EDITED BY HENRY 3. RANDALL, LL. D. 
“ The Vermont Merinos at Hamburg. 
An article on this subject — in continuation of 
the reply to Mr. Campbell, commenced last 
week—was received from Dr. Randall at too 
late a moment to appear in tbis paper. It will 
be given In onr next.—M. 
Meeting of National Wool Growers’ As¬ 
sociation.— In answer to inquiries we will state 
that a general meeting of the above Association 
will be called at some central place — probably 
Cleveland, Ohio—in October or November next, 
to decide on the proper steps to be taken by the 
Wool Growers of the United States In regard to 
the Wool Tariff. 
PROTECTION FOE AMERICAN FARMERS. 
Sufficient protection to the American Agri¬ 
culturist, (including of course the planter,) so 
that he shall at least stand equal in competi¬ 
tion for his own American market,—not de¬ 
manding a tariff of prohibition and eschewing 
all desire or intention of making the matter an 
agricultural tariff, a political partisan question, 
but at the same time asking and confidently ex¬ 
pecting that no agriculturist will support in any 
way aspirants for the oillce of United States law¬ 
makers any candidates that arc not known to be 
reliably In favor of securing the proper legisla¬ 
tion to secure justice to the American agricul¬ 
turist :—these are the sentiments or principles of 
the American farmer, not hounded by any Imag¬ 
inary line. Louisiana must have greater protec¬ 
tion on sugar than she has heretofore had. 
Georgia requires that wool be protected, so that 
she can profitably pasture her thousands of acres 
of badly cultivated, worn-out upland cotton 
lands. So with Tennessee, North Carolina and 
Alabama,—and sheep husbandry must become 
one of the most important branches of agricul¬ 
ture throughout the whole of tho Southern 
States. It is required to recuperate their badly 
farmed lands, to which it is so admirably suited 
—Southern lands being so cheap and the climate 
more favorable than in the Northern States to 
sheep husbandry. Labor being now high in the 
South, as well as in the North, East and "West, 
thousands In the South owning lands will soon 
turn their attention to sheep husbandry. Not 
having been accustomed to laboring, they will 
soon discover that they can well and easily at¬ 
tend to sheep husbandry, and thus enrich their 
broad acres and at the same time become pro¬ 
ducers, working less hands than they can occupy 
or cultivate their lands with in any Other profit¬ 
able cultivation. Missouri and Virginia intro¬ 
duced a large number of sheep upon their vast 
domain last fall, and will increase their numbers 
by thousands this fall, — as will, no doubt, 
other Southern States. Part of Tennessee asked 
protection from Congress at its la6t session to I 
equal the difference in the price between her 
own and foreign labor. Missouri and Kentucky 
must be protected in their hemp growing in¬ 
terest. 
The difference between free traders and those 
favoring necessary (not prohibitary) protection 
to American Agriculturists is in the matter of 
wages. Free traders say reduce the price of la¬ 
bor to the standard of foreign countries. Amer¬ 
ican agricultural protectionists say that on every 
consideration Republican America should be 
against the reduction of labor, and in favor of 
keeping it elevated, whether ordinary or skilled, 
60 that all may enjoy the necessary comforts ot 
life and he enabled to educate their children and 
enjoy the full advantages of our institutions in 
the true dignity of freemen. Fortunately wages 
cannot he brought down to the standard of for¬ 
eign labor with onr vast domain of unoccupied 
lands—with our glorious homestead taw. There 
is no branch of American agriculture so com- 
pletely catholic (suited to each and every State 
of our Republic) as sheep husbandry. Those 
who have not read lion. H. S. Randall’s work, 
entitled “Sheep Husbandry in the South,” first 
published in 1845, will be amply repaid by its 
perusal, and it fully confirms the position we 
have taken. The whole South will soon, if not 
immediately after her Congressmen and Sena¬ 
tors take their seats, demand a tariff for pro¬ 
tection on agricultural products. She requires 
it so as to most advantageously use a vast amount 
of her teritory ia sheep pasturage. 
The superior remuneration received by Amer¬ 
ican labor over foreign low-priced labor can only 
be kept up by protection. All that is required 
to insure the American Fanner just and neces¬ 
sary protection is for the agriculturists|through- 
out the country to determine unitedly to assert 
their determination to have justice; and to have 
the law -makers of the country made to see by 
the votes of the farmers and by petitions and let¬ 
ters, that they will not submit to longer neglect; 
and to show editors, whether agricultural or po¬ 
litical, no matter what smooth professions they 
make, that they can only have the inllnenee of 
the agriculturists by using their siucere efforts 
to have justice douc the cultivators of the soil. 
Let Farmers and Planters bo their own judges, 
and estimate the papers by their works, not by 
their promises. 
As it regards politics, farmers can do quite 
as well by abstaining to vote for candidates of 
either party not favoring their interest as can 
the candidates do without the votes of the agri¬ 
culturists. Glenn & Brother. 
Noblestown, Allegany Co., Pa,, Aug., 1SGG. 
Ticks. —“A Subscriber,’’ Varick, N. Y., asks the 
best inode of getting rid of ticks after shearing. We 
know of no better mode than clipping the sheep in a 
decoction of tobacco which is strong enough to kill 
these parasites. In breeding flocks, dipping the 
lambs a lew days after ehearing is generally sufficient. 
We have never tried the “washes” mentioned by 
our correspondent. 
Condensed Correspondence, Items, &c. 
Rearing Lambs on the Prairies.— H, J. Schaef¬ 
fer, BloomiDgton, Ill., writes us that he has gener¬ 
ally raised from 250 to four hundred lambs per year — 
losing some each year from their coming small and 
weak. He has had no cases of goitre. He attributes 
the loss of lambs to the “strong feeding of the ewes 
with corn up to the time of lambing." Having com¬ 
menced breeding a few full blood Merino sheep, and 
meeting with the Fme 'losses among their lambs, be 
resolved to change bie treatment. He prepared a 
shed for them, closed on the north and east sides, 
with projecting eaves on the others to prevent snow 
or rnln from blowing in. “Instead of feeding corn 
continually he fed cut lurnlps in the morning, lllliDg 
their racks with hsy and giving them access to good 
wheat etraw.” Cleaning out the racks at 3 P. M. he 
fed 20 head ten quarts of com and then gave them a 
hay feed, the last for the day. He gives the following 
as the results —"Fat sheep, Increase of staple over 
former years, no sickly or deformed lambs, no deaths, 
no lambs disowned for want of milk, and finally 
lambs able and willing to get right up and contend 
for their own life, liberty and happiness." 
Wintering Sheer on the Piuirieb. —D. D. Mc- 
Grew, Le Grand, Marshal Co.,Iowa, commenting on 
our article headed “Mortality among Sheep,” (June 
23d) makes the following statements. He commenced 
with 225 grade Merino sheep, 30 of which were tegs. 
One hundred of them were driven from Wisconsin, 
were poor, and some of them veryoid. He loBt 16 
before winter set in, afterwards none. His manage¬ 
ment was as follows: He kept them all together, ex¬ 
cept the tegs, in a balf acre lot, containing a “ prairie 
barn” for them to go into nights and in stormy 
weather, no fed shock com and etraw, and they 
consumed twenty acres of good corn. The tegs re¬ 
ceived “a little oats in addition.” Jn the spring 
most of his ewes and wethers “ were fat enough for 
the New York market." He raised 68 fine lambs out 
of tho 72 dropped. His wethers, after ehearing, 
averaged 104 lbs. iu weight. Ilia experience was 
“ the same as that of his neighbors who pursued the 
same couree.” They are, however, much troubled by 
dogs and prairie woJves. Two years ago he had 24 
sheep killed and 8 wounded by dogs In one night. 
Timothy Hay for Lambs.— V. Q. Knapp, Wbcats- 
vllle, N. Y,, states that he had some lambs dropped 
Feb. 1; that he fed the ewes scalded bran night and 
morning and corn at noon, with abnudance of tim¬ 
othy hay; that the lambs flourished finely for two or 
three weeks; that they then began to cat hay with 
avidity; that they soon declined, grew poi bellied 
and died; that some of his neighbors attribute it to 
the timothy hay; and he asks if this hay will injure 
lambs, &c. Winter bom lambs frequently die in the 
way described. It is for the want of milk. No bind 
of hay will supply its place. The beat timothy is noi 
so good for young lambs as nice greenly cured clover, 
Or clover and timothy mixed. If coarBe, or cut too 
ripe, It Is wholly unsuitable for them. It is difficult 
even to winter tegs on it which go into the yards in 
good condition. Mr. Knapp appears to have fed bie 
ewes liberally — perhaps too much so; and he had 
better have substituted roots for a portion of the 
other food. He undoubtedly failed in producing a 
good supply of healthy milk. 
A Prolific Flock.—Losses in otuer Flocks.— 
Messrs. Dewey JSe Stewart, Owosso, Mich., wrote 
ns (May Dtb) that Ezra L. Mason of that piece owned 
72 ewes; that 16 of them were got to lamb; that he 
had lost 7 lambs, and had 81 living. He had 25 pairs 
of twins snd 2 sets of triplets. Messres. D. & S, 
further say: “From all the information we can got, 
farmers arc losing ab*ut one-third of their lambs, 
some from goitre and others without any perceptible 
disease—some beiug very large and others very email 
—and the loss being mostly among the large ones.” 
p}J0fte of Jr'aivo 
THE HEW YOKE STATE PAIR, 
HELD AT SARATOGA SPRINGS. SEPT. 11—14, 1866. 
[ Tiie Rural New-Yorker was represented at the 
State Fair by a gentleman of intelligence and discrim¬ 
ination, and we anticipated a report of all the princi¬ 
pal departments in time for this paper. We have not, 
however, received any account of what we suppose 
to have been the loading features of the exhibition— 
Viz., the Stock, Implements, Machinery, &c., — and 
are obliged to go to press with the following report of 
the minor departments:] 
Dat-break on Tuesday morning, 8cpt. 13th, 
tlie opening day of the Fair, found your reporter 
iu a railway train rushing along the Mohawk 
Valley. Through rifts in the banks ofifog which 
hung over the landscape one could catch swift 
views of immense fields of broom com, com¬ 
prising thousands of acres in the aggregate, in¬ 
terspersed with the green meadows of those 
famous Flats. At Schenectady we breakfasted, 
changed cars and were drawn to Saratoga over a 
road which was the second one built in this 
country. The journey, which might have been 
short and pleasant, was rendered tedious by a 
change of cars, resulting in a delay of an hour, 
and to a large number u scant amount of “ stand¬ 
ing room ” thereafter in the passage ways of the 
coaches. The sandy and often rock-strewn 
fields and the mossy trees along the route, 
were in contrast with the aspect of the rich re¬ 
gion we had just traversed; the surface of the 
country, and that we could discern around the 
famous and fashionable watering place on our 
arrival, was more level aud monotonous than we 
had anticipated. 
The Fair Grounds. 
These are located about a mile from Saratoga, 
adjoining the race course. T wenty-eight acres are 
enclosed with a high hoard fence. The surface 
descends from the front towards the center, but 
the farther end swells into a gentle ridge. A 
graded track forms an elliptical circle near the 
center, measuring two liuudred rods around it. 
The business office, together with those of the 
Secretary aud the Press, are a little to the left of 
the muin entrance. On the left of the grounds, 
ranging down two-thirds of the distance to the 
farther end, the farm implements were exhibited. 
The various halls and tents were scattered 
through the central part; on the extreme right 
there was nothing to attract attention. The 
stock occupied the farther portions of the 
grounds, the sheep and swine having the center, 
and cattle, horses and poultry the outside. 
Some of the central stalls also contained cattle, J 
and there were a great many all around that were 
empty. There wa6 plenty of room. 
The Opcnimr Day. 
Comparatively few were prepared to exhibit 
on the first day. They were busy in getting 
ready. There were new arrivals constantly—ex¬ 
cept of visitors, of which, of course, the num¬ 
ber was small. In the tents and halls, the sheds 
and on the grounds exhibitors and superintend¬ 
ents were hard at work making ready for the 
two important succeeding days. In the af¬ 
ternoon came the inevitable Fair rain; first 
showers from the south, then a steady, heavy 
downpouring. Night closed In with the gloom 
of an autumn storm. The most hopeful con¬ 
soled themselves in believing that it would ex¬ 
haust itself by morning, and then good weather 
would brighten the rest of the Fair days. There 
was no fear of mud; Saratoga sand would suck 
up all the falling water. 
[ A report of the discussion on the Dairy, 
Tuesday evening, is necessarily deferred.] 
Wednesday. —A heavy shower of rain fell in 
the early morning which proved to be the 
“clearing up shower,” and the weather during 
the two most important days of the Fair was 
excellent. Doubtless this early rain has kept 
back some stock that otherwise would have been 
here, and deterred some visitors from coming, 
but it has effectually laid the dust on these sandy 
plains and that is ample compensation for its 
drawbacks. In the forenoon, before the crowd 
thronged the halls and tents, we went through 
them and here are our notes. 
Domestic Ilall. 
The show was only tolerable. Here, as else¬ 
where on the grounds, we noticed many models 
and 6ome small machinery, out of which the 
exhibitors affirmed “ there was a great chance to 
make a good deal of money.” Town, county 
and State rights for patented articles were for 
sale and the sellers were anxious to have the 
good people buy themselves rich. 
One of the first things we notice is an ingen¬ 
ious and apparently very useful carpet stretcher 
and tacker, exhibited by B. C. Davis. It is 
uQt much heavier or bulkier than an ordinary 
carpenter’s hammer, and is made entirely of met¬ 
al. A carpet may be stretched and the taekB driv¬ 
en iu their places about as last as one can strike 
blows with a hammer. Thomas S. Skelton of 
Ill., exhibits a novel horse-shoe that may be se¬ 
cured to the foot by flanges projecting over the 
hoof. Nails are not used. When the animals 
are in the stables the shoes may be taken off in 
a moment and the horses relieved of their 
weight; and they are as quickly replaced. There 
is a variety of patent broom heads adapted to 
the home manufacture of this household neces¬ 
sity, and foot-stoves warmed and lighted, for 
they may be also used as lanterns, with kero¬ 
sene. Here are some safety matches from Bos¬ 
ton, which cannot be ignited except they are 
rubbed on the prepared paper which forms one 
side of each box. On stone, cloth, or any other 
material, they will no more ignite than pine 
sticks, but draw them over this bit of colored 
paper and they flash out bright and strong. 
They are obviously safe and we can heartily 
commend them. The PenrliynSlate Co. exhibit 
numerous specimens of slate work, consisting 
of mantle pieces, table tops, stands, bracket 
shelves, coffins, &c,, which are all very beautiful 
to look at, and, they claim, are not affected by 
heat, cold, oils, acids or ink, and are only half 
as costly as marble. There is a fair show of 
fancy work, photographs, paintings, and sew¬ 
ing machines. A couple of frames composed of 
shell work enclosing wreaths, one of seeds and 
the other of moss, attract considerable attention. 
We should not omit to mention a small side 
room in Domestic Hall, at the door of which was 
stationed a red faced sentinel, wearing a badge on 
his hat. We have good reason to believe, al¬ 
though the room was not open to popular inspec¬ 
tion, there was a splendid array of bottles there¬ 
in, gorgeously labeled, and which emitted a 
perfame when the corks are drawn that would 
have caused Bacchus to turn from his nectar. 
The judges on Native Wines and Brandies, 
Lew 13 F. Allen, John A. King, Dr. Thompson 
and Marshall P. Wilder, held their reception 
there, and summoned before them separately 
each competitor for the prize. We believe our 
friend F. C. Breiim of Waterloo, this State, bore 
off the palm and a silver medal, with his fragrant 
Diana wine and brandy. 
Floral Hall. 
The display of Flowers and Fruits is in a com¬ 
modious tent which on account of its soft, dif¬ 
fused light shows these products to better ad¬ 
vantage than they could he in a wooden building 
ordinarily lighted. The center of the lent is 
devoted to tho display of flowers, leaving space 
left all around to walk, and next to the canvas 
wall is the circle of fruit. The collection is not 
large — some single counties in the State can 
excel it—but it is arranged with such, good taste 
as to make a fine impression. All the room 
seemed to be oceupied. The Saratoga ladies 
contribute largely of flowers, and a piece of 
moss work, studded with flowers, representing 
a temple sheltering the Goddess of Liberty. 
Most of the flowers are exhibited In shallow 
cases filled with sand and moss, into which the 
stems are inserted as far as the blossoms will 
permit. Vick of Rochester, has a flue show of 
Gladiolus, and we noticed in his collection some 
specimens of Lilium Auratum which sells for 
live dollars a bulb. Bliss of Springfield, is also 
well represented. Frost & Co. of Rochester, 
are the most prominent exhibitors of fruit. 
F. C. Bp.ehm; of Waterloo, has a fine collection 
of grapes. A new Seedling, a cross between the 
Diana and Delaware, attracts some attention. 
In size it is about half way between these varie¬ 
ties, and the form of hunch and the color re¬ 
semble the Delaware. It has a good deal of the ' 
aroma of the Diana. In the amateur collection 
we notice that H. G. Dickerson, Lyons, has 
some particularly fine plums and pears. 
Vegetable and Dairy llnlN. 
We hardly know what to soy of these; per¬ 
haps the less the belter. Among the vegetables 
are some claimed to have been grown by the aid 
of a patent fertilizer — or perhaps created by the 
fertilizer. There is nothing snperlorabout them, 
however, and it is not worth while to mention 
to Rural readers the name of this compound. 
We looked for the exhibition of grains with in¬ 
terest, but are entirely disappointed. One might 
see better in any decent mill, excepting a couple 
of barrels of white barley oats that were really 
splendid, weighing 38 pounds to the bushel. 
The owner was not at b ’13 post, and we could 
get no information, bat he would have had no 
difficulty in disposing of a large quautity for seed 
at hich prices. We wonder that grain growers 
neglect thi3 department so much at onr Fairs. 
Choice seed would find a ready market there. 
We noticed that the tips of these oats were 
green, showing that they had been harvested 
early. 
The Dairy Hall was really not worth looking 
into, and we will pass it by here. 
laitg Jjitfpftmmt. 
PRINCE ALBERT’S MODEL FARM. 
THE ROTAL DAIRY—THE FROGMORE GARDENS. 
In his last letter to the Utica Herald, Mr. 
Willard mentions a visit paid to Prince Al¬ 
bert’s Model Farm in the vicinity of London. 
From his remarks concerning this farm we ex* 
tract that portion descriptive of the dairy build¬ 
ings, aud process of milking and butter making, 
as follows : 
“ The dairy buildings stand apart, and are at 
some distance from the farm buildings. The 
dairy house is a beautiful structure, with cupola 
and pointed roof, its outward appearauce having 
a pleasing effect. The interior, however, is be¬ 
yond all question a model of beauty and perfect 
cleanliness. The floor, the walls and the ceiling 
are of china, fashioned in the most graceful de¬ 
signs. Tho pans for holding the milk are of 
china, white, with a line of bronze round the 
edge. They are elliptical in shape, with a nose 
or scallop at one end for emptying the milk; 
they stand upon broad, white marble slabs, 
highly polished. The windows are of stained 
glass, and on each side of the room are foun¬ 
tains, all of china, and arranged with unique 
figures and graceful devices. Tiny jets of water 
spin up from these and fall into the china basins 
with a musical ripple. The celling has open 
spaces arranged so as to have the appearance of 
Mosaic work, and there are three roofs, with 
compartments between, so as to secure a perfect 
ventilation. All about the sides of the room 
are medallion heads of the Royal family, and the 
who reminds one of the charming descriptions 
of fairy life which we read iu childhood. 
BUTTER MAKING AND THE IMPLEMENTS. 
“ H was 3 o’clock, and the milkers were bring¬ 
ing in the milk, which is strained In an adjoining 
room. The cream is taken off when the milk 
has stood twenty-four hours, and twelve hours 
alter it is skimmed again. The cream is churned 
when forty-eight hours old, the churning being 
performed in an adjoining room. The churn is 
of tin, barrel-shaped, and revolving. It has 
compartments at each end for hot or cold water, 
so that temperature can be regulated without 
mingling the waterwith the cream. The butter 
is washed in an oval tub, unpaiuted, and after 
being washed is worked upon two thin wooden 
paddles. In the daily there were a number of 
rolls of butter upon a large china trencher, the 
rolls being about eight inches long and three 
inches in diameter. The cream and milk for the 
Royal tables are put in small tin cans with cov¬ 
ers, and these again are placed In a larger tin 
receptacle with cover, when they are sent away 
to the palace, either to London or the Castle, as 
the case may be, where the Queen is s’eying. 
We tasted of the butter and took a glass of milk, 
and can vouch for its purity and sweetness.” 
The dairy stables contained about sixty cows, 
mestly Short-horn of the Booth 6train of blood. 
The stables were models of neatness. A glass 
roof in the center was well arranged for ventil¬ 
ating purposes. The cows were ranged in stalls 
or divisions containing two animals each; floors 
of stone, inclining towards a gutter, and well 
bedded with straw. The animals were of the 
best type, but the flow of milk did not appear to 
be in excess of that obtained in many dairy dis¬ 
tricts in this country. Across a paved court, 
from the dairy buildings aud opposite to them, 
was a piggery, well stocked with animals known 
as the Prince Albert breed. 
WINTER RUTTER MAKING. 
A correspondent of the Rural American 
gives his method of managing cows for the pur¬ 
pose of making winter butter. He says: — 
“ Cows should be kept warm and clean, and in 
addition to plenty of sweet, early cut hay, milch 
cows 6hould be treated with warm slops and 
bran mashes, varied by roots and meal. They 
should have plenty of pure air and exercise, and 
be salted regularly once a week. The stables 
and cows must be well cleaned before milking, 
and the treatment of the cows be ruled by pa¬ 
tience and gentleness. The milk, when strained, 
should he brought to a scalding heat and set in 
a warm place, where it will not freeze. The 
cream should be taken off before the milk thick¬ 
ens, and he kept in as cool a place as can be 
without freezing. Cream managed in this way 
will he very thick, and when put in the chum 
needs diluting, when well mixed, the temper¬ 
ature of the cream Is such that a drop applied 
to the forehead will feel neither cold nor warm. 
The Auburn Implement Trial — Awards. — We 
give below a brief synopsis of the result of the State 
Ag. Society’s Implement-Trial at Auburn in July last 
The awaid*, as announced at the State Fair, are as 
follows: 
In Class 1. for Mowers, the “Buckeye Mower” 
entered by Adriance, Sherman & Co., was awarded 
the gold medal. The “ Rhode Island Clipper” took 
the second premium. 
Class 2. tor Reap>er and Raker combiued, D M 
Osborne <fc Co. were awarded the gold medal, aud C 
Wheeler. Jr., the second premium. 
Class 2#, Self-Rakers. Seymour. Morgan & Allen 
weTe awarded the gold medal, and C. C. Bradley & Co 
second premium. 
Class 3. Combined Mower and Reapers, and Hand 
Rakers, Walter A. Wood took the gold medal, and 
J. L. Herrington tne second prize. 
Class 4. Combined Reaper with Self-linking attach¬ 
ment, Williams, Wallace & Co., gold medal, Seymour 
Morgan <fc Allen, second premium. 
Class 5. only two entries, aud neither thought 
worthy of premium. 
Claes 0, It. L. Alien took the gold medal, and D. J{ 
Oeburn second premium. 
C’lase 7, Endless Chain Horse Power, R. & M. Har¬ 
der, of CobleeklLl, took only premium, a gold medal. 
Class 8, Horse Power Lever and Sweep, Dow i- 
Fowler, Fowlcrsvillc, gold medaL 
Claes 9, Ten Horse Power Thresher, and Cleaner 
No premium. 
Class It), Two Horse Power Combined Thresher 
and Cleaner. R. & M. Harder, Cobbles!;ill, gold meda. 
Class 13, Horse Rakes, Barber, Sheldon & Co., gold 
medal: A B, Sprout, second premium. 
Class 14, Hay Tedders. No premium given, as the 
machines were defective in workmanship. 
In Class 1G, Horse Hay Forks, J, L. Mansfield L 
Co,, of Clockavllle, were awarded the first premium 
and Chapman * Hawley, of Utica, Hie second. 
In Class 18, Hay ana Straw Cutters, no award was 
made. Sanford. Wasson & Co. were named first, hut 
the machine of Dow & Fowler was thought so nearly 
equal, that both wsre commended together. 
New England and Vermont Fair. — 1'ho com¬ 
bined exhibition of the New England and Vermont 
Stato Ag. Societies took place at Brattlehoro, Vt., the 
4th to 7th inst. The show of blooded stock,—horses, 
sheep aud cattle, — was very large, and the animals 
generally of superior excellence. The principal stock 
breeders in Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut 
presented a large number of animals for show and 
competition. In the Cattle department the Durham 
was predominant, though there was a considerable 
show of the Dutch and a few of the Burmese from 
India. Of Sheep there was a good show of both fine 
and coarse woole, and also a good display of Swine 
and Poultry, The entries of Fruits and Vegetables 
were few, as were those of the Dairy. The entries 
of Agricultural Implements wore numerous and the 
articles varied, embracing every thing connected with 
farming operations. The number of norses entered 
was 196; Cattle, 350; Sheep, GOO; and 146 entries of 
Swine and Poultry. The Agricultural Implements 
numbered 145, and the Miscellaneous articles 188. 
The receipts by the Treasurer were between f 11,000 
and $12,000. The proceedings of the Fair were diver¬ 
sified by several horse races, and the customary 
amount of pocket picking by experts In that line of 
business. On the whole tho Vermont Farmer regards 
the combined New England Fair as a decided success. 
Weeds — New Varieties. — (C. L. Hoyt, Spring 
Mills, Allegany Co., N. Y.) The first weed, mentioned 
by you in yours of the 18th of Aug., is known botan- 
ically as Rvdbtchia hirta, and is reputed to be a very 
dangerous plant when It gets a foothold on a farm. 
The bept, and only known way to exterminate it, is 
by pulling it up and committing it to tho fire. If not 
met at the outset of its career It will prove a trouble¬ 
some customer to the farmer. The other specimen, 
accused of an attempt to hybridize with the timothy 
grass, is denominated Plant-age lanceola/a aud should 
share the fate ot the first mentioned — a worthless 
sample of vegetation, though perhaps less dangerous 
than the other. Extermination to both should be the 
“battle cry.” 
«♦« 
A Precocious Pullet.— Mr. John Mason of Spen- 
cerport, in this county, claims the most precocious 
pullet of the day. Thi6 ovarian prodigy was hatched 
on the 37th of March laet, and when four months old 
commenced laying. Alter liavlug produced seven¬ 
teen eggs, the instinct of maternity became per¬ 
ceptible aud she was set upon thirteen eggs, from 
which came forth a brood of eight chickens. The 
pallet or mother of the brood is of the Cochin 
China breed, and the young chicks a cross from the 
Black Spanish. If any one iu the poultry line heats 
this, Mr. Mason will raise his beaver in token of de¬ 
feat. Till that time he claims the right to remaii 
bonnetted among poultry raisers. 
-•-*-<- 
Boiled Peas foe Cows and Hogs. — It is stated 
by some fanners that boiled peas fed to milch cows 
will greatly increase their flow of milk, and impart 
strength and vitality to the animals, while the milk 
will be free from the unpleasant taste imparted to it 
by feeding roots. The effect is equally favorable on 
hogs fattened upon this food. The peas should be 
soaked awhile in cold water before being boiled, as 
it will greatly facilitate the process of cooking. It 
is asserted that two bushels of cooked peas are equal 
in fattening properties to three bushels of corn fed to 
stock iu the natural or manufactured state. 
«•»«- 
Flax Works. — A Canadian company have put in 
operation extensive Flax Works at fctreetsville, on 
which they have expended over $100,000. The com¬ 
pany purchase the flax in gross in most cases, with, 
the seed on, at $14 per ton. It. is then run through 
th8 several processes of retting, breaking and scutch¬ 
ing, when it finds its way to the manufacturing de¬ 
partment where it ia made into cloth aud twine. It 
is hardly necessary to add that ihe whole process ia 
performed by machinery of the most approved con¬ 
struction. ___ 
Corn Cobs as Fuel.— The Prairie Farmer has been 
figuring some cm raising corn and preparing it for 
market, and decides that it is better to shell the corn 
than to Eell in gross, cob and all, as the practice of 
gome farmers is. By shelling in a suitable machine 
and leaving the cobs whole, considerable is saved, a* 
a ton of whole cobs is equal to a ton of coal for fad. 
This is an item worthy of consideration iu section 
where much corn, is grown and fuel ia scarce and 
necessarily clear iu market. 
The Iowa Homestead, —This Journal, published 
ar Des Moines, Iowa, has (in consequence of the 
death or Mr. H. W. Pettit, its late conductor,! pass¬ 
ed under the supervision of Mark Miller, Esq., 
former proprietor, by whom the publication wifi 
continued. _ _ 
Cotswold Sheep. — Bell’s Messenger, London, re¬ 
ports a recent sale of 50 Cotswold sheep at an average 
price of about $135 yer head, hour othe. sheep 
longing to the same parties sold for $1,660, or o^e 
