are in¬ 
clined to rest, and the chilly air operating on 
their heated blood and relaxed sinews tends to 
stiffen them, render them spiritless, and often 
induces a severe cold. A horse treated in this 
way is not prepared to serve his owner well, 
either on the farm or road. 
It is well enough to let the horses run in the 
pasture on days that are not stormy, but every 
autumn night should find them in the stable. 
Give them a good bed, fresh, sweet hay, and a 
little grain; they will be 6afc, and quiet; they 
will rest well, and when their master calls on 
them for service they will have the spirit and 
endurance to perform it well. It should trouble 
the rest and the conscience of a farmer to waken 
in the night, hear the autumn storm howling 
without, and know that through all the long 
hours his faithful horses are unsheltered from 
its scourging. 
EPIDEMIC AMONG THE CHICKENS, 
Mr. P. Hubbard writes us from Columbia, Mo. , 
concerning a curious disease among the chickens, 
as follows: —“A disease among ehiektns has re¬ 
cently manifested itself in the poultry yard of 
one of my neighbors, which Is proving very de¬ 
structive to his fowls. Out of one huudred and 
fifty half-grown chickens, fully one-half have 
been attacked and comparatively few recover. 
The disease Is almost always confined to the 
head, scarcely over exhibiting itself on any other 
part of the body. Its first appearance Is a small 
pimple, surrounded by a red disk. The pimple 
soon becomes excoriated, its base enlarging at 
the same time in proportion to the elevation, 
until it attains the size and shape of a half pea. 
It is filled at first with a limpid fluid, and as it 
advances the fluid becomes purulent. 
SMUT IN GRAIN FIELDS, 
Farmers often find in their fields of wheat, 
oats, rye, barley and Indian corn, heads and ears 
of a black appearance, commonly called smut. 
In some cases this prevails to 6uch an extent as 
to 'give all the thrashed grain a dark or dis¬ 
colored appearance, considerably depreciating 
its value in market. There are two kinds of 
this smut found on grain—one of a ioose, mealy 
appearance and readily detached by wind and 
rain; the other of a bulbous character, sheltered 
under a film or skinny coating. A limited num¬ 
ber of grain heads thus affected will give a som¬ 
ber tinge to many bushels of threshed grain. Its 
prevalence Is generally imputed to wet weather 
and is regarded as beyond the control of the 
farmer. This, however, is not the case, since 
microscopic examination has detected a vegeta¬ 
tive or propagating power in this pest not gen¬ 
erally supposed to pertain to it. The proper , 
tests have demons*rated that this inert, mealy 
snbstance or powder, coming in contact with 
grain, is absorbed by it when in process of ger¬ 
mination and sent by the circulating sap of the 
plant to every part of it, and by this impregna¬ 
tion securing to itself perpetuity. 
Conceding the correctness of this conclusion, 
the proper remedy or course to pursue to banish 
smut from our grain fields will readily suggest 
itself. It is simply to pick out of the fields the 
infected partions of the grain and burn them up, 
root and branch. This was the mode adopted in 
These 
pustules frequently attack a corner of the eye-,, 
and not uufrequcntly both eyes become involved, 
when the chicken soon becomes blind and dies 
of starvation. When this is not the case the 
pustules break in the course of five or six days, 
leaving a ragged looking sore, which seldom 
heals, and the chicken droops and dies. I have 
never before seen anything like it. If you can 
give ns any information on theBubject, as touch¬ 
ing the disease or its cure, it will be most grate¬ 
fully received.” 
Will some of our experienced readers answer ? 
SOWING TIMOTHY IN AUTUMN 
You are pretty sure of one thing if you sow 
timothy with the wheat in the autumn, and that 
is, the grass seed will mostly all grow and live 
and your land will be well stocked. Hence a 
great many farmers practice sowing gras& seed 
at the time of wheat seeding; but there is one 
disadvantage attending this time, which is the 
large growth the young grass gets in the grain 
the next spring and 6tunmer. This growth, we 
apprehend, on rich lands and in favorable sea¬ 
sons, sometimes very materially injures the 
wheat. When grass seed has been thickly sown 
early in the autumn, we have seen a sod formed 
among the grain before harvest time, and a great 
deal of the timothy headed. Now this is a good 
thing for the stock that picks over the straw in 
winter, but it probably injures the grains both 
in yield and quality. In the majority of cases 
we are as certain of getting a good stand of grass 
if we defer the sowing until later in the autumn 
than the time for wheat. The timothy does not 
Rye for Bread.— Rye will do better on light 
and partially exhaused soils than wheat, and en¬ 
dures the rigors of an open winter more suc¬ 
cessfully. Nearly all farms of much extent em¬ 
brace sections where rye would do passably well 
if put in early in the season. It is a better bread 
substitute ior wheat than corn and quite as 
healthful. Two or three acres would help much 
in breading a small family, should the wheat 
crop be damaged. The light sandy soil of New 
England used to produce ryejthe flour of which 
was nearly as white as that of wheat. 
A Lady Farmer.—M r. Willard, in one of 
his letters to the Utica Herald, refers to a visit 
made to the residence of Lady Pigot in Suffolk. 
She has been experimenting about ten years in 
stock raising, and has now a fine herd of Short- 
Horns of “ the Booth strain of blood.” Some 
of the animals were purchased at a cost of from 
five hundred to one thousand guineas each. One 
of these, a three-year heifer, had been a competi¬ 
tor at Fairs twenty-five times, taking twenty- 
three prizes. 
