AGRICULTURE 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1863 
{WHOLE NO. 716 
MOORE'S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER 
a way of buying in larger quantities of dealers 
who can purchase to advantage, and will be con¬ 
tent with a reasonable advance from “first cost ” 
Whether anybody can ever he found fit to carry, 
as agent, the butter and cheese of a township to 
market is still a problem;—if such a man is in 
the “womb of the future,” here’s hoping that he 
may have a safe and speedy deliverance. Past 
all doubt, it is desirable that the producer should 
be brought as near to the consumer as possible, 
and so avoid all unnecessary circumlocutions 
with profits, losses, or commissions. All inno¬ 
vations, however, upon the established order—or 
disorder — should bo cautiously and carefully 
made. 
Mr. Allen administers a very proper rebuke 
to farmers who can “never get enough for their 
stuff,” but “when prices are fabulously high, still 
hold on for higher.” This infirmity is easily 
accounted for, and the public at large are in a 
good degree responsible for it; inasmuch as 
when prices run high, everybody is talking about 
the marvelous drouths, frosts, insects, wars, 
rumors of wars, and all manner of four-footed 
beasts and creeping things which are conspiring 
to starve mankind off from the face of the earth. 
Human nature is wonderfully susceptible, and 
the ebb and flow of passion, sentiment and opin¬ 
ion, affect business, as well as social, political 
and religious interests. Strongly disposed to 
believe anything that we hear in our favor, we 
can readily see that the causes that have brought 
wheat up to two dollars a bushel will enable us 
to get three, if we only “ hold on,”—and you may 
trust us for that. 
Just now I am laboring under one of these 
hallucinations touching wool, which Mr. Allen’s 
protest has not dispelled. IIo claims that wool 
is about lot) per cent, higher than the average of 
the lust ten years, and that it will inevitably go 
lower with the suppression of the rebellion— 
ordered in the due course of events. On the 
contrary, I claim that wool is absurdly low,— / 
mean the farmer's wool ,—though I am by no 
means sure but it will stay so. 1 think 40 cents 
per lb. would be about the average that Western 
New York farmers have received for their wool 
in past time. Whenever it has taken a plunge 
down, as it often has, it was owing to a sudden 
contraction of our currency. A short supply of 
bank favors has very frequently tumbled wool 
down 10 and 20 cents per lb., and now that there 
is do limit to money that can be had for “good 
paper,” I know not why wool should not tumble 
up at least 10 cents per lb.;—in fact, the depre¬ 
ciation of our currency is such that 50 cents now 
is not more than equal to 10 cents in the average 
of years; so we will call It 50 cents. The army 
demand may reasonably raise it five cents, by 
reason of the greater consumption and destruc¬ 
tion of garments, so we will call it 55 cents. We 
must import a part of our supply, Iho price of 
which determines, by a law of trade, tho value 
of the remainder; and as we virtually pay for it 
in gold, worth about 31 per cent, premium, this 
should advance wool about 12 cents, from which 
we are to deduct the five cents already allowed 
for inflation, making seven cents, which leaves 
The absence of cotton, 
HAY RACKS FOR SHEEP. 
that a man standing inside of one of them can 
readily carry it about 
Single or wall racks, to be used against the 
walls of stables and other places where the sheep 
can approach them but on one side, are often 
constructed like one side of the box rack, and 
attached to the walls by stay-laths. Some ar¬ 
range them so that they can be raised as tho 
manure accumulates; but there is no need of 
this if they are made with the bottom boards a 
foot instead of nine inches wide, and if tho 
manure is cleaned out as often as it should be. 
But a far neater and more convenient wall 
rack, having troughs alno connected with It, was 
invented by Mr. Virtulan Rich, of Michvilie, 
Vermont. Tho following cut, from a drawing 
kindly furnished by that gentleman, gives an 
easily understood general view of it: 
The end-views of the same rack render the 
details of its construction a little more appa¬ 
rent. The left hand cut shows the inside 
ruck (/,) In ils place as when filled with hay. 
In the rigid hand cut, it is turned up or 
thrown back on its hinges aB when grain or roots 
are being put in tho trough (c,) or tho trough is 
beiDg cleaned out. 
Tho advantages of this rack are, 1, That it pre¬ 
vents crowding as well as the slatted box-rack; 
2, That it prevents sheep from thrusting their 
heads and necks Into the hay, as they can do to 
some extent in the slatted box-rack, thereby get¬ 
ting dust, hay-seeds and chad into their wool; 3, 
That it almost, entirely prevents the hay which is 
pulled from the inside rack from being dropped 
under foot and wasted; 4, That it combines the 
advantages of a good stationary feeding-trough 
with the rack; 5, That the trough, apart from its 
ordinary uses, is found very convenient to keep 
hay-seed out of the manure when it is desirable 
o do so, and to catch and save hay-seed for use. 
A NEW SUGA.R TREE. 
Those of your readers who have read the dis¬ 
cussions of the Illinois State Horticultural Society 
at its last meeting, will remember that O. IJ. 
Galusua called the attention of the Society to 
the Box Elder or Ash-Leaved Maple—Acer ne- 
jundo —as a sugar-producing tree, stating that, 
added to its other desirable qualities as a tree for 
prairie planting, its sugar-producing qualities 
had been discovered. Gentlemen present were 
slightly incredulous, but determined to test the 
matter and agreed to report. I have received 
verbal reports from some of these gentlemen to¬ 
day, all going to establish the following facts : 
1. This tree, tapped as we tap the Sugar Maple 
—Acer saccharimnh —yields a large amount of 
sap, rich in saccharine matter. 
2. It yields, when evaporated, quite as much 
sugar from the same quantity of sap, of quite as 
good and of very similar quality, as that obtain¬ 
ed from the Sugar Maple. 
3. It crystallizes as readily—some assert “more 
readily as that from the Sugar Maple. 
I might, were it nucessiry, give here the names 
of some of tho most reliable men in the State, as 
Indorsing the above propositions or assertions. 
Added to this newly discovered quality, this 
tree will commend itself to Western planters, be¬ 
cause it is a hardy,, vigorous, rapid growing tree 
here. It is a beautiful^ ornamental shade tree. 
The Sugar Maple is beautiful, but a very glow 
grower here. Our sugar orchards may bo made 
much sooner by plauting the Acer negundo. I 
have no doubt It will make wood with tho sumo 
care, nearly or quite as fast as the White Willow, 
make quite as good a “ fence,” aud produce more 
sugar! It i» certainly preferable in all respects, 
except, possibly, in the matter of timber. Its 
timber is not valuable excopt for wooden-ware. 
Mr. Gallsha says, “The cheapest way to get a 
Sugar Orchard is to plant with corn and pota¬ 
toes, allowing the trees tu occupy the space of a 
hill in the rows where they stand. At fifteen 
feet apart, an acre will contain 194 trees; at 20 
feet, 100 trees.” 
WHEN TO CUT,TIMBER. 
My good and venerable friend, Smiley Shep¬ 
herd, of Hennepin, 111., has been talking to me 
to-day of the importance uf a better knowledge of 
the best time to cut trees for wood and timber. 
He nays the loss in consequence of ignorance in 
this matter iB enormous. Two-thirds ol the wood 
used is depreciated in value one-half or more, 
bccause.of this want of knowledge; and much of 
the timber put into buildings is rendered little 
better .than rotten wood from the same cause. 
To-night, at a meeting of tho Society, he offered 
the following resolution, which was adopted and 
referred to a committee : 
Resolved, That a committee be appointed to 
provide for the offering of a liberal premium by 
this Society, in conjunction with the State Agri¬ 
cultural Society, for the best and most compre¬ 
hensive essay upon tho proper season for cutting 
forest trees and preparing timber for various 
economic purposes—the essay to be based upon 
practical observations and experiments; also to 
embrace scientific investigations as to the rava¬ 
ges of insects, the chemical elements of woody 
fiber at different seasons, and to be correct in the 
botanical nomenclature of trees mentioned in the 
essay. 
THE LATE DR. JOHN A. KENNICOTT. 
A committee, of which Dr. John A. Warder 
was Chairman, wa3 appointed to report resolu¬ 
tions expressive of tho feelings of tho members 
of the Society relative to the death of Dr. John 
A. Kennicott. Dr. Warder said, introducing 
tho report, that the committee had unanimously 
agreed that wordy resolutions would illy express 
their sorrow because of their loss by the death of 
the “ Old Doctor,” and their regard and respect 
for his life and character. They had therefore 
the following report to make : 
1. Death has taken from among us Dr. John 
A. Kennicott, one of the truest friends of Agri¬ 
culture and the pioneer of Horticulture in the 
West. His death is a personal bereavement to 
each of us, a great public Lohf, and makes a griev¬ 
ous and irreparable vacancy in out membership. 
2. It is fitting, therefore, while we give expres¬ 
sion to our sorrow because of our loss, and assu¬ 
rances of sorrowful sympathy to his bereaved 
family, that we pay a more formal tribute to his 
life and character, to his worth and usefulness, to 
his genial and upright influence as a man, a 
friend, and a co-worker in all that elevates rural 
pursuits and ennobles those engaged in them. 
As the season is rapidly approaching when 
hay racks for sheep will be in order, we antici¬ 
pate the wants of many of our readers by pre¬ 
senting the following illustrations and descrip¬ 
tions from Dr. Randall’s “Practical Shepherd.” 
We copy the following from one of the chapters 
on Winter Management: 
A great variety of racks for sheep have been 
introduced into use, but for double and portable 
ones for ordinary purposes, those of the form 
exhibited in the annexed cut are generally pre¬ 
ferred. The corner posts are 2 by 24 or 3 incheH 
CONDUCTED BY D. D, T. MOORE, 
With a Corps of Able Assistants and Contributor*. 
CHAB. D. BRAGDON, Western Corresponding Editor. 
Thr Roral Nxw-Yorkxr is designed to be unsurpassed 
in Value, Purity and Variety of Contents, and nniane 
and beautiful in Appearance. Its Conductor devotes hi* 
personal attention to the supervision of its various 
departments and earnestly labors to render the Rcra l an 
eminently Reliable Guide on nit the Important Practical, 
Scientific and otherSutOects intimately connected with the 
business of those whose iutereM* it zealously advocates. 
As a Family JOURNAL it is eminently Instructive and 
Entertaining — being so conducted that it can be safely 
taken to the Homes of people of intelligence, taste and 
discrimination. It embraces more Agricultural, Horticul¬ 
tural, Scientific. Educational, Literary aud Nows Matter, 
interspersed with appropriate Engravings, than any other 
journal,—rendering It the most complete AofttOCLrpRAL, 
Literary and Family Nswsi-apkk in America 
SLATTED BOX RACK. 
in size, and are 2 feet S or 10 inches long—some¬ 
times 3 feet, where the racks are to bo used as 
partitions. The side and end boards are an inch 
thick, the upper ones six and the lower ones 
nine inches wide. The perpendicular slats are 
three-fourths of an inch thick, seven Inches wide 
and seven inches apart, fastened to their places 
by wrought, and well clenched nails. Each slat 
requires four nails, instead of two, as repre¬ 
sented in cut. Tho slats are highly useful in 
keeping hay, but their principal object is to pre¬ 
vent the sheep from crowding. They give every 
sheep fourteen Inches at the rack while eating. 
This is a liberal allowance for the Merino; but 
the English sheep requires more room. The 
ordinary breadth of the rack is two and a half 
feet, and the length depends upon circumstances. 
Those intended to be used often are usually 
made ten feet long. They should be so light 
Lif For Terms and other particulars, see last page, 
BUYING AND SELLING. 
I am much pleased with a seasonable and 
sensible article (Rural, Sept 12) on “Selling 
Produce,” from tho accomplished pen of that 
veteran iu Agricultural literature, Lkwis F. 
Allen. To be sure it affords little “aid and 
comfort” to those of us who would like to get 
out a "patent” for always securing the highest 
price of the season, whether anybody can afford 
to pay it or not—but it does the next best thing, 
in the end. However it may be with politicians, 
commercial men are expected to look alter their 
own interests, and we cannot complain of this, 
unless they tell lies, cheat, or do things “contra¬ 
band” of trade: the fact that they generally fall 
behind at last, would seem to show that on an 
average they pay all they can afford to—more 
than they can afford to, unless we assume that 
trade, like government, is for “the greatest good 
of the greatest number,” aud should be admin¬ 
istered upon principles of disinterested benevo¬ 
lence—a doctrine that would leave lew iu the 
market, 1 fear, 
Mr. Allen is quite right in saying that 
Farmers’ Stores,” and other arrangements for 
the purchase and sale of commodities through 
an “associate agent,” soon terminate in an assess¬ 
ment to make tip losses, and a quarrel I am 
tempted to add that it is a great shame that it 
should be so. What sense is there in our beintr 
WALL RACK AND TROUGH. 
а, Plank 2 inches thick and 9 inches wide, placed 20 inches from wall (e) to form bottom rail of outside rack. 
б, Scantling 9 by 8 Inches, forming top rail of outside rack. 
e, Bottom ot trough, being a board placed ou tloor, or if there is no floor, on scantling to raise it sufficiently from 
ground. 
U, Board 0 Inches wide, to support the board 4 inches wido, which forms bottom of the inside ruck (/.) These 
would be belter made of plank Bottom of inside ruck should be 6 inches above bottom of trough. 
e. Outside wall of barn or stable. 
/, inside rack, hung with hinges to bottom board. It Is made by nailing slats \'A incites wide, 3 inches apart, on 
upper and lower rails, which arc about l)j by 2 inches in diameter. 
</, Slats to outside rack 7 inches wide and 7 inches apart. 
It, Slanting board, from bottom of inside rack to bottom of trough and forming back side of trough. 
wool at G‘2 cents per lb. 
(and it can't come again in a month at (he wave 
of any magician’s wand,) creates a very great 
additional consumption of wool, and ought at 
the least to advance wool eight cents, which 
loaves it at seventy. 
Now it is well known that as cloth advanced, 
we hung to our old garments till they would not 
hang to us; and there is now a necessity for 
more than an average purchase of clothing 
the universal employment given to labor, and 
the abundance of cash, will insure these pur¬ 
chases to be made, securing a fall and winter 
trade never better in the history of the country, 
and this should advance wool at least five cents, 
making 75 cents per lb., which is all that I ask 
for my clip! I don’t say that wool will bring 
this, but I do say, that if it don’t, farmers are 
cheated out of their just dues. We must take 
the 25 cents a pound that is vouchsafed when 
our miserable currency system takes a tum¬ 
ble; but when propitious gales blow we are 
END VIEW OF WALL RACK. 
of the late Dr. K., if they will communicate the 
same to me at Chicago. To perpetuate the mem¬ 
ory of such a man, is to build up and honor the 
profession of the Horticulturist; and any work 
done in this direction is legitimate— hence I hope 
to use such facts as may come to me in a way that 
shall benefit all engaged in Horticulture.] 
THE ITALIAN BEE, 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker As all bee¬ 
keepers are interested in all the truth that may 
be spoken about the new variety of bee—the 
Italian—I am inclined to give you my experi¬ 
ence. Last fall I obtained a beautiful, golden 
Italian Queen from Rev. L. L. Langstroth & 
Son, of Oxford, O., perhapB in September. I in- 
