1846. 
THE CULTIVATOR, 
215 
lished themselves mostly together in some one part of 
the kingdom, where they have a wool market of their 
own, in which they seek for the qualities apd descrip¬ 
tions suitable for their purpose, and will buy no other. 
The broad-cloth makers in the west of England—the 
worsted combers of Yorkshire—the flannel manufactu- 
aers of Rochdale—and those who make hosiery in Not¬ 
tingham—purchase in their sevei’al markets a supply 
suitable only for their own machinery. So nice does 
this discrimination run, that the fleeces of fine wool 
taken from sheep one year old, which were never be¬ 
fore shorn, are mostly sent to one part of the country 
and there sold to be used for one purpose, and the 
fleeces taken from the same sheep the next year, are 
sent to another part of the country, and there wrought 
into a very different kind of goods. Thus it is of great 
importance ih&t fleece wool for shipment, before it goes 
on board, should be sacked and sorted according to the 
grades of foreign manufacturers, and suitable for their 
purposes, in order that it may be sold directly to them, 
—otherwise, even if clean and in good order, it must 
pass first through other hands, that re-sort it, resack it, 
and distribute it various parts of the kingdom at con¬ 
siderable expense. 
“ The size of the bales is the next thing to be kept 
in view. I have paid on large shipments as high as 
one dollar per bale for f dock dues,’ without reference 
to the size of the bales; while at some ports the charge 
is less than one tenth part of this sum, 
“ Custom in England, gives the purchaser an allow¬ 
ance on each bale called c the draft;’ but the amount 
thus given varies at the different markets I have many 
accounts of sales in which only one pound Aveight per 
bale is deducted for < the draft.’ I have other accounts 
of sales made in different places, in which two pounds, 
and three pounds, and four pounds, and even eight 
pounds per bale is deducted for ‘the draft,’ without 
reference to the size of the bale. This may seem un¬ 
reasonable, but is established by the ancient usage of 
the different markets, and must be complied with. The 
bales should therefore be of a size suited to their desti¬ 
nation, ; but not too large, else they will not be lifted, 
but rolled over the docks and streets. Each sack should 
be firmly packed by a man inside, but never pressed by 
machinery, and every fleece of weak staple carefully 
rejected, and those fleeces packed by themselves. 
“ The shipment then requires some attention. The 
wool should be placed on board dry, with the sacking 
whole and clean, and should always be sent as light 
freight in the upper part of the vessel. Our wool con¬ 
tains too much oil and gummy matter to be placed low 
in the ship, with heavy weights pressing upon it, with¬ 
out being in some degree injured by matting together.” 
SUBSOIL PLOWING. 
The advantages of subsoil plowing are no doubt 
greater on soils having a close hard-pan subsoil, than 
on those of a loose and open nature. In the English 
Agricultural Gazette, we find an account of some ex¬ 
periments, a brief sketch of which may afford interest. 
1. A field of 13 acres, “partly heavy on a dry sub¬ 
soil, and partly dry on a gravelly subsoil,” was sub¬ 
soiled to the depth of 7 to 8 inches—the subsoil plow 
being preceded by a common plow which worked from 
6 to 7 inches deep. The field had been plowed many 
years, and a hard crust was formed which was in many 
cases almost impenetrable to water. Two acres only 
were left plowed in the usual way. The whole field 
was equally manured and sown with yellow turneps. 
The appearance of the crop was similar till August, 
when that portion of it on subsoiled land took the lead, 
and at harvest gave 26 tons 17 cwt. per acre, while the 
part plowed in the old way gave only twenty tons 7 
cwt. per acre. 
2. The second experiment was made on a deep soil 
inclining to sand, on a subsoil of sandy clay. Two 
acres were subsoiled 15 inches deep, two were plowed 
6 or 7 inches, and two ridges were trench-plowed 13 
inches deep. The whole was planted to potatoes, and 
subjected to the same treatment as to manure and culture. 
The subsoiled yielded 7 tons and 9 cwt. 2 qrs.; trenched, 
7 tons 1 cwt. 2 qrs; plowed, 6 tons 14 cwt. 1 qr. 
3. The potato crop was followed by barley. The 
subsoiled part kept the lead throughout, and at harvest 
gave 8 qrs. 3 bushels barley, and 36^ cwts. of straw per 
acre; the plowed part, 7 qrs. 4 bushels 3 pecks barley, 
and 28 cwts. straw per acre. 
PROTECTION AGAINST INSECTS. 
If you would sa\ r e your cucumber-vines and cabbage- 
plants against the attacks of bugs and worms, go early 
in the morning, while the worms are sluggish from 
satiety, and dampness prevents the bugs from flying, 
and kill them all. Some say “kill them with the 
thumb and finger;” but we don’t see that this mode of 
inflicting “capital punishment” has any special advan¬ 
tages, and it seems to us that the office of executioner 
would be a very disagreeable one, especially when the 
subjects were the big, black “pumpkin bugs,” which 
emit a worse smell than a skunk. A couple of pieces 
of shingle, one of which may be three inches wide, and 
and the other an inch and a half, the latter brought to a 
point at the bottom, are the best “instruments of death ” 
in this case. Crush the insects between the pieces of 
shingles. 
It is easy to see in the morning where a plant has 
been cut off by a worm the night before, and he will 
generally be found at that time in his burrow near the 
stump of the cut plant. He will be buried generally 
not more than half an inch, and is readily dug out with 
the narrow pointed shingle. The bugs of all kinds, 
while the plants are young, Avill invariably be found in 
the morning huddled around the stems. If you are “ on 
hand ” soon after sun-rise, they will be ‘ ‘ dosey,” and 
are easily killed. 
Do not rely on the “ unparalleled agency of salt in 
destro 3 r ing insects,” nor of keeping them away by the 
smell of onion-stalks “stuck round the hill;” but hunt 
them out, as you would wild beasts. As an auxiliary 
to this hunting, and to make the plants grow rapidly 
and get out of the wa 3 r of insects, the writer has some¬ 
times used hen dung water that has stood till it has be 
come fetid; turning a half pint, or so, on each hill 
every da> r . Guano water would doubtless be similar; 
but it must not be too strong—four pounds of guano to 
twelve gallons of water is thought to be sufficient. 
AYRSHIRE COWS. 
Those who have visited Mr. Prentice’s farm, near 
this city, can hardly have failed to notice among the 
stately Durham cattle there, a small family of Ayrshires. 
The latter consist of a cow which was imported from 
Scotland in 1842, and some four or five of her descend¬ 
ants of the first and second generation, all of which bear 
a striking resemblance to the first named cow. Gnl)' 
one of the young stock has yet bred, but the imported 
cow has had a calf every year since she has been in this 
country, and has been in milk nearly the whole time. 
Though of very small size, she is in shape, a perfect 
model of a milch cow, and her product at the pail is 
remarkable—giving this season, on grass feed, upwards 
of twenty quarts of milk per day; the quantity having 
been ascertained by actual measurement. Considering 
her diminutive size, which, compared with most other 
cows, scarcely bears a greater proportion than that of 
the Shetland pony to a coach horse, we think this very 
extraordinary. 
Driving Nails.—A correspondent informs us that 
a cut nail may be driven into the hardest dry wood 
without bending, simpty by dipping the point of the 
nail into oil or grease. 
