1848. 
THE CULTIVATOR 
59 
can have half a dozen gates or bars^ open through the 
day, in the business of the farm, and no annoyance 
near—he can drive his own animals without inconveni-. 
ence from those who have no driver—woman and little 
children can walk the streets quietly and safely with¬ 
out danger from wild, disorderly animals—the way- 
sides, unless used for plowed crops, exhibit a gay, ver¬ 
nal appearance, and when newly mowed present a 
lovely sight. In fact countless benefits attend this im¬ 
proved state of things, and not a solitary wrong thing 
in the whole matter. Wise are the legislators who 
enact such good and wholesome laws for the preserva¬ 
tion of our rights and safety. Public benefactors are 
the men who come boldly out and sustain them in their 
early adoption; and 11 happy are the people” who live 
under their salutary influence. May a similar condi¬ 
tion to that which Massachusetts is now approaching, 
and which she is ultimately to attain through all her 
borders in these matters, be speedily realized all over 
the nation, and through the world. William Bacon. 
Richmond, Jan., 1848. 
Farmer’s Clubs. 
We are pleased to learn that a Farmer’s Club has 
been formed in Clinton, Oneida county, N. Y. We 
have received a communication from a correspondent 
in reference to this association from which we give the 
following. We would refer our correspondent to an 
article on Farmer’s Clubs in our last volume, page 
62.— Eds. 
We are engaged in a new subject, and have no one 
that has had any experiece in such associations; and 
we are therefore in doubt as to what course to pursue 
to bring out the talent and experience of the several 
members of our club. On one point I believe there is 
but one Opinion, that is we want facts, and the experi¬ 
ence of the practical portion of our community, rather 
than mere speculations. The question is, How can 
this knowledge be drawn out, and made useful to our¬ 
selves and others? And what measures can we adopt 
to not only keep up, but to increase the interest now 
manifest among us? In large places I am aware that 
by means of shows, public lectures, and large pecuni¬ 
ary resources, it is not so difficult to do this; but are 
not these associations as much, or perhaps more need¬ 
ed, in smaller places than in larger ones; and cannot 
you, or some of your correspondents, suggest some 
course of action that will best secure the objects aimed 
at, in the constitution of our society? Agricola. 
CoaFAshes—Compost for Corn. 
I have been experimenting in the use of coal ashes 
for potatoes. On half an acre I put nothing but such 
ashes; on an acre adjoining was spread a good coating 
of well rotted horse manure; and on another half acre 
adjoining both the preceding, nothing. Soil, a sandy 
loam. I found the coal ashes fully equal to the horse 
manure, the potatoes being very fine for the season. 
Where there was nothing, the yield was about one half 
what it was on the other portions,—both in quantity 
and size. I planted half a row with diseased potatoes, 
not a single sound one among them; but in the product 
I have not yet found the first disased tuber. 
The following was my compost for corn, during the 
past season:-—forty bushels of pigeon dung; forty 
bushels of hog dung, well-rotted, from beneath an old 
pen; ten bushels of plaster; and five of unleached ash¬ 
es. A common handful was put in each hill. The 
corn was earlier by two weeks, larger ears, better 
filled, and more of them, but less fodder, than where 
I put fifteen large two-horse loads of barn-yard manure 
to the acre. The whole crop was in the same field, 
and the soil and tillage were alike in both parcels. 
Brunswick, Col. Co. Pa. J. H. Young. 
Plan of a Farm House. 
Editors Cultivator —I transmit for your disposal 
the annexed plan of a dwelling, lately erected by my¬ 
self, and which, in consideration of size—32 X 24, 
and 28 X 24, including wood house, I find convenient¬ 
ly arranged for family purposes. 
The building is of wood, lined with brick; the front, 
or main part, has 15 ft. posts, the lower rooms 10 ft. 
high, and the chambers finished to the rafters till 7h 
ft. ijn height. The back, or kitchen part, has 10 ft. 
posts, consequently no room above except a garret for 
rpbbish. 
First Floor —Fig. 20. 
A, parlor; B, dining room; C, kitchen; D, bed¬ 
room, finished to correspond with A; E, bed-room, 
finished to correspond with B; F, hall, in which is a 
circular stairway that occupies only 2g X 3 ft. space— 
under the highest side is the passage to the dining 
room, and the lower side admits under it a quadrant 
shaped hat stand, as shown by the fine lines; G, kitch¬ 
en bed-room; H, pantry; I, cellar stairway; J, piazzas; 
K, wood house; assa, stoves • X. cupboards; 0, false 
windows outside. 
a, sleeping rooms warmed by the pipes that pass 
through the floor from the stoves below, and extend to 
