1851 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
379 
for 1847, lias been adopted in many instances, and with 
entire success. In the principal ice-exporting districts, 
the houses for storing it are of late generally built above 
ground. 
Hay Press.—B., New London, Ct. Deidrick’s press, 
made by L. Deidrick, Kinderkook, N. Y., with some 
improvements which have been lately made, is thought 
to be equal if not superior to any in use. It is made 
both in a portable and stationary form—the former being 
sold at $100, and the latter at $200 to $300, according to 
size. 
NOTES FOR THE MONTH. 
Acknowledgments.— Communications have come to 
hand, since our last, from Observee, A. B. Allen Sc Co., 
H. M. Congar, Prof. J. P. Norton, ¥m. H. Sotham, J. 
H. Salisbury, W. A. Mayborn, D. B. Richards, S. W. 
Bartlett, Tyro. - 
The Stone-Hill Potato. —We have received from 
Mr. D. A. Bulkley, of Williamston, Mass., a sample 
of a variety of potatoes with this name. Mr. B. states 
that he raised them from seed of the Carter potato, the 
present being the fourth generation from their origin, 
and they have this year been very productive on his farm. 
The tubers left with us are large, white, and every way 
fine in appearance, and having had several of them cook¬ 
ed., we can say the quality is excellent. 
0=- Mr. John Giles, of Providence, and Dr.'EsEN 
Wight, of Boston, will accept our thanks for a pair of 
beautiful Aylesbury ducks, received from each them. 
Potatoe Disease.— We have received through His 
Excellency Gov. Hunt, two letters from Mr. Smith 
Fancher, of Broome county, on the subject of the po¬ 
tato disease. He thinks the disease is caused by “ a fly, 
rather larger than our common fly, of rather a blackish 
cast, with gilt spots on its wings, of a golden brightness.” 
To prevent the attacks of this fly, he recommends sow¬ 
ing slacked lime on the tops of the potatoes, while they 
are wet with dew. This he thinks “ will extract the 
poison and destroy the nit.” The idea that this disease 
is caused by insects has been often advanced, and the 
evil has been charged on many species; but accurate in¬ 
vestigation has shown the hypothesis to be without foun¬ 
dation. A similar remedy to that suggested by Mr. F., 
has been applied in numerous instances, without any ef¬ 
fect to lessen the malady. 
Uniformity in Breeding. —A family of cattle ex¬ 
hibited by W. W. Wadsworth, Esq., of Geneseo, at 
the late State Fair, deserves special mention. It con¬ 
sisted of a cow nine years old, and five of her offspring, 
viz: one cow, six years old; one ox, five, one cow, four; 
one heifer, three; and a sucking calf. We were told 
that there was another heifer, in the same family, fully 
equal to any of these, in good qualities. The parent 
cow and most of her progeny are red. She is perhaps, 
seven-eights Short-horn, and has been bred to Short¬ 
horn bulls. Her points and handling are excellent— 
scarcely surpassed by any, and equalled by very few of 
the Short-horn cows on the ground; and the same quali¬ 
ties are very strikingly apparent in all her progeny. The 
ox, (which belonged to a pair exhibited by Mr. W.,) 
was one of the most complete animals, in every particu¬ 
lar, that we have ever seen. The whole family form 
such an example of uniformity in breeding, as is seldom 
attained. -— 
Trial of Plows. —By an arrangement between the 
officers of five county Agricultural Societies in Pennsyl¬ 
vania, a trial of plows took place on the farm of Thos. 
P. Knox, Esq., near Norristown, Pa. on the 7th of Oc¬ 
tober. Twenty plowmen with the same number of 
plows, competed for the prizes. The ground selected 
for the trial, though the most suitable that could be ob¬ 
tained in the vicinity, was very unfavorable. It was 
naturally of a tenacious character, and under the in¬ 
fluence of three months drouth, had become more solid 
than any ground we ever before saw plowed. We un¬ 
derstood that the rules by which the decisions were 
made, were that the furrows should not be less than six 
inches deep, nor less than ten inches wide, and that the 
plow which effected the most thorough pulverization of 
the soil, these requisitions being complied with, should 
be entitled to the preference. The awards were as fol¬ 
lows: For the best plow, 1st premium to Prouty & 
Mears, Centre Draft, No. 5|, $50; 2d do. Jesse Paw¬ 
ling, Jr., $30; 3d do. Geo. Buckman, $20. For the 
best plowman, 1st premium to Abraham Guile, $25; 
2d do. W. R. Kennedy, $15; 3d do. J. B. Walker, 
$10. Much of the plowing was done in a very creditable 
manner, considering the condition of the soil, and many 
of the plowmen evinced a skill which under more favora¬ 
ble circumstances would have caused their work to praise 
them. -—- 
More French Merino Sheep. —S.W. Jewett, Esq., 
of Weybridge, Vt., has lately received 56 of these sheep, 
from the flocks of Messrs. Gilbert & Cughnot—making 
in all he has imported from France, nearly 300 head. 
We have had the opportunity of examining most of the 
latter importation, and several of the former. They ap¬ 
pear to have been selected with care, and &re more uni¬ 
form in appearance, both as to shape and size of carcass, 
and quality of wool, than the previous importations of 
sheep we have seen from that country. Like other 
French Merinos which have been imported, they are much 
larger than sheep of the Spanish stock which have been 
bred here. It is to be hoped they will receive a fair trial 
in comparison with other stocks. 
Good Cows.— Samuel W. Bartlett, Esq., of East- 
Windsor, Ct., sends us an account of the produce of a 
Short-horn cow, (Red Lily,) ownedby Solomon Cowles, 
Esq., of Farmington, Ct. The cow was exhibited by 
Mr. C. at the late show at Hartford, and the statement 
in reference to her was presented to the committee of 
which Mr. Bartlett was chairman. “ She is five years 
old; calved Sept. 16, 1851; gave in six successive days 
in September, an average of 36 lbs. 8 oz. of milk per 
day, which milk produced 12 lbs. 8 oz., or more than 
two pounds of butter per day; her keeping, pasture feed 
only.” The following is given as her pedigree: “Red 
Lily, calved Jan. 4, 1846; got by King Philip, Ameri¬ 
can Herd-Book, 85; gr. sire North-Americ&n, English 
Herd-Book, 684; gr. gr. sire Yorkshireman, 5700. Dam 
