328 THE CULTIVATOR. Oct. 
Death of Thomas Bates, Esq, 
Eds. Cultivator- —Allow me herewith to furnish 
you ior publication) an extract of a letter I received 
from England, by the arrival of a recent steamer, 
addressed to me by Robert Bell, Esq., dated Kirk¬ 
leaving tom 22d August. He remarks 1 —“ It is my 
most painful duty to announce to you, that our late 
much esteemed friend, Thomas Bates, Esq., is no more. 
His spirit returned to God who gave it, on the 26th 
July last, after an illness of six weeks. It may be said 
of him his country has met with a great loss,- more par¬ 
ticularly its agricultural community, as he was a prac¬ 
tical agriculturist of a discriminating mind, and great 
experience. He more particularly excelled in the sci¬ 
ence of breeding,-—especially in the breeding of Short¬ 
horn cattle. He, early in life, evinced a lively interest 
in this department, and by nature, he seemed highly 
qualified, not only to become conspicuous, but success¬ 
ful, in this branch of his profession, and the result of 
his 60 or 70 years of practical application, placed him 
in the front ranks of the most successful breeders Eng¬ 
land has ever produced. The wide spread reputation 
and standing of his Duchess herd of Short-horns, is well 
known and appreciated. The public will now have a 
full opportunity to judge of their merits, as they will 
be offered for sale at auction, probably next spring, or 
surmner. The time of sale is not fixed, but as soon as 
it is, I will take the earliest opportunity of informing 
you. I intend offering part of my herd, and that of 
my brother’s, at the same time; probably the number of¬ 
fered will amount to 150 head.” 
Having myself, sold many cattle to gentlemen in the 
United States and in Canada, possessing the blood of 
Mr. Bates’ herd, I presume the intelligence contained 
in the extract of Mr. Bell’s letter will be of much inte¬ 
rest to them. Hence, allow me to ask the favor of its 
insertion in The Cultivator. Geo. Vail. Troy, Sep¬ 
tember 15, 1849. 
Answers to Correspondents. 
Apples cultivated by the late Mr. Phinney.— 
Eds. Cultivator —You may inform your correspon¬ 
dent, “ S. W.,” in answer his inquiries about Mr. Phin- 
ney’s Orchard, that the most valuable varieties of sweet 
apples that have yet come to bearing, are the following: 
Bough, (early ripening;) Plum water, (fall ripening;) 
Danvers, or Essex Green-Sweet, (winter ripening;) 
Andover Sweeting, (winter ripening.) Several other 
generally approved varieties of sweet apples have not 
yet come to bearing and therefore not determined. No¬ 
thing is placed around the trees to prevent injuries in 
plowing and harrowing the land. The work is done 
with oxen, and the strictest care enjoined upon the 
workmen. No injury has ever been done to the trees 
in cultivating the ground. F. Holbrook. 
Poultry in Yards. —“ A Subscriber,” New-York. 
It is true, as has been often stated, that when large 
numbers of fowls are kept together in close confinement, 
they are often affected by diseases. Care should be 
taken that the yard and houses are exposed to a free 
circulation of air, and that they are kept as clean as 
possible. The different apartments should be white¬ 
washed once or twice a year, and the manure should 
not be allowed to accumulate, as the gases which arise 
from it during fermentation are detrimental to the health 
of the fowls. 
Eradication of Garlick—Eds. Cultivator—I 
observed an inquiry in the June number of The Culti¬ 
vator for the best method of destroying the wild onion 
or Garlick. As this has not been answered by any of 
your correspondents, I will briefly state what I have 
done and the result. 
I have adopted a rotation of summer cropping; say, 
one year corn, next potatoes, next oats, with clover 
seed, seeding pretty heavily, and plastering the clover. 
Let it lie one year—then repeat the same course. I 
had a field very full of the wild onion, which I treated 
as above mentioned, and at the end of my second 
course the plant had entirely disappeared, and I have 
seen none since, although this was done more than 20 
years ago. Nathaniel Beckwith. 
Amnestic €£01101115, Becipco, See. 
Sewing Machine. —The editor of the Michigan 
Farmer witnessed the operation of a sewing machine, 
only a foot in length and breadth, but traversing a 
frame-work of several feet. A small crank moves it, 
which a child may turn. It contains a combination of 
‘The wheel, lever, and spiral springthe eye of the nee¬ 
dle is near its point; the thread is coiled with a cylin¬ 
drical case; and the needle being once threaded, supplies 
itself till the skein is exhausted. A pair of pantaloons 
can be made by it (without buttons and button holes) 
in thirty minutes, and an overcoat in an hour and a 
half. 
Patent Bread-Making Machine. —A machine for 
making bread is said to have been invented in Glasgow, 
Scotland, of which we find the following account in a 
foreign paper: It has for its object the accomplish¬ 
ment of the following among several other points of 
importance in the manufacture of bread or biscuits. 1. 
By the substitution of carbonated water for yeast, to ren¬ 
der bread more nutritive. 2. A saving of 50 per cent, in 
the cost of fuel in heating the oven, by means of an im¬ 
proved method of substituting steam for fire. 3. The 
gradual admixture of the flour with the water without 
manual labor. 4. To insure the oven being kept of an 
equal heat by means of an indicator and regulator, and 
by means of which the heat can be kept exactly as may 
be desired. 5 An invention for placing the bread in 
and removing it from the oven. 6. By the use of an 
ingenious contrivance to regulate the desired weight of 
all bread, whether from an ounce to any number of 
pounds the baker may desire, without the possibility 
of error. 7. The saving of all manual labor in the 
manufacture of bread, with the exception of that of a 
few boys to place it upon, and receive it from the 
machine. 8. The avoiding of the necessity of the 
human hand touching or kneading the dough. 
To Cook Cucumbers. —The Michigan Farmer re¬ 
commends the following mode of converting cucumbers 
into “ a delicate and delicious article of diet:”—Take 
cucumbers pretty well grown, and cut them into slices 
half an inch thick; put them into a vessel with a “fair 
proportion” (?) of sliced onions, with a lump [how 
large?] of butter, and stew them three quarters of an 
hour, adding salt and pepper, but using at no time any 
water. 
Bed-rooms. — A correspondent of the Prairie Farmer, 
urging the importance of spacious bed-rooms, very 
justly recommends the rejection of such a room as a 
parlor, where plenty of room, for both cannot be af¬ 
forded. “The parlor is the best room in the house, 
and used only onc& in a week or two, while the bed¬ 
room is in use at least one-third of every twenty-four 
hours. A bed-room, for health and convenience, should 
be large, with a high story, and 16 by 16, or 16 by IS 
feet, with no furniture but dressing table, toilet., wash- 
stand; with it should be connected a wardrobe, and 
bathing tub and shower-bath. These are daily com¬ 
forts, and not kept for the use of others, as a parlor.” 
