1849. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
255 
edwith the wood pile. Should S. W. obtain no other 
reply to his questions, I would also state that in my 
opinion, posts at the distance of twenty feet apart would 
make a sufficient fence for sheep, provided a wire of 
small size were placed midway between the posts, and 
twisted around each horizontal one from top to bottom. 
This would answer nearly as well as an additional post. 
It is desirable to coat the wire with the composition I 
have mentioned or with coal tar, as it is liable to rust, 
particularly if it passes throught chesnut posts,.as that 
kind of timber, although durable, contains an acid ex¬ 
tremely corroding. The holes should be half an inch, 
at least, in diameter, so as to admit a small brush. In 
case a post should decay, the wires can easily be sawed 
out, and new ones replaced. Staples No. 7 or 9, would 
probably answer well instead of holes through the posts. 
The whole fence can be painted any color desired.— 
Where trees have been set out on a line-, wire can be 
attached with obvious ease and advantage. In the val¬ 
ley of the Connecticut, where I reside, several of our 
farmers have, within a few months, built wire fences 
in their meadows, which are annually overflowed by the 
river, and which will doubtless answer every good pur¬ 
pose intended. The great increase of rail roads, of 
manufacturing establishments, and the making of bricks, 
have materially raised the price of wood and timber in 
this State; consequently, fencing is quite an item in the 
expense of a farm. It is my opinion, that in a few 
years wire will be a common, if not the chief material 
for fences, at least in this vicinity. R. H. Phelps. 
Windsor , Ct.. July 16, 1849. 
The $100 Premium on Sheep. 
A purse of $100 having been offered for the best 25 
Merino ewes and the best 25 Merino lambs, under one 
year old, to be exhibited at the next fair of the New- 
York State Agricultural Society, I propose to be a com¬ 
petitor in that exhibition, against any and all flocks that 
may be brought out. I state this, not as a challenge, 
but simply as a proposition, which may call together 
my brother farmers from different parts of the country. 
My object is to convince myself where the best Merino 
sheep are. If I have not obtained them, I must get 
them; for I am resolved to improve from the best, 
whatever may be the cost. By a fair competition we 
may compare the best specimens from the best flocks, 
and by that means may learn where the best sheep are 
to be found. For a series of years, I have spared no 
pains or expense to possess myself of the best Merino 
sheep that could be found, either in this country or the 
old world. It remains to be seen whether these efforts 
have been successful; and to this end I earnestly invite 
the growers of Merino wool throughout the Union, to 
meet me on the show-grounds- at Syracuse next Sep 
tember, in honorable competition, and thus add another 
interesting feature to the somewhat national exhibition 
which will be made at the New-York State Fair. A. 
L. Bingham. Cornwall , Vt., July 16, 1849. 
What constitutes a Thorough-bred Horse? 
In the first place, it may be observed, that there has 
been a great deal of discussion in various publications, 
on sporting, but to very little purpose, on the much agi¬ 
tated question, “ What constitutes a full blood, or what 
is termed a thorough-bred horse?” The question is ve¬ 
ry easily decided; the term “ thorough-bred horse,” 
merely implying one that can be traced through the 
Stud-Book, by sire and dam, to any Eastern stallion, or 
to what were called the Royal Mares, imported by 
Charles the Second, as they, together with two or three 
of the first imported stallions formed the ne plus ultra 
of all racing pedigrees. As to the assertion, that, for 
a horse to claim the title of thorough-bred, it is neces¬ 
sary that he should be of pure Oriental descent, it can¬ 
not for a moment be supported: as, independently of 
the fact that only two mares are stated in the Stud 
Book, or elsewhere, on authority, to have been import¬ 
ed into England in the early days of racing, it is well 
known that the first British race-horses were those of 
British breed, changed, ameliorated, and at last per¬ 
fected by the admixture of eastern blood, and judicious 
crossing afterwards. English Essay. 
Disease among Horses. 
A farmer from Tioga county writes that there is a 
complaint lingering about the horses in some parts of 
the county, which is called the Quinzy, which is very 
much dreaded. It appeared first in June, 1848. The 
symptoms are—general stupidity of the animal, and a 
swelling under the throat at the butt of the jaws. The 
food comes out of the'animal’s nose, and occasionally, 
also, their drink. Several valuable animals have died. 
Will the editors inform us as to this disease, and the 
best remedies for it, and whether it is the same disease 
so fatal to horses on Long Island, in 1846? J. 
We should be pleased to have the suggestions of our 
veterinarians on this subject. Eds. 
Mushrooms. 
A great number of fungi of a poisonous nature, bear 
a near resemblance to the mild eatable mushroom, so 
that even the best judges of them are liable to 
occasional deception. The following description of 
of the true mushroom may be useful to those who in¬ 
tend to gather or to purchase this vegetable. The gills 
or under part of the cap are loose, of a pinkey-red, 
changing to a liver-color, situated close to the stem, 
but not united to it; very thick set, irregularly disposed, 
some forked next the stem, some next the edge of the 
cap, and some at both ends, in which case the interme¬ 
diate smaller gills are generally excluded. The cap or 
pileus is externally white, changing to brown when old, 
and becoming scurfy; it is regularly convex, fleshy, 
flatter when old, from two to four inches, but sometimes 
even nine inches in diameter; it liquifies as it decays; 
the flesh is white. The stem is solid, white, cylindrical, 
from two to three inches high, half an inch in diameter. 
The curtain or membrane which extends from the stem 
to the edge of the cap, is white and delicate. When 
the mushroom first makes its appearance, it is smooth 
and almost globular, and in this state it is called a 
button. This species is esteemed the best and most 
savoury, and is much in request for the table. It is 
eaten fresh, either stewed or broiled, or preserved as a 
pickle, or in powder: it also furnishes the sauce called 
ketchup. The field plants are better for eating than 
those raised in artificial beds, their flesh being more 
tender; but the cultivated mushrooms are better look¬ 
ing, may be more easily collected in the proper state 
for eating, and are firmer and better for pickling. The 
wild mushrooms are found in parks and other pastures 
where the turf has not been plowed up for many years. 
The best time for gathering them is in August and 
September. 
Those who are accustomed to mushrooms can distin¬ 
guish the true from the false by the smell. The follow¬ 
ing test 'will be found useful to other persons: Sprinkle 
salt on the spongy part or gills of the mushrooms to be 
tried. If they turn yellow, they are poisonous; if they 
turn black, they are good. Allow the salt to act a lit¬ 
tle time before you decide as to the color. 
Characters of false Mushrooms or Poisonous Fungi. 
They have a warty cap, or else fragments of membrane 
adhering to the upper surface; they are heavy, they 
emerge from a vulva or bag; they grow in woods and 
shady places, or in tufts or clusters on the trunks or 
