THE CULTIVATOR. 
6!) 
termination to maker what I can out of my stock through the summer, and 
turn them all to beef in the fall; but I may have need to doctor several of 
them before that time. A letter addressed to me, directed to Ihe care of 
Wm. Lyman, Esq. Schenectady, will be forwarded immediately. 
Yours, &c. J. S. 
COTTON SEED OIL CAKE. 
Judge Buel,— Dear Sir,—In noticing the value of the oil obtained 
from the cotton seed in the May number of the Cultivator, you have inci- 
dently referred to the cake obtained from the seed, as valuable food for 
stock. Last year I obtained a quantity of the cotton seed oil cake from 
New-Orleans, which cost on delivery %t my farm in Dutchess county, 
about §20 per ton. It was shipped in the beginning of warm weather, 
and was not perfectly sound when it arrived; but in the state it was, I 
found it the most valuable food I have ever seen, for nearly all kinds of 
farm stock. I fed it to two fattening cattle in the summer, which improved 
their condition considerably; but owing to irregularity in feeding, I had 
not a very good opportunity of testing its value in their case. During the 
winter, it was given freely to all my milch cows, and young stock and 
sheep. From the last of November to the middle of March, four cows fed 
upon it, at the rate of about four or five quarts a day, made over two hun¬ 
dred pounds of butter. The cows calved in April and May. The sheep 
were in superior condition all winter, being fed a very small quantity daily. 
Their lambs came early and found plenty of sustenance, which I attribute 
mainly to the use of oil cake. To milch cows I would give irom four to 
eight quarts daily. Along the Connecticut river, where it is extensively 
used, it is considered as food for cows superior to any other. I can cer¬ 
tainly say, that the quantity I purchased, three tons, and which lasted till 
spring, paid for itself by the saving of hay. The butter made by its use 
and the improved condition of stock is clear profit. 
At the south, I am told by an intelligent planter, that thdy can make but 
little use of it as food for stock, owing probably, to the heating nature it 
possesses. An oil establishment at New-York, in Laurens-street, keeps 
a constant supply of it, selling largely to the milk men and farmers on 
Long Island. The importation of this acticlp in great quantities may serve 
a very important use in the agriculture of the north One ton is richly 
worth, according to the opinion of all who have used it, two tons of the 
best hay. This may enable farmers to winter three times their usual 
stock, and not only improve the condition of their stqck, but add perma¬ 
nent value to their land. If it merely paid for itself in saving hay, the 
increase of manure, the farmer’s philosopher’s stone, would be profit 
enough. 
The farmers near New-York pay for it at the oil manufactory about §23 
per ton. It can be afforded, however, at a less rate than that, if the de¬ 
mand is great enough to warrant a general importation. 
I ought to have observed, that though swine are very fond of it, it is ve¬ 
ry doubtful whether it is proper food for them. Yours, &c. 
Dutchess county. May 3th, 1337. J. B. J. 
MORE PROFITABLE TO FEED HAY THAN TO SELL IT. 
Dear Sir, —It is very generally believed that, when hay is selling at 
fifteen or twenty dollars a ton, a farmer cannot afford to feed it to stock; 
and the consequence is, that in the fall of the year, farmers dispose of their 
cattle at very low prices, and just at the time when their most important 
uses should commence. I believe this opinion to be founded upon an er¬ 
ror, that may lead to most lamentable consequences. The true basis of 
all good husbandry, is the preservation and proper application of the great¬ 
est possible amount of manure. The farmer who sells his stock in order 
to dispose of his hay, deviates very widely from this principle. But I be¬ 
lieve that a farmer can winter stock, with more profit, than to dispose of 
his hay, even at §20 per ton; and as assertions are nothing, unless found¬ 
ed upon some experience, allow me to detail a case in point. Let me, in 
the first place, however, observe, that in the following statement, the 
source of profit from wintering stock is mostly attribu'ed to manure. Now, 
some farmers may think I set too high a value upon that substance; but in 
making a correct estimate of the relative profits of the two methods here 
spokon of, the real value, as near as maybe, must be set upon it. I think 
that manure is really worth twice as much as I have valued it at, and as 
this is the only point which admits of difference, I should be pleased to 
have your own opinion upon it.* The following is the case: 
Upon my farm in Dutchess county, we last year wintered five horses, 
five cows, seven head of young stock, and one yoke of working cattle. 
The amount of food they consumed, with the highest market value, is as 
follows: 
15 tons hay, at §20 per ton,. §300 00 
250 bushels of mangold wurtzel, at 25c. •. 62 50 
75 do. ruta baga, at 37i|c. 23 12£ 
1J tons cotton seed oil cake, at §20. 30 00 
Oat straw... 30 00 
_ §450 62j 
* We fully concur with our correspondent ns to the value of manure, when 
judiciously employed.— Covd. 
Deduct charges for pressing hay, drawing and commissions on 
sale... 100 00 
§350 62J 
This is more lhan they really consumed, and the articles are put much 
above their market value. For instance, the fifteen tons of hay was the 
remnant of about seventy tons, that was not marketable. We will now 
see what was realized from feeding it to the stock named above. 
Cr. by 220 pounds fresh butter, at 25c... §55 00 
“ “ milk fed to swine. 15 00 
“ “ 200 ox-cart loads of stable dung, well heaped, at §1.50 
per load........ 300 00 
“ “ increased growth and value of stock, .. 25 00 
“ “ one Durham calf fed on milk in the winter,. 5 00 
§400 00 
To balance,. 350 62£ 
§49 37J 
This statement leaves abalance, in favor of wintering stock, of §49.37J. 
It may be objected, as I have previously remarked, that I charge too high 
a price for the manure. This I must leave to the judgment and con¬ 
sciences of farmers, with the single remark, that if any former should be 
guilty of selling from his yard, a large ox-cart load of unfermented manure 
for twelve shillings, he would be actually robbing himself. Short crops of 
hay are not to be remedied by dispensing with manure. This system 
would soon make short crops indeed; the farmer would soon be spared 
the trouble of either selling or feeding. 
There is one other consideration to be noticed in the foregoing state¬ 
ment If, instead of three of the horses, there had been kept four milch 
cows, more than §50 would have been added to the profits in feeding. So 
with the young stock. Besides this, farmers who sell their milch cows in 
the fall for fifteen or twenty dollars, are compelled to pay thirty or forty 
dollars in the spring to get them back. 
Yours respectfully, j 
Dutchess county. May 12 th, 1337. 
A DIGEST OF THE PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE PROPOSED. 
JYcw-Bedford, Pa. February 24 th. 1837. 
Dear Sir,—I have thought, that from the great mas3 of agricultural 
information now before the public, a digest could be made in a scientific 
form, reduced to proper heads, and under such arrangements, as to im¬ 
pose on agriculture the form and system of a science. The whole art, or 
from henceforth, the science of agriculture may, with propriety be compre¬ 
hended under three general heads, viz: Keep the land rich; keep the 
land dry; keep the land clean. Under the head of keeping the land rich, 
is embraced the whole knowledge of preparing, managing and applying 
manures. Under the head of keeping the land dry, are included the 
whole art of draining Under the head of keeping the land clean, are 
comprehended the entire knowledge of destroying weeds.* Each of these 
admits of their divisions, and subdivisions. I have merely suggested the 
above, that you, or some one who has the interest of agriculture at heart 
would essay to throw the knowledge, which is now extant, into form and’ 
system. The advantage which this would be to agriculture is but imper¬ 
fectly appreciated at present. 
Sir, were your correspondents, (when they advise you of the result of 
their labors or their experiments,) to be particular in describing their 
mode of operation, the date of planting, the kind and quality of the soil, 
and particularly the subsoil, it would greatly assist in giving stability to 
practice. The term loam is too vague to be used without connection; the 
particular kind of loam ought to be specified, the term sandy or silicious 
clay or agillaceous, ought always to be prefixed, as either of these predo¬ 
minate. Your correspondents ought to be particular in stating, whether 
the soil is calcareous or not, and if possible, whether in excess or defi¬ 
cient; also the spontaneous vegetable productions which prevail, for these 
are commonly indicative of the character of the soil. Were close and at¬ 
tentive observation to be thus exercised by all our intelligent farmers, and 
if these observations were collected and arranged by men of experience 
and talents in agricultural pursuits, there is no manner of doubt, but agri¬ 
culture would thus assume the infallible character of science, and could 
thus be introduced into our schools, and taught with the certainty of de¬ 
monstration. 
The Cultivator has a very respectable patronage; this shews that in 
every portion of the Union there are men who know how to appreciate 
the merit of the publication; but there are many, very many, of your sub¬ 
scribers, who see no beauty in these things. Upon the cha'racter and re¬ 
commendation of others they have subscribed, but are too much attached 
to the old habitual road to deviate a line to the right hand or to the left; the 
inveteracy of habit, unaccompanied with thought, has doomed them to 
ignorance in agricultural pursuits, and effectually disqualified them from 
appreciating the merit of agricultural periodicals. I can venture to affirm, 
* We like this suggestion, and will endeavor to profit by it.— Cond. 
