SEPT.45 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
467 
to UH new and unsuHpected treasures. Just iu 
proportion as they are made systematic, rigorous, 
and precise, in the snmo ratio they will develop 
modes of culture more economical, more certain 
and more exact. And thus from the endless 
accumulation of new and original facts continu¬ 
ally tested by experiments, wiU arise a system of 
conditional formula* that will guide our farmers 
o ,i maximum yield, and a minimum cost, such 
as all of us are working for, but whloii so few 
have yet reached. 
A WHEAT CROP Of FlfTY BUSHELS PER ACRE, COST- 
IN0 FIFTY CENTS PER BUSHEL, 
is to-day an exceptional event, and as such at¬ 
tracts attention. But when the now era of hus¬ 
bandly arrives with its ideal modes of culture, 
and its flexible formnlas for maximum crops, 
perfected by experimental farming, our minds 
will become familiar with higher standards of 
pioduction, and results quite beyond this, will 
excite but little surprise. How soon these coin¬ 
ing formulas will arrive, and how far they will 
carry forward the production of tlio country, and 
increase the rate of profit, it would bo premature 
yet to predict. But one thing Is certain. When¬ 
ever the Commissioner of Agriculture is prepared 
to inaugurate the thorough and complete system 
of experimental farming, which we aro justified 
m expecting at an early day, the results will ho 
marvelous throughout the country and the cost 
of production, not only for wheat, hut for all 
other crops, will probably be less than ever bo- 
fore. 
THOUGHTS FROM A FARM. 
IET THE FARM REMAIN UNKNOWN FOR THE PRESENT AND 
THE WRITER REMAIN INCOQNITO. 
EVILS OF TOBACCO CULTURE. 
Tobacco is tho noxt evil to whisky and other 
intoxicating liquids. It is well known that in 
growing the poisonous stuff, all other crops l.avo 
to sun or, as the best land is taken for its growth 
and all the manure on tho farm worth anything! 
is lavishly applied to support the nasty weed, 
thus robbing the rest of t he farm and lessoning 
the food which would produce meat or help to 
support starving human beings. 
Doctors cannot bo expected to discourage its 
use, as almost ali smokoand moreover many of 
them chew iu the rural districts. Although it 
does not increase their patients like drinking to 
excess, yet it, doubtless, helps them to a certain 
extent, as fathers who huvo injured their systems 
by excessive indulgence may bo expected to have 
children of weak constitutions. 
It is said tho grass and other farm crops have 
been so reduced in Connecticut, in consequence 
or he viJo crop of tobacco using up the best soil 
■UHl the manure, that the live stock has decreased 
more than one-half, and in Maryland and Ken- 
lucky, many foolish men find it is ruinous to the 
future of their prosperity. 
There are a great many crops,which might ho 
planted and would pay a great deal better than 
tobacco, if the farmer would manure ns heavily 
and cultivate and harvest as carefully ; therefore 
it m the bight of improvidence to grow tobacco. 
U is only about seven years sinco that a wholesale 
H ovo and hardware merchant in Baltimore was 
about to treat with mo to bo practical and active 
partner in an estate ho foreclosed upon with 
soiuo rich bottom land near a river. TVo agreed 
upon every point but growing Ibis execrable 
P ant. J calculated tlio sheep, cows and horses 
winch couM be kept and sold for fair prices, and 
proved there could be no mistake in making good 
returns, but bo had tobacco on the brain, and 
made an arrangement with another party who 
"as to do great things, but three years later I 
heard good crops of tobacco had been grown, but 
e«cr,U,i„ 8 <,!» lud !*»,, £ 
feetiiei a miserable failure resulted. 
Deo. Gardner. 
—-♦♦♦ -- 
POTATOES-DIGGING. 
“ u ' Ir \ W ’ nTK a8kH »» of September 1st, 
Bow shall we dig Potatoes ?” 
F£ ia *' twk fl "y other tool. 
to !1 1 I / tho Rround > *-* near as possible 
to the potatoes, and lift them out. If the 
S“ "l ni °' low ttnd free from stones, 
18 can bo done easily and rapidly. I can dig 
Bus way, in one hour, all that I can pick up in 
I ree hours. If some one will invent a machine 
b**? Vetoes, (if it will sort them all the 
of 01 ,r’l | 1<! , ? Jiav0 tbe 0vorIa *tihg gratitude 
r "ho hates to stoop. 
thb ' arK0Ht cro P of Potatoes in Ouon- 
ylm N * y - lhat bay grown for 
bushel i, M ar ° 8 f IllUg for 1 wenty-flvecents per 
to lift n ° ni ‘ u lccb ^ is worth that amount 
Dlantin 'T about » leaving nothing for seed, 
plautS iT*’ Paris -W «te* Farmers 
trouble inT l y ’ ° Xptctlny to yot P'»<J tor their 
in " " m ° m *’ bu t will have to take their pay ( 
m tl inkmg over how nice it will bo for poor peo- 
t ( -'Z* ClU ' aP fo0d ’ will be b!me- 
_ _ } 
determine ^'tb^effeef 10 #” vir 6 IU;,tAL (; hounds to \ 
melons I 4 ^ 4 of different manures upon . 
weather soIJJTo I* d m to ineffectual. Tlio 1 
the melon, and aU abllf»? PP 'c d evory I,oed of ' 
. anu an alike aro as lino as can be. t 
1 
I SrNCE writing last week, he has beon thinking 
how very inconsistent American farmers aro. 
They will tell everybody it i'h very injurious to 
meadows t,o have the aftermath eaten, and that 
pastures, as well as mowings, should have a 
heavy bulk of grass loft, yet, yon may rido by 
their farms and see the second growth of grass 
disappear till cows cannot find enough to fill 
their stomachs, and in tlio spring, cattle and 
horses, which are worse for close grazing, may 
be seen feeding on the tender shoots, and thus 
spoiling any prospect of a good crop. He is an 
Englishman, and in his mind makes comparison 
between the tenant farmer in England and the 
gentleman farmer in the United States, and in 
all cases the former is far more careful to koep 
the land in high condition, and will oxpond largo 
sums in buying corn and oilcalto to enrich the 
soil and malm it produce many bushels more per 
acre, while tho Americans rob their land of its 
fertility, and thus bring such poverty of soil as 
to make it unprofitable for cultivation. 
lie thinks it very extraordinary that those who 
own tho land Nhould have much less care for tlio 
future fertility of the soil than thoso who only 
hold tho possession of it from year to year, and 
ho believes this to ho, in a great measure, owing 
to tho judicious English system of valuation of 
all unexhausted improvements, seeding, manur¬ 
ing, Ac. This is called “ tho valuation of acts 
of husbandry/’ and the certainty of boiug hon¬ 
estly and fairly paid for all done in a proper 
manner, causos every right-minded man to leave 
a farm in as good condition as if ho was intend¬ 
ing to remaiu in possession. 
It tho climate of the British Isles would suit 
Iho growing of tobacco, an English farmer would 
not, interrupt his rotation of crops and grew a 
srop which would interfere with its prosperity, 
mm if it would give him doublo tho price of his 
■ognlar routine. Accordingly, ho thinks it sur- 
n isingly strange, that, American farmers should 
mltivate and take off their own farms what can 
>nly bo replaced by purchasing manure, just the 
ante as tlio Southerners continue to grow cotton 
u spite of its not giving anything like tho return 
vhicb could lie obtained from a good system of 
tock farming. 
Tho mention of live stock causes thoughts of 
Lh management under many different circum- 
tunooH to arise, and on thinking of Old Country 
uttlo and slo op, it. seems plain enough that cows 
re treated in the most rational manner in the 
Jnited States ; and although tho idiotic belief 
i hollow bom and tail evil exists in many minds, 
s it did fifty years ago in England, yet tho lack 
f knowledge in sheep husbandry is so groat, In 
Mnparison, that it is not worth while to dwell 
n the bovine subject. 
Sheep aro so very much misunderstood, that 
irthor explanation in regard to their treatment 
lay again be thought over, and next week tho 
jasons will be given for tho little knowledge 
bout, them in tho United States. 
Horses are not managed the same as they aro 
i England in several respects; hut the differ- 
ice of climate accounts for some of the troat- 
ent not being the same. In the first place, all 
>rses in England—excepting heavy farm ani- 
als—aro broken to the saddle and ridden pre¬ 
ens to being used in harness, and tlio care bo- 
owed in bringing them to gnido well and giving 
them a “ good mouth,” is very pleasant to a good ' 
horseman ; for, unless the feeling between the ' 
hands and the month is perfect, there can ho no * 
good horsemanship. When nobles or country 1 
gentlemen in England rent their borses, they do 1 
it effectually ; the shoes are taken off, and the 1 
horses go to grass when it is young, thus purify- 1 
ing tho blood and system. This, with the ab- 4 
sence of all strain of tho muscles, brings the legs 1 
and tendons to bo as clear and freo from puffs 4 
as a young colt’s ; or if it is inconvenient to turn r 
them to grass, they ho in loose boxes, or a yard, 1 
and are fed witli vetches in summer, or bran and c 
soft food in winter. It is thought to be really v 
senseless and preposterous to have horses not, 4 
needed for work for several months, exorcised E 
by riding or driving them iu harness. e 
On tho farm on which those thoughts arise, is 1 
a barn admired by ail who have seen it, and it is r 
probable it will be used iu part for valuable idle A 
horses, and if so, he thinks perfoct rest should b 
be given till it iH time to feed higher, and exer- 8 
oiso in older to put tho animals into condition to 4| 
work fast again, if required. There are ranges b 
of most comfortable stalls and luxurious boxes, p 
and there will ho adjoining a tine spacious yard 
wherein tho animals lying in tho stalls cun pass fi 
several hours each day walking around and tl 
enjoying the sunshine of winter. Horses driven o 
by an ignorant groom and had out in frosty ci 
weather, had hotter be employod by their owners tl 
at legitimate work. 
BARREN LANDS. 
Barrenness results from soveral causos, among 
which may be mentioned a total lack of fertiliz¬ 
ing properties, as in the case of sandy soils ; a 
constant condition of dryness ; a too groat sup¬ 
ply of water; and also on account of the top soil 
being extremely thin and resting on an imper¬ 
vious hard-pan. Tho throe first suggest their 
appropriate remedies, but Tor tho last,, only few 
persons seem to have a euro. A thin soil.no 
matter how rich, is barren, because it, has either 
too much or too little moisture at the oritioal 
time of need hut I think this may he remedied 
at loss expense than either of tho others. I will 
give a sketch of a thin soil with a hard-pan sub¬ 
soil, and endeavor to make my idea understood. 
There are two sources of moisture iu tho soil, 
though both originally are from one cause- 
those are rainfall, and that portion of it which is 
hold Hubtemmoously. Tho first wo a)l under¬ 
stand ; but tlio value of the last is not yet fully 
appreciated, fn soils like that shown below, tho 
usual rainfall is too often a damage to the growth 
of tho crop planted on it, while tho substratum 
of moisture is unavailable boeauao tho hard-pan 
is absolutely impervious. Buell a soil is to all 
intents barren, no matter how rich. In dry 
weather, as soon as the top soil is dried up, tho 
crop perishes, because the hard-pan totally pre¬ 
vents tlio moisture from below rising by capillary 
attraction, us it would iu any loose substratum. 
1 • . i' ** *, A • , « * \ 
l. Tor Soifi; 8. Hard-Pan; 3. Moisture. 
1 he roots cannot reach the moist stratum on ac¬ 
count of the intervening lmrd-pan, honco bar¬ 
renness. 
There is a remedy for this, however, at, a small 
cost. A subsoil plow should bo run through the 
hard-pan, or if it is too thick, as Tar down as 12 
to 18 inches below the usual working of tho top 
soil, so as to allow any excess of water to settle 
below tho roots of the crop in spring, ami remain 
as a reserve in summer. By this moans an avail¬ 
able stratum of moisture is created, and tlio 
really rich upper soil becomes at once as good as 
can ho desired. H. Burns Mahon. 
f'urple cane, Neb. 
--— 
BRIEFLETS. 
The Sensible Man at a I'’air alwayH lias his 
family with him, not merely for the half-selfish 
reason that his pleasures are doubled when 
shared by those dear to him; hut, also because 
ho lias a just sense that his wife always, and his 
grown-up children generally, have well earned a 
holiday, while tho youngsters are far more 
likely to do so, if pleasantly taught in this way 
to take an early interest in agricultural matters. 
Moreover, the chat around the fireside on many a 
subsequent evening, will ho much more lively, 
varied, and instructive, if all can recount personal 
reminiscences and impressions of tho marvels 
they Haw on that gala occasion. Information 
and amusement both come to him readily, and iu 
his case, tlio trotting track is never a hundred 
miles away from tho plow department. Neither 
his wife nor grown-up daughters have over to 
awli him on tho fair-ground for the price or a 
ti illo or t wo, and Ins little ones have always a lot 
ol' small ehaugo to spend at their owe foolish or 
sensible pleasure. On that joyous holiday no 
[sjtty anoqyance can bring a frown to his brow 
or a harsh word from his lips to mar tho enjoy¬ 
ment of any of his Uttle party, and to blur tho 
bright remembrance of it in the future. Al¬ 
though curioHity is liberally indulged, yet it 
never makes him unmindful of tho demands of 
tho inner man and especially of the Inuor wo¬ 
man and child; and of all demands those aro 
the most generously satisfied on this festive 
occasion. He always agrees upon a rendezvous 
with the members of his little family group, and 
then lots tlio elders follow thoir individual tastes, 
never insisting that they should move as very 
eccentric satellites around his attractive figure. 
By tho aid of those few hints tlio sensible mar¬ 
ried man can bo readily recognized at every fair. 
And tho sensible single man ? Well, he, of course," 
is always there,and generally has another fellow’s 
Bister, who will soon probably bear a closer rola 
tionshlp to himself, hanging affectionately on 
bis arm and blandly smiling with impartial 
pleasure at all his witty and—other sayings. 
I ark IfoRuicu in TiiR Fam, are often ungrate¬ 
fully neglectod. Thoir hard toil in helping with 
the heavy work of the season once over, when 
only odd jobs await them, it is too frequent a 
custom to dock them of their grain and allow 
them to shift for themselves on tho pastures, 
often without noeded shelter from the bleak 
winds and early frosts of autumn nights. After 
feeding a while the poor animals get chilled, and 
K run about in tho dark iu search of warmth which 
they often find only at tlio cost of a stumble or 
11 fall, resulting often in a sprain or a cut 
' that injures or disfigures them for Iffo. Then, 
11 when warm and tired they lie down to rest, 
what wonder if they rise up stiff, spiritless 
1 and not rarely suffering from a severe cold 
v after thoir heated blood and relaxed sinews 
1 have boon oxposed to tho blasts and frosts 
^ of a chilly night! When the days aro not 
stormy, it is well enough to let horses run 
in tlio pasture, but every autumn night should 
1 find thorn comfortably bedded and fed in tho 
stable. Ingratitude to our follow men is justly 
considered an odious vice, but Is there not often 
' ft strong taint or it also in tho treatment of these 
noble auiinals, to whose faithful help in all kinds 
1 of drudgery, farmers are deeply indebted for full 
barns and comfortable homes? 
Weed tour edooiim. Sell, slaughter or gim 
away poor, scrawny animals, and it will stand 
you in pocket. If keeping poultry, keep only 
the breeds that lay most eggs or lay on uioBt fat. 
Keep sheep that yield tho heaviest fleeces or tho 
heaviest carcasses; a scrub animal will ilooce 
rather than benefit you. A cow that gives a 
pound of butter a day oats no more than a boast, 
that yields a pound a week. There's a groat 
saving in selecting for tho butcher those broods 
of cattle that attain thoir maximum weight iu 
two years, rather than those that, take four to do 
it. Tho best breed of hogs manufacture a maxi¬ 
mum number of pounds of meat from a minimum 
number of bushels of corn. A “plug” of a 
horse does little work before “ lie has oaten his 
. own bond off.” Three years ago a young Vor- 
2 mont farmer had a dairy of sixty cows. Up to 
' last year ho had weeded out twenty fivo of them ; 
and now reports that he makes just as much 
butter from the thirty-live selected animals as 
he used to make from tlio original sixty. Of 
course, ho feeds and attends to tho Hiualler num¬ 
ber more carefully than ho did to tlio larger, hut 
there is a great saving in the extra food and 
attention that would bo required by tho twenty- 
five discarded brutes. 
Care ok the chivy is by far too rare on tho 
farm. By a Uttlo management, howovor, tlm 
premises might be kopt from disagreeable odors, 
tho contents or the vault, utilized for garden 
purposes, and “ night work" done stone's leisure 
in tho day-time, without offence to the most, sen¬ 
sitive homo iu tho neighborhood A correspon¬ 
dent of tho agricultural department of the 
Weekly Tribune, tells how this can. bo effected : 
First, allow no slops to ho poured into tho vault; 
otherwise you will have a nuisance in spite of all 
you can do. Second, have some other place of 
deposit for broken dishes, bottles, and other 
rubbish that will not decay; if put into the 
vault thoso must eventually ho sorted out again, 
and they hinder tho action of absorbents. Third, 
have on hand, for use from time to time, some 
road dust, dry loam, hard-wood sawdust, or sift¬ 
ed coal ashes. There is no disinfectant or 
absorbent better than road dust gathered in 
dry weather, though many other materials are 
almost as good. If these bo frequently and 
liberally sprinkled into tho vault, there will never 
bo any had odor, and tho vault need nut be 
emptied oftCuor than once in two years. Tho 
composted deposit can bo removed without 
offence to tlio eye or nose, and witli a little dilu¬ 
ting with dry earth is excellent dressing for 
almost any crop. 
A certainty of improvtno stock can only lie 
secured by slaughtering, selling or castrating all 
scrub and half-bred males. Many a man is 
tempted by tho beauty or a half-bred hull calf, 
young ram or hoar, to keep him to perpetuate 
his good qualities, hut there is no hope of his 
doing this even with tolorable certainty. The 
mongrel blood will constantly show itself in the 
most exasperating manner, and tho only assur¬ 
ance or certain improvement in tho breed of any 
race of animate, lion iu tho uho of males with 
clean, recorded pedigrees. There must bo a’posi- 
tivo knowledge that, for generations, no impure 
blood haB crept into the veins of their ancestors. 
This once ascertained, seek in the object of your 
choice, the most perfect development of every 
valuable quality; but without this, tho finest 
typo of outward appearance may bo a delusion 
and a snare. 
Mistakes in Manaoino Horses, oven when of 
an apparently trivial nature, are often tho causo 
of much needless suffering and permanent in¬ 
jury- Of tlieso, a few that are common just 
about this time are : bathing tho feet of horses 
to cool them off whou heated by hard work; 
watering them immediately after meals when 
about to start on a journey, instead of waiting 
a while or letting them drink before feeding; 
giving them, through mistaken kindness, an 
extra food before driving them at a rapid pace, 
and so forcing them to travel on an overloaded 
stomach : starting to fair or market at a swing¬ 
ing trot, while the animals are fresh and full of 
