162 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
May, 
The Greylock Potato— We are indebted to Hon. A. 
Foote, of W’mstowti, Mass., for a barrel of his new va¬ 
riety of potato, called the Greylock . They are well sha¬ 
ped and of good size. We have tried some for the table, 
and though they were evidently injured by exposure to 
the air, they were nearly equal to any other with which 
we are acquainted. We shall have them planted in such 
a way as to give them a fair trial. Mr. F. gives us the 
following account of their origin and habit of growth: 
—“ It is an accidental cross between the Carter and 
Mercer,—taking the complexion of its skin from the 
dark color of the Mercer, and that of its Jlesk from the 
whiteness of the Carter. It is a vigorous grower, pro¬ 
duces as well as the Peach Blow, [Western Red] and 
in texture and flavor is not excelled, in my opinion, by 
any known variety. Side by side, the last season, the 
tops of my Peach Blows were badly blighted, while 
those of my Greyloeks remained in all their freshness. 
Time of ripening somewhat early, but not so early as 
that of the Mercer. Like all the finer varieties, it is 
subject (here,) to the * potato disease/ but in a less de¬ 
gree than either of its parent varieties. Its origin is 
dated back four years.” 
Early Potatoes. —We have received from J. W. 
Wheeler, Esq., of Hyde Park, a sample of the Kemp 
variety of potatoes. We saw this kind growing on Mr. 
W.’s farm last summer, and were much pleased with 
ifrs appearance. They are very early, being ten days 
earlier than the Mercers, and very vigorous growers. 
Mr. W. has raised this variety for two years, and has 
never seen a rotten one among them. Mr. Wheeler 
wall please accept our thanks for the donation. 
Fine Birds. —-During a late visit at Bridgport, Ct., 
we were much interested with the handsome collection 
of choice birds, of various species, belonging to Mr. 
Gideon Thompson, of that place. He has the Chi¬ 
nese golden pheasant, the silver, and the English phea¬ 
sant, prairie hens, wild geese and swans. Ho has been 
very successful in breeding the pheasants, for several 
years, and furnishes some interesting facts in regard to 
their habits. He informs us that the golden pheasant 
lays w r hen one year old—usually about twelve eggs— 
and sits twenty-one days. The male acquires its full 
plumage in two years. The silver pheasant lays when 
two years old-—-lays the same number of eggs, and sits 
the same length of time as the former, and the male is 
the same time in acquiring full plumage. The English 
pheasant lays at one year old—from twelve to twenty- 
five eggs—sits twenty-six days, and the male gets its 
full plumage during the first } 7 ear. Mr. T. finds it ve¬ 
ry easy to domesticate the golden and silver pheasants; 
and they appear to be perfectly contented in his yards. 
The English pheasant, on the contrary, is restless, and 
always manifests a desire to return to a wild state. He 
has succeeded in crossing the English pheasant and the 
common fowl, but has never obtained any produce from 
the hybrid stock. He has never obtained a cross be¬ 
tween either the golden or the silver pheasant, and the 
common fowl. The pheasants make their nests in the 
sheds or houses where they roost. Mr. T. takes all 
their eggs away as fast as laid, and uses those of Ban¬ 
tam fowls for nest-eggs. The males of all the phea¬ 
sant tribe are very beautiful, but the golden is one of 
the most splendid of all birds. 
The prairie hens before spoken of, have not yet bred. 
Mr. T. has kept, wild geese for several years, and 
has bred hundreds; but he states that until this year, 
fee never had one lay before it was four years old. One 
has this spring, laid, that is but three years old. 
The swans are of the mute species, (Cygnug olor,) 
are majestic birds, but have never bred. 
These rare birds, with choice kinds of domestic 
fowls, African and Chinese geese, and several beautiful 
deer, not only promote the pleasure of the liberal own* 
er, but being at all times to be seen, are objects of cu¬ 
riosity to the public, a.nd are really ornamental to tha 
town . 
Old Cheese.— By the politeness of E. P. Prentice, 
Esq., we have received a sample of cheese, twelve 
years old. This cheese was made in Otsego county in 
1837, and has been kept in a tin case which wholly ex¬ 
cluded the air. It was perfectly sound when taken out, 
a few weeks since, and is equal, in all the qualities 
which constitute excellence in “old cheese” to any 
we have ever seen. 
Cleaning Cider Barrels.— A correspondent (B. 
C. M.) at Sangerfield, N. Y., writes—“ In rinsing out 
cider barrels and other casks, put in two or three trace 
chains. Shake them well and you will soon have a 
clean cask.” 
Farmers Clubs. —We understand that an “'Agricul¬ 
tural and Mechanical* 1 Club ” has been formed in the 
town of Auburn, the object of which is the free discus¬ 
sion of all subjects pertaining to the interests of me¬ 
chanics and agriculturists. The officers are John 
Gaylord, President; Wm. Woods, Vice President; C. 
Ferris, Secretary; Joseph Swift, Treasurer. The as¬ 
sociation is considered an auxiliary to the Cayuga Co. 
Agricultural Society. 
Self-Acting Cheese Press. —It will be seen by an 
advertisement in this paper, that our agent at West 
Milton, Saratoga Co., has the patent-right of this press 
for several counties, and is prepared to furnish presses, 
or to dispose of the patent for certain districts. This 
press is a favorite one in some parts of the country, 
and is well worthy the attention of cheese-makers. 
The “ Double acting Rotary Churn” is adver¬ 
tised in this number. We have received one of the 
churns, and will speak of its performances when we 
have had an opportunity to test it. 
Black Hawk. —The advertisement of Messrs. Hill, 
in reference to this horse, will be found in our present 
number. He has always been held in high estimation 
by connoisseurs in horse-flesh; but the high prices rea- 
dily commanded by his progeny, as they arrive at an 
age to show their superior properties, afford the best 
evidence of his great value. 
Morse’s Grey. —It will be seen by reference to the 
advertisemsnt of this horse, that he is still at his old 
stand. His stock is well known and esteemed in this 
vicinity, as good roadsters and fast travelers. 
Imported Horse Leopard. —A notice of this horse 
was given in this paper for February. A more full de¬ 
scription will be found in our advertising columns for 
the present month. 
Beans as Food for Animals. —-Chemical analysis 
demonstrates that beans and peas are rich in nitrogen, 
or nitrogenous compounds; hence it is inferred that they 
would form a valuable food for laboring animals—the 
nitrogen supplying the waste of muscular tissue. But 
some trials which have been made show that they are 
valuable for animals in other respects. Beans are ex¬ 
cellent for fattening sheep, and peas are highly prized 
for fattening hogs. Beans are not usually relished by 
hogs; but we have heard of their being ground and the 
meal being mixed with potatoes and fed to them, with 
good results. Bean meal has also been given to cows. 
The writer was acquainted with a farmer in Maine, se¬ 
veral years since, who was somewhat noted for the ge¬ 
neral excellence of his milch cows, and who made it a 
rule to feed his cows with about a quart of bean meal, 
each, for two or three weeks before and after calving. 
The cows appeared to be very fond of it, and the far¬ 
mer thought it was the best food for the combined ob¬ 
jects of imparting strength, and producing a good flow 
I of milk that could be used. A writer in the Mass. 
