■SftMMBkl a 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT 
(SINCLE NO. TEN CEN 
ROCHESTER. N. Y.-FOR THE WEEK ENDING]SATURDAY, OCT. 12 , IRC7 
1 WHOLE NO. 82$ 
ESTABLISHED IN 1850. 
■with the family,—but the fact is I have turned 
over a new leaf , hence you find me up early in 
the morning for once.” This was so singular 
and nnlooked for, considering the known habits 
of the man, that it was natural to ask how the 
change came about. “Well,” said he, rather 
reluctantly, “ the fact is the old woman and the 
girls got me out to meeting the other day, and 
the preacher went on to tell a long story about a 
sluggard, which, he said, was mentioned in the 
big book. There was something about a little 
more sleep, a little more folding of hands : 
about weeds, and saoh like truck on the slug¬ 
gard’s farm, and when he said this my wife 
kinder looked up at me as though the lit was 
just about my size. I felt vexed at the look, at 
the preacher, and—well, truth to say, at mysell 
also, because the matter fitted my case so well. 
The upshot of the whole was that, on going 
home, nothing was said about the fitting,—but I 
felt it nevertheless, and a mental resolve was 
made to ‘ turn over a new leaf,’ aud it is turned 
as yon see. When I commenced this, Rachel—- 
that is my wife—had a look of wonder on her 
honest face, though she said nothing, but was so 
kind, affectionate, and encouraging in her man¬ 
ner that I was repaid a hundred fold for the 
extra exertion the reformation cost me. It is 
now a week since the ‘ new leaf waa turned,' 
and the gain has been much. I am not forced 
NEW YORK STATE FAIR. 
I iiE opening of the State Fair at Buffalo was 
inauspicious. Confusion reigned on the grounds 
during the first day. Considerable stock and 
many articles for exhibition arrived late, and 
even then the buildings were, not all incomplete 
condition for their reception. Briefly, it was 
the opinion of competent judges that the Fair 
was one day behind time in arrangement. The 
grounds, located some two and a half miles 
from the city, are ample in space, but the sur¬ 
face is exceedingly rough and hummocky, and if 
this locality had been blessed with what it 
greatly needs—a heavy rain—the soil and surface 
are of such nature, as would have necessitated 
stilts, or at least cuvalry boots, to have enabled 
pedestrians to traverse them. As it was elay, 
dnst was dominant; it was denser in theairthan 
the most lumous London fog, and It was sug¬ 
gested that the brick-makers on the ground 
would need to supply nothing but water to their 
machines—the clay would come obligingly In 
the air. Wednesday there fell a light shower, 
which abated the dust nuisance for a couple of 
hours, and tills (Thursday) morning the sky is 
overcast with clouds, and some rain is falling. 
Our notes yesterday were taken among the 
Stock, and we give first those oi 
CATTLE. 
The show of this stock Is not large, hut some 
choice herds are represented; there are none, 
however, from outside this State, except a few 
from Canada. Ezra Cornell, Ithuea, has on 
exhibition from his Short-Horn herd the two- 
7 «ur.nld hnll “Fidget Oxford,” four-year-old 
cow “Lucilla,” two-year-old heifers “Princess 
l«th ” and “ Kirk Livingston 12th.” The latter 
is a splendid animal. Also a yearling heifer, 
“ Lueia,” and two heifer calves. A. B. Conger] 
Walbcrg, shows “Fleur de Lis,” son of “2d 
Duke of Thorn dale,” and “Hose Gloster,” 
grandson of “Red Rose 2d” and “Duke of 
Gloster.” J. & 8. Kinsey, Darien, exhibit 
“Duke of Dover,” a three-year-old bull, one 
cow, “Amethyst,” with her calf; also “Marks¬ 
man,” a fine cow and one yearling heifer. These 
were bred in Canada by Geo. Roach. J, W. 
Taylor, Ontario Co., shows some fine fat steers 
and heifers which he purchased in Kentucky for 
grazing purposes. Charles E. West, Buffalo, 
shows one three-year-old bull, one two-year-old 
heifer, and two yearlings. A pair of working 
oxen were shown by If. Ames, Livingston Co. 
AN ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
With an Able Corps of Assistants and Contributors. 
Hon. HENRY F. RANDALL, LL. D., Editor of tne De¬ 
partment o! Sheep Haabaudry. 
Hon. T. C. PETERS, into President N. Y. state As’i 
Society, Southern Corresponding Editor. 
GLEZKN F. WILCOX, Associate Editor. 
The Bubal Xew-Yorkeb j? designed \o be cl sur¬ 
passed in Value, Purity, and Variety of Contents. Its 
Conductor earnestly labors to render the Ti nt.* a u e ]|. 
able Guide on all the. Important Practical, Scientific and 
other Subject? connected with the business of tbOEe 
whose interests It zealously advocates. As a Family 
Journal It U 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, Hortlcnltnral,Scientific, 
Educational, Literary and News Mutter, Interspemed 
with appropriute engravings, than any other journal,— 
rendering It by fur the most complete AOKtcrLTURat., 
Liteeaby and Family Newspaper In America. 
A great many persons are desirous of keep¬ 
ing a few fowls, hut their arrangements are such 
that it is not convenient to let them roam at. 
liberty about the premises. But as fresh earth, 
food, and change are necessary to the thrift of 
poultry it Is sometimes dilllCult to combine 
profit and confinement. In these cases a mov¬ 
able poultry house is a desideratum. Our 
engraving, taken from the Cottage Gardener, 
represents a cheap and well arranged movable 
ponlt.ry establishment. The wire screening en¬ 
closing the yard may be enlarged to any desira¬ 
ble extent, and the capacity of the main building 
can be regulated according to the wants of the 
owner. Portability, durability ami convenience 
are combined in this plan. 
!W Fob Terns and other particulars see last page, 
la that which has the largest, the roundest, and and Poland oats, are 
the smoothest kernels, while the greater the vator of oat 3 knows 
number, and the more elongated and irregular It 5s too obv j ous , 
the groin*, the less wilt be the weight per ^Eht per bushel 
bnahfci •> gravity of tho grain 
On reading this, it surprised ns not a little they are compressed 
that Prof. Johnson should have fallen into such each kernel will d<q 
a singular error, an error which vitiates much of to which It is filled t 
his reasoning throughout tho remainder of the its constituents, M 
article. “One solid mass of lead,” he Rays, where a sample of on 
“just fitting a bushel measure, must weigh more pends principally iq 
than the same measure filled with bullets." are not well filled a 
This is true, but it is not a fair instance. To husk per kernel is ah 
make the comparison fair tho lead should have and in a poorly-filled 
the same shape a? the bullets, and then we would per ccntage of husk 
find that a single bullet winch would just go into account the degTee 
a bushel measure would not weigh as much as light oats are eubje 
the same measure filled with musket bullets, will Influence their b 
Moreover, it Prof. Johnson had a bushel meu- of better filled grain, 
sure and a mass of gold whicJi would jnst fill it, 0(1 ts measured in se] 
j he might get considerably more gold into his not fill a thousand I 
bushel measure by reducing it (the gold) to a advantage which ms 
very fine powder. that uses a large mi 
But let us waive all consideration of these In order to Bccure 
extreme cases. He states that a measure filled milt well, two thing 
with ballets will weigh more than a measure selection of a good v 
filled with shot This la not so. It requires no its growth under pre 
Oertling or Becker balance to test this. Fill a selection of vuricty v 
tin cup accurately with duck shot and the rudest Gy other dreainstur 
grocers’ Beales will show that it will not be as remember very well i 
heavy as if filled with snipe shot. It is true that oats could not be g 
the air spaces in the latter case are more numerous lodged, while PoLam 
than in the former, but then they are individually although an inferior 
so much less that they do not detract as much toss price in market, 
from tbe weight as the fewer but larger air spaces 
which exist in the measure filled with the larger 
shot. If the readers of Prof. Johnson’s article 
will test this question and will then bear in 
mind tbe true state of the ease, they will readily 
see that the weight of the grain per bushel ought 
to be iu Inverse ratio to the size of the grains, if 
no other influence* -were at work, and such is found 
in one case to be the fact. 
Moreover the Professor remarks that the nearer 
the kernels approach the spherical Igure the more 
can be got into a bushel. This is lot true. The 
spherical form is by no means the best, so far as 
the mere filling up of the measuri is concerned. 
But, the plump, spherical grains lave the shells 
better filled : hence the specific gravity of each 
ind'vidual kernel is greater, aid hence the 
weight of the bushel is greater. From this we 
would be led to infer that the valie of two sam¬ 
ples of oats would vary more than the mere rela¬ 
tive weight per bushel would inlicate, and in 
practice this is well known to b* the fact. 
Let us now consider this subjec. from a plow¬ 
man’s stand-point. The weight jer bushel is a 
good but uot an infallible index tf the value of 
the grain. This value seems to dipend greatly 
upon the variety of oats cultivate*— a subject to 
which sufficient attention is no - , paid in this 
country of corn and wheat. In tin experiments 
of Messrs. Muller & W under, m detailed by 
Prof. Johnson, the variety is givat as “ white 
oats.” This is about the same as x> tell us that 
certain grapes under examinatim were red 
grapes. The question might arte, were they 
Delaware or Northern Muscadine? 
HUSBAND THE FODDER 
The price of hay throughout the country is 
high for the time of year; fall feed, over a large 
portion of the same Is short, owiug to drouth; 
thehaylsnot expected to “spend” as well as 
usual, ae a geneml thing, from tbe fact that its 
season of growth was short and consequently it 
reached maturity at a rapid puce. In the hay 
regions along the Eastern seaboard States the 
season was unusually wet, and a great deal of 
the crop was in consequence gathered in a 
damaged condition. Under these circumstances 
it behooves.farmers to husband their fodder so 
as not to fall short next spring. It is not a 
favorable period of tbe year to part with stack 
unless it Is fit for the butcher; the best coarse 
then, is to take early precautionary measures to 
carry the animals through the grass in good con¬ 
dition without, incurring unnecessary expense. 
We sound this note of warning Id season for 
our readers. 
How shall the farmer husband his fodder 1 By 
saving-, systematic feeding, by giving grain with 
coarse fodder, and by cutting and steaming. 
Warm shelter is very Important; it saves a very 
large per ccntage. Bright, well kept 6traw or 
corn fet&lks, cut fine and fed with an allowance 
of mill feed or gronnd grain, will winter horses 
and cattle much cheaper thou hay alone. A 
good fodder cutting machine is a paying invest¬ 
ment. Even hay cut, mixed with some ground 
grain and partially fermented, is much cheaper 
food than hay alone. Farmers then should use 
their coaree grains. It is also sometimes a pay¬ 
ing operation for a farmer to get his crop of 
wheat floured, in order to retain the feed for his 
own use. Frequently there i9 a good home 
market for the flour, at such prices as leave the 
feed comparatively cheap. Roots, and even 
potatoes, fed in conjunction with cut fodder and 
mill-feed, are valuable auxiliaries, promoting 
health and furnishing suitable uutriment, espe¬ 
cially for milch cows. If possible, procure car¬ 
rots for the horses. At any rate save the corn 
fodder in good condition, and the straw stack 
should he protected by a good top, or thatch, 
from the fall rains. Keep the 6tock in good 
heart during the last of autumn by a little extra 
feed of grain so as to bring them to winter in good 
condition, have warm shelter, good racks, take 
good care of them, husband the fodder early and 
in season, and continue to do so all through, 
and next Bpring you may unexpectedly have a 
fiew tons ot hay to sell which will repluce the 
money, the extra grain, labor and implements 
costs. 
CONCERNING OATS — CURIOUS ERROR, 
In many kinds of grain the weight per bushel 
is a pretty good indication Of the quality of the 
article, and in Germany a series of Investigations 
have been recently carried on by Muller & 
W under, at Chemnitz, Saxony, having for their 
object to determine the causes of this difference 
in weight. As a step towards affording the prac¬ 
tical man the means of avoiding the causes which 
tend to produce light grain, such investigations 
aro of great value and interest. Prof. 8. W. 
Johnson of the Sheffield Scientific School, whose 
admirable articles aro familiar to the readers of 
onr agricultural literature, has furnished a re¬ 
sume of these experiments for the American 
Agricultural Annual, published by Messrs. Judd 
ifc Co. ol New York. We take the liberty of 
quoting from his article the table furnished by 
Muller & Wundep. : 
"Weight per hn&he). 
No. of kernels per bushel 
Weight of single kernels* 
Bulk of single kernels!,.. 
55 Water. 
3*® Fiber. 
8g| Gluten, . 
5’*§ Sugar. 
C'S .Starch.. 
B3A B.128J 
ML100 SOI 
PUSH THE HOGS. 
♦ Expressed in decimals of the gramme—15.4 grains. 
t Expressed in decimals ortho cable centimetre. 
( Fat and sugar not having been estimated are assumed 
equal to wlwi were found in Nos. 1 :ipt| UI respectively, 
which gives snfliclenUy accurntc figures for determining 
starch by difference. 
To this table Prof. Johnson appends tbe fol¬ 
lowing comments: 
“ Ae regards composition we notice that the 
light grain contains more fiber (husk) and less 
starch; otherwise no constant differences ap¬ 
pear. These by no means oceouut for the differ¬ 
ences in weight. The latter are due principally 
to the size and shape of the kemela. As regards 
number, other things being equal, the fewer the 
kernels the greater their weight will be. One 
solid mass ef lead, for instance, just filling a 
bushel measure, must weigh more than the same 
measure filled with bullets, and the latter more 
than the same filled with Bbot, because as the 
lead is subdivided, space! which contain only 
air, aro multiplied. 
“Again, as regards shape, the nearer the ker¬ 
nels approach a spherical figure, the more can be 
got into a bushel. The heaviest grain, therefore, 
of the animals elicited much praise for the 
owner. Era.stub Corning, Jr., Albany, also 
shows Alderneys, seven in number, among 
which the imported cows “ Violet” amt “ Lady 
Eva,” and the four-year-old ball “Romeo”—on 
hia first exhibition—were particularly noticea¬ 
ble. In the line of Hereford* Mr. Corning also 
exhibits seven head. F. W. Stone, Canada, live 
cows and two calves. 
Of Devon* Walter Cole, Batavia, shows 
twelve head, comprising a four-year-ohl and one 
yearling bull, six cows, and some calves. The 
older bull was much admired. C. Dives, Mon¬ 
roe Co., has a pair of grade Devon working 
oxen, four-year-old, weighing about p orty bun 
dred, which ore very fine. Levi Qillett, Buf¬ 
falo, shows one Galloway four-year-old bull, 
bred in Canada, the only specimen of this breed 
on tbe grounds. 
TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF. 
A snoBT time since, passing at an early hour 
in the morniDg the domicil of an acquaintance 
notorious for the habit of late rteiug, we found 
him up and busy about his barn. Surprised 
at this matutinal display, and inferring that 
Bomething was wrong with the family, we in¬ 
quired if 6Ueh was the fact. He seemed amused 
at the question and said he supposed his early 
rising had caused me to propound it. After a 
pause he said, <f There is nothing the matter 
Potato oats 
