82 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
March, 
so that, it may project several inches each way,, at 
right angles to the post, and when the earth is rammed' 
about it, will hold the post firmly in the ground and 
prevent its rising by frost. 
Gas-Tar. 
I wish to be informed through the Country Gentle¬ 
man what coal-tar is—the article used on the roofs of 
buildings. Would this substance be of any use applied, 
to wooden fence posts to preserve the part set in 
the ground from rotting % A Subscriber. Windsor 
county, Yt. 
Gas or Coal-Tar is the refuse tar from gas-works. 
Two or three coats, well dried, act as a powerful pre¬ 
servative of all wooden substances to which it is appli¬ 
ed ; and from the experiments we have made, with 
wooden surfaces constantly exposed to moisture, we 
have no doubt it would be valuable on fence posts— 
certainly more so than charring , which after all, ad¬ 
mits moisture through, the charcoal—this would not 
admit it. Gas-tar, under soil, is said to be gradually 
decomposed; but if well dried previously, the process 
would certainly be very slow. 
Spring Wheat. 
Messrs. Editors —Will you have the kindness to 
answer me the following questions through your valua¬ 
ble paper, the Country Gentleman? What kind of 
soil is required to raise spring wheat 1(a) Willlime- 
stone soil answer ? How many bushels are required to be 
sown upon the acre, and at what time should it be 
sown 7(5) And how many bushels are generally raised 
to the acre, and what is the general price for it in the 
New-York market, (c) it not being raised in this part of 
the country. By answering the above questions you 
will confer a favor upon A New Subscriber. Eas¬ 
ton, Pa. 
(а) The same soil that will bring good winter wheat 
or good barley—what is usually termed “ limestone,” 
soil will doubtless answer well. 
(б) About a bushel and a Half seed should be sown 
per acre, as early in spring as it is possible to. get the 
soil in good condition. 
(c) Twenty bushels 'per acre is a fair crop—the priee 
is about one “ York, shilling” less on the bushel than 
good winter wheat. —— 
Churning "by Steam Power. 
Messrs. Editors— I wish to obtain information on 
the application of steam power te churning. I have 
usually churned by means of water power, but that fre¬ 
quently fails at the season of the year I most need it. 
I wish to know whether steam power is in use in any of 
the large dairies, and what the opinion is in relation to 
its safety and utility as compared with other modes. 
And also what the cost will be of an engine with the 
necessary fixtures of sufficient power to churn the milk 
of forty cows. Also where such engine can be obtained. 
A New Subscriber. Genegan islet, N. Y -, Jan. 18. 
Engines intended for farming purposes have been 
made for sale by Ho are & Co., of Watertown, N. Y. 
The price of a portable engine of half a horse power, is 
$75 ; one horse power, $150, and at a similar rate for 
other sizes. We have not known their use for dairies 
merely ; in ordinary cases, a single horse would be 
found most convenient; where an engine sufficient for 
thrashing, wood-sawing, &c., is used, it would be so 
large as to prove a waste perhaps, of power for churning. 
We do not look for the immediate introduction of 
steam power on farms in this country. In England, 
where horses are costly, and where coal is abundant, 
engines for thrashing, winnowing, cutting straw and 
hay, grinding grain, &c., &g., have been introduced to 
some extent on large farms j, but most of the attempts 
here have failed. The proposition to' assist their intro¬ 
duction by adding the plow to the objects of their force, 
will certainly prove a failure ; for if, as is now the case, 
it is found here most economical^ without one exception 
in ten thousand, to apply horse power to thrashing^md 
other stationary, farm machinery, the difference in fa¬ 
vor of the latter must be still greater, when the con¬ 
stant locomotion of a heavy engine is required over 
soft ground, wasting a large portion of its power, be¬ 
sides its effective force in working. 
Farming in JBristol, VE. 
Messrs. Editors —With'your permission,. I propose 
to give the readers of the Country Gentleman, (a paper 
which ought to be in the bands of every one who tills 
the soil,); a few ideas of farming in this vicinity. We 
can cultivate almost any crop to advantage, provided 
we keep the soil in good heart, without being at too 
groat an outlay to entirely destroy the profits. Our 
staple crop is Indian corn. We generally plow the 
land in the spring, to the depth of five or six inches, 
turning under a good coat of manure- Sometimes the 
manure is spread on after the ground is plowed, and 
harrowed in'. Which is the best method,. I am unable 
to say. There are various opinions about it; but the 
most of our farmers adopt the former method. 
There should be several rules laid down before un¬ 
dertaking to cultivate this crop. The first should be a 
good high fence around it, to protect it from unruly 
cattle; secondly, to have the land in good condition, 
and thirdly, to have a good variety of seed. JWith 
these conditions, if well cultivated, we may expect 
good crops. 
Ashes, lime and' plaster are used’ as fertilizersgen¬ 
erally put on the hill?.. 
To succeed this crop, oats are generally sown, and 
are profitable to the farmer if properly cultivated. If 
we should manure the land for this crop as we do for 
’other grain, we should not hear as much about the oat 
crop being so exhausting to the land. After this crop 
is taken, winter grain is sown,with grass seed. Then 
the land is laid down, either to pasture or meadow. 
There is one part of good husbandry that we do not 
practice to any extent^ that would be a most impor¬ 
tant item in farm economy, where land is as high as it 
is in this section of eountry. That is, soiling cattle 
and horses. By introducing the practice of soiling, a 
considerable saving of land will be effected. One acre 
of cut grass, or eorr^ sown with about three bushels 
per acre, will be equal to three or four of pasture. 
There is also a great saving in the quantity of food 
consumed as well as a greater variety of. plants eaten. 
