176 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
CONDENSED CORRESPONDENCE. 
Early Importation- of Merino Sheep —In speak¬ 
ing of the importation of Merino sheep by Mr. Jarvis, in 
the April number of the Cultivator, we alluded to an im¬ 
portation made into Massachusetts by Mr. Seth Adams, 
now of Zanesville, O. We have since received a letter 
from Mr. A. giving an account of his importation, in 
Which he says:—« I imported in the brig Reward, Capt. 
Hooper, which left Diepe in August, 1801, and arrived 
in Boston in October following, a Merino ram and ewe. 
These I believe were the first pair of Merinos imported 
to the United States. The Agricultural Society of Mass, 
having offered a premium of $50 for the importation of 
x pair of sheep of a superior breed, Col. D. Humphreys 
of Connecticut, imported a flock of Merinos, (say 100,) 
and sent some of them to Massachusetts, and he, or some 
one for him, applied to the Society for the premium. 
Knowing, from report, that his sheep did not arrive be¬ 
fore the spring season after the arrival of mine, I appli¬ 
ed at the same time for the premium, and after having- 
examined the sheep and wool, and comparing with those 
of Col. H., the Society awarded to me the premium, and 
awarded to Col. H. a gold medal for having imported a 
larger number. My sheep were from the flock brought 
from Spain by Bonaparte, and distributed through France 
to improve the flocks of that kingdom.” 
Pigeon Weed or Red Root.— “ C. M. A. J.” of 
Tompkins County, says—“ The plan adopted by the far¬ 
mers in this section of country, is by plowing in the fall, 
the usual time of sowing wheat; again in the spring, 
when the ground can be used for summer crops of any 
description, and I will guarantee, yea more, I will stake 
my reputation upon it, that all that makes its appearance 
in the fall and spring, will never do so again. This 
method is considered with us, the most economical and 
effectual of any yet discovered, of eradicating the evil. 
Try it, and you will know.” 
Farming Capital. —From a communication by Mr. 
L. Durand, we make the following extracts:—“ I think 
it correct to say, that a liberal expenditure of capital in 
farming, will ultimately pay better than when laid out in 
any other business. The difference between capital laid 
out in farming, and that laid out in manufacturing, is, 
that all which is expended in the latter beyond the actu¬ 
al profits of the goods manufactured, is a dead loss, while 
that which is laid out on the farm, under good manage¬ 
ment, causes it to improve and increase in value from 
year to year. In manufacturing, the interest on the cap¬ 
ital may be received within six months or a year. In 
farming, it may not be so, but it will be sure to give its 
return in a series of years. Another item which has 
been much neglected by farmers, is that of purchasing- 
good implements to carry on their farming operations. In 
this country, where manual labor is high, a farmer 
should obtain as many labor-saving implements as can be 
used to advantage. Although these implements may cost 
more at first than common ones do, they will find their 
account in it at last. Get the best implements to be had, 
even if you have to go out of the State for them, and you 
will thus be able to perform more work in a better man¬ 
ner, besides saving much labor, and preventing a great 
deal of fretting and ill temper. Try it and see.” 
Names of Animals.—A correspondent with the sig¬ 
nature of “ Junius,” has sent us a long communication 
censuring what he calls the “ misguided tastes of many 
of our breeders of fine stock in selecting names for their 
animals .’ 5 We think his remarks entitled to some con¬ 
sideration, but can only find room for the following ex¬ 
tract : 
“ It seems to be a desirable object with many, to select 
refined, genteel and pleasing names for their favorite an¬ 
imals, at the expense of modesty and etiquette. To me, 
it has been a source of mortification, to see old and che¬ 
rished names of my own family, and respected acquaint¬ 
ances and neighbors, applied to soulless brutes. Go into 
any school-house in the land, and you will see bright 
looking boys and girls, with countenances flashing with 
the soul of genius and thought, answering to the same 
names that are applied to the inmates of the stables, cat¬ 
tle-yards and pig-sties. Not long since, I was called on 
to give a name to a bright eyed little cousin of mine. 
Feeling the responsibility of my trust, I had recourse to 
the ‘ old family bible.’ After looking over a long line 
of ancestry, I found a name that sent a thrill of pleasure 
through my nerves: it was Emma. The present to ac¬ 
company the name was bought; but imagine my surprise, 
in looking over my paper for that month, I found a state¬ 
ment that Mr.-had a poor broken backed cow (sac- 
riligiously) called Emma, that gave a great quantity of 
milk, from which was made 3 pounds of butter per day. 
To use a tailor’s expression, I was completely e sewed 
up.’ But to confess the truth, the tenderest point of all, 
is this; the name of the fair enchantress of my dreams, 
is Julia —for my especial benefit, Mr.- has a mam¬ 
moth Durham cow, which he calls by the same name! 
What an association! Now my Julia is beautiful and ac¬ 
complished, speaks French, and plays the piano and gui¬ 
tar, &c.—she is a scion from one of the first families in 
the state. Hear Mr. ——’s description of his Julia. ‘Ju¬ 
lia is six years old'—a thorough-bred Durham from the 
stock of Mr.-. She combines more good points than 
I ever saw in any other animal. She is broad in the 
hips, long and straight on the back, thin in the neck, 
well cut up under the jaw, round in the barrel, fine in the 
twist, has a prodigious udder, is deep and broad in the 
bosom, evincing good constitution, &c.’ 
<f The idea of giving notoriety to an animal, by means 
of a fine name, is, 1 think, indicative that the owner has 
a ‘ strong cross’ of vandalism. When animals attain the 
organic perfection of man, when they are endowed with 
a soul to reason and will to execute, then they may be 
considered entitled to the names, titles, and property of 
our species.” 
Bees. —To stop bees from fighting and robbing one 
another, break the comb of the robbers so that the honey 
will run down among them, and they will go to work at 
home. I had two hives of bees destroyed this month by 
being robbed, and should have had another robbed, if T 
had not received the above information. R. S. Borden. 
Fruit.— -Mr. George Olmstead, of East-Hartford, 
Conn., informs us that Mr. Horace Williams of that town, 
gathered from five trees last fall, 160 bushels of apples, 
of the Belle le Bonne variety, which sold in market at 42 
cents to $1,50 per bushel. Mr. W. thinks that he reali¬ 
zed from the above trees, at least $100, equal in value to 
200 bushels of Northern Indian corn, one year ago. 
Saline Manures. —Mr. Feuchtwanger informs us that 
he is prepared to sell the super-sulphate of soda at half a 
cent per pound. This substance, when mixed with ma¬ 
nure, or other animal substances, will be decomposed, 
and a sulphate of ammonia formed. He has also the 
j crude and refined sulphate of ammonia, at 6 and 8 cents 
per lb., also, nitrate of soda by the bag at 5 cts. per lb. 
Mr. F. informs us that his compound chemical whale 
ioil soap, is composed of the crude whale oil, potash, 
flour-sulphur, lime, and oil of camphor, and is a very 
valuable antidote for the coccus, rose-bug, curculio, &c., 
and it is said has been used with good effect in the or¬ 
ange groves of Florida. 
Farming in Connecticut.— Our friend “ Quercus,’ 5 
after stating some of the difficulties and perplexities at¬ 
tendant on commencing farming operations on a soil 
which had been worn out by bad management, says:— 
“So, the year has gone round—all the avails not count¬ 
ing 3 per cent on any respectable estimate of the value 
of our 300 acres! This is not a fancy sketch. I can even 
count dozens in no better condition, from my window, 
now; but nine out of ten are mortgaged. None of their 
managers take the Cultivator, you may be sure. But how 
do they live? They sell a little wood, and burn coal and 
live cheap, and buy nothing for money, and shoot foxes; 
starve their cattle and eat the carcass! But ‘ my man,’ 
some bluff westerner would, say, ‘ give away your land, 
(for I know it can’t be sold,) get you a bit of our unex¬ 
hausted soil, and begin again.’ It is the easiest thing in 
the world to give advice to those of whose circumstan¬ 
ces you have no knowledge. Still were no circumstan¬ 
ces in the way, I should be loth to think and act upon 
the thought, that a proper degree of energy and skill and 
