1850. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
379 
steam mills. Some splendid long shawls, from 
James Roy & Co., Watervliet. The show in this 
department does great credit to American manu¬ 
factures, as does that in carpet and oil cloths. The 
show of silks is also very rich. I have not time to 
notice the various miscellaneous branches of the 
show which are very extensive and do great credit 
to American industry and talent. The whole num¬ 
ber of articles actually entered before the exhibi¬ 
tion opened is 4,305. No articles are allowed on 
entry after the exhibition opens. 
This exhibition is one of American Industry 
really. It is not made up of fancy articles to en¬ 
trap visitors—but it is what it professes to be—and 
does great credit to the Institute, and from the en¬ 
couragement it receives shows that the Institute 
may be sustained in the course they have taken to 
promote American manufactures and the mechanic 
arts, by an exhibition really useful, and without re¬ 
sort to mere articles of show, attractive only to the 
story tellers and lovers of sight seeing. J. Phila¬ 
delphia, Oct. 19. 
Harvesting Machines. 
Eds. Cultivator —As a subscriber to your jour¬ 
nal, I have to trouble your friends, of the Prairie 
Farmer, or some other individual, for some particu¬ 
lars respecting reaping machines. Three thousand 
five hundred machines, equal to the labor of seven¬ 
teen thousand five hundred men ! (Vide note in The 
Cultivator from the P. F .) How do you manage 
this? We are anxious to do things as cheap as pos¬ 
sible. I pay nine to twelve shillings [about $2,75 
to $3,00] an acre for reaping, binding and shock¬ 
ing my wheat'—cut close to the ground either with 
the sickle or bagging-hook—a woman following each 
man to tie the wheat. Sometimes we use the scythe, 
but I do not like this plan, as a great deal of grain 
is scattered in the field, unless the men are very 
particular. In my case, where I have to harvest 
about two hundred acres, it cannot be well done by 
this mode. 
How is the work performed with the reaping 
machines? Are horses used, and what will be the 
expense for an acre of wheat? What will be the 
outlay for the machine, and what time will it take 
to cut an acre? Is much straw left behind? Do 
women tie the corn, and has the land to be raked 
afterwards, or gone over with the sickle or bagging- 
hook? Is the wheat or other grain required to be 
free from weeds—as May-weed, thistles, docks, &c. 
This year, we were a good deal troubled with these 
pests—the season having been rather wet to harvest 
time. Wm. Dennison. Manor Farms, Black- 
heath, London, Sept. 15, 1850. 
We shall feel greatly obliged if our friends of the 
Prairie Farmer or some of our Western corres¬ 
pondents will furnish us with the information asked 
for in the above communication. Eds. Cult. 
Long Island Lands. 
We would call the attention of our readers to the 
advertisement of Dr. Peck in this No. of the Cul¬ 
tivator, who offers a large tract of valuable land 
for sale, in the central portion of Long Island. 
These lands are now attracting the attention of per¬ 
sons desirous of settling in the vicinity of this city. 
And as the question, as to the productive quality is 
now entirely settled, there is no longer any doubt 
that these lands are as good as any new land on the 
Island. Dr. Peck deserves great credit for the 
manner in which he has brought this great portion 
of the Island to the favorable notice of the public, 
and as being the first to cultivate them to advan¬ 
tage, m the face of long existing opinions and pre¬ 
judice, that these lands could not be cultivated, and 
were worthless for all uses of the garden or farm. 
Dr. P. introduced a new mode of clearing these 
lands, or new on the Island, by which the cost of 
clearing per acre has been greatly reduced from the 
old mode of grubbing out the roots by hand. This 
was, or is, simply by the use of a strong plow and 
harrow,-—with these instruments Dr. Peck clears 
the ground without any difficulty whatever, and the 
success in cultivation is complete, as may be seen 
at Lake Road. The garden and grounds there will 
bear a favorable comparison with any garden or 
fields on the Island. N. Y. Far. and Mec. 
Hose Coupling. 
Eds. Cultivator —Having seen noticed an ap¬ 
paratus for coupling hose, in the September number 
of the Cultivator, and patented Mr. A. H. Brown 
of Albany, N. Y., I should like to state through 
the columns of your paper, that I invented, made 
and used, the coupling noticed, in the year 1841. 
D. L. Sykes. East Suffield, Ct., Sept. 25, 1850. 
Answers to (Jorrcsponbcnts. 
Temperature for Churning. —Y., Honesdale, 
Pa. Experiments have shown that for churning 
cream, the temperature should be from 50 to 55 de¬ 
grees. If the milk is churned, or the milk and 
cream together, the temperatufe at commencing, 
should be 60 to 65 degrees. The thermometer 
churn sold by Emery & Co., of this city, is made 
double, leaving a space of an inch or more between 
the parts, for the admission of cold or hot water, 
as may be required to bring the cream to the proper 
temperature. 
Propagating Forest Trees. —D. B. K., Wash¬ 
ington Valley, N. J. Brief directions in regard to 
the propagation of those kinds of forest trees in 
most common use as ornamental trees, can be found 
in catalogues of nurseries, &c. It is best to plant 
the seeds of most kinds as soon as they are ripe, 
and before they shrink. If they are to be kept 
long, they should be packed in moss, and kept damp. 
Slanting in Drills. —J. B., Annapolis, Md. 
Machines for sowing wheat in drills can be had at 
from $55 to $75. The seed is deposited in rows, 
nine to ten inches apart. The seed is dropped in a 
continuous line, using about two bushels per acre. 
Seymour’s drill was described (with a cut) in our 
August number. Emery’s drill is the kind chiefly 
used in this section for planting corn. It will drop 
the seed at any distance required, from four inches 
to six feet. The rows are from three to four feet 
apart, according to the size of the variety of corn. 
The price of the drill, fitted for working with a 
horse, is $14. 
Syphon. —J. B., Willet, N. Y. We see no dif¬ 
ficulty in raising water twenty feet in the manner 
you speak of, and we presume it will continue to 
run so long as the supply will fully fill the pipe, 
provided the pipe is perfectly air-tight. 
Ice-house above ground. —M. C., Sperryville, 
Va. You will find a cut and description of an ice¬ 
house of this kind, in our volume for 1847, p. 345. 
Gilmore’s Apiary. —S. N. S., Hamden, Ct. You 
will best obtain the information you want in regard 
to this article, by addressing Mr. G. by letter, at 
Wayne, Me. He has a patent. 
