Plaster is a mineral substance, composed of 
lime and sulphur, and only soluble by four hund¬ 
red times its weight of water; hence the im¬ 
possibility of losing any of its fertilizing matter 
by the evaporation of the dews of a single night; 
it cannot, like an organic substance, be convert¬ 
ed Into a volatile gas and go off in the air; its 
office is rather to combine with organic matter 
and hold it to the soil for plant food. Liebig 
is of the opinion that piaster collects ammonia 
from the* atmosphere, by which it is converted 
into the sulphate of ammonia in the sol}, an in¬ 
soluble salt which Is again slowly converted into 
a carbonate 1>y the carbonate of lime in the soil, 
which is taken up by the roots of plants. Bons- 
S 1 NGALH.T, on the other hand, without disputing 
Liebig’s theory, gives great importance to the 
lime of the gypsum, which he says is in a solu¬ 
ble state, Very necessary even to grapes and 
leguminous plants on a limestone soil w hen the 
lime is in an insoluble state. He says as the re¬ 
sult of many experiments:—“ Jt appears highly 
probable that calcareous matter is chiefly bene¬ 
ficial from the particular action it exercises on 
the fixed arnononiacal salts of the manure, t rans¬ 
ferring these successively, slowly, and as they 
may be wanted, into carbonate of ammonia ! In 
corroboration of Bowsinoault’s theory, it may 
be proper to state that a crop of clover which is 
so much benefited by an application of plaster, 
takes 70 lbs. of lime from an acre of soil, while 
wheat takes but 16 lbs., and oats only 6 lbs. 
, LXXVL 
that plant (which in four years after its discovery 
bore large white potatoes) is now cultivated ex¬ 
tensively* in the west of Scotland. 
EDITED BV HENRY S. RANDALL, LL. D. 
Improved Condition of Farmers. 
As a rule, there is undeniably, says a contem¬ 
porary, more education, intelligence and refine¬ 
ment among farmers than existed a generation 
since. These, of course, call for the enjoyment 
of a greater measure of the luxuries of life—in 
fact, the two go hand in hand, the enhanced 
means affording facilities for better education, 
and the increase of intelligence and refinement 
calling for a style of living different from that 
which satisfied the uneducated mind. Be this 
as it may, the fanners, as a clsws, have (with 
many exceptions of course) a thousand fold 
more of the comforts and luxuries of life than 
were enjoyed by their fathers. They live in bet¬ 
ter houses, with better furniture—the} ride in 
better carriages, wear better clothing, go more 
regularly to church, enjoy more social inter¬ 
course, exhibit a greater degree of intelligence 
and more refined manners—in short, come iicarer 
the standard of gentlemen, than did their ances¬ 
tors, as a class, thirty years ago.—Air. 
THE TARIFF WOOL SAMPLES, 
C*or Prospects South.— The Augusta Sentinel. 
(Ga ,) of the 2!Hh alt., condenses from the journals in 
that section, an acconnt of crop prospects there, in 
Laurens county cotton promises well—a large breadth 
of land la planted. Corn enough for home consump¬ 
tion is expected. Pike county—cotton less promising, 
but com and potatoes doing well; oats looking sorry 
Berrien county presents the same aspects —cotton 
poor; corn good In Cobb and adjoining counties 
whfiat never looked better and other crop* promise 
well A hall storm swept over Calhoun county re¬ 
cently, destroying both corn and cotton. Corn is be¬ 
ing replanted there on both grounds. The Monroe 
Diminution of Productiveness. 
A writer in the Cultivator asks “ What 
arc the reasons why our lands produce less than 
formerly, and what is to be the probable result?” 
This reminds us of another query, to wit:—“ Why 
a gallon of water, in a pail, will weigh no more 
with a two-pound live fish in it than without?” 
These questions may he disposed of by asking 
another:—“ Are either of the (statements true?” 
If the first is, all crops taken into the account, 
it is a poor compliment to ‘‘scientific farming,” 
and the advancement claimed to have been made 
in the cultivation of the soil within the last quar¬ 
ter ol' a century. Except the potato, wc do not 
know of crop that has diminished in yield, while 
many of the cultivated ones have increased in 
quantity. If there is a falling off anywhere, it 
most he in consequence of not makiDg repara¬ 
tion to the land, in the shape of manure, for 
what is taken from it in the shape of crops. 
Give back what is taken, and there will be no 
diminution in production. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker: —The objection I 
have to Langstroth’s, Medoalf’s and some 
other hives is, that the lid of the hive is taken 
off on a level with the honey-board which leaves 
a crack for the cold air to come in directly over 
where the bees cluster in cold winter weather. 
This destroys mauy that might otherwise he 
saved. Tiie accompanying sketch represents ft 
hive as 1 now make them, and in which my bees 
Film on the Eye— Removal.— At a meeting of the 
Institute Farmers’ Club, a member mentioned a suc¬ 
cessful process for removing Him from the eyes of cattle 
and horses. A small quantity of melted butter should 
be poured Into the ear of the beast, opposite the eye 
affected. If the lieadoi the animal Is properly turned 
up the application of the melted hatter will be an 
easy operation. The butter should not be so hot as 
to render the animal uncomfortable. After an inter¬ 
val of a few (lays repeat, the operation. Three appli¬ 
cations will be ample for a cure in most if uot in all 
cases. 
Foot-Rot in Cow* —Cure. 
At a recent meeting of the Herkimer Co. 
Farmers’ Club, a member, Mr. Whitman, said 
he had found out a certain and speedy cure for 
that pest to dairy-h^rds, foot-rot. It is reputed 
to be Yery damaging to cows, causing a loss of 
flesh aud a partial and sometimes an entire ces¬ 
sation of the flow of milk. An ointment made, 
of lard and red precipitate, in the proportion of 
one to four, mixed aud applied to the sore, will 
prove effectual. He usually* melts a quarter of 
a pound of bird and lets It cool until it begins 
to thicken, and then adds an ounce of precipi¬ 
tate and mixes thoroughly. Apply to the parts 
affected, and rub in well twice or three times, 
and a cure will be the result. Before making 
the application, clean the feet well with soap 
and soft water. Sometimes it is necessary to 
draw a rope between the claws—a hair one, if 
attainable, is the best. 
THE COMMITTEE ON TARIFF SAMPLES. 
The subjoined letter discloses facts the pub¬ 
lication of which we consider alike due to the 
writer of it and to ourselves: 
youNGSTOW'N. Mahoning Co., Ohio, | 
May 2, 1807. f 
Hon. Hmo it P. Uanou. 1, >Jii Your letter 
of the 26th, appointing me one of the Commit¬ 
tee to inspect “Samples of Wool,” under the 
new tariff i6 before me. I fully appreciate the 
importance of this work, under the form which 
the subject has now assumed, and I am not in 
sensible to the honor conferred by such an ap¬ 
pointment. Did I not know that there were 
names of oilier gentlemen on your list, entirely 
competent to the taskj I would not feel at liberty 
to decline, but knowing this, and feeling that 
the win tern attention to the subject ha- left a 
gap in my private affairs, which I must hasten 
to fill, I beg to be relieved from this present 
responsibility. Yours, very truly, 
11. Hi. Montgomery. 
do very well. It is 21 inches high from a, to r, 
6 inches from n to r, and 14 inches from a to d, 
outside and Inside 12 incites each way, giving a 
apace for the hive proper of 12 by 13 and 15 
inches high' The drawing represents the hive 
with One side taken out. On the slats, 3, 6, 3, 3, 
are placed the honey boxes with the bottoms 
nearly cut out. 2, 2, are strips put across to 
hold up the combs. The reader will readily per¬ 
ceive that this arrangement leaves the bees in 
the center of the hive where they ought to be in 
cold winter weather. There is no honey board 
but the strips 3,3, 3, 3. A1 the approach of win¬ 
ter take out t,he honey boxes and till up the space 
with dry corn cobs; these can he removed in 
spring, and the honey boxes replaced. For a lid 
to this hive take a board 18 inches each way, lay 
it on the hive, then nail 4 eleets on the under¬ 
side to keep it in place. For further protection 
against cold make a box large enough to slip 
down over the outside of the hive, put on the 
lid and your bees will he safe. 
Grand Rapids, Mich , 1667. K. M. Bullard. 
Starvation of Stock —The monthly report, of the 
Department ol Agriculture for April Hays the loss of 
stock from actual starvation and exposure the past 
winter has been extraordinary. In Texas the loss 
has been heavy, one-tenth of the stock dying. In the 
Territories similar Iobsch are reported. In Nebraska 
and Arkansas many perished. In Minnesota fodder 
was short anil stock died. It has been a severe win¬ 
ter In all North America, and the aggregate loss of 
stock from oxpoeure and want of feed i- immense. 
This might have been avoided by foresight and 
industry. 
Plaster and Ashes on Barley. 
A correspondent of the Canada Farmer, 
remarking on the sowing aud management of 
barley, says: —“I have experimented more or 
less on sowing plaster and uni cached ashes on 
hurley, alter it was about two inches out of the 
ground, sowing broadcast, following after with 
the roller to press it down. It is my opinion 
that if there are any wire-worms attacking it at 
the time, the roller alone tv ill drive them down 
a peg or two, hut the ashes aud plaster will set 
them back further yet.” As barley Is very late 
this year, time w ill be utforded to test the efficacy 
of this treatment where wire-worms are found at 
work on this grain, 
8HEEI 1 Shearing at Alexander.— There was a 
lnrgc gathering of sheep breeders at Alexander, on 
the 24th ult., to participate in a sheep shearing festi¬ 
val. A participant, writing to the Attica Atlas, refers 
to the sheep sheared in this wise:—“■ They were, in 
no sense, white as wool , but black a» an Ethiop, look¬ 
ing for all the world like sacks moving along without 
any apparent means or locomotion.” It is hardly 
necessary to add that these “sacks” were the real 
Vermont Merinos. The uverati veirht of wool on 
WHEAT GROWING ON THE PRAIRIES, 
In my last, under the above title, I was, per¬ 
haps, too fast iu attributing the good effects of 
burned straw on a worn prairie soil to the ex¬ 
haustion of the potash and the mineral elements 
in the earth, as the nitrogen of such a soil is ex¬ 
hausted by cropping long before its mineral 
. elements fail. I am inclined to believe that the 
fertilizing effect of the ashes from so large a pile 
of straw on such a soil, was mainly due to the ac¬ 
tion of the potash of the ashes, which it is said 
has power to decompose the atmosphere and 
form nitrate of potash (saltpetre) in the soil; 
and that it was this organic nitric acid, aud not 
the inorganic potash that added to the growth 
of the next crop of wheat. 
It is said among the pioneer farmers of West¬ 
ern New York, that wherever old ash erics and 
large piles of poorly leached ashes have stood 
the soil is still remarkably fertile. A few 
miles east of Aurora, Cayoga Co., you Mill 
see even at this day a veqy luxuriant spot of 
growing grain, where an old askery stood fif¬ 
ty years ago; and it is said that the older the 
pile of ashes the better was its manurial effect 
This I think shows conclusive- 
Buffalo Climatology for Mat. —From a record 
kept at the Library of the Young Men’s Association, 
Buffalo, for the month of May, we obtain the results 
following;—The coldest day was on the 2d-the mean 
being 38” entire clear days, 5; entirely cloudy days, 
15: number of days on which rain fell, 16; amount of 
rain, 4.25 laches. The temperature for the month 
was 3>y degrees below the mean for the same time 
for the last, ninu years. 
Plaster and its Uses. 
At a meeting of the Herkimer Farmers’ 
Club, May 10th, the subject of “ Plaster aud 
its uses” was discussed. One member said he 
had tried plaster—a spoonful to a hill of corn 
—and found a marked difference between the 
hills thus served and those to which none was 
applied. It was a question, among farmers, 
whether the effect was produced from the air 
or by the absorption of the soil. It was gener¬ 
ally supposed that the gas or ammonia, origina¬ 
ting from tiie decomposition of vegetable or 
other substances, floated in the air, and that the 
plaster took up these gases and conducted them 
to the f raiu or grasses to which it was applied. 
A mixture of leached ashes and plaster pro¬ 
duced £ good effect on vegetation. The expe¬ 
rience cf the (pthcr members of the Club, with 
respect to plaster and ashes, was of a like char¬ 
acter. Some thought the use of plaster on low 
lands vas not of much benefit, but on uplands 
the advantage was readily perceptible. Early 
spring sowing—about one hundred pounds to 
the acre —was deemed about right, but applied 
to corn jn the hill, in small quantities, will pay 
well. 
Fodder for Stock. 
It is probable that considerable laud de¬ 
signed for corn tiie present spring will fail to 
be planted on aeeouut of the prevalence of wet 
weather. In such cases it would be a good plan 
to sbw corn for fodder purposes. Good land 
will produce a heavy burtheu of this kind of 
food for cattle. It is especially good for dairy 
stock, and may be fed in a green or in a dry 
state. The sweet variety is considered the best, 
us it is richer aud eaten more readily than any 
other. What is not need in a green state may 
be cut and dried for winter use. It may be fed 
whole, or cut up and mixed with something 
else, as circumstances shall dictate. 
Horse Fair at Buffalo.— Aineeting of parties hi 
tcrested in holding a second Annual Horse Fair at 
Buffalo was held In that city last week. A complete 
programme for the occasion was agreed upon. The 
officers are :—Pns't — Hon. J. C. Wells ; Trim.— C. 
J. Hamlin ; Sec'y —H. Millard, The Fair will open 
August 13ih and continue four days. The premiums 
Agricultural Fairs. —Oar friends who send no¬ 
tices of Agricultural and other Fairs to be held the 
coming autumn must not think themselves slighted 
if their fhvors do not appear at once in the Rural. 
They will he published, In due time, in a regular list 
which will be prepared for that purpose, liond us 
the particulars, about the Fairs, that our list may be 
as complete as possible when it appears. 
Old Cows —When to Kill. 
It is a question, among farmers, as to w'hat 
age cows can be properly used for dairy pur¬ 
poses, and when it is best to dispose of them 
on account of age. This will depend somewhat 
on the breed of the animals, and the usage they 
have received. As a general rule, when a cow 
has entered her teens she has approximated 
closely the lim't of her usefulness in the dairy 
line. A good farmer once remarked that a cow 
was never worn out so long as there was room 
on her bonis for a new wrinkle! 
on the soil, 
ly that the potash of the ashes had year aft er year 
fixed a portion of the nitrogen of the air into 
the nitrate of potash. Although the composi¬ 
tion of the atmosphere is four-fifths nitrogen, 
yet this element is so opposed to chemical reac¬ 
tions, that very little of it*lias thus far been 
made available for the wants of growing plants. 
Minnesota — Advantages. —We are uudur obliga¬ 
tions to M. F. James Esq., St, Paul, Minnesota for a 
pamphlet setting torth the peculiar advantages which 
Minnesota offers to the emigrant who may be seeking 
a home in the weBt. A succinct description of the 
soil, climate, facilities for travel, manufacturing de- 
velopement is given, coupled with remarks on the 
future prospects of the State. 
The Potato — Its History, 
Av English paper states that a Mr. Craw¬ 
ford recently read a paper before the Ethno¬ 
logical Society in Loudon, which embraced a 
history of the potato as far as known. 
PLASTER-WHEN TO SOW IT 
A correspondent of the N. Y. American In¬ 
stitute Farmer’s Club, writes to that yrave body, 
that “ plaster should not be sown after the sun 
has risen sufficiently to produce strong evapo¬ 
ration of the night dews, as then a large per 
centoge of the fertilizing properties of the plas¬ 
ter is carried off in the air!” He also suggests 
that “ the best time to sow* it is probably after 
sunset, on a still evening, when the dew is fall¬ 
ing fast.” 
Now it is very possible that the wag of a Sec¬ 
retory, when he read the article, substituted 
plaster for Peruvian piano, for the mischievous 
i purpose ol liuding out whether there -was an 
l individual present who could detect the inter¬ 
polation; and it seems there was not! 
It was 
cultivited by the Indians before the arrival of Saving the 
Europeans in America, but was a very small A corre 
tuber. It was taken to Ireland in 1656, and to giving his ei 
Spaiu and Portugal some years previously. It to various k 
Is sail to be a well authenticated tact that Col. one denomil 
Mdrs of Caldwell, in the west of Scotland, swarm of b 
withu the present century, had some indurated stock of hoi 
clay soil, taken from a coal pit being sunk on he examined 
his estate, forty loet beneath the surface, which about twent; 
be (arefully treated so at to prevent its being four quarts < 
imp-eguated by any floating germs of seed; and _ 
thu( from this piece of clay several exotic plants Slow* Pri 
unknown to the local botany came up, and also roll Co., III., 
one which turned out to be a species of the slowest niuh 
Soltnutn tuberosum, or potato. The produce of 1 County Fair. 
Sorghum ns Oneida County. —It is stated in the 
L i ica Herald that several parties in Oneida couuty, in 
the region of Paris Hill and Clinton, are engaged in 
preparations for sorghum planting. They deem that 
section well adapted to the business and indulge in 
sangaine hopes of a profitable result to their en¬ 
terprise. 
New* Jersey Horse Fair.— A Nationol Horae Fair 
is to be held on the grounds of the Central Agri¬ 
cultural Society, N. J., near Trenton, on the 11th, 
12th and 13th days of June. The premiums are quite 
Stock Raising.— Many of the Southern people are 
changing, it is said, from cotton to stock raising, as 
being more certain and profitable. 
