1854. 
THE CULTIVATOR 
821 
$250,000 worth of sheep had been sold the last year' 
for breeding purposes, out of Addison Co. alone. We 
gathered some very interesting facts in regard to 
prices, fleeces lately sheared, and other accessories' of 
sheep raising, for which we have not room here. 
The Show of Swine Was' very limited, but of very 
good quality—the animals exhibited being for breed¬ 
ing rather than feeding purposes. Among them were 
a beautiful pair of imported Essex, from S. W. Jew¬ 
ett of Middlebury. 
The P oxtltry department included a Grey Eagle,— 
but not a very great variety of domestic fowls; Ver- 
mont does not seem to have been attacked by the ma¬ 
nia for chickens as largely as most other states. 
There was a good variety §f Domestic Manufac**- 
tures ; of Implements for the farm, a very slender 
assortment; of other mechanical contrivances a tole¬ 
rable show. We noticed Halliday’s Patent Wind-Mill 
attached to a pump, which seemed to do its duty well. 
The Plowing Match was well attended and gave 
satisfactory evidence that Vermont workmen do some 
of the best work with some of the best plows. 
The Oration was delivered by Hon. C. T. Russell 
of Boston. Its subject was the Enfranchisement of 
Labor. It was an able literary effort, though not at 
all aiming to be practical, and was heard with evident 
interest. After this, the awards of the Committees on 
Premiums were read by the Secretary, Dr. Cummings, 
for which we cannot now make room. 
On the whole the Fair was very successful,—which 
verdict was. what is somewhat unusual, nearly if not 
quite unanimous. The large crowds of visitors came 
and saw and went without accident. The officers were 
happy in distributing the attractions through the dif¬ 
ferent da}'s, and the programme posted every morning 
was no little convenience. Many older Societies might 
learn much from the just accomplished Anniversary 
of Vermont Farmers—and if any suggestions thrown 
out in the above account, made under some disadvan¬ 
tages, and necessarily brief, shall lead to such a result, 
the officers of the Vermont Society, and not we are to 
receive the credit. 
Cuttings of Fruit Trees. 
(A Constant Reader , Cynthiana, Ky.) [We may as 
well inform our correspondent, and all others, that three 
weeks are required to arrange, set up, stereotype, print, 
and mail an edition so large as that of the Cultivator, 
and that consequently it is impossible to answer an in¬ 
quiry from a remote State, dated “Aug. 25,” in the 
September number.] 
Cuttings should be made in autumn after growth has 
ceased, or early in winter—they may be preserved by 
fastening them in a box by slais running across, and 
then placing the open side of the box downwards with 
its contents in the bottom of a pit dug for the purpose, 
on a dry spot of ground, and burying the whole with 
earth. The slats keep the cuttings from coming in 
contact with the earth below, and they are preserved 
in a proper moist condition. Or, they may be packed 
in slightly damp moss, in a large box, placed in a cel¬ 
lar. Very early in spring they should be set out. Eve¬ 
ry cutting should be cut off just above a bud at the 
upper end, and just below one at the lower end. Taken 
off closely to the old wood, with the base attached, 
they are more sure of growth. They should be set out 
in a trench, in a rich mellow soil, which is to be packed 
or trodden closely about them as the trench is filled, 
and afterwards a mellow surface made by drawing on 
a little more earth. The length of the cutting should 
i be eight inches to'a foot, and’two-thirds to nine-tenth" 
buried. Shading the cuttings of any deciduous trees, 
(including all fruit trees)is of little or no advantage, 
but it is important to keep the ground uniformly moist; 
if this is done by watering, the surface should be pre¬ 
served from crusting or cracking by a mulch. This is 
the mode of raising quince frees, currant and gooseber- 
ry bushes, grapes, &e., but will not answer for the lar¬ 
ger fruits generally, in the northern states—it is cheap¬ 
er to bud or graft, than to procure the few which may 
be obtained among many failures in this way. 
List of State Fairs for 1854. 
Ohio,.Newark,.. .Oct... ,A7 —20 
Illinois,....,.,.. Springfield, .......... Oct._ 3— 6 
Indiana, .............Madison. ..... ..Oct.4— 6 
Iowa,.... Fairfield,.Oct,.... 25 
Wisconsin,. .... Watertown,...Oct. 4— 7 
New-York,.New-York City,.Oct„ .... 3— 6 
New-Hampshire, ....Keene,.. -..Oct. ,...» 3— 6 
Georgia, So.(Central,) Augusta, .......Oct.23—28 
Connecticut, ........New-Haven,........ Oct.10—13 
Maryland,.Baltimore,.Oct .... 3— 6 
Missouri,...Boonvilie,.Oct.2— 6 
North Carolina,.Raleigh,.Oct.17—20 
Tennessee,.Knoxville,...........Oct.IS—20 
Virginia, ..Richmond,.,.Nov. 1— 3 
National Cattle Show, .. ..Springfield, O.,. .Oct.25—27 
Southwestern Ag. Society, Louisville, Ky., .Oct.10—13 
Pittsburgh Ag. Society, .. .Pittsburgh Pa-Oct.3— 6 
Ohio and Penn. Horse Ex..Salem, Ohio,. . ..Oct.11—14 
Un. Ag. Soc. of Va. and N. Carolina, Petersburg, Oct. 24—27 
N. England Hor3e Exhibition, Brattleboro, Vt., Oct. 17—19 
Compost for Corn. 
Messrs. Editors —The question was asked in the 
20th July No. of the Country Gentleman—“What 
shall we substitute for guano?” The following is sub¬ 
mitted for your consideration, without claiming to have 
made any new discoveries, or intending to bring to 
public notice a substitute for guano, or any one of the 
many substances used as fetilizers of the farinaceous 
vegetables, but to elicit investigation and remark. 
I prepared a piece of sward land last April, by turn¬ 
ing the turf well under, some six or eight inches deep, 
and manuring with barn-yard and unfermented sta¬ 
ble manure at the rate of twenty half cord loads per 
acre, spreading evenly as possible the manure over 
the surface, and harrowing with an iron tooth harrow 
at the rate of one day, man and team, per acre. The 
compost used was composed of one part gypsum, and 
two parts of poultry house manure, well mixed, till the 
whole mass formed a light greyish and oily feeling 
compost, comparatively free from scent. 
This compost was put into the hill at planting time, 
about as much as could be taken up easily with the 
thumb and two fingers; nearly the whole piece was 
planted, when the quantity of compost was exhausted, 
and the remainder of the piece was planted without 
compost or manure, (except such as was spread and 
harrowed in common with the rest of the piece.) Now 
for the facts as they have developed themselves dur¬ 
ing the past dry season. When the corn first made its 
appearance, the one par twas dark green, while the 
other was yellowish; the one thick and stalky, the 
other small and spindling. The one part grew some 
two feet taller than the other—ears larger and better 
filled out, and some days earlier, and is estimated to 
be not less than one-eighth better. Calvin Allyn. 
