22 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
hardiness of constitution not inferior to the South Downs, or any of 
our best native sheep; but in addition, more beauty of form, heavier 
carcass and fleece, and better quality, than the other larger breeds, 
common among us. As an evidence of their superior constitution, 
you will believe me when I state that these sheep were shipped 
from Hull, in England, about the first of September last; they arriv¬ 
ed at the port of New-York about the last of October, having (as 
Mr. Gossip informed me) made the passage in 58 days. I saw them 
in two or three days after taken from aboard ship; they were in fine 
condition, showing no particular marks of falling off from the change 
they had undergone, as well as their long passage. After this they 
remained at New-York about two months, and the principal part of 
this time pent up in a small shanty at Niblo’s garden; here they 
fell off some, from their unfavorable situation and bad management 
in their keep. They had thus stood on hand, on account of the 
great price asked for them. Except up to this time, one pair was sold 
to a gentleman in Virginia, another pair to a gentleman in Ohio, 
another pair to a gentleman in Somers, near me, at about $250 each 
pair, viz. buck and ewe. I have in my lot six or eight of the most 
choice ewes of the whole lot, and one buck, of the first choice, a 
sheep (acknowledged by all who have seen him, of the most compe¬ 
tent judges) to be more splendid than any thing of the kind they 
have ever seen. I have quite a number of other very superior 
sheep of these kinds, viz. Bakewell, Leicester, &c. but my Lincolns, 
notwithstanding the great change they have recently undergone, 
are looking better under the same treatment, than any sheep I 
have. 
I fear I have already taxed your patience too much. I have said 
more for the imformation of those that may inquire of you for im¬ 
proved sheep. I shall have only but few of my full blood Lincolns 
lor sale this year, at least, and should not feel willing or pleased, to 
sell one of them, into the hands of any man, who would not be like¬ 
ly do justice to them. I have obtained them at a heavy cost, and 
shall be satisfied to breed them only for the butcher, if the farmers 
will not have them. Yours, truly, 
LEONARD D. CLIFT. 
POTATO DROPPER. 
Montgomery county , Md. Dec. 22, 1836. 
J. Buel, Esq.— Sir —As the cultivation of the potato makes some 
figure in your columns, I have taken the liberty of troubling you 
with some account of an implement that I have used for a few years 
in planting my potatoes. The following figure may facilitate the 
explanation of it. 
Fig. 1. 
Fig. 
mm 
A. represents the staff, made of some light wood, of a size and 
length that may be conveniently handled by the laborer in an erect 
posture, the inferior end shod with metal. 
B. represents the open hopper, in the shape of an inverted cone, 
made of tin, soal leather, or any other material that may be prefer¬ 
red. The one that I have used is made of the stiffest paste-board. 
Tin is preferable, taking care to have the circumference of the aper¬ 
tures, particularly the one next the earth, armed with large wire 
The perpendicular side of the hopper is pinned to the side of the 
staff, the inferior ends of the hopper and staff being nearly even. 
C. represents the rod or index, of metal or tough wood, which is 
inserted, at right angles, into the staff; as near tire end as may be. 
The length of the index is determined by the distance the potato 
sets are to occupy in the drill or furrow. 
The operator grasps the staff with his left hand, and, holding it 
perpendicularly, places the hopper in the furrow, resting it upon the 
earth, and drops the potato through it; then placing the end of the 
index against the potato just dropped, another is passed through it, 
and so on. A bag, holding about a peck, strapped over the shoul¬ 
ders and resting upon the breast, is what I have used for the pur¬ 
pose of carrying the seed. 
By the use of this machine, the operator is saved the fatigue of 
stooping—the potatoes lie where they fall, as may be proved by 
dropping them through this machine on a plank floor—the distance 
is accurately measured by the index, and each seed has precisely 
the same quantity of ground to support it. 
I have fancied that the potatoes dropped in this manner, have at¬ 
tained greater uniformity of size, than those planted in the usual 
mode. 
Several of these hoppers might be attached together to one staff; 
where the sets are to stand very near together, as shown by fig. 2. 
Yours respectfully, A SUBSCRIBER. 
P. S. The staff of the potato dropper I have used is, upon mea¬ 
surement, 4| feet in length, and the hopper a foot high, the mouth 
of it 8 inches in diameter, the outlet at the bottom about 2 inches. 
The size of the last, of course, depends upon the size of the seed. 
The bottom of the hopper and the index about a half inch from the 
lower end of the staff. 
Vice-Presidents. 
STATE AGRICULTURAL CONVENTION. 
A State Agricultural Convention convened at the Capitol, on the 
2d of February. Judge Pettit, of Onondaga, was called temporari¬ 
ly to the Chair, and J. B. Duane of Schenectady, and Dr. Spoor of 
Greene, appointed Secretaries pro tern. On the Secretaries regis¬ 
tering the names of the gentlemen in attendance, the number was 
found to be about one hundred and fifty, and representing forty coun¬ 
ties. 
On motion of Mr. Gray of Chemung, 
A committee of nomination was appointed, consisting of— 
Mr. Labaugh of the 1st Senatorial district. 
“ Cash of the 2d do do 
“ J. Townsend of the 3d do do 
“ E. Smith of the 4th do do 
“ Pond of the 5th do do 
“ Gray of the 6th do do 
“ Baldwin of the 7th do do 
“ Allen of the 8th do do 
The committee, after consultation, recommended the following of¬ 
ficers, and their nomination was unanimously confirmed by the Con¬ 
vention, viz: 
ANTHONY VAN BERGEN, of Greene, President. 
Henry F. Jones of Queens, 
John Townsend of Albany, 
Andrew S. Pond of Oneida, 
George Pettit of Onondaga, 
David Sheldon of Dutchess, | 
Joseph W. Richards of Washington, • 
Henry S. Randall of Cortland, ^secretaries. 
Hiram M’Niel of Niagara, J 
On motion of Mr. Viele of Rensselaer, Messrs. Pitts of the 1st, 
Davis of the 2d, Buel of the 3d, Richards of the 4th, Bigelow of 
the 5th, Patterson of the 6th, Robinson of the 7th, and Allen of the 
8th district, were appointed a'committee to report resolutions for the 
consideration of the Convention. 
On motion of Mr. Buel of Albany, 
A committee was appointed, consisting of Judge Spencer and J. 
B. Nott of Albany, and A. Walsh of Rensselaer, to examine and 
report on the Silk Spinner and Twister of Mr. Brooks, exliibited in 
the Capitol. 
On motion of Mr. Allen of Erie, it was 
Resolved, That Messrs. Mather and Hall, two of the State Geo¬ 
logists now in the city, be requested to report to this Convention, 
the probable benefits to the Agriculture of this State which may re¬ 
sult from the geological surveys now in progress. 
The Convention then adjourned till 4 o’clock on Friday after¬ 
noon. 
Friday , February 3. 
Mr. Buel, from the committee appointed to report resolutions 
for the consideration of the Convention, reported in part, the follow¬ 
ing : 
Resolved, That in the opinion of this Convention, agriculture is 
the great business of the State; that upon its resources and im¬ 
provements, the merchant, mechanic, manufacturer, and all other 
