42 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Fee. 
the great main-spring of all associated action. They 
will not answer for well conducted farm experiments, 
for there are very few that .know how to perform them 
properly, that will do so with a mere chance of being 
paid for their services. Societies, if they expect to be 
useful, must mark out a series of experiments, and 
there are a few competent persons who would under¬ 
take them, from the interest they feel, at even less 
than the cost of carrying them out accurately in prac¬ 
tice, when a risk would be no inducement. We do 
not see why agricultural societies should not aim to be 
useful in this way, as well as by the more indirect 
benefits of public shows. 
It is scarcely necessary for us to mention instances; 
yet a few may seem to make our meaning plainer. 
The societies of this state have paid many thousand 
dollars for the finest looking cattle and horses. One- 
twentieth part of the fifty thousand dollars thus paid, 
would, if judiciously expended, have shown our farm¬ 
ers the comparative advantages of cut and uncut fod¬ 
der ; of feeding regularly and irregularly; of shelter 
and exposure; the nutritive value of hay and corn¬ 
stalks, of wheat, oat, and rye straw, of cooked and un¬ 
cooked food; the fattening properties of various grains, 
and of beets, tumeps, rutabagas, parsnips and carrots; 
and would have shown which of the various breeds of 
cattle would furnish a hundred pounds of beef with 
the smallest amount of food; or which of the various 
competing kinds of swine would fill a pork barrel the 
cheapest. Now, we candidly ask, Would not a know¬ 
ledge of all these facts be quite as useful to the great 
community of farmers, as the mere sight of the hand¬ 
somest animals at our state and county fairs 7 Will so¬ 
cieties continue the same tread-mill track as formerly 7 
■*, Again—thousands have been given for large crops; 
the knowledge of which has had a stimulating effect 
on other cultivators. But the manure which produced 
them may have cost a large sum, and may be still too 
scarce an article to treat a whole farm with. Experi¬ 
ments therefore, showing the most economical mode of 
composting, applying and intermixing manures with 
the soil, would be of universal benefit. Indisputable 
facts, pointing out the best crop for green manure, and 
its value as compared with compost, and with other 
green crops, would be of the highest benefit. So also 
would a general system of experiments with various 
sorts of rotations, for determining the most valuable 
for the permanent benefit of the land, as well as for 
immediate profit. Again,—premiums are offered year 
after year, for the best twenty apples, and year after 
year the public see the twenty sorts set upon the tables 
for this standing reward. Infinitely more valuable to 
the community, would be the knowledge of the most 
productive sorts for market or for stock-feeding, proved 
so by actual experiment; ©ife-the knowledge between 
the product of orchards subjected to the best culture 
and treatment, when compared to those under ordina¬ 
ry neglect. 
The great leading advantage of the knowledge ob¬ 
tained as we propose, over that imparted by ordinary 
fairs, is this: Fairs teach only actual spectators, and 
for a single occasion: that which we propose, may be 
published and laid before millions, and may be per¬ 
petuated for ages to come ; and a single fact, well un¬ 
derstood, may effect an annual saving of untold thou¬ 
sands when adopted by the great multitude of the 
fanning community. 
Answers to Inquiries. 
Messrs. Editors—I take the liberty of making the 
following inquiries: 
1. What is the best feed for milch cows in winter'— 
the object is to sell milk?(a) 
2. Can calves be raised partly on oil cake, the best 
method of using it, where is it to be had, and the 
cost? (b) 
3. What would he the value of a two years old bull 
in the spring, three-fourths Ayrshire and one-fourth 
Durham, from imported stock, handsome , weighing 
over 1,000 lbs. 7(c), 
4. What is the price of draining tile? Can they be 
purchased in New-York 7(d) 
5. Are oyster shells valuable as a manure—if so, for 
what crop, and how are they to be used?(e) 
My only excuse for thus troubling you is, that I am 
a reader of your valuable publication. B. Watson. 
St. Stephen, New-Brunswick, Dec. 16,1S53. 
(а) Avoid feeding dry substances only, and give a 
full proportion of succulent food, so as to imitate the 
nature of the succulent food of spring and summer, at 
which time milk is most abundant. Beets, carrots, and 
bran largely mixed with water, and warm quarters, 
will facilitate the production of milk. Milk-sellers 
inure their cows to the use of large quantities of 
u slop,” consisting of water with small portions of meal, 
bran, &c., but when carried to excess the milk is thin 
in quality. 
(б) We are not acquainted with the effects of oil¬ 
cake on calves. It is little used in this country. In 
Europe it is largely employed in fattening cattle in 
connexion with other food, and although very costly, it 
is found profitable from its valuable effects. American 
oil-cake is bought in England for this purpose. It 
must be crushed or ground before fed to animals. Our 
impression is that the price is about forty-five dollars 
per ton in New-York. 
(c) The value cannot be given without seeing the 
animal—fine, full blooded animals, command good 
prices, for breeding. A mixture would greatly lessen 
the animal’s value for this purpose, so long as full- 
bred animals may be had. 
(d) Draining tile is made at Albany, Waterloo, and 
Palmyra, N. Y„, and perhaps at other places. The 
prices vary with the size, from $10 to $18 per 1,000. 
(e) Oyster shells, burned or pulverized, form a good 
manure wherever lime is beneficial. They are not so 
valuable as bones, being chiefly carbonate of lime. 
Crushed or ground, they are more fertilizing in their 
effects than common lime, on account of the animal 
matter they eontain. Burned, they are nearly similar 
to pur© stone lime. Experience is the best test of their 
value, under the varying circumstances of different lo¬ 
calities. 
