THE CULTIVATOR. 
Agricultural Machinery. 
of the town society, and should he the end and aim of 
all such organizations. 
Town Societies should, in our judgment, be formed 
with no reference to exhibitions ; but rather for mutual 
improvement in the various departments of science and 
art, having reference to their peculiar vocation. A 
suitable library, to which all members shall have free 
access, is the first and all important desideratum in 
such township organizations. Of those devoted to agri¬ 
cultural pursuits, there is probably not one in a thou¬ 
sand so thoroughly posted in knowledge as to realize the 
greatest amount of profit at present attainable in the 
various departments of his labor. The means of infor¬ 
mation are not at hand, and thousands go plodding on, 
from year to year, without even the shadow of improve¬ 
ment. 
A thorough knowledge of the best known system of 
rotation of crops, the best method of saving and apply¬ 
ing manure, and the best method of preparing the soil 
for the reception of the seed, would, if practically put 
in requisition in every community, very considerably 
enhance agricultural products, which enhancement 
would, in the aggregate, amount to no inconsiderable 
number of dollars. An acquaintance with the best 
system of improving stock, of developing, to a full 
extent, their healthy growth, as well as the best meth¬ 
ods of remedying their various diseases, would be 
equally prolific of results, in no small degree enhancing 
the profits of the grazier. 
A knowledge of the present state of pomological 
science would very materially enhance the luxuries of 
home and the profits of the orchard. But few are 
aware of the disadvantages which ignorance of such 
knowledge entails. Many trees in transplanting, are 
unnecessarily lost, old orchards are not half so prolific 
as good culture would make them ; and new selections 
are, too often, most injudiciously made. We have 
known whole orchards set with the Newtown pippin, 
in a soil nearly destitute of lime, and others to the blue 
pearmain ; in either case the loss is at least ninety per 
cent of what might have been realized from a judicious 
selection, which an acquaintance with such works as J. 
J. Thomas’s, Barry’s, or Downing’s would have ena¬ 
bled them to have made. 
In the construction of buildings, useless expense is 
often incurred, even at the expense of convenience and 
beauty, which a fair knowledge of rural architecture 
would have prevented. 
Kitchen gardening is lamentably neglected by pro¬ 
fessed agriculturists, not only through a mistaken no¬ 
tion of its unprofitableness, but through ignorance of 
the most successful means of culture, and the luxuries 
which such culture affords. 
Facilties for such and other important information, a 
Town Agricultural Society can easily provide. At a 
trifling individual expense, such works as “ Stephens’s 
Book of the Farm,” “ Dana’s Muck Manual,” or 
“ Browne’s American Muck Book,” “Johnson’s Chem¬ 
istry” and his “Practical Agriculture,” “Allen’s 
American Farm Book,” Youatt or Allen on the “ Dis¬ 
eases of Domestic Animals,” Thomas on “ Fruit and 
Fruit Trees,” Allen or Downing on “ Rural Architec¬ 
ture,” “ Buist’s Kitchen Garden,” “ Nash’s Progress¬ 
ive Farmer,” “Falkner’s Farmer’s Manual,” and 
many other equally important agricultural works may 
be placed within the reach of each member. Such an 
investment would pay in beneficial, practical results an 
hundred fold. 
In addition to providing the means of information, 
Town societies may accomplish much by giving eaoh 
member something to do in experimental research. 
Much additional information may thus be elicited, at 
least of local if not of general interest, adding to the 
rapidly increasing stock of agricultural knowledge.— 
Yours, &c., 0. C. Gibbs, M. D. Perry, Lake Co. } Ohio. 
. - . 
The last number of the Journal of the N. Y. State 
Agricultural Society contains the interesting and val¬ 
uable Report of John Stanton Gould, Chairman of 
the Committee on Agricultural Machinery. Among 
other contrivances noticed, is an account of the porta¬ 
ble Cider Mill , exhibited by John Jones, of Little 
Falls, Herkimer county, N. Y r . What appears to us 
the most remarkable, is the great number of useful 
purposes to which this machine may be applied. It 
will grind apples into pomace, mash potatoes, turneps 
and carrots, grind meat for sausages, and pulverize 
sugar. The press may be applied to pressing tallow, 
lard, currants for wine or jelly, and to wringing 
clothes. There are two sizes, one for a horse, and the 
other to be worked by hand. The hand mill may be 
moved from place to place as easily as a common 
wheel-barrow. The exhibitor ground with one of these 
machines four barrels of pomace in eight minutes, in 
presence of the committee, “ without any great effort,” 
the pomace being much finer than usual. One man 
may make five barrels of cider in a day. The com¬ 
mittee remark, that by the aid of one of these ma¬ 
chines, the farmer may keep himself in sweet cider the 
year round (fermented he should never drink) ; can 
make it at “ odd times,” save his wind-falls, or at any 
time any surplus of apples threatened with decay.— 
Price of the horse machine, $60 ; hand machine, $25. 
An improvement is noticed in Fairbanks’s Ilay 
Scales ; the usual notches on the beam are dispensed 
with ; the poise sliding along smoothly, an index point¬ 
ing downwards to the figures on the side of the beam, 
rendering the operation more expeditious and more 
accurate than where the poise must be lifted from 
notch to notch. 
Root Washers —We have been long of the opinion 
that a good root washer, by separating rapidly the dirt 
from potatoes, when first dug (in connection with sub¬ 
sequent ventilation), would contribute more than any 
thing else to preserve harvested potatoes from the rot. 
We have hoped to see something offered for sale, like 
Croskill’s Archimedean Root Washer, in England. The 
only thing of the kind mentioned by the committee is 
Bentley’s Hydraulic Steamer and Washer, which is 
highly commended, but the mode of construction or 
operation is not described. 
Drills —A contrivance is mentioned for dropping 
plaster, or other concentrated manure, over but not in 
contact with the seed, the diill closing over and par¬ 
tially covering the seed before the plaster tube deposits 
its contents. This may prove of advantage in apply¬ 
ing guano or other highly fertilizing compounds, too 
strong for immediate contact with the seed. This drill 
was exhibited by C. A. Wakefield, of Elizabethtown, 
N. J-, and has an opening in the back of the machine, 
enabling the operator to see at any moment whether 
the machine is dropping or not. Seymour & Co.’s latest 
improved drill is noticed, being the only machine that 
at one operation sows grass seed broadcast, drills in 
the grain, sows any pulverized manure,, and is capable 
of being fitted as a horse hoe, like Garrett’s. Price of 
the whole, $130. 
