1847. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
67 
cents. Both will give milk within 6 weeks of their 
coming in. I have fattod two spring pigs, which, at 
nine months old weighed 619 pounds. I planted two 
acres of corn, and measured the product of one a^re at 
harvesting, which produced 90 bushels of ears, equal to 
50 bushels of shelled.—I have kept 13 hens the past 
year—they laid from Jan., 1846, to" Sept. 12. 1300 
eggs; during this time, all set and hatched over one 
hundred chickens. At the latter date I bought several 
more, and killed some before the end of the year. I 
have now 31, which I intend to keep the present year. 
My object has been to get the most profit at the least 
expense, instead of doing great things where it would 
require great expense. In doing this, I have endeavored 
to take good care of every thing, that rto department of 
my business should suffer at the expense of the other.” 
Sound Reasoning. —-A correspondent at Chuckatuck, 
Nansemond county, Va., says—“ Some of our farmers 
contend that your mode of fanning does not suit them. 
Now, in part, at least, I think they are mistaken. All 
farmers should understand the general principles of agri¬ 
culture, and any information on these points, no mat¬ 
ter whence it comes, ought to be considered valuable. 
Light on any subject is what is wanted. There are 
none so blind as those who will not see. I for one, do 
know that the Cultivator throws much light on almost 
every subject connected with agriculture, whether in 
reference to this or any other section of country.” 
Improvement.— Mr. A. W. Howlett, of Castile, 
Wyoming county, N. Y., informs us that he removed 
from Troy to his present location, in 1843. The farm 
on which he resides had been-so £> run down ” previous 
to his occupancy, that it would produce only ten bushels 
of wheat to the acre. By the use of clover and good 
tillage, he states that he has raised the yield of wheat 
to 22 bushels per acre. His first crop of corn was 20 
bushels per acre; his second 30; and third nearly 40. 
His hay crop was at first one ton per acre; it is now 
two tons. This is encouraging. 
Mr. Pearl Lewis, of Windham, N. Y., writes us in 
reference to the influence of agricultural publications— 
“ That there is a spirit of improvement abroad, is 
evinced by the alteration for the better in the appear¬ 
ance of our farms, and in the disposition manifested for 
reading and inquiry.” Mr. Lewis has our sincere thanks 
for the zeal he has manifested for the prosperity of 
our work. If a few persons in each county will take 
hold of the business as he has done, our subscription list 
would soon be greatly increased. 
Eds. Cultivator —In your January number, you 
make mention in regard to the Crimson Cone Straw¬ 
berry, described in my published article as staminate, 
that you are informed it is pistillate. As the correc¬ 
tion was from myself. I wish it so understood, for in 
your mention of it, it would seem to be otherwise. 
I sent the correction the moment I perused the pub¬ 
lished article in your paper, and it crept in whilst 
transcribing descriptions of 24 varieties for your Culti¬ 
vator and the Farmer’s Cabinet. Wm. R. Prince. 
Mowing Machine. —In our December number an in¬ 
quiry was made in regard to a mowing machine. Maj. 
J. B. Dill, of Auburn, informs us that such a machine 
is maijufactured by Obed Hussey, of Baltimore, Md., 
who is the inventor and patentee, and also by T. R. 
Hussey, of Auburn, N. Y. The operation of these 
machines is said to be quite different from that used for 
cutting grain—the former cutting the grass as even and 
as close to the ground as it can be cut with a scythe. 
“ It will cut from 15 to 20 acres per day, with one 
horse and one man to drive. The cut grass needs not 
to be spread, as it spreads itself in falling over the knife.” 
Good Sheep.—William Kirk, of Salem, Colum¬ 
biana Co., Ohio, writes —“ there has been a great deal 
said about the good qualities of sheep and wool; but 
farmers should keep that breed which would yield 
them most profit. I have had the common sheep, the 
Irish, the Merino, the Bakewell or Leicester, and the 
broad, or fat-tailed breed; but I now keep the Dishley 
[or Leicester, ] which I think the most profitable of 
any. I have taken the premium for three years at our 
agricultural exhibitions. I also sold two hind quarters 
for two dollars and thirty-two cents, (a very high price 
for this section,) and sold some of my lambs at ten dol¬ 
lars a piece. My flock, (two thirds of them ewes with 
lambs,) averaged one year within a few ounces of seven 
pounds to the fleece, for which I got within five cents 
per lb. as much as they did for their best Merino.” 
To prevent Dogs from killing Sheep. —Mr. Eli¬ 
jah M. Davis, of White Plains, New-York, states his 
mode of protecting his sheep from dogs, is to put bells 
on one or two sheep in each flock. He says, 11 Before 
I put bells on my sheep, I was troubled considerably 
with dogs ; but since I have belled them I have not been, 
troubled at all, while some of my neighbors who did not 
use the same precaution, have suffered more or less. 
A sheep-killing dog, is a sneaking creature, and when 
they start up the sheep, bells make a noise and the dogs 
sneak off. If the sheep are within half a mile of the 
farmer’s house, the bells will give an alarm. During 
the night, sheep are generally still unless they are dis¬ 
turbed ; and if the bells are heard during the night, we 
may expect that something disturbs them.” 
Berkshire Hogs. —Extract from a letter received 
from Mr. Isaac Dillon, dated Zanesville, Ohio, Dec. 
12, 1846 :— u I still adhere to the Berkshire breed of 
swine.. I have just killed several pigs of one litter, 14 
months old ; they were wintered on two ears of com 
each per day, were turned into clover in April without 
any additional feed whatever through the summer, and 
were only fed corn in the field six weeks in the fall, 
they weighed from 286 to 300 lbs. ; though they were 
never as fat as they -would have been, had the same 
feed been given them in a pen. The black Sussex pigs 
are still to be seen in the neighborhood. They are a 
good breed, and I intend to get a boar of a cross of this 
breed to put to my Berkshire sows.” 
Suggestion.— A correspondent suggests that a great 
deal of information might be obtained by different indi¬ 
viduals undertaking experiments in relation to various 
branches of agriculture, such as determining the value 
of various manures for particular purposes, the best 
mode of applying them, &.c. He thinks that many of 
our correspondents would be willing to undertake these 
experiments if they were particularly desired to do it. 
We are aware that the conducting an experiment 
on a proper scale to render its results reliable, requires 
the expenditure of considerable time and attention, and 
the experimenter may not always find himself, in a pe¬ 
cuniary way, fully remunerated. The trials, however, 
if conducted, as all such trials should be, will tend to the 
development of truth , and this, whatever may be its 
bearing, will prove useful. To the mariner, it is as es¬ 
sential that the rocks and shoals should be, correctly 
laid down on his charts, as that the safe channel, for his 
vessel should be delineated. So in agriculture, the fa¬ 
vorable as well as the unfavorable principles must be. 
known, before the farmer can be certain that his course 
is the true one. Hence the first and great object in 
making experiments, is to ascertain some fact not before 
established. There are in the country many farmers 
who are abundantly able to undertake experiments of 
the kind suggested, and who possess all the qualifica 
tions for conducting them in a proper manner. Will 
they not, for the advancement of agricultural knowledge, 
and the promotion of their own and the country’s inte¬ 
rest, engage in the work ? We should be glad to re¬ 
ceive the names of such as are disposed to accede to this 
proposition. 
