center, eight feet long, and two feet apart at the 
bottom, the ends coming together at the top. If 
these are allowed to extend to the top of the 
stack, they will be in the way of finishing oir, as 
the stack diminishes. But in order to extend 
health, refinement and elevation of body and 
soul, but on independent subsistance. No em¬ 
ployment or profession is more fitted to give 
strength, elasticity and power to the body ; none 
more adapted to expand and furnish more Varied 
temperance men and ministers are lenuing coun¬ 
tenance to the business. Thus are we getting 
back to the time of our fathers, when almost 
town had its distillery, where “pure” 
i made from the grain of the sur¬ 
rounding neighborhood. But our disposition to 
near one of the banks; from the center ol tms 
triangle is suspended by a slight cord, a sbute or 
oblong box capable of containing about five to 
six gallons, and which lies a small depth in the 
water; to the shute is attached a long handle, 
with which the deeper works it, and so throws 
water into a cut made in one corner of the cross¬ 
bank, by it which is conveyed over the mud. 
When this is done the flax remains from six to 
thirteen days, according to Its quality, and the 
temperature of the weather, and in some cases 
the properties of the water and mud; and 1 wit¬ 
nessed myself the taking out of flax grown in Hol¬ 
land and Zealand, some of which had been 
steeped in seven days, while others required 
fourteen days to prepare it. It is here necessary 
to observe, that the flax growers in the Nether- 
Tbk Weathkr and the Crops. —The weather of the 
past week has been unite favorable for the growing crops 
—very warm, with copious rains- in this region, The 
wheat crop is maturing rapidly, and promises a goodly 
yield. Corn is backward, blit the ‘heated terra " we are 
now experiencing is bringing it forward finely, and a fair 
crop is anticipated. The hay crop is comparatively light, 
haring been checked by the drouth, yet good judges esti- 
mate that the yield will average one and a half tuns per 
acre in this county. Most other crops promise well-a 
full average y ield We hear less complaint of the ravages 
of insects than in former seasons,—and the same remark 
is trne in regard to injuries from other causes. 
The Wheat Harvest of Western New York will be com¬ 
menced this week, but not much will be done until next. 
every 
whisky was 
“ reform ” something does not abate at all—it is 
only operating in other channels —with what 
results, the present condition of our country 
affords melancholy evidence. 
The writer ought not to be surprised at 
“Solon's” defection from the “Tobacco Reform.” 
He roust see that it but illustrates the natural 
course of things. The use of tobacco has In¬ 
creased. and will increase, with increased efforts 
on the part of “ Anti-Tobacco” Societies to sup¬ 
press it. Moral evils never were and never will 
he cured by machinery of man’s designing. 
The country has been “ reformed ” to its present 
wretched condition — the thousand and one 
schemes for making men better having the con¬ 
trary effect, as they ever will hare. 
And that is a ridiculous position of the writer, 
that a man is less "pure” with tobacco in bis 
mouth than without As well might he say that 
we are more “holy” in a visiting than in a 
work-day dress. He, and all like him, seem to 
forget that it is not what goeth into the mouth , 
but it is what proceedktji from the heart, 
that defiletb the man. The “reformer's” idea 
semis <o be that men are “pure in spirit” or 
poles are reached, a round smooth stick is pre¬ 
pared for the purpose and inserted between the 
ends of the rails at the top. and the stack built 
up. and as it rises the stick is drawn up. and 
when the stack is somewhat settled it is taken 
out entirely. A hole is bored through the end 
of the stick, and a rope or a wooden pin inserted 
to draw the stick up with. This center piece 
Is OrR Soil Deteriorating ?—That the fanning lands 
of this State are levs fertile and productive than they were 
forty or thirty, or even twenty years ago, is very evident. 
Witness the statement, in last week's Rural, of the 
production of over eighty bushels of wheat per acre, in 
the Genesee Valley, I Avon,) in 1S20, and contrast it with 
the highest known yield within the past decade. And 
what U the cause f Is it not poor farming; the neglect of 
proper rotation and abuse of mother earth—the constant 
taking from without returning to the soil the elements of 
cereal and other crops in the shape of manures and fertil- 
f A correspondent of the Springfield Republican , 
izers 
who has recently passed through this State, give* a hint 
on this subject worthy of serions consideration. He says: 
—“A friend with me, interested in farming and stock- 
breeding, was quite surprised to see, as we passed along 
the Mohawk Valley, the heaps of manure thrown from 
the stable windows, the past foddering season, still leach¬ 
ing, bleaching, and volatilising under the eaves of the 
barn, when the young crops, within scent thereof, seemed 
to he hungering for it, so far as one could judge from ap¬ 
pearances Since 1810 I have often passed and re passed 
tliis noticeable fanning valley, and as I compare it now 
with it as it appeared the first time f passed through it, 
there can be no mistake that crops arc annually becoming 
less, and the work of exhausting the soli is in gradual but 
sure progress The buildings appear from their neglected 
condition, to confirm the truth of this observation.” 
crowding, is every way satisfactory, and so sim¬ 
ple lhat any farmer can make one. If consists of 
four posts three feet long, and if made of three by 
three scan tling, will he heavy enough. T wo bottom 
boards one inch thick and teu or twelve wide, 
and two for the top, one inch thick and five or 
six wide. These boards arc placed horizontally 
for the sides of tbo rack, and similar boards two 
feet long are nailed to the posts at the ends. 
The rack may he about twelve feet long, and 
two feet is a very suitable width. Upon these 
horizontal boards are nailed uprights, six inches 
wide, and Tdaced six inches apart. This makes 
a cheap, portable rack, which we like in every 
respect.—AT. E. Farmer. 
other things. Rather a low idea ot the source 
and spring of moral purity, we should say, and 
a scheme of reform which is predicated upon it, 
will hardly bring in the millenium before its 
time. 
The writer is not going to compromise his 
integrity if others do—not he! He “would uot 
raise tobacco if he could make §10,000 an acre 
by doing so.” Very virtuous! He probably 
feels to say with a well described character, 
“Gon, I thank thee that I am not as other men.” 
We would modestly hint to him, “ Let him that 
tbinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall,” for 
we should be no more surprised to hear that he 
was a convert to the propriety of making U pure,” 
“domestic" liquors, than we were when others 
announced their changed convictions on the 
subject, who were onoe as decided as ho is. 
He moreover says he would “raise nothing to 
be made into intoxicating drinks.” Then, of 
course, he will not sell in the market, lest the 
use of the grain may be perverted after it has 
passed out of his hands! This seems to us to be 
virtue “over-much.” He not only will not con¬ 
vert hie grain iuto an “ evil,” but he makes him¬ 
self responsible for whal others do with it after¬ 
wards. In relation to all the products of his 
land, his motto seems to be, “I take the reepon- 
neighbors that choose to attend the reading, i ne 
paper is made up of original articles, written in 
the family—each of the girls furnishing one or 
more articles for each paper. Their periodical 
is quaintly, and pleasantly styled. “ The Inde¬ 
pendent Chip-Basket: 1 This is a source ol great 
amusement and improvement to all concerned. 
The mother and daughters edit it by turns. 
Dki.i.a is also the Secretary of the Village Ly¬ 
ceum in Pekin. They have a fugitive from the 
whins and chains of Rebeldom to aid them in 
. . N1TI V. „ ll 1 
Summer Butter. 
Butter-making in hot weather requires 
extra cam The milk room should, if possible, 
be kept at a temperature not above 60°, by the 
use of ice or by cold spring water running 
through the room. If cellars are used for dairy¬ 
ing purposes, keep them clean and sweet by 
frequent while-washing, and ventilate freely. 
Allow nothing having strong odor to remain in 
the vicinity. The barrel for sour milk, whey, 
etc., to be ted to swine, should never be allowed 
in the milk room. In sending butter to market, 
keep it shaded from the sun; freshly cut grass, 
slightly moistened, is a good material in which 
to pack the tubs. Keep all utensils perfectly 
clean and sweet, with the tinned ware scoured 
bright .—Agriculturist. 
Sheks Shearing.— Some of the wool growers of Ogden 
amt vicinity, met on the 18th ult., at the residence of 
Oliver Harkoi .t, Esq . fora sheep shearing. The meet¬ 
ing wan organized by choosing Isa All J. YVhitnbv, Esq., 
of Clarkson, President. Messrs. OLIVER H ARROW, Alvin 
Wkrstxk, and G. P Hodgkh were appointed a committee 
to weigh the sheep and fleeces. There were nine sheep 
presented for shearing The names of owners, age of 
sheep and weight of fleeces are as follows: 
T Terrill, of Ogden, 3 years old buck, 22 'j lbs. 
«< “ “ 2 “ ewe, 12 li “ 
it it ii 4 << <i 0 11 
A. Cade, << 3 " buck,20« 
G. P. Hodges, “ 3 “ “ 17?£ “ 
Spencer Dav, “ 3 “ “ 14# “ 
O.Harroun, “ 2 “ “ 14# “ 
Longfellow, Henrietta, 5 “ “ 16# “ 
After partaking of ample refreshment* prepared by Mr. 
and Mr-. Harrow, the Society adjourned to meet at 
Trad decs Terrill’s, in Ogden, for their next shearing, 
of which due notice will be given —John Pierce, Sec'y. 
— We have repaired reports of several other shearings, 
but are unable to give them for want of space. The 
above report would be more valuable if the weight of 
sheep had been given. 
WOMEN FARMERS 
The Health of thoBC who arc to be the moth¬ 
ers of the race. is the one thing needful to iudi- 
vidual character and happiness, and national 
prosperity, in the coming ages. If out-door labor 
at farming is adapted to make healthy, intelli¬ 
gent and noble men. it is adapted to make 
healthy, intelligent and noble women. The/u- 
lure character and destiny ol individuals and na¬ 
tions is wrapped up in the health ol the young 
daughters of the present. The organic and con- 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker I am just in 
from a walk over the farm of Marvin and 
Paulixa Roberts. I was here last fall, and 
gave an account of what had been done 
last year on this farm by Mrs. Roberts and her 
five daughters. That account was inserted in 
the Rural New-Yorker, and has excited much 
attention and interest in this aud other States. 
In my walk over the farm, to-day. the follow¬ 
ing facts came to my knowledge. From the middle 
of April to this time (two months) the following 
work has been doneOne hundred acres of 
oats have been put in, which uow look very pro¬ 
mising ; thirty-five acres of flax, and this, at pre¬ 
sent, bids fair to give a good yield. (There is an 
establishment for c cUonking flax in successful 
operation at Lockport. ten miles east.) Ten 
acres of com ; ten acres of spring wheat; three 
acres of potatoes; four of parsnips aud carrots; 
six of beans: aud all the plowing, harrowing, 
sowing, rolling, planting and cultivating neces¬ 
sary to get these crops in and up to their present 
state, has been done since the middle ot April. 
At least one half of all this labor of getting in 
these 170 acres of crops, has been done by the 
five young daughters of M r. and M rs. Roberts, 
with the help of two hired girls. The eldest of 
these seven gills is21, aud the youngest 12 years. 
Meantime, the house-work has been done, main¬ 
ly, by these girls by turns- They consider it a 
privilege to work out doors at plowing, and 
harrowing, and putting in, and tending the crops 
rather than work in the house. These crops are 
where they cannot possibly harm a living soul! 
Noble man! to thus relieve subsequent owners of 
his grain from all responsibility for the use they 
make of it There are few like him in all our 
acquaintance. Av. B. p. 
gwjuiriftS Hurt ^nsnwisi 
Using Water-Lim- tx Maki.no YVali. —Will you or 
some of vour readers plea-o answer the following ques¬ 
tions? Will a wall be durable made of water Lime and 
coarse saml or small stone f Will sixteen inches at the 
base, six inches at the top, aud three feet high, be about 
Hit* right proportion '! | On the top of the wall will be 
"— i To one part lime 
Hungarian Grass—/* it Healthy Food for llorteil— 
At a recent meeting of the Philadelphia Society for the 
promotion of Agriculture a communication was received 
in relation to the raising of Hungarian grass in Illinois. 
Tiie grass was introduced in that section in 1860, and was 
highly thought of by the farmers Large crops were 
grown in low marshy soils. It was thought to be a good 
substitute for timuthy hay, and was given to horses aud 
was eagerly devoured. The horses were believed to be 
improving, but there was soon a general complaint among 
those who used the grass that their horses were troubled 
with a weakness in the loins and could not stand ordinary 
work. Several horses which hud partaken of the grass 
freely, sickened and died. The author of the communi¬ 
cation had only used the grass sparingly, and attributed 
the deaths to other causes: hut when he commenced to 
of his animals 
HOW TO SHOCK WHEAT. 
placed as iron railing one foot high 
bow many parts of sand or small stone must 1 use ? Any 
information mpecting the beat mode of constructing 
such a wall will lie thankfully received.—A SUBSCRIBER, 
Spring. Crawford Go.. Fa. 
MV presume our correspondent means a concrete, wall— 
to l>c constructed in movable moulds to remain till the 
mortar i* set—iu which case puddle mortar should be 
made, with clean, sharp sand, and the gravel or flue stones 
thrown in together; making a stiff compound, with mortar 
enough to envelope completely every particle. M r e do i 
not see the propriety or necessity of using water-lime; for 
we hold that good common lime, is os good or better iu 
all cases above ground, and away from water or wet earth, 
and withal much cheaper. The Sootch have a saying that 
“ When a hundcr years are dead and pane, 
Good lime mortar is turned to stane.” 
Y our wall will not stand, if it has not a foot or more of 
good dry wall below the surface, to resist frost; and we 
should much prefer a greater thickness of wall, which 
should be constructed iu time to dry and set before freez¬ 
ing weather, or it will scale off. M’aterlinie is used 
about 1 to 4 of clean saud, and common lime from 0 or b 
tol, depending upon tire quality of sand and purity of 
the lime. 
Fi xx.Ptn.UKG Machine Wanted.—I have read several 
articles in the Rcuai. about flax culture, and 1 have 
thought probably that might be as profitable a crop as 
could be raised, especially now when cotton is scarce and 
high. Rut if I raise flax I want to save all the fiber as 
well as the seed, and how can this be done unless we pull 
it instead of cutting it f And now 1 come to the inquiry. 
Is til ere a machine in all this broad land for pulling flax Y 
—and if so where can it he found, and who is the manu¬ 
facturer! 1 want a machine that will pull a swath four 
or five feet in width, and lay it off in small gavels in good 
shape for hinding. and a tight draft for two horses.— 
A sir, PaUUfnec, III. 
YVe have no knowledge of such a machine as that in¬ 
quired for, but if there is such an one we shall be glad to 
proclaim the fact for the benefit of flax’growers. Who 
can answer or invent what is wanted ? 
etitmional conditions and tendencies of the peo¬ 
ple of the future of this world, are. by Nature’s 
it .i . i_iiL . r 
No part of harvest work, within the range of 
my observation, is bo often unskillfully per¬ 
formed as shocking wheat A ride around the 
country in harvest will attest the fact, that a tield 
of wheat well shocked is an exception, while 
fields poorly shocked are the rule; and yet it is 
easy to du this work well. During my novitiate 
as a farmer, 1 was complaining to an old and ex¬ 
perienced farmer of the frequent falling down of 
wheat shocks, and of the strong inducement con¬ 
sequent to store wheat before it was well cured, 
forfear of rain. Herepliod that wheatshocksneed 
not fall down, and told me how to construct them 
so that they would not, thus:—Set up six sheaves, 
two and two, slightly leaning together, with their 
huts well thrust into the stubble; then on each 
side set up two more sheaves also well „ * * . 
thrust down, making ten sheaves thus: , * k . 
None to l>e placed at the ends. Now # * 
embrace the shock with your arms to draw the 
sheaves compactly together. For a cap, spread 
and break down the seed ends of two more 
sheaves, making twelve sheaves in all, placing 
them horizontally across each other, spreading 
the buts as you place them, with the seed-ends 
to the north-west and south-west, and the huts 
toward the north-east and south-east. This com¬ 
pass arrangement is important; for if the buts 
are in the direction of prevailing heavy winds 
they are liable to be blown off. 
This method of constructing a shock counts 
the sheaves for you, and it is always round, com¬ 
pact, and well balanced. If well built it is, 
when finished, very much the shape, on top, of an 
umbrella, and is safe against all ordinary storms 
of rain or wind. I have myself built such for 
over thirty-five years. Peter Hatha yy at. 
Milan, Erie Co., Ohio, 1863. 
use the grass again prvttv freely some 
sickened, and one of his best horses died. 
Improved Stock on Long Island —We leam from the 
the CVr untry Gent, that M r st Bkkbb, E*q , of Beacon Farm, 
Long Island, has lately puichased of Hon T. C. Peter.-. 
of Darien, the thorough-bred Short-Horn cows “ Elsa. 
“Etfle Deans,” and •'Jedd,” all iu the American Herd 
Book, also the Short-Horn bull “ Prince Hugh,” with one 
of the best pedigrees in the country. The same gentle¬ 
man has also purchased the South-Down flock of YVakrkx 
Lblanxi, Esq , and a flock of SO full blooded Spanish 
Merinos of Hon H. S. Randall, of Cortland Village, to¬ 
gether with one of his best rams. He has also purchased 
some first-class Shropshire aud South-Down rams of P 
Lorillard, Esq., Fordham. Mr. Bkkiikk is the owner 
of a fine farm of about "00 acres, and is going in earnest 
into the raising of pure stock, aud we hear is about to 
import largely both in sheep and full blooded Short Horn 
stock. 
From Y’ijcuinia.— In a letter renewing his subscription 
for the Rcral— to be sent to his wife-a Western New 
York Soldier writes (dating near Bail’s Bluff, Vs., June 
27,) thus:—“The surface of the country here very much 
rc-senjbles that of Ontario County, N. Y., and I presume 
was once as productive as auy part of Western New York. 
But it is badly run, and the little breadth of land that is 
sown looks very poorly. Some pieces of wheat will do to 
cut in a week. The best corn is knee high. The army is 
TOBACCO - REFORMS 
A correspondent in a late Rural is dis¬ 
tressed because of the prevalent use of tobacco, 
aud particularly because an editor of a promi¬ 
nent “reform" journal, hitherto esteemed sound, 
recommends the increased culture of the “ weed." 
Said correspondent seems not yet to have, opened 
bis eyes to the fact that the whole brood of so- 
called •■reforms” could be classed as sheerest 
humbugs, were it not that their re-actionary 
effects are so injurious. This fact saves them 
from that designation, and entitles them to a 
harsher name. Look back through the few past 
years, and see how the case stands. 
Take the “Peace Reform” first, if you please, 
and who have shown themselves more mrlilce 
than the members of a society which was to 
banish war from the land? Or, take the “ Anti- 
Capital Punishment, Reform.” and tell us what 
class of men have talked more complacently of 
“hemp” and “hanging" than have it3 votaries 
during the past tYvo years? Has the vice of 
intemperance ever been 60 prevalent or so deadly 
as at the end of twenty-five years' effort in the 
“Temperance Reform?” Are profanity, licen¬ 
tiousness, and Sabbath desecration decreasing, 
as the result of efforts on the part of the several 
Societies organized for their suppression? What 
one so-called “ Reform ” in the ivhole list is it 
that is not leaving the condition of society worse 
than it found it? These are questions which 
each can answer for himself. 
We well recollect when Theodore Parker 
I startled the country with the expression of the 
that the evils of intemperance were to 
- Is thkrf a Good Bel House ?—Will you or some of 
vour numerous readers give through the Rural the best, 
or a good inside plan of a bee-liouse sufficiently plain that 
a mechanic will be able to build from your drawing f I 
like the honev bees bur they don’t like me, consequently 
would like to'put them in shape to avoid having.—YOUNG 
Reader of Rcral. Ac., Sparta, 2V- E. 
So fur as we are advised the bee-house system has 
proved a failure in all cases; but if any one has a plan that 
will “fill the bill ” of above inquiry we shall be glad to 
give the same. _ 
Dissolving Bones. —J. Y'. P., Fairport, N. Y.—In our 
directions for dissolving bones, (Rural, May 9,) it was 
intended to proportion the sulphuric acid to the water, not 
including the bones. Its application must be in a dry 
state, and as other strong immures worked into the earth. 
As a Dap dressing its operations are feeble and slow, but 
lasting. M'e know of no crop or vegetable production 
but would be more or leas benefited by its use. 
spirit of the ft 
at; and at work that requires no action of the 
muscles ; but by profitable and productive labor 
in the open, free, pure air. and light of heaven 
where their physical organizations are brought 
into healthful activity, andtheir intellectual pow¬ 
ers are expanded and strengthened by commu¬ 
nion with the sublime and most beautiful mys¬ 
teries and laws of development in the vegetable, 
mineral, and geological kingdoms, and their af¬ 
fectionate, social and spiritual nature refined, and 
enabled by constant and intimate companionship 
with the All-Loving, the All-Wise, the All-Power¬ 
ful, that speaks to them of truth, purity, benevo¬ 
lence, wisdom, and heaven in every flower and 
grass, and in every sod and root beneath their 
feet, in the air that enfolds them and fans their 
Ventilating Hay-Stacks. 
It is not every farmer who has barn-room 
for all the hay that he cuts, and must necessarily 
stack some of it out of doors. Newly-made hay, 
when exposed to the weather in the 6taek, is 
more liable to injury from heating than that 
which is put into the barn. It also frequently 
occurs that from threatened bad weather, or in 
order to secure hay which is cut near the dose 
of the week, that it is put up before it is thor¬ 
oughly cured. Injury from these causes may be 
entirely prevented by exercising a little care in 
ventilating the stack when it is put up. With 
this precaution, hay that is quite green will cure 
finely in the stack, and come out sweeter and 
better than that which is too much exposed to 
the sun in curing. Our practice has been, first, 
to lay a good foundation for the stack, of old 
rails or poles, laying two tiers, and crossing 
them; then to stand five or six others up in the ! disease, aud oblige— A Friend and Reader, Ridgeway. 
opinion 
be cured by the manufacture and use of “pure " 
domestic Yvines, Ac., in lieu of the vile com¬ 
pounds that were destroying the people. The 
idea has gained ground rapidly since that time, 
and prepared juice of the currant and various 
varieties of berries is now found in numberless 
houses from whence it was banished in the days 
of “ touch not, taste not, handle not” Vine¬ 
yards are being set, “pure” wines and brandies 
are issuing from them, and are being used by 
