1850. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
61 
ed the same, viz: the glue staid glue, and the alcohol 
staid clear, pure alcohol.” 
Agricultural Statistics. —We learn that Dr. 
Daniel Lee has been appointed to take charge of the 
agricultural matters pertaining to the U. S. Patent Of¬ 
fice, and that he is to prepare a report to Congress, at 
its present session. We think this appointment a for¬ 
tunate one. Dr. L.’s long connexion with the agricul¬ 
tural press, and his personal acquaintance with differ¬ 
ent sections of the country, together with the close 
attention which he has for many years devoted to the 
subject of agriculture, have particularly qualified him 
for such a station, and under his supervision, we shall 
confidently look for a document comprising a great 
amount of statistical and practical information, touching 
the resources and productions of the country. 
Ayrshire Cattle tor Ohio.— Messrs. Wm. H* 
Ladd and J. R. Cunningham, of Richmond, Jefferson 
county, Ohio, have purchased of E. P. Prentice, Esq., 
of this city, his imported Ayrshire bull, which took the 
first premium in his class at the last show of the N. Y. 
State Agricultural Society, together with a fine three- 
year-old heifer and a heifer calf, of the same breed. 
They are excellent animals, and will prove a valuable 
acquisition to the dairy stock of the fine section for 
which they are destined. 
Hereford Cattle. —Several years ago, Mr. Ed¬ 
ward Wells, of Johnstown, N. Y., purchased eight or 
ten head of prime Hereford cattle, and about the same 
time several head of fine short-horns. A short time 
since, we had the pleasure of seeing Mr. W.’s stock. 
Both breeds have done well in his hands ; but from the 
greater hardiness of the Herefords, and their ready 
thrift on ordinary fare, Mr. W. inclines to give them 
the preference. He is confident, that as grazing stock, 
they will give a greater return for the food consumed, 
than any other stock he has ever kept. Ho has some 
very superior animals of this breed. 
Suffolk and Middlesex breeds of Swine. —In our 
late excursion to Massachusetts, w r e frequently saw 
specimens of these excellent breeds, and crosses between 
them. They were first introduced by Mr. Wm. Stick- 
Ney, of Boston, who has made several importations of 
them. He breeds them chiefly at his farm in Vermont; 
but he showed us a fine boar and a young sow at his 
place at Cambridge. W. 0. Bartlett, Esq., of Wor¬ 
cester, has some excellent stock from crosses of these 
breeds. Col. Jaques. of the Ten-hills Farm, Somer¬ 
ville, has some prime pigs from a cross of the Suffolk 
and Mackay. We are informed that pork from hogs of 
these breeds, readily sells in Boston at a cent and a-half 
per pound above the average market price. They fat¬ 
ten easily at any age. 
Rensselaer iNSTiTUTE.-We learn that the friends 
of this institution are making efforts for its enlarge¬ 
ment, and its improvement in other respects. We 
trust these efforts will be successful. There is no oth¬ 
er institution in the country, we believe, which is or¬ 
ganised with special reference to giving the student 
in civil engineering a thorough and systematic course 
of training. We understand that the institution 
now numbers about fifty students, about one-third 
of which come from our own state, and the remain¬ 
ing two-thirds from various other states. The sum 
required for immediate use, is between five and six 
thousand dollars; and we cannot doubt that the use¬ 
fulness of the institution is so well appreciated by 
the public, that the necessary funds for carrying out 
the proposed improvements, will shortly be raised. 
New Edition of the Farmer’s Encyclopedia.— 
A new edition of this valuable work has been issued 
by Messrs. Carey & Hart, Philadelphia. It is ele¬ 
gantly bound, and forms a very handsome volume of 
near 1200 pages. It is especially valuable to the farmer 
as a book of reference. 
Samples of Wheat from Morocco. —We have 
just received from our Consul-General at Tangier, 
Thomas H. Hyatt, E-sq., samples of six kinds of 
wheat grown in that countiy. Its appearance is not 
very promising, but we shall give it a trial. 
Form of the Plow. —Mr. John D. Spinner, of 
Herkimer, N. Y., says, “ I wish to call the attention of 
plow-makers to a very common defect in plows. For 
loose, mucky soil, they are, as a general thing, too hol¬ 
low in the mould-board, and too low in the beam, just 
forward of the body of the plow. They should be made 
more*full, and higher, to let the earth slip from them. 
The iron used in their manufacture should be of the best 
kind, that it may wear smoothly and cause the plows to 
clean themselves.” 
Potato Rot. —Mr. C. Frederick, of Paterson, N. 
J., informs us that some potatoes on his farm which 
had Indian corn growing in the same hills, escaped the 
rot, while the rest of the potatoes in the same field rot¬ 
ted. We have heard this suggested as a preventive, 
before, but have also heard of several cases where it 
had no effect at all. 
Fine Fowls. —The fowls advertised by Mr. Platt, 
in this number, are worthy the notice of amateurs in 
this line. As a curiosity and ornament to the poultry 
yard, nothing can excel these Bantams, in their ivay. 
They may be said to be a perfect fowl in miniature. 
In regularity and beauty of plumage, some of them 
almost equal a wild fowl, and indeed it is probable 
that at no distant day, their progenitors were inhabi¬ 
tants of the jungles of India. Mr. P.’s large fowls 
are equal in shape and apparent good qualities, to any 
we have seen. 
Industrial Show of Nations. —We learn from the 
English papers, that at the suggestion of Prince Albert, 
and, it is understood, under the patronage of the Queen, 
a grand exhibition of the industrial products of all na¬ 
tions is to be held in London, in 1851. It is remarked, 
that “ the parentage of the project, and the auspices 
under which it is introduced to the attentiou of the pub¬ 
lic, will so far ensure for it all the success that can be 
desired.” The subjects of the exhibition are to be four¬ 
fold, viz: raw materials, machinery and mechanical in¬ 
ventions, manufactures, sculpture and plastic art in 
general. 
The exhibition will probably be the most splendid af¬ 
fair of the kind ever witnessed in the world. It is pro¬ 
posed to raise £100,000 for the general expenses. The 
prizes are to be one money purse of £2,000, four of 
£1,000 each, and several costly medals, which are to 
be conferred by the Queen in person. We shall notice 
the list of prizes, which it is presumed will be brought 
out in due time. 
Subsoil Plowing. —Mr. Buckminster, of the Mast . 
Plowman, relates his mode of subsoil plowing, by 
which a saving of manual labor is effected. Instead 
of taking two teams,—as is usually done in this kind 
of plowing, requiring two drivers and two plowmen, 
where more than one yoke of oxen, or a pair of horses 
are used to each team,—he put the teams together, 
and fastened the subsoil plow to the other, by hooking 
the chain round the coulter. One man drove the 
teams, each plow having a holder, and the work was 
done as well and as rapidly as before. 
{^The late English papers announce the death of 
C. Hilliard, Esq., author of “ Practical Farming and 
Grazing,” and for many years an able contributor to the 
English agricultural periodicals. 
