148 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
THE BEST SHEEP COUNTRY. 
J. S. Skinner, Esq., has sent us a copy of a correspon¬ 
dence between him and Hon. T. L. Clingman, member 
of Congress from North Carolina, on the subject of sheep- 
husbandry, and the best districts for keeping sheep in the 
United States. Mr. Clingman gives a very interesting 
description of a tract of country situated in the mountain¬ 
ous region of North Carolina, in the counties of Yancey, 
Haywood, &c., and judging from his statement, we should 
think it admirably adapted to sheep. Mr. C. says the el¬ 
evation of Burnsville, the county seat of Yancey, in about 
2,900 feet above the level of the ocean, and that the gen¬ 
eral level of the county is much higher. The climate is 
represented as being delightfully cool in summer, the 
mercury seldom rising higher than 76 or 80 deg. Very 
little of the county is said to be too rough for cultivation; 
a large portion, it is said, is a sort of elevated table-land; 
undulating, but not too broken; “even,” says Mr. C., “as 
one ascends the higher mountains, he will find occasion¬ 
ally on their sides, flats of level land containing several 
hundred acres of land in a body. The top of the Roan 
(the highest mountain in the county except the Black,) 
is covered by a prairie for ten miles, which affords a 
rich pasture during the greater part of the year. The as¬ 
cent to it is so gradual that persons ride to the top on 
horseback from almost any direction. The same may be 
said of many of the other mountains. The soil of the 
county generally is uncommonly fertile, producing with 
tolerable cultivation abundant crops. What seems extra¬ 
ordinary to a stranger, is the fact that the soil becomes 
richer as he ascends the mountains. The sides of the 
Roan, the Black, the Bald, and others, at an elevation 
even of five or six thousand feet above the sea, are cov¬ 
ered with a deep rich vegetable mould, so soft that a 
horse in dry weather often sinks to the fetlock. The 
fact that the soil is frequently more fertile as one ascends 
is, I presume, attributable to the circumstance that the 
higher portions are more commonly covered with clouds, 
and the vegetable matter being thus kept in a cool moist 
stale while decaying, is incorporated to a greater degree 
with the surface of the earth, just as it is usually found 
that the north side of a hill is richer than the portion 
most exposed to the action of the sun’s rays. The sides 
of the mountains, the timber being generally large, with 
little undergrowth and brushwood, are peculiarly fitted 
for pasture grounds, and the vegetation is in many places 
as luxuriant as it is in the rich savanna of the low coun¬ 
try.” 
The region is said to be particularly well adapted to 
grass, and grain does well. 
Were it not for the great press of communications, we 
should be happy to publish the whole correspondence. 
AGRICULTURAL MEETINGS IN ALBANY. 
In our last number we gave the proceedings of the first 
of a series of weekly agricultural meetings, commenced 
at the rooms of the State Agricultural Society in this city. 
We have taken notes of the discussions at the several 
meetings which have followed, for the Cultivator, but 
finding that they would occupy more room than we could 
possibly devote to the subject, w T e have given our reports 
of the doings to the daily papers for publication, and 
must content ourselves with a brief notice of them here. 
The subject of discussion at the second meeting, was 
the connexion of geology with agriculture and other 
useful arts. Professor Emmons addressed the meeting at 
length. Professor Hall, and Mr. E. N. Horsford also 
spoke. Many valuable facts were stated, showing the 
benefit which has been in various ways derived from 
the geological survey of this State. Inexhaustible mines 
of iron ore, of different kinds, have been discovered, and 
questions in regard to the existence of other minerals, 
coal, &c., finally settled. It was observed by Professor 
Hall that more money had formerly been expended^ in 
searching for coal in the valley of the Hudson, than the 
Whole survey of the State had cost. It is now certain 
there is no coal there. 
Mr. Logan, the gentleman under whose charge the 
geological survey of Canada is being conducted, made 
some very interesting remarks. He stated that the re¬ 
sults of the geological survey of this State had attracted 
much attention in Europe, and were there looked upon 
as quite extraordinary—especially so considering the 
short space of time occupied in the examination. 
At the third meeting Dr. Lee gave a lecture on the 
subject of the practicability and expediency of growing 
wheat in the southern part of this State. Dr. L. recom¬ 
mends for those soils the application of bones and char¬ 
coal, saturated with urine. At this meeting Professor 
Emmons made some interesting chemical experiments 
illustrative of the action of different qualities of soils. 
At the fourth meeting the subject discussed was wool¬ 
growing, the relative qualities and profits of different 
varieties of sheep, &c. The speakers were Dr. Lee, S. 
Howard, E. N. Horsford, J. B. Notf, Judge Cheever, and 
Mr. Shaw. At this meeting, also, the valuable paper 
by Mr. Horsford, on “ Feeding Stock for Service and 
Slaughter,” which will be found in another part of this 
number, was read. 
The subject of discussion at the fifth meeting was 
sheep-husbandry. Mr. J. B. Nott, by previous arrange¬ 
ment, opened the discussion. He was followed by Dr. 
J. P. Beekman, President of the New York State Agri¬ 
cultural Society, who gave his own mode of managing 
sheep, which seemed to be very judicious and practical. 
Mr. Howard, Mr. Bement, and Mr. Sotham, also took 
part in the discussion. 
At the sixth meeting, the subject was the improvement 
of the breeds of domestic animals. The discussion was 
conducted chiefly by Dr. Lee, Prof. Emmons, and Mr. 
Howard, and seemed to attract much attention. The re¬ 
marks of Dr. Lee and Prof. Emmons were chiefly of a 
physiological character, and those of Mr. Howard were 
mainly designed to show what had been the system of 
improvement practiced by the most distinguished breed¬ 
ers of domestic animals. 
Much interest is evidently awakened by these meet¬ 
ings, and we think that by another winter an organiza¬ 
tion will be adopted for carrying them on more syste¬ 
matically. We hope they will be kept up at least during 
the session of the legislature; and we see no difficulty of 
having such an arrangement as will secure the delivery 
of lectures on agriclutural chemistry, comparative ana¬ 
tomy, See., besides discussions on the various subjects of 
practical farming and rural economy, in which all may 
take part by giving the details of their own experience. 
Some such arrangement, it seems to us, would be likely 
to enlist the feelings of all, and we trust will be adopted. 
History of the Mercer Potatoe.— That variety of 
the potatoe known in some sections of the country as the 
Chenango or Philadelphia, in others as the Mercer, in 
others still, as the “ Meshanic,” (corrupted from Neshan- 
oc,) has perhaps been more generally cultivated for seve¬ 
ral years past than any other kind. The Farmer’s Cabi¬ 
net gives the history of this potatoe, which is substanti¬ 
ally as follows: In the year 1772, a family of the name 
of Gilkey, came from the county of Derry, in Ireland, and 
settled in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. In Nov. 
1797, two members of this family, John and James Gil¬ 
key, removed to Mercer county, Pa., and settled about 2 
miles east of Neshanoc creek. In 1801 or 1802, John 
Gilkey planted a quantity of potatoe-balls (or seeds,) from 
red, blue, white and other varieties of potatoes. From 
the potatoes produced from these balls, Mr. Gilkey select¬ 
ed the variety above named. They were soon after cul¬ 
tivated and brought into notice near Philadelphia, and 
from thence have been disseminated over the whole 
country. This history was written by James Gilkey, 
brother of John, who produced the potatoes. In an ac¬ 
count of the origin of this potatoe published a few years 
ago, it is stated that John Gilkey was educated for a Cath¬ 
olic priest, and that he was an exile from the Emerald 
isle, &c., which his brother says is incorrect. 
Cheese to China. —The export of cheese to China 
from this country is increasing, and will soon form a 
considerable item. It* is packed whole in cases filled 
with sawdust, and secured so as to exclude the air. 
