352 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Nov. 
three pairs of pigs 6 months old at $50 a pair to go 
to Virginia and Georgia, and I should think a cross 
from them would materially improve the swine of 
of the South. The show of poultry was very ex¬ 
tensive and of many choice varieties. I was sur¬ 
prised to find that horses for which Maryland was 
once so distinguished, are now much neglected. 
Ohly some half a dozen were on the ground, and 
those of no very superior attraction. 
The show of implements was large. The ladies’ 
department rather limited. The dairy products 
represented by a few samples of butter, and the 
show of vegetables not large. 
Gen. Taylor visited the grounds, Wednesday, 
Thursday and Friday, and expressed himself highly 
gratified with the entire exhibition. He mingled 
freely with the farmers, and showed by his inqui¬ 
ries and examinations that he was familiar with the 
implements necessary for the farmer, and that he 
was an attentive observer of the improvements 
going on in our country, to advance this great in¬ 
terest. 
The receipts at the gate on the 2d day of the 
exhibition I understood were about $1,000 ; and 
l should think quite as much the last day. 
Patent Hoops. 
We noticed at the late Fair a specimen of hoops made 
©n a new plan, and have received the following descrip¬ 
tion of them: 
These patent hoops were made by HefFron and Land- 
phere’s Hoop Machine. The process is as follows: 
The timber is first sawed into boards, then split by a 
buzz-saw into square pieces, then turned and slit by the 
machine, each square piece making two, half round 
hoops. Any tough timber, however large, can be thus 
converted into hoops of a most beautiful appearance. 
They set well by soaking in a vat of cold water; but 
hot water is better. The butter from one dairy has 
been packed in firkins bound with these hoops, and a 
portion sold in New.-York at a price equal to the best 
« fancy hoops.” The Ohio Fancy Flour Hoop, sells 
the flour thus bound at about five per cent, more than 
flour equally as good bound with the flat hoop; and it is 
confidently believed by the inventors of the Hoop Ma¬ 
chine, and all whose opinions have been given, that it is 
destined to add from two to five per cent, to the im¬ 
mense quantities of flour packed in this State. The 
machine makes six in a minute, and they can be afford¬ 
ed as cheap as the flat ash hoop. These hoops were 
presented for examination at the State Fair at Syra¬ 
cuse, by D. S. HefFron, of Whitesboro, Oneida Co. 
Challenge. 
Rev. J. R. Smythies, a noted breeder of Here¬ 
ford cattle, makes the following offer through the 
Mark-Lane Express : 
I hereby offer to show four Hereford steers, whose 
ages shall not exceed two years and three months, 
and four whose ages shall not exceed one year and 
three months, at the next Smithfield Show in De¬ 
cember, against eight shorthorns and eight Devons, 
of similar ages, for a sweepstakes of one hundred 
sovereigns for each lot; with this stipulation—that 
each lot shall have been bred by one man, and that 
they shall have lain at grass at least four months 
this summer, without having had anything but what 
they got there. But this is not all. I am willing 
to test their hardiness as a breeding stock, as well 
as their feeding properties. In order to do this, I 
propose to turn my two-year-old heifer, which gain¬ 
ed the first prize at Norwich, into a pasture with 
the two-year-old shorthorn and two-year-old Devon 
heifer, which obtained the first prize in their re¬ 
spective classes, and let them remain there till the 
next meeting of the Royal English Agricultural So¬ 
ciety at Exeter, next July, giving them nothing but 
what they can get, except a little hay from the 5th 
of November till the 5th of May; the heifers to be 
shown at Exeter for a sweepstakes of a hundred 
sovereigns each. But in case the owners of either 
of the heifers should object to the amount of the 
stake, I am ready to show them for nothing, if the 
society will consent to give a cup to the winner; 
and I do not know how they could lay out their 
money better, for this is a question of the utmost 
importance, and one that ought to be decided as 
early as possible, and can only be settled by the 
animals being brought into close contact in the way 
I propose. If any shorthorn or Devon breeder can 
point out a fairer way of testing their respective 
merits than the one I have proposed, I shall b© 
ready to meet him in any way he likes. I am not 
nice to a shade how the experiment is tried, so that 
the animals are brought fairly into competition 
with each other. I hereby declare that I am ready 
at all times to produce Hereford beasts against any 
other breed in the United Kingdom, either as rear¬ 
ing or feeding stock, and to back my opinion. 
51 nmtts to (ffomspcnirnito. 
Work on Bees. —A. C. L., Frederickswn, Mo. 
Week’s Manual contains much information which 
would be especially useful to a beginner in bee-keeping. 
A small work was published at Cincinnati several years 
ago, by Th'os. Affleck, which we would recommend to 
your attention. Of larger works, Dr. Bevan’s is much 
approved. 
Ice-House. —S. M. N., New Marlborough, Mass. 
You will want an entrance to the ice-house from the 
outside, for convenience; but it may also be convenient 
to have an entrance connecting the ice-house with the 
cellar. The atmosphere of an ice-house is usually too 
damp to keep butter; a cool, dry room, perhaps ad¬ 
joining an ice-house, would do better. 
Barley for Feed. —The common two-rowed is usu¬ 
ally most productive. There are several new kinds, as 
the Chevalier, the Black, &c., which have as yet been 
little tried here, but may prove profitable. 
Common and Indian Buckwheat. —The Indian 
buckwheat is not saleable in market—it does not make 
palatable flour. As to the comparative value of the 
two kinds for feed, you can get the best idea by feeding 
a pig on one kind for a given time, then weighing the 
pig, and changing to the other kind for the same time, 
shifting, alternately, for a month, or longer. 
Clay Soil. —0. J., Brewerton, Onondaga Co. Plow 
this soil as deep as practicable, in ridges, this fall. 
Drain off the water, by under-drains, and the soil will 
break down fine by the plow in spring. 
American Silks —Mr. J. W. Gill, of Wheeling, 
Va. exhibited splendid specimens of various kinds 
of silk goods at the late show of the American In¬ 
stitute. They consisted of vestings, dress-silks, 
handkerchiefs, cravats, shirts and hose. Mr. G. 
has expended a large amount of money in the estab¬ 
lishment of the silk business, and we were satisfied 
from what we saw of his operations several years 
since, that he would ultimately succeed. We are 
glad to learn that his returns afford a fair interest 
on the investment. 
