May. 
Award of Our April Premiums. 
April 10th was the date fixed for the decision of the 
second list of prizes offered for subscriptions to our 
Journals for 1858. Our books show the following re¬ 
sult, to which we add the sums respectively received 
by the same competitors the first of January last:— 
April Prizes. Jan. Prizes. 
I. W. Briggs, Wayne Co.,.$25.00 $20.00 
Henry Willis, Connecticut,.. 20.00 25.00 
Hiram Mills, Lewis Co.,. 20.00 None. 
J. R. Howard, Mass.,. 15.00 20.00 
Westchester Co. (Pa.) Ag. Society,-15.00 15.00 
A. S. Moss, Chautauque Co.,.15.00 15.00 
E. Benedict, Clinton Co.,.-.10.00 15.00 
J. A. Horton, New-Jersey,.10.00 10.00 
H. Sheppard, New-Jersey,.10.00 None. 
D. Campbell, Canada,.10.00 None. 
A. Cary, Montgomery Co.,. 5.00 None. 
W. Carpenter, New-Jersey,. 5.00 10.00 
E. Merritt, Duchess Co.,. 5.00 10.00 
Gr. W. Coffin, do. 5.00 None. 
E T. Sheppard, Georgia,. 5.00 None. 
Our offer specified that if a first, second or third 
prize on the April list, should be taken by any one who 
had not been a competitor for the January prizes, it 
should be somewhat increased. The only instance of 
the kind is that of Mr. II. Mills, to whom is accord¬ 
ingly awarded $25, instead of $20 as above stated. 
The amount of subscriptions which takes the lowest of 
the prizes, is $34, and the others range all the way up 
to the highest, which is awarded upon a list amounting 
to $247.12. As compared with last year, we are pleased 
to say that the aggregate of the subscriptions taking 
prizes, does not show any falling off,—the amount be¬ 
ing, in fact, a trifle larger this year than before,—but 
the aggregate of the premiums offered was also some¬ 
what greater. 
Among lists which came very near in amount to those 
that were actually successful, we may mention the sub¬ 
scriptions sent by H. V. Welton of Connecticut; S. 
II. Williams, James Lyon, L. Selleck and O. P. 
Knapp of this State; E. Link of Tennessee; James 
Sloan of North Carolina; P. Stedman of Massachu¬ 
setts ; G. C. Robinson of Canada; D. C. Getty of 
Pennsylvania, and T. H. Matthews of Maryland. To 
all whom we have named, and a very large number of 
others,—who were not discouraged from a continuance 
of their kind exertions during the past winter, by the 
almost unprecedented scarcity of money, and who have, 
at considerable personal sacrifice in many instances, so 
earnestly labored to prevent the revulsion from affect¬ 
ing the interests of our Journals, we tender our sincere 
thanks. And the fair degree of success which has in 
many instances crowned their efforts, will, we trust, 
lead to their protraction, now that the financial skies 
are growing brighter, in order that, as the summer 
passes by, the numbers of thinking, reading, impro¬ 
ving farmers, may be still further increased, and the 
losses so many have sustained under the difficulties of 
the past year, be more than made up through the hints 
our Journals will suggest toward a better and more re¬ 
munerative practice. 
Caerots.—T he North British Agriculturist states 
that by mixing a small quantity of barley with the 
carrot seed, the rows of the growing carrots can be 
easily distinguished, and thus hoeing can proceed pre¬ 
vious to the carrot plants appearing at the surface. 
Report on Mowers and Reapers.— Since we pub¬ 
lished the extracts from the Report of the Trial of Mow¬ 
ers and Reapers at Syracuse last summer, several com¬ 
munications and protests have been published in the 
agricultural papers or circulated in pamphlets, showing 
various errors committed at the trial, and asserting that 
awards different from those given, would have been in 
accordance with justice and facts. The owners of the 
Ketchum mower think that machine should have re¬ 
ceived the first premium. The same superiority is 
claimed for the Allen mower, for Burrall’s machine, 
and others. Some of these claims are argued in a cour¬ 
teous and candid manner, among which that from 
Thomas D. Burrall is particularly worthy of commen¬ 
dation. 
In answer to many inquiries by letter and otherwise, 
we cannot assume the ability to decide these conflicting 
claims. The duties of the associate editor of this pa¬ 
per, as one of the committee of judges, were entirely 
distinct and separate from those of all the other mem¬ 
bers, being confined chiefly to an examination of me¬ 
chanical principles ; and circumstances not easily con¬ 
trolled prevented his presence when the vote was taken, 
and the premiums awarded were not in all cases in ac¬ 
cordance with his own views. The extracts made in 
this journal were not presented as a nice balancing of 
various merits, but as descriptions of the peculiarities 
of the machines, and as containing many valuable 
suggestions 
On Steam Plows. —It has been determined by the 
Executive Board of the State Ag Society, in view of 
the increased demand for some means of stirring and 
pulverising the soil more cheaply and rapidly than 
that of plowing by animal power, and of the attention 
now given to the subject abroad, to offer a prize of two 
hundred and fifty dollars for a steam plow which 
should satisfactorily accomplish the object desired. The 
stipulations requisite in such an implement will be 
drawn up by the Secretary at an early day, to serve as 
a basis for the action of the committee on awards, 
should one or more machines be presented for compe¬ 
tition. We are glad to see that this action of the Soci¬ 
ety places it in the front rank in the inducements ex¬ 
tended to inventors on this subject, and we are also 
happy to note that our Board has had the wisdom to 
abstain from the extravagance (as to the amount of 
the premium,) into which some other associations here 
and abroad have been led. Experience as to one and 
five thousand dollar prizes, we believe, shows in most 
instances, that the society offering them has so very 
high a standard of excellence, that they never can be 
won, or, on thfe other hand, they are larger than the real 
deserts of the case, inasmuch as the first machines pre¬ 
sented are seldom practically successful. The object 
is to lead inventors to “ think the matter up,” until 
such ideas and improvements by degrees accumulate, 
as to furnish in the end, the complete machine. A few 
hundred dollars, with the certainty of getting it, if 
fairly deserved, will, we predict, be quite as successful 
in doing this as the thousand [unawarded] guineas 
offered by the British Societies. 
Farmers, Show what You can Do.—At the sug¬ 
gestion of one of the most practical men and best farm¬ 
ers on the Board, the State Ag. Society will add to its 
prizes on crops, one of One Hundred Dollars for the 
best field of Indian Corn ot not less than 10 acres, and 
