POTATOES— BARN-YARD MANURE. 
In a late number of Morris’ Rural Advertiser 
i8 a communication in reference to the constitu¬ 
ents of the potato and the effect of barn-yard 
manure upon this important farm product. The 
writer Bays: — “ Barn-yard manure contains all 
the requisite food of all plants, though seldom 
in the proportions needed, but its use with the 
potato crop is not at all advisable, because it 
generally tends to produce disease and Imper¬ 
fect, misshapen, or unsightly roots. A modifi¬ 
cation of this conclusion may result from the 
character of a particular soil, but, as a general 
thing, the rule will hold good that barn-yard 
manure is not as well suited to the potato as 
fiomc other fertilizer of a less fermentative 
character.” 
This conclusion, we are aware, conflicts with 
the opinions or, at least, the practice of a large 
majority of farmers, but it may not be amiss to 
consider the matter carefully before the next 
planting Beasoncotne6 around. We have noticed 
during our experience in farming that the more 
liberal the supply of barn-yard manure to the 
potato ground, the greater was the proportion of 
malformed tubers, but it never occurred to us 
that the quality of the fertiliser was chargeable 
with the results. Our impression now is that 
A. W. Harrison, the correspondent referred to 
above, Is right In his conclusion, and If be is 
farmers should make note of it and supply some 
other pabulum for the potato, where the ground 
requires extraneous assistance.— b. 
and spent an hour sauntering about to see the 
chickens, watch the horses driven around, view 
costumes, study manners, and wonder that, after 
all the devastation made by the cholera, such 
an immense crowd had gathered, fat least 35,000 
people.) During those dreadful July days when 
“pestilence walked at noonday,” and forty 
thousand people fled the city, the streets by day 
were 6Uent almost a« midnight, and at night 
lurid with the light of tar-fires, kindled in every 
the production of the best possible samples of touch it.” To this the Turf, Field and Farm 
what butter should be, and those who fail to do 
it are lacking in the knowledge essential to suc¬ 
cess or indifferent as to its exercise. 
CHEESE MAKING IN CHESHIRE. 
In number 22 of Mr. Willard’s letters from 
England, published in the Utica Herald, is a 
description of the process of cheese making in 
block, the stoutest heart would feel a thrill of Cheshire. He thinks the English cheese makers 
terror. Now, all was gay and joyous, and every 
heart filled with happiness, and so, without an 
accident to mar the universal pleasure, the Fair 
of 1866 ended. Amilie Pettit. 
St, Louis, Oct. 8th, 1866. 
i#«g Jpfpfftawttt 
DAIRY FARMING IN CHESHIRE, ENGLAND. 
THE GREAT ST. LOUIS FAIR. 
Dear Rural: —Thinking your New York 
readers may be interested in news from a West¬ 
ern Fair, I have taken my long-time idle pen to 
write you about ours. 
For the first time since the commencement 
of war, ihe “St. Louis Fair Association” recent¬ 
ly opened their grounds aad buildings to the 
■public. During the war they were occupied by 
the United States as hospitals, and as a general 
military post ;—now, restored to former neat¬ 
ness and beauty, and crowded by pleasure-seek¬ 
ing thousands, with smiting faces and holiday 
dress, they present a striking contraet to the 
scenes I last saw there. Then, pale, travel- 
stained, heart-weary soldiers thronged the 
grounds, wounded, sick, far from home and 
kindred; thoughts of their sad eyes and sunken 
cheeks recurred to me, as, with a group of laugh¬ 
ing, chatting friends, we wandered under the 
beautiful trees, where fountains were playing, 
dowere blooming, and children sporting upon 
the glorious greensward, while a sky as blue as 
that of Italy smiled above. 
The first place of interest to the visitor was 
' ‘ Floral Hal.” In the center of the room a 6ort 
of temple was erected, crowned by a dome, 
overlaid with evergreens and alternating layers 
of white and yellow com,—the spire being con¬ 
structed of sheaves of oats, rye and wheat, gold¬ 
en pumpkins, crimson ears of corn, while buff 
squashes hung as ornaments to the cornice. 
Eight columns, wreathed with evergreens and 
-Jmring at their summits the National flag, 
supported the dome. A lake of water flowed 
beneath, rippling, sparkling and musical by 
falling showers from jetx cVeau, which imparted 
a cool, refreshing atmosphere to the Hall. Flow¬ 
ers and fragrant-leaved plants added their odors 
te make it delicious to the senses. On the mar¬ 
gin of the water were moss-covered rocks in 
whose crevices grew various beautiful, drooping 
ferns. Upon the surrounding plateau were 
arranged rare plants and scarlet, yellow and 
white blooms in the greatest profusion. Stands, 
near the walls, were radiant with bouquets ol 
dahlias, pots of roses, and an admirable display 
of ornamental-leaved plants, gorgeous and trop¬ 
ical in appearance. Never had we seen so beau¬ 
tiful a floral Hall; we treasure its memory, as 
we would some romantic landscape or noted 
painting. 
In the Geological Room were collected many 
choice minerslogleal gems—from the copper 
mines of Superior, the world-famous Galena, 
and our own unique Iron Mountain. 
The “Textile Department” was rich in every 
■work the cunning fingers and inventive brain of 
womanhood could devise. Tapestry paintings, 
in which wool was made to depict scenes equal 
to the work of artist’s brush, silk quilts, rich 
enough forking’s houses,—embroideries, “knit¬ 
tings, nettings and crochetings” of every con¬ 
ceivable article. Hand-made shirts attracted 
much notice, as a private premium of $50 had 
’been offered for the best. 
Then there wa3 Music Hall, where tuneful 
pianos and solemn organs pealed forth in obe¬ 
dient harmony, touched by the slender fingers 
of St. Louis’ daughters. And the room for veg¬ 
etables, where fantastic squashes hob-nobbed 
with purple egg-plants and monstrous onions, 
solemn looking potatoes and scarlet beets, or¬ 
ange carrots and blue-green cabbages—and, be¬ 
yond these, dark clusters from the vine of Bac- 1 
chvs, contrasted with creamypeachesaud pears, 1 
ruddy apples and yellow quinces. I more than < 
half expected to see that “goodlie companie,” 1 
who sup on nectar and ambrosia, swoop down : 
upon the tables and bear their luscious burdens 1 
away through the blue empyrean to “high t 
Olympus.” t 
Then we took a survey of the Machinery, hat i 
not possessing any particular mechanical genius, i 
I could only look In ignorant wonder at ma- i 
chines that did everything from cutting the t 
tender grass to sawing blocks of iron. ' 
Finally, with a long look through “ Fine Art 3 
Gallery,” where we saw some exquisite poree- e 
lain pictures, finely finished photographs, a few i 
marble statuettes, and many indifferent paint- f 
ings, we voted that we hsd “done” the Fair 1 
In number twenty-one of the letters of Mr. 
> Willard to the Utica Herald, is a description 
t of what is termed in England the four-course 
I system of farming. It is described as follows: 
■ “Say we take a farm of 200 acres. This will 
C8rry on an average from 50 to 60 cows, and 
eight or ten head of young stock, raised annu- 
1 ally. About 120 acres arc used for grazing, 
! which leaves BO acres to be devoted to other 
purposes. On the four-course system, 20 acres 
would be in oats, 20 in turnips, 20 in barley or 
wheat, and 20 in seeds, clover, rye, grass, or 
1 other forage plants. Each lot taking its crap In 
rotation. Under this system, it will be per¬ 
ceived, the grass lands are only mowed once, 
when it is broken up and put to oats. No ma¬ 
nures are used for the oat crop. As soon as the 
oats are off, the land is plowed in fall and again 
in spring, working in barn yard manure, at the 
rate of 25 cart loads to the acre. It is then pre¬ 
pared for turnips and from four to six cwt. of 
bones or guano used, in the drills, and the seeds 
put in. The turnips come off in November, 
when the land is broken and put to wheat or 
left till 6pring and barley &own. If the crop 
after the clover has been wheat, oats are sown 
instead of barley. The land is now seeded down 
with clover and rye grass, or an admixture of 
grasses, seeding say at the rate of 8 to 15 lbs. of 
clover, and one-half bushel rye grass per acre." 
Such is the brief outline of the four-course 
system of farming as practiced in the English 
Dairy Districts. Bone manure is much relied 
upon for top-dressing pasture lands, and when 
used its effects are most marked and decisive, as 
to the efficacy of this fertilizer. It costs from 
820 to $35 per ton. When the grass begins to 
give out as it does about the first of November, 
the cows are stalled and fed on turnips night and 
morning. These are fed whole, tops and ail, at 
the rate of fifty-six pounds per day for each 
animal. About the close of November hay is 
added to the root feed and continued till about 
Christmas, when the cows are taken from the 
pasture altogether and kept in 6tabies all the 
time, with the exception of an hour or so at mid¬ 
day, when they are turned out for water and 
exercise. Soon after Christmas the turnip ra¬ 
tions are reduced, or if hay is plenty, omitted , 
altogether and the cows suffered to go dry. j 
They come in again about the middle of Feb- • 
ruary, when they are fed on chopped straw, ■ 
turnips, corn, or bean meal, or ground oats, at j 
the rate of about six pounds per day. i 
The dairy farmers estimate the yeild of cheese, • 
per co\> fir the season, at abont four hundred i 
pounds, but, as a general thing, the product ( 
falls below this. The stock is mostly the Short- f 
horn variety, though the Ayreshires wore coin* | 
mg Into favor among the Cheshire dairymen, , 
The cheese made now are smaller than they j 
formerly were, owing to the diminution of stock > 
caused by the cattle plague. In addition to the ( 
loss from this source, that from unpropitious ( 
weather has been quite severe causing much des- j 
pondence among the farmers. Much grain was ( 
lost after being cut, the wet weather not admit* ( 
ting of its being gathered and housed. , 
are fifty years behind the Americans with respect 
to the appliances proper to the manufacture of 
cheese. With respect to care and cleanliness in 
the operation he awards the palm to the English 
Dairyman. He sayB ’ —“ I have merely given the 
outlines of the Cheshire mode of cheese making 
as a matter of curiosity to our farmers. In my 
judgment there Is nothiDgln the process adapted 
to America, we being at least 50 years ahead in 
our appliances and mode of manufacturing. I 
mu6t say this, however, in favor of the Cheshire 
dairymen. Everything connected with the dairy 
is kept scrupulously clean. The floors, the 
utensils and every part of the dairy are all sweet 
and clean. In fact the whole is a perfect model 
of neatness, which would put our slovenly prac¬ 
tices to shame. And here I have no doubt is the 
secret, or at least a part of It, of the fine, clean 
flavor of English cheese. Daring a portion of 
the time the Cheater cheese Is undergoing the 
process of curing, the cheese is placed on straw 
or hay upon the floor of the curing room.” 
Cows in Florida. — They must have rather 
poor bovine samples down in Florida if the state¬ 
ments of a Northern cotton planter in relation 
to them are to be relied upon. In a letter to 
the Village Record he says “In the milk and 
butter line we have had the use of three cows 
gratis during the summer, and they made us 
about one pound of butter per week, besides 
giving us milk enough for our coffee and an 
occasional com starch pudding!” The people 
there seemed to have no idea that any better 
dairy stock could be procured anywhere. As a 
contrast to these Florida cows It may be stated 
that a cow is mentioned by the Maine Farmer 
whose milk produced cream sufficient for an 
average of two pounds of butter per day during 
the past summer. 
Cheese—Oxford County, C. W. — Accord¬ 
ing to a statement In the Canada Farmer there 
are eight cheese factories in this county which 
have manufactured, the present season, the milk 
of 2,700 cows producing an aggregate of 407 
tons of cheese. This cheese was sold oa con¬ 
tract for about 12kf cts. per pound. 
responds by saying that ail quadrupeds have a 
natural taste for salt. That its use is beneficial 
to them, and adds:-—“In regard to the Arab 
horse not touching salt, a greater mistake was 
never committed. The writer has blundered 
seriously, and this error proves that he is igno¬ 
rant of the subject of which he pretends to have 
an intimate knowledge. The Arab horse shows 
no more aversion to salt than do many other 
animals. Our race horses, of which he is the 
ancient progenitor, require salt when undergo¬ 
ing the ordeal of training, and they are bene¬ 
fited by it. 
Hawks.— How to Catch Them. 
Farmers are more or less annoyed by the 
forays of hawks upon their poultry yards. They 
cannot afford to watch, rifle in hand, for these 
depredators, hence other means of protection 
nd ftofiw, 
NATIONAL WOOL GROWERS'* ASSOCIATION. 
A jcrbtixo of the National Wool Growers' Associ¬ 
ation will beheld at Cleveland, Ohio, November 14 th, 
1S6G, at 1 o’clock P. M„ to take into consideration the 
Wool Tariff, and to transact each other business as 
may be deemed necessary. Delegates are invited to 
attend from all the States, and it is hoped the wool 
growing interest of every part of the country will be 
folly represented. 
HENRY 8. RAND ILL, Pmiderd, 
W. F. Greer, Secretary. 
The above notice comes to us by telegraph from 
Dr. Randall, Editor of our Department of Sheep 
Husbandry, from which we infer that he is conva¬ 
lescing from the severe and dangerous illness by 
which be h-is been prostrated for the post month,— 
are resorted to. We have seen a decoy in the lhoagh oar Iast advice9 from famU 7 * aTe n0 ea ’ 
abape of a chicken fastened to a stake and a £J2ETf Dt ^ aW V° ^ l ° 
. .. for several week#. To those of our readers tnterest- 
Bbape of a chicken fastened to a stake and a 
steel trap slightly covered with earth and placed 
along Bide of it, work successfully in nipping 
the depredators by the legs. A Western Rural 
correspondent suggests thLs plan:—"Procure a 
steel trap and 6et It on top of a pole of such 
length that the trap will come about fi ve feet 
above the fence. Remove all surrounding 
stakes, and set the pole where the hawk can 
have a good view of the barn-yard to determine 
which particular pullet he will take for dinner); 
if you do not catch him when he cornea to take 
Observations, it will be because he is somewhat 
different from most of his brethren.” 
Curing Meat. 
In the Southern Cultivator we find direc¬ 
tions for curing and preserving bams furnished 
to that paper by one who is regarded as author¬ 
ity in this matter. Immerse the meat in strong 
brine 60 as to exclnde the air from It, From 
three to four weeks will Bnffice for salting — de¬ 
pending on the size. Take out the hams, and 
when well drained, Btnear the fleshy parts all 
over with a paste of sirup and black pepper— red 
i3 of no use — covering every exposed part; 
then hang up to dry in a light, airy room. The 
sirup is only employed to make the pepper ad¬ 
here to the meat. This supposes the hamg put 
up without smoking, but it answers equally 
well if they are smoked. Saltpetre and sugar 
may be added if desired, but neither is necessary 
by this process. 
THE BUTTER SEASON. 
The best season for putting down butter is 
supposed to be comprised in the months of 
October and November. The flow of milk is not 
as profuse as in the earlier portions of the sea¬ 
son, but it is richer in; buttery matter and more 
easily extracted and preserved. As the season 
wanes the cold storms affect the cows, decreas¬ 
ing the quantity of milk while rendering the 
cream less easily manufactured into butter than 
during the autumnal months. In view of these 
facts the prudent farmer will pay particular at¬ 
tention to his dairy stock, giviug a liberal sup¬ 
ply ol roots in addition to what the pastures 
afford, that his product of butter, during the 
most favorable season for making it, may be as 
ample as possible, Cleanliness in milkiDg, in 
saving and churning the cream, should be car¬ 
dinal considerations with every butter-maker, 
since a lack of attention in these particulars 
will render the product of the dairy any thing 
but desirable to those competent to determine 
between a good and an indifferent article. Much 
of the butter sent to market is depreciated by 
lack of pains In working. It is repulsive to note, 
as is too often the case when cutting a roll of 
butler, to see it weep great briny tears, showing 
that weighty and not character and quality, was 
the prime consideration with the manufacturer. 
To work butter clean of milk or nearly so does 
not involve the necessity of destroying the grain 
and giving it that lardy appearance sometimes 
noticed in the poorly manufactured article. 
The exercise of proper judgment, coupled with 
a purpose to deal justly with the consumer, will 
enable the butter-maker to present an article 
which may challenge the scrutiny of the most 
fastidious with respect to this important table 
luxury. The season of the year is propitious to 
A Model Compost Pit. 
In a late number of the N. Y. Times there 
was a description of a compost pit or cellar con¬ 
nected with a barn recently erected by Dr. Hex- 
aiiar of Westchester, N. Y. In reference to 
the stables, the writer remarks“ The floors of 
the stables are water-tight, and the surface de¬ 
scends a trifle, so that all the liquid flows in 
gutters into the manure pit directly in rear of j 
the stalls. Small flap doors are prepared close 
to the floor, which provide a convenient open¬ 
ing for throwing out all the solid Utter into the 
manure pit, which is about 100 feet long, 6 feet 
wide and 4 feet deep, substantially cemented on 
the iBside and bottom, so that no surplus water 
can enter or escape. At one end of the pit 
stands the privy, which furnishes much excellent 
fertilizing material. The manure is spread 
around evenly and covered with muck, or 
rich, meUow soU. The pit will contain about 
200 loads; and on that small farm it is fiUed and 
emptied three or four times annuaUy with the 
choicest compost. With such a pit no manure 
is wasted. As the liquid from the stables is not 
always sufficient to keep the manure, containing 
a large proportion of nitrogenous matter, from 
becoming ‘ fire-fanged,’ the leader from the 
eave-troughs is so arranged that any desirable 
amount of water can be turned into the manure- 
pit during the fall of rain. The pit is so ar¬ 
ranged that a cart or wagon may be driven along 
close by its side, from end to end, thus facilitat¬ 
ing the great labor of forking and shoveling the 
compost The arrangements for making barn¬ 
yard compost, on which farmers must rely 
chiefly for material to maintain the fertility of 
their grounds, are most complete, convenient 
and economical. Those farmers who waste half 
of their barn-yard manure should learn by these 
suggetions to save all their manure, and thus 
raise bountiful crops of grain, roots, fruit or 
grass.” _ 
Under-Draining. 
The editor of the Cincinnati Times has 
what he calls a little farm of twenty-one acres— 
ten of which are arable. The operations upon 
this, for the present season, have been most un¬ 
profitable in consequence of the lack of proper 
drainage. The owner sums up his losses by say¬ 
ing:—“In the first place, we had 2l£ acres in 
strawberries, which the winter so badly killed 
out that wc harvested $150 instead of $1,000 
worth. That loss would have paid for under¬ 
doing the patch four times, through and 
through, with tile, at intervals of two rods. 
Then we had a patch of potatoes, two-thirds of 
which rotted iu consequence of the wet weather. 
Here we lost enough to have paid for under- 
drainage twice over.” 
Salt for Stock. 
The question as to whether salt is necessary 
for farm stock or not, is still a theme for com¬ 
ment in the agricultural j ournals. A writer in 
the Massachusetts Ploughman votes no on salt ; 
so does the California Rural Home Journal. 
The latter adds:—“The fine Arab horses won’t ' 
Feeding Swine. * 
An “old 6ubsciber” to the N. E. Farmer 
protests against the practice of feeding swine 
with the refuse of the daughter - house and 
butcher shops, in the shape of decaying and 
putrid meats and the like. He asserts that 
no matter whether these be mixed and cooked 
with other materials, they impart an unsavory 
odor to the pork, besides rendering it unhealthy 
as an article of diet. It is a prevalent idea that 
anything U good enough for the hog if it will 
only make him grow, but experience and obser¬ 
vation have induced a conviction that it is a 
mistaken one. 
Live Stock Statistics. 
An exchange says the six countries, with the 
greatest amount of live stock, are the following: 
—Russia (returns of 1859-60,) cattle, 25,444,000; 
sheep, 45,130,800; pigs, 10,097,000. United 
States (I860,) cattle, 16,911,475; sheep, 23,317,- 
756; pigs, 32,555,207. France (i860,) cattle, 
14,197,360; sheep, 33,281,592; pigs, 5,246,403. 
Austria (1863 ,) cattle, 14,257,116; sheep, 16,964,- 
230; pigs, 8,151,008. United Kingdom ( 1865-6,) 
cattle, 8,316,960—viz: 3,286,308 cows and 5,080,- 
652 other cattle; sheep, 25,795,708; pigs, 3,802,- 
299. Prussia (1862,) cattle, 5,634,500; sheep, 
17,428,017; pigs, 2,709,709. 
Taking tha Foremost Rows. 
A Mississippi planter, writing to the South¬ 
ern Cultivator, says: “ There is but one class of 
persons doing well here. They are those men 
w ho have hired but few hands and have taken 
the foremost row themselves. This class inva¬ 
riably have good crops; but in every instance 
where there are twenty, thirty, or forty hands 
thrown together, the crops have been head and 
ears in the grass and are not out yet.” This 
matter of personally taking the foremost row is 
important everywhere, and the Mississippians do 
well to recognize this fact. 
Hops in Michigan. 
A correspondent of the Western Rural 
states that the hop crop in the West will not 
average more than half au ordinary yield, owing 
to a species of blight which occurred early in 
the summer. In consequence of this hop grow¬ 
ers are holding on in the expectation of getting 
fifty cents a pound, or even more, for this sea¬ 
son’s picking. This is a five-fold advance on 
the article in ten years. 
Potatoes in Maine. 
The Maine Farmer, ia reviewing the crop 
results in that State for the present year, based 
on data deemed reliable, puts the yield of pota¬ 
toes at six millions of bushels after making a 
liberal deduction for what may have been lost 
by the rot. This yield ought to be ample for 
the domestic consumption of that State. 
Geese Fattening. 
To fatten geese, the Irish Farmers’ Gazette 
says, put up three or four into a darkened room, 
and give each bird one pound of oats daily, 
thrown on a pan of water. In fourteen days 
they will be found almost too fat. Never shut 
up less than two together, as they pine if loft 
alone. 
In consequence of the great loss of mileh 
cows in England, there is an increased demand 
for goats, and the extraordinary prices of from 
four to eight guineas are paid. 
1 ed —and especially members of the various State 
? Associations and other prominent wool growers—the 
1 importance of the proposed meeting at Cleveland 
a most be apparent, and wo need not urge upon them 
3 the necessity of a large and able representation from 
t every section of the Union In which Wool Growiug 
r is a paramount intereet. 
’ — Inasmuch as Dr. Randall ia slllJ unabie to write, 
5 and a» all the communications, etc., for the Rural’s 
department of Sheep Husbandry, are in his posses- 
’ sion, and not readily accessible, wo have thought 
i best to omit the Department altogether this week, 
t We trust he will soon be able to resume his valuable 
labor*, when the Department will be resumed, and 
no donbt continued with hie usual ability. 
The Aoricultubal Fairs.— Our exchanges, for the 
[ past week, have been fall of the proceedings of local 
fairs in all directions. They are too numerous to 
purticularlze, but we may say, generally, that a good 
attendance ha* been the rule and a poor one the ex¬ 
ception. 90 far an the reports have reached ua. 
There are some, In all communities, who give the 
cold shoulder to Agricultural Societies on the ground 
that the good they accomplish is not equal to the 
cost of keping them up. This, it strikes us, is a con¬ 
tracted view of the matter, and leaves out of the 
account the emulation induced by these associations 
and the improvements which necessarily follow from 
competition in any department of human industry. 
Faults in action, and errors in judgment, pertain to 
ull organizations, but it does not thence follow that 
all attempts for improvement should be abandoned. 
On the contrary, imperfections but show tha propri¬ 
ety—the necessity—of repeated efforts, for, by these 
alone, can success be ultimately attained. Instead, 
therefore, of making mismanagement or failure a 
reason for apathy and Inaction, it should inspire to 
new efforts and increased zeal, till that which ia 
eonght for is attained. 
«-»> — 
The Season.— October bids fair to make up for all 
the shert comings of the previous month, so far as 
the wc-ather ia concerned. There has been no foul 
weather for the last three weeks, nor are there any 
indications of an Immediate change. As we write 
(Oct. 22.) the wind is blowing a gale from the west¬ 
ward, but it ia balmy as a June breeze, Instead of 
being cold and cutting as Is customary at this season 
of the year. There lias not been an October since 
1844 equal to the present one for doing up fall work, 
and those who have not improved it are guilty of re- 
missness tn their preparations for the season of cold 
rains, sleet and snow. 
■ 4 -- 
Something Besides Cotton.— A correspondent of 
the Southern Rurallst (Jackson, Miss.,) Iscf opinion 
that the South can do better than to rely upon the 
production of cotton alone. The reasou why they 
have done bo hitherto is owing to a disinclination to 
leave a beaten track for an untried one. The climate 
and soU of the cotton region are favorable to a diver¬ 
sified husbandry, and why should it not be adopted? 
Wc do not believe it would bo good policy to make 
cetton ucond to any thing, in the section of country 
congenial to it, but this does not imply that a diver¬ 
sity of crops is cot desirable. Sometimes the cotton 
crop is a pretty general faUure and it would be a con¬ 
solation to the planter to know, in Bach a contingen¬ 
cy, that his sole dependence was cot based on a single 
commodity. 
« 4 ■ 
Devon Btsebs— Rapid Growth.—H. G. Brooks, 
Mentz, Cayuga Co., N. Y., writes ub that he has a 
pair of Devon Steers, both deep red and looking ex¬ 
actly alike, which he thicks show a development 
somewhat remarkable. They were dropped April 2d 
and 5th, 1$05, and have taken the first premium at 
two exhibitions. At five months old they weighed 
8S4 pounds. Their subsequent progress was as fol¬ 
lows:—Oct. 2, six months old, weight 904lbs.; Doc. 2, 
1,190; Feb. 2,1,315; April 2, one year old, 1,540; June 
2.1,815; July 4, 1,990; Aug 4, 2,100; 8ept. 4, 2,160; 
Sept. 24, when nearly 18 month? old, 2,250. These 
steer? mast be well worth looking at by all admirers 
of the bovine race. 
Death op It abet, the Horse Tamer.— Mr. John 
S. Rarey, whose system of horse-training created 
much attention, and rendered its author a celebrity, 
some years ago—in both this country and Europe- 
died at Cleveland, Ohio, on the 4th inst., iu the S3th 
year of his age. Mr. R’s system (which was de¬ 
scribed and illustrated in Yol. IX of the Rural, for 
185S.) was quite popular for awhile, and Its author 
accumulated a fortune by imparting it, but of late 
years it seems to have gone into disrepute, or at least 
been but little practiced. 
The Tenant System in the South.—a South 
Carolinian sends to an agricultural journal his views 
on the labor question in the South. He is of opinion 
that the tenant system adopted by many, himself 
among them, will not succeed well. If made gen¬ 
eral it wonld soon bankrupt the owner of the soil, by 
impoverishing it, and starve the negro laborer as a 
necessary consequence of diminished products from 
the land he tills. The best plan, for the black3 as 
well as the whites, is, he thinks, to till the land by 
hired labor. | _ 
Brahma Pootra Fowls.—A resident of Pittsburg, 
Pa., speaking of these fowls says they are distinct 
from the Shanghais; that they are far superior to 
them, living and thriving where the latter would 
come to grief; that they lay well iu winter; that 
their eggs are much larger than the Shanghai pro¬ 
duces, and that they will lay a greater weight of eggs 
daring a season than any other known variety. 
The Rural’s “Trial Trip” is proving a great 
success, as scores of passengers are stepping aboard 
daily. See terms of passage at head of page 346. 
