1848. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 377 
land the destruction has been less, except in a few dis¬ 
tricts. 
Of fruits there was an entire failure, in this vicinity, 
of cherries, plums, and peaches, occasioned, as is be¬ 
lieved, by the starting of the buds in the fall, and the 
sudden occurrence of extreme cold in February. A 
hundred miles farther south, however, the stone fruits 
were generally good, and in New Jersey and Delaware 
peaches were never more plenty. Apples are plenty 
and good. Pears in this vicinity, were not a : good as 
usual. The trees have suffered greatly from blight— 
the cause of which is yet veiled in some mystery. 
But in view of all the products of the season, the 
American husbandman has abundant reason to be satis¬ 
fied. In all the essential articles of subsistence, the 
earth has yielded a bountiful increase. No dread of 
famine disturbs the minds of any of our people, but 
from all quarters we hear the joyous intelligence, that 
there is “ bread enough and to spare.” 
Hints for the Season. 
Operations on the farm are usually suspended, in 
this latitude, by the first of December ; though as long 
as the ground continues open, something may be done 
Stones may be dug, walls built, drains made, ground 
plowed, and materials for manure collected. When the 
ground has frozen, and a light coating of snow has fal¬ 
len, a gjod opportunity is presented for moving wood, 
timber and other articles, taking produce to market, 
&c., business which may be done with much greater 
facility now than when the roads become blocked with 
deep snows. 
Live stock may be allowed to graze such fields as 
have not been already sufficiently depastured, as long 
as the ground is bare; but cattle should not be permit¬ 
ted to run on soils that are so soft as to be poached by 
their hoofs. They will need shelter at night, and in 
stormy weather. Dry lands, that have a coat of grass 
reserved on them, may be fed by sheep any time in the 
winter when not covered with snow. 
In the distribution of the winter’s supply of fodder, 
the coarser and poorer kinds should be reserved till the 
coldest weather—the appetites of the animals being 
then sharpest, it will be eaten with least waste. Those 
farmers who are not already provided with cutting ma¬ 
chines, will do well to procure them. Their use is at 
tended with considerable economy. Coarse hay, straw, 
or corn-stalks, are, by being passed through a cutter, 
brought into a more convenient form for mastication, 
and substances are eaten which would otherwise be re¬ 
jected, or only partially consumed. Cutting affords an 
opportunity for mixing fodder of inferior quality with 
that which is more palatable, thus inducing the stock to 
eat that which would not be eaten if given by itself. 
Cutting also affords the most convenient means of mix¬ 
ing meal, shorts or bran with fodder, by which the dou¬ 
ble advantage is gained of consuming articles which 
would otherwise be more or less wasted, and of so dif¬ 
fusing the meal that its nutriment is thoroughly extrac¬ 
ted by the animal. The feeding of laboring animals on 
cut food allows them more time to rest—the cutting 
performing, in a great degree, the work of chewing and 
preparation for digestion. But it should not be at¬ 
tempted to feed stock with substances which are chief¬ 
ly destitute of nutriment. The large sour butts of corn 
stalks are little else than woody fibre, and can be of lit¬ 
tle or no use in supporting animal life. Where a cutter 
is worked by horse-power, it may be an object to cut 
such articles on account of the convenience of working 
them into manure. 
Attention should be given to keeping all animals, as 
much as possible, in a condition congenial to their ha¬ 
bits. Their comfort should be consulted in regard to 
both food and shelter. Undue exposure to cold, not 
only requires a greater amount of food to sustain the 
system, but it prevents the natural secretions, and ac¬ 
tually wastes the bodily tissues. The most proper tem¬ 
perature is that which would be naturally sought by the 
animal. Sheep may be allowed to take shelter or not, 
at their option, and this liberty may be given to all 
stock, which it is not necessary to fasten in stables a 
portion of the time. Close quarters are probably pre¬ 
ferable for animals which it is designed to fatten, in or¬ 
der to prevent the loss of their flesh by muscular exer¬ 
cise. 
We have alluled above to late plowing. There are 
some circumstances which may render this expedient. 
Land which is filled with couch grass (Triticum repens) 
by being plowed so as to expose the roots to the action 
of frost, can be much easier cleaned the following sea¬ 
son, as the freezing of the plant in this situation greatly 
weakens its vi f ality. Tenacious soils, by being thrown 
into ridges in such a manner as to throw off the water, 
and let the surface freeze while dry, are rendered mel¬ 
low and friable, and are readily brought into excellent 
condition for planting in spring. 
Conclusion of the Season—Potato Crop, 
With general remarks on the Potato. 
The year 1848 will long be remembered, at least in 
central New-York, for ils cool summer and autumn. 
The occurrence of a few hot days in June, connected 
with frequent sudden exLreme changes in that month, 
and the first half of July, (see remarks on the season in 
your October No.) very seriously threatened the potato 
crop. But the steady, cool character of the remainder 
of the season, while it almost annihilated the crop of 
melons, squashes and pickle cucumbers, was very fa¬ 
vorable to the potato. The yield and healthfulness of 
the crop this year has been superior to that of any other 
for four or five years. Still in cases of rich soil, and 
more especially in cases of late planting and tender va¬ 
rieties, the disease has been very fatal. 
A season moderately moist, cool and steady, such as 
is favorable to wheat, oats and grass, will be found 
highly appropriate to potatoes ; while one hot and dry, 
such as is fitted to mature corn, melons and tomatoes, 
will be found unfavorable. Such, however, is the great 
natural vigor of this plant, that it has, until lately, 
withstood the unnatural treatment to which we have 
subjected it in planting it in the same soil and climate 
with corn. The ancient Peruvian Indians, the earliest 
cultivators of this plant of whom we have any knowl¬ 
edge, cultivated this crop higher up on the mountain 
side than corn, and not corn only, but also higher up 
than where the Spaniards subsequently cultivated wheat 
and barley. 
Our unnatural treatment of it, connected with our 
neglect to renew it frequently from vigorous healthful 
seed, has well nigh ruined the potato. As, however, 
we cannot always choose such a soil and climate as we 
could desire for ihis most valuable crop, we may still 
hope to succeed, as we formerly have done, by a wise 
selection of soil, exposition, and early planting, and es¬ 
pecially by the renewal of our seed from vigorous sour¬ 
ces. C. E. G. Utica , Nov., 1848. 
Big Sheep. —It is stated that some of the sheep ex¬ 
hibited at the last show of the Koyal Agricultural So¬ 
ciety, were estimated to weigh as follows : Leicesters, 
of 16 months old, 46 lbs. per quarter; of the same 
breed, 3 years and 4 months old, 56 lbs. per quarter. 
Long-wools, (not Leicester,) 16 months old, 52 lbs. 
per quarter; of the same breed, 3 years and 4 months 
old, 72 lbs. per quarter. South-Downs, 16 months old, 
36 lbs. per quarter;—of the same breed, 3 years and 4 
months old, 46 lbs. per quarter. 
