To Correspondents.— Mr. Ra WALL’S address is Cort¬ 
land Village, Cortland Co., N. V. All communications 
Intended for this Department, and all inquiries relating 
ito sheep, should be addressed to him as above. 
THE WOOL CLIP OF 1867 —THE TARIFF 
AND MARKET. 
The communication below from Hon. Mr. 
Gkinnell— so well known to our readers as a 
distinguished champion of the wool growere’ 
interests In former Congresses—to a great ex¬ 
tent anticipates and precludes the necessity of 
publishing our own views on the same subjects, 
as we designed to do in the present issue of IJiis 
journal. We will, however, make some addi¬ 
tions to his statements—extending them to the 
wool clip of the East, The past winter was one 
<af unexampled severity and duration. We have 
recently received upwards of tw’o hundred let¬ 
ters from growers In New York and New’ Eng¬ 
land—mostly from the former,—but also from 
•some of the principal wool growing localities of 
the latter. From nearly all come accounts of 
an extraordinary mortality among sheep. Up to 
•quite a late period in the winter they did, as we 
then judged, well—perhaps unusually well. A 
*nug, short winter is rather favorable than oth¬ 
erwise to sheep which enter it in good condi¬ 
tion, and have plenty of feed. But if toe 
long continued—if sheep are too long couflned 
to dry feed—they gradually lose strength and 
tiecome predisposed to disease. And if it be¬ 
comes necessary to shorten their keep towards 
the close of a long, exhausting winter, the con¬ 
sequences are extremely disastrous. This was 
the case in New’ York. Hay had been a poor 
crop in 1806, and St rose to twenty dollars a ton 
In a great many regions, for farm use, i. c., 
where there were no adjacent cities or large vil¬ 
lages to Increase the local consumption. In 
some regions it could scarcely be obtained at 
any price. Sheep hud to be turned out to pick 
the old winter, killed grass in the fields, re¬ 
ceiving but little hay. And the exceedingly 
poor corn crop of last year rendered the coarse 
vratns too scarce and high to be fed liberally, 
«xcept by those w’ho owned the best blooded 
and most valuable lloeks. 
Tegs—the moat difficult of all sheep to win¬ 
ter—accordingly perished in vast numbers. The 
breeding ewes w hich lambed very early—in Feb¬ 
ruary and the fore part of March—generally, wc 
believe, did w ell,—hut these were mostly con¬ 
fined to choice breeding flocks, on which no ex¬ 
pense is spared. Of the later lambs, we are 
Inclined to think that at least one third per¬ 
ished. In some regions fully one-half perished. 
Even those which lived lroiu two to four or six 
weeks, getting an insufficient supply of milk 
from their enfeebled dams, succumbed to the 
■constant and heavy rain storms of the spring. 
An d all the old and feeble sheep also perished. 
The late and precise information which we have 
obtained compels us to adopt the conclusion, 
•contrary to our earlier opinions on the subject, 
that, taking the whole country together, the 
•pring Of 1867 lias been a particularly fatal one 
to sheep. We entirely agree with Mr. Grin- 
nell, Gen. Harris of the Ohio Farmer, and 
•other highly intelligent gentlemen who have in¬ 
vestigated the subject, that the wool clip of this 
year will not exceed, if it equals, that of lust 
year. 
Were this otherwise—were the increase as 
large as would be expected from the natural in 
crease of sheep—what then ? Would our wool 
Market, if iua healthy condition, and supplied 
•only by the domestic clip, be glutted with our 
wools ? lie ivho arrives at. this conclusion must 
be surprisingly ignorant of the facte. Why, 
then, the prcscut low prices of wool ? Is it be¬ 
cause we are not sufficiently protected from for¬ 
eign competition? Is the present wool and 
-woolen tariff too low? Is it doing no good ? 
It Ms shut off any large importation of wool 
and woolens. We are suffering from uo serious 
foreign competition, except when' the article (and 
this was principally woolens) wax iritroduc&l be¬ 
fore thi prcsciU tariff went into operation. The 
tariff cannot materially benefit the wool market 
until this enormous slock of foreign goods, 
•which only paid the duties of the former tariff, 
.is drained off'. Our woolen mills arc- running 
snort time and are languishing from this cause. 
They cannot buy our wools promptly, and at the 
prices which those wools ought to coramaud, 
until the products of European cheap labor- 
cheap, showy, but usually comparatively worth¬ 
less products—arc first used up. No tariff ever 
exerted its legitimate influence on our markets, 
while they were tilled by competing articles of 
Drier introduction. It is not to be expected. It 
Is not in the nature of things. 
Other circumstances have exorcised their de¬ 
pressing influence on wool and woolens. Busi¬ 
ness has been stagnant. Compare t he published 
incomes of our city merchants with those ol 
previous years! This is not the place to enter 
upon the physical or political causes which have 
produced the depression, uncertainty, and fee¬ 
bleness of trade and commerce. Manufacturing 
industry is always the first to feel such hostile 
influences, and when that droops, the producing 
industry which depends upon it for its markets, 
must droop with it. 
Without, the wool tariff', wool production in 
the United States—at the present cost of labor 
and subsistence—must have gone to swift de¬ 
struction, and we are strongly inclined to believe 
that our wool manufacturers themselves could 
not have weathered the present crisis in their 
affairs. As it is, both interests are severe suf¬ 
ferers. 
When will this end ? It will end ouly when 
the old stocks of foreign goods are consumed, 
and when the business affairs ot the country re* 
aume their healthy tone. If the political and 
iff 
M 
MESSRS. POTTLE xk MALTMAN’S RAM “ONTARIO.” 
The Infantado ram “ Ontario,” the property of Hon. E. B. Pottle and John Maltman, Esq., of 
Ontario Co., N. Y., was trot by “ Seville,” he by Sanford's “ Comet.” His dam was bred by Rollin’ 
Jones, and is of full blood Atwood stock. Ontario Is remarkable for compactness and symmetry, 
and his get are giving great satisfaction in the same respects, and also as houvy shearers. 
financial condition of the country becomes set¬ 
tled, so that our natural markets and trade open 
and revive, it will come soon. We are among 
those who look forward hopefully for a not dis¬ 
tant Change In this direction. 
In the menutime wc must expect to hear all 
sorts of medicines proposed for the existing dis¬ 
eases. One w ill tell us that the Tariff is not 
high enough—that wc ought absolutely to pro¬ 
hibit foreign wools, and thus compel our people 
to go naked or take our wools at just such prices 
ns we see fit to ask. Another w ill launch ilia 
thunderbolts against the manufacturers, &e M &e. 
Short-winded wool growers, with one to live 
years experience—who wont Into the business 
as they would have gone into a petroleum spec¬ 
ulation, expecting to secure immediate wealth j 
without any corresponding outlay in industry,— 
will probably “vamose,” if the present prices 
ot wool prevail lor three or six months longer. 
Such men's zeal is seed sown on the rock; and 
they will probably continue to change their oc¬ 
cupation- every second year of their lives, it 
they live to be a hundred. 
if the present wool tariff can be maintained, 
w r have no tears for f lic future. We Imveniude 
sheep breeding and woo) growing our principal 
agricultural occupation for more than a third of 
a century — have seen a great many ups and 
downs—and have lived through them all! We 
never felt so sanguine of iko fidure of the busi¬ 
ness as we do now T ! 
Guinn ell, Iowa, J une 22d, 1807. 
Hon. H. S. Randall, LL. D.— Dear Str: Allow me 
to answer many letters by one to the Wool Depart¬ 
ment In the Ri wal, which Is read by hundreds of 
thousands. I am told manufacturers and (lock own¬ 
ers seek information ns to the wool clip of 1887, and 
after a full survey these arc my convictions: let. The 
amount of wool will not exceed that of 1866, aud for 
these reasons: when wool is low- there is neglect of 
the flock, especially of the young, which must have 
attention; and there was loss care than usual last 
season. And then the .Time raiu storms of 1866 took 
off tens of thousands which were never reported, and 
the lambs followed their mothers; hence the usual 
number of Iambs did not begin the winter. In addi¬ 
tion, a spring so unfavorable for wool growing is not 
in memory, nor one so late. In the West, hundreds 
of thousands of sheep died after the usual time of 
good grass. Of those that are alive it can be said 
they felt the effects of the unprecedented high price 
of coru. Last autumn iu Iowa it was held at from 15 
to 26 etc. allocked. This spring it sold readily iu the 
good sheep districts at three times these prices, aud 
was too often withheld from the flock, We are jnst 
entering upon the warm days, and the fleeces ure dry 
aud will fall under the nsual weight by near one pound 
each. I should add that, the (locks which have the 
itch (a modification of the stub) were easily shorn, 
aud these art- numerous : yet the disease yields readily 
to the application of tobacco. The news of the Texas 
storms has passed around ttie continent, and the 
mortality among the flocks iu sections of Ohio and 
Pennsylvania, as well as In the West, has been great. 
From such facts 1 make these deductions: 1st, 
Those who wish for low wool give a wrong estimate 
of the amount to bo marketed; let them cut down 
tbeir figures millions of pounds. 2d, Wool growers 
have good grounds for asking higher figures than the 
quotations. The wool is in better condition and 
lighter than usual by atleast ten per cent, 3d, Prices 
of fine wool cannot be lower than last year, if the 
effect of the late tariff in discouraging the importa¬ 
tion of fine wools and of shoddy is what its enemies 
represent and what its friends believe. 
To conclude this brief note, let me say Hie cries of 
combinations and cloth monopolies have ceased. 
Good cloth is cheap, and, being within the reach of 
all, consumption must increase. The multiplication 
of factories has proven that competition is the surest 
road to fair prices aud small profits Our enemies 
abroad are desperate,—but if they do not this year 
hush the music, of our spindles the infant manufac¬ 
turer? have the field and will prove the best friends 
of the flockmasters. Ever and truly yours, 
J. B. Giunnell. 
P. S.—It was so cold that our State Shearing Festi¬ 
val was a failure; yet many animals made a good 
shearing since clipped. Hickok’s Gold Drop, weigh¬ 
ing less than 90 lbs., sheared over 20 lbs. My ram, 
Bold Boy, cut 28 lbs., aud a two year old, bred from a 
New York ewe, costing $20, had 233* lbs. 
Good care tells. One of iny neighbors claims to 
have lost, out of a flock of 1,600, only 30 for six 
months past. The Bkovvn brothers of New York, to 
whom I sold a farm, drove last year 2,200 from Wash¬ 
ington Co., N. Y., to Buffalo ; and though unused to 
our prairie hay and corn, have not lost three per cent, 
of their flock, J. b. e. 
Condensed Correspondence, Items, &c. 
Lincolns and Leicester*.—K. Gibson, New York 
Miffs, Oneida Co.. N, Y , writes us:—“There is a 
great difference between the Leicester and Lincoln 
In their wools. After being sheared a few times, the 
Lelcesters begin to carry light fleeces, and their bel¬ 
lies, hocks aud legs got barer every year. The Lin¬ 
colns carry their wool longer on the offals and it is 
set much thicker on their bodies." 
PnoT06RArif or a Lincoln Ewe.—M r. R. Gibson 
forwards us ft photograph of a drawing of a I.iucolu 
cwc. bred by his old friend and school-fellow, T. 
Marshall Branston. Lincolnshire, Knglaud. It 
represents as admirable a specimen of form in a mot¬ 
ion sheep as we have ever seen. Mr. G. says:—“She 
weighed 364 lbs.; girth six feet; dead weight 67 lbs. 
per quurter; killed at five years old ; bred five lambs; 
averaged 15 lbs. of wool at each shearing. 
Sheep Shearing at Kush.— The wool growers of 
Rush and Mendon held a sheop shearing at P. Mar¬ 
tin’s, in Rush, Monroe Co.. N. Y . on the St.h dftv of 
June, 1807, of which the tollowing is a report.: 
Owner. 
Age Of 
Sheep. 
Sex. yr. tn. 
wt. or tvt or 
care ana. fleece. 
IDs. oz. lbs. oz. 
Age of 
fleece, 
y.tn. d. 
P. Martin, 
If. 
1 
1 
79 12 
J2 12 
1 1 
1 
1 
77 13 
11 15 
1 1 
II 
E 
1 
1 
39 12 
11 2 
1 1 
R. P. Clapp, 
E 
3 
S9 12 
IS 15X 
1 
p. <fc O. F. Martin, 
E 
2 
87 12 
11 4 
1 
tf 
E 
2 
85 
11 3H 
1 
E. P. Clapp, 
E 
3 
100 
11 4 
1 
F. Gardner, (washed) E 
0 
95 12 
7 15 
11 15 
P. & <i. F. Martin, 
E 
2 
89 12 
12 10 
1 
U. T. Martin, 
R 
2 
119 12 
24 1 
1 
F. tiardtuT, 
E. P- Clapp, 
U 
1 
2 
89 12 
15 fi 
1 2 
E 
4 
103 12 
18 5H 
1 
1’. Martin, 
E 
1 
3 
85 12 
14 UR 
1 3 
P.& .1. J. Martin, 
R 
2 
90 
15 e 
1 
r. As G. F. Martin, 
E 
2 
85 12 
12 12 
1 
The premiums were awarded as follows .’—Best ewe 
fleece. E. P. Clapp, Rush; 2d, P. Martin. Rush. Best 
ewe for style, P. & G F. Martin. Rush. Best ram. P. 
& J. J, Marlin, Rush : 2d, Wm. Rodgers, Mendon. 
Premium on Shearing.— 1st, M. Cooley, Henrietta; 
2d, J. D. Clickner. Rush. 
The above buck fleece that, weighed 24 lbs. 1 ®z„ 
after being cleansed -w eighed 6 lbs., 5 oz. The buck 
fleece that weighed 15 lbs. 9 oz., after cleansing weigh¬ 
ed 6 lbs., 10 oz.—as certified by W. R. Hunt, manu¬ 
facturer, of No. Bloomfield. 
J. B. Martin, Sec'iJ. 
Hontmtuucaliims, iBfc. 
WESTERN SUCCESS; 
OR, NOTES FROM MY JOURNAL, 
In 1863 1 was in Minnesota. While there I 
became acquainted with a gentleman who for 
the past fifteen years had lived in various parts 
of the West.—being a native of Vermont. I will 
give a brief sketch of his success for the benefit 
of Rural readers, and any who may be inclined 
to “ move West.” 
When of age, with no other earthly posses¬ 
sions than a wife and three hundred dollars iu 
money, he left the hills aud ledges of his native 
State, and came to Wisconsin. Iu this State he 
lived for a number of years. His location was 
none of the healthiest. The ague finally mas¬ 
tered him, aud he moved to Iowa. Back from 
market, with uo prospect of facilities being bet¬ 
ter for a long time, he, after a short stay, agaiu 
changed his location and moved to Minnesota, 
in the vicinity of St. Paul, At the time of my 
acquaintance with him, he had been a resident 
of the State for ten years—was the owner of 
one-half a section of land — wlillo his cash sales 
during the year were from four to Jive thousand 
dollars. Fifteen years before his only capital 
was an intelligent and industrious wife and three 
hundred dollars;—to-day his capital is estimated 
at twenty thousand dollars, and all made by 
farming. 
But you may ask how he succeeded so well. 
1 will tell you. He commenced at the bottom 
of the ladder, aud went up one step at a time. 
To be sure he met with discouragements — he 
was sick—and at times everything looked dark; 
but both he and his wife were “plucky,” and 
not easily discouraged. They had gone west, 
resolved, if lives were spared, to win. There 
was no looking back—no pining?, no complain¬ 
ings, no fault-findings, or sighing for by-gone 
scenes, but a steady pressing forward. They 
had the pluck and tenacity of Grant —“re¬ 
solved to fight it out on that line.” This was 
the first element in their success. 
Next, he combined good management with 
untiring industry and economy. His farming 
operations were conducted with order and regu¬ 
larity. Everything around him moved like clock¬ 
work. There was no harry, no bustle, no con¬ 
fusion, no excitement. When he began a piece 
of work he finished it. There was no loss of 
time by running from one Job to another. No 
more work was attempted than could be well 
done. 
One more element. His hired men were treat¬ 
ed like men—as though possessed of mind and 
feeling. They worked regular hours, and knew 
when their day’6 work was done. When chore 
time came, every man knew exactly what he 
had to do. Everything was properly cared for, 
because there was no erjw.ting another would do 
this or that thing—a system that works as well 
in farm management as in any other. 
This brief sketch tells you who the people are 
that win on thiB western soil, as well as any¬ 
where. No one can come west, with limited 
means, and find roast turkeys on every fence, 
bread fruit on every tree, nor yet success with¬ 
out perseverance, industry and economy. 
Iowa City. May, 1867. E. 
ITALIAN vs. NATIVE BEES. 
Eds. Rural: — More than a year since, I sent 
a brief communication for your journal recom¬ 
mending the trial of these two kinds of honey 
bees, to assist to settle the question satisfac¬ 
torily, which race should be preferred. For 
by experiments, I think, in which the con¬ 
ditions shall be made as nearly equal as may be, 
unsettled questions will be most correctly de¬ 
cided. Theory and reasoning may go far to 
guide ns, but actual, judicious experiment is 
I the safest guide to theory and reason. 
With a view to judicious experiment of hives 
1 proposed to a friend who hud a large number 
of swarms of both classes of bees, to make a 
trial. He did not tbink it advisable, and I com¬ 
menced a trial by the purchase of one swarm of 
Italians that issued June, 1806, with native bees, 
issuing about ten days later, placed in similarly 
constructed hives. The Italian bees were not 
placed in my yard witli the native bees until 
July. There wus then this difference to be con¬ 
sidered. The Italians had ten days the start. 
Which had the advantage in the honey field 
while they occupied different fields I canuot de¬ 
termine. I had three swarms ol 1 black bees in 
the same class of hives, with the Italian. When 
I weighed them preparatory to winter, one 
showed a gain of 18 pounds, one of 28 pounds, 
one of 31 pounds, aud the Italian swarm, 41 
pounds. I simply give the results, and hope 
another season will afford opportunity for a more 
satisfactory trial. 
I observed in watching them that the Italians 
commenced some fifteen to thirty minutes earlier 
in the morning, continued later in the day, and 
worked more in weather not fair. In this case 
it was decidedly so. They were more irritable 
and cross than the native bees, and from appear¬ 
ance more inclined to rob their neighbors. As 
ucar as I could judge, their unmbers exceeded 
the Others from fifty to one hundred per cent, at 
the close of the season. Jasper Hazkn. 
CAPONIZING FOWLS. 
Select a young cock—say from three to six 
months old—keep him lasting for twenty-four 
hours; let an assistant hold him on his back, 
and then make a transverse incision at the pos¬ 
terior end of the sternum, (back-bone,) so as to 
allow the fore-finger to be introduced freely into 
the cavity of the abdomen ; the finger is to be 
passed first on one side forward, by the side of 
the spine, the testicle detached with the nail, 
(which should be allowed, to grow long to facili¬ 
tate the operation.) Having got out one, the 
other should be removed in the same manner. 
The wound should then be closed with a suture, 
the bird placed in a warm room, and fed od 6oft 
food for a few days. Instead of cutting away the 
testicle with the nail of the finger, it is the prac¬ 
tice in some countries to introduce a small tube, 
or reed, with a double thread, forming a noose, 
which, being passed over the testicle, is drawn 
outward through the tube, so as to cut off the 
connection, and the testicles are thus removed, 
one after the other. The Chinese adopt this 
method, and use a reed and u thread of cane 
fiber—which, by its firmness and, at the same 
time, elasticity, suits well for getting on the 
noose. 
The operation may may also be performed by 
making an incision before the thigh, in the side, 
in the same manner as in spaying pigs; but it is 
sometimes difficult to get out both testicles in 
this way, and an incision is, therefore, some¬ 
times required to be made in the other side, aud 
the double operation is more likely to destroy 
the fowl. Some make capons by passing the 
lingers along the rectum, aud breaking down 
the testicle by pressure; but it frequently does 
not succeed, and if they arc not removed from 
the abdomen, after tbe operation has been per¬ 
formed by incision, it sometimes happens that 
they adhere again, and resume their functions, 
aud the bird is not Castrated. Examine the 
body of a dead cock before operating. Pullets 
are made by dividing the oviduct, in conse¬ 
quence of which the abdomen gets filled with 
eggs. 
When we take into consideration the superi¬ 
ority of capons over the ordinary fowls, the ex¬ 
ceedingly high value placed upon them in mar¬ 
ket, and their immense size, (often attaining 
the weight of 14 or 15 lbs.,) it will be seen that 
this process is worthy of the attention of poul¬ 
try breeders. f. l* m. 
Parkman, Ohio. 
Squirrel Skins.— A friend writes“Most Amer¬ 
ican hunters throw away their squirrel skins, but I 
alwaye keep and tan them. To do this dissolve al¬ 
um and salt together — one part of the former to two 
of the latter. Cover the skins with the solution and 
let them soak three days, when they may be taken 
out, cleansed and made ready for use.” 
3Jcrte$ atrd 
Our New Half Volume— Commences this week 
under the most favorable auspices. Renewals and 
new subscriptions, for either six months or a year, 
are now in order,—and the good crops and hieh prices 
enable every farmer to take the Rural. See notice 
at head of News page. Also please note, on last 
page, the offer of Rural and an able and popular 
Southern Journal (The Maryland Farmer) at a 
greatly reducod price, wheD ordered together. 
Crops, Weather, Ate.—Onr reports of the crops, 
by correspondent* and exchanges from all parts of 
the country, continue favorable. At the South.—in 
the Carolina*, Georgia, Tennessee. &c„—the weather 
has generally been favorable for the wheat harvest, 
and tbe crop, which is an excellent one. must have 
been secured in fine condi tiorf, Mr. Hugh T. Peters, 
from Loudoun Co., Va., who has recently visited the 
Shenandoah Valley and other parts of Virginia, in¬ 
forms us that all crops are very promising, (except 
corn, which Is only fair,) and that the wheat harvest 
commenced last week. 
The Weather has generally been very fine in this 
region for the past two weeks, and all crops are im¬ 
proving. But Sunday, the last dav of June, was sig- 
nalized by one of the severest summer gales known 
in this region for many years. It commenced early 
in the day and continued until sunset. Scarcely a 
cloud was visible until saaset.yet the trees and vege¬ 
tation writhed and straggled a? if the heavens were 
shrouded with the blackness of a hurricane. The 
The heat wa? intense—or would have been but for 
tin: wind — lh.- Thermometer indicating for hours 
about 92 J in the shade. We hear of no special dam¬ 
age, though much fruit must have fallen. The wind 
was succeeded by a rain storm in the evening, though 
but little water fell in or near Rochester. 
- - 
Tiir. Death or Thomas Brown, the founder and 
for ten years Editor and Proprietor of the Ohio Far¬ 
mer, is announced. He died of typhoid fever, at 
Brooklyn, N, Y., on the 13th tilt. For several years 
Mr. Brown had been connected with the United 
States Treasury Department—for some time a« its 
Agent on the Pacific coast—and acquitted him self so 
well that lus popularity with the Heads of the De¬ 
partment was firmly established. After paying a 
feeling tribute tn bis memory, hi* successor in the 
Farmer, (Gen. Harris,) says that but for Mr. B's sud¬ 
den and untimely death he would have succeeded to a 
principal place In the Department. 
Ground por Turnips.—' The sweetest and best tur¬ 
nips for finally use are those grown upon new land— 
if burnt over, like that newly cleared—all the better 
for the juiciness and flavor of the turnip. If any of 
our readers have waste pluccs or old and tangled brier 
patches, neither good for berries nor anything else, 
mow them down and let the stuff be on the ground 
and dry. A few days will suffice to prepare It for ig¬ 
nition. Let the fire run over il the cleaner it bums 
the better. Plow and harrow it well a? the case may 
require, and sow turnip seed broadcast or in drill* as 
fancy may dictate. Such ground so dealt with will 
repay the labor many times over in the luscious tur¬ 
nips it will supply for winter use. How about the 
middle of July, or earlier if more convenient or de¬ 
sirable, 
Provide Fodder.— Mazy farmers were short of bay 
this spring. Such will not soon forget how hard it 
was to pay $30 or $40 per ton for fodder, and will be 
likely to look out for future provision. Others may 
need reminding that corn may yet. be sown for fodder 
and an abundant yield harvested, Bin kwh eat should 
not be neglected If you have a satiable spot for it. 
Hungarian grass sown on mellow soil at the rate of 
two or three pecks per acre will furnish a large 
amount of winter food for stock. Pastures on which 
the growth is heavy may be mown to advantage—es¬ 
pecially clover fields. Cut the fence comers, the road¬ 
sides, swails, all places where fodder may be gathered 
for winter consumption. 
Reclaiming Swamps, &c.— D. H. B,. Akron, Ohio, 
asks what is the best use that can be made of a 
swamp wliich lias no outlet but can be easily drained, 
aud lu which pure muck varies from three to fifteen 
feet in depth. Will cranberries pay on such ‘t Drain 
the swamp thoroughly and it is good land for most 
farming purposes. especiaUy for meadow. Cranber¬ 
ries will flourish on such soil, and will pay if rightly 
managed. 
D. H. B. also inquires how t.o steam cut feed with¬ 
out using a Are. Can he tell us how to make steam 
without beat ? Perhaps he means without having the 
fire In the building where the steaming is done. In 
that case well protected pipes must be used to con¬ 
vey the steam so that it will not condense. 
-»♦»- - ■ 
Reapers and Mowers fob Canada.— The St. Law¬ 
rence Republican (Ogdensburg, N. Y.,) say6“Large 
numbers of the celebrated Dodge’s Patent Ohio and 
Buckeye Reapers aud Mowers have recently been 
brought here by the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg 
R. E., consigned to Messrs. Ashley & Phillips, for 
shipment to Canada. We are pleased to notice that 
our Cauuda neighbors are up with tbe times in appre¬ 
ciating a ftrst-elass agricultural implement, and can 
assure them that the fanner? of the Empire State have 
given an unqualified indorsement in favor of Col. 
Dodge’s improved Mowing aud Reaping Machine.” 
— The above item reminds ns of what we heard 
some weeks ago, viz., that the demand for the Dodge 
Machines this season would probably far exceed the 
supply, though tour thousand are being manufactured. 
Items from Minnesota.—Wc make the following 
extracts from a Minnesota letter sent ns by “ W. G:” 
“The truth is, Mr. Editor, we are a little behind the 
times this spring; we’ve lost a month somewhere. 
May played the part of April, and when June was 
ushered in it bad the work of May yet to perform; 
the trees were yet to he clothed with foliage, aud Jack 
Frost had to be driveB from his strong hold. But 
June performed her work well. * * * But the 
late spring lias not affected the tidfc? of emigration. 
In place of the few that left on account of the cold 
for Missouri, and other Southern States, hundreds of 
industrious and intelligent fanners are coining from 
Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, besides a large emi¬ 
gration from Sweden and Norway, all seeking homes 
in Minnesota. * * * The crops look well, ami we 
have every reason to expect an abundant and fruit¬ 
ful harvest." 
Canada Thistles— Mow Them. —Now is the time 
to cut down the Canada Thistles, wherever one can 
be found on the farm or In the highway, It Is true, 
they are not yet fully matured, but if left till the press 
and hurry of haying and harvesting distract.? atten¬ 
tion they will most likely be forgotton till too late to 
prevent them from multiplying indefinitely. They 
should be removed at once. 
