36 
THE CULTIVATOR 
horses in ten years $2,486.82; and in that ratio for forty 
years, $34,000. Will not the above calculation account 
for the unsuccessful, embarrassed, and even bankrupt 
condition of many, with whom we have been, or are ac 
quainted ? And is it not a fact, that many farmers in our 
country, have supported useless horses within the last 
thirty or forty years, the actual expense of which would 
amount to more than the value of their farms? 
Yours respectfully, 
DANIEL S. CURTIS. 
Canaan Center, January 18th, 1840. 
History of a “ Comforter.’’ 
I shall offer no apology to the editors of the Cultiva¬ 
tor, for the following history of a “ Comforter,” believ¬ 
ing it to be their object to afford information in every 
department of out or in-door husbandry; and I shall 
offer none to their readers for illustrating, even in such 
a trifle, the great science of economy. 
As winter gave indications of its approach, Mrs.-, 
said to me—“We must have some additional bed cloth¬ 
ing, my dear.” “And how much, and what kind, is 
wanted?” “Blankets sufficient for two or three beds.” 
This seems rather formidable in these excruciating 
times, but we must lie warm through the cold weather, 
children, servants and all, and have a snug bed for a 
friend or two besides. What say you to some more 
comforters?” (We had half a dozen of the thin kind 
already.) “ They may answer, if I can find time and 
strength to make them.” I thought this a good oppor¬ 
tunity to get one made after my own fashion hoxvever ; 
and accordingly I sent for a piece of calico and eight 
pounds of batting. To make this all up at once in the 
old fashion way. was of course not immediately to be 
expected. I stipulated therefore for one, if it should be 
made agreeable to my directions. The preliminaries 
agreed upon were—that it should be four breadths wide, 
two and a quarter yards long, and be filled with the 
whole quantity of batting; and as quilting was out of 
the question, knotting at a quarter of a yard distance 
was decided upon. This “ unheard of quantity of stuff¬ 
ing” was finally distributed, and secured, and at once 
installed on our own bed. My wife was the first to re¬ 
tire, as I alleged some excuse for delaying till the expe¬ 
riment was tried, she having retained some additional 
covering despite my remonstrances to the contrary. In a 
few minutes the counterpane was thrown off, soon a 
blanket was laid aside, and finally, the only item re¬ 
maining, save the sheet and comforter, was disposed of, 
and there was warmth to spare for that and every suc¬ 
cessive night this winter, the light and downy feeling, 
affording in addition, all the luxury of a summer atmos¬ 
phere. 
To come to the arithmetic of the thing: 
18 yards calico, at 8 cts.$1 44 
8 lbs. cotton batting, at Is. 1 00 
Thread, say,. 06 
Sewing, 1 day,.. 50 
Total,.$3 00 
expended in a comforter, is worth three times the sum 
in blankets. A. 
Buffalo, December 31, 1839. 
Rearing Calves. 
Messrs. Editors —It is a notorious fact, that cattle 
have not been reared of late, to meet the increased 
wants of society. It has been said that the high prices 
of butter, induced the farmer to kill his calves at birth, 
and feed them to his swine, to save the milk for butter. 
If this be true, the cruelty and waste might have been 
avoided, without diminishing the quantity of butter. 
The cream may be skimmed off, and the skimmed 
milk fed to the calf, by adding meal from any grain; or 
by potatoes boiled, mashed, and mixed with the milk, 
and fed to the calf, more profitably than to give it the 
new milk. This mode of treatment will fatten the calf 
for the butcher, or for raising it, as well as by allowing 
the calf to suck or drink the new milk. 
This has been tested by Mr. David Hearsey, the toll- 
gatherer at the Mohawk bridge here. He has practi 
ced this mode of feeding his calves for some years, and 
no one has raised finer and better calves, nor so large 
and thrifty, that I have seen. He has usually made 7 
to 8 lbs. of butter per week from the cow, at the time. 
Remedy for the Tnrnep Flea. 
The little black flea, resembling the common dog or 
hog flea, in size and color, are so plenty in this region, 
that they often destroy the whole crop of all sorts of 
cabbage, turneps and radishes, when they first appear 
above ground. 
My neighbor, Mr. James Rosa, sowed the rutabaga in 
two pieces, on the alluvial island ground here, the last 
season. The one patch, the plants were all destroyed 
by the flea. The other piece, at the time the plants be¬ 
gan to appear above ground, he sprinkled over with the 
urate manure, dissolved in water, as directed, and 
sprinkled over the plants, by the common tin watering 
pot, and saved a bountiful crop of the turneps. 
Apples as Food for Stock. 
I have been informed, that some farmers in Charlton, 
on becoming tee-total abstinence members of the Tem¬ 
perance Society, cut down their orchards of apple trees, 
thinking the apples would be of no value, sinee they [ 
could not drink cider. There are many useful proofs, 
by farmers, that apples are fed to horses, cattle, swine, 
geese, &c. to much greater profit than when converted 
into cider. Mr. David Reynolds of Galway, adjoining 
Charlton, informed me of experiments made by him, in 
feeding apples to his hogs. He fed a certain measure 
of apples daily for a given time, and they throve well 
He then fed the same hogs with the same measure of 
potatoes, for an equal given time, and the animals show 
ed an evident loss. He then fed apples and potates to¬ 
gether, in equal quantities, and the hogs grew and im¬ 
proved better than on either separately. He boilec 
them, and found great advantage thereby, much above 
feeding the raw apples and potatoes. There can be no 
doubt of the profit in boiling all vegetables before they 
are fed to any cattle. It prepares them for digestion, 
and lets loose the nutricious parts, like as mashing pre¬ 
pares them for distilling; and more of the nutriment is 
taken up from the food on its passage through the ali 
mentary canal. 
Imposition in the Sale of Seeds. 
The deceptions in selling falsely, new and approved 
seeds, have retarded many useful improvements. One 
of the Shakers, of the family at Hancock, told me, sum¬ 
mer before last, that he knew a farmer, beyond the 
Mohawk, who raised a large field of wheat, of common 
kind, and retailed it at great prices, through Dutchess 
county, &c. for the new and approved kind of wheat. 
It would be more safe to purchase seeds of regular 
dealers, who are responsible; and animals of regular 
breeders of them. 
In your last number, in my observations on the mode 
of dressing fat hogs, by the peasants of Lower Canada, 
it reads—that they lit feathers, or other combustible 
matter, and singe off" the hair. The word I wrote was 
pea-straw. Respectfully, 
DAVID TOMLINSON. 
Schenectady, January llth, 1840. 
On Rust in Wheat. 
Messr*. Gaylord and Tucker — I have frequently 
heard farmers conversing on the subject of rust in 
wheat. In listening to these conversations, I have 
never heard one give, what I conceive to be, a correct 
opinion as respects its origin, its cause, or its proper¬ 
ties ; and have scarcely ever heard any two agree upon 
material facts respecting it, except this—when the straw 
is rusty, the wheat is sure to be shrunk. Before I at¬ 
tempt an explanation of my views upon this question, 
allow me to say I am one of that class of farmers who 
work for a living—one, the palm of whose hand is made 
callous by its familiarity with the plow, and if I should 
fail to convince my friend fanners so far as to induce 
them to follow my views and opinions respecting this 
subject, I hope no one will think me arrogant, in offering 
a few words by way of elucidation of this unexplained 
controversy. What we usually call rust in or on wheat, 
is positively known among botanists as a parasitic plant, 
of the class, Cryptogamia; order , Fungi; genus, Uredo; 
and species, Linearis. It is of that class of plants 
whose parts are not visible to the naked eye; (our com¬ 
mon puff-balls belong to the same class and order, though 
infinitely larger.) Men of science have long known 
that what is termed rust, is occasioned by the growth 
of these parasitic Fungi, attaching themselves to the 
leaves, stems and glumes of living culmiferous plants. 
That these Fungi have perfect seeds, and are capable 
of reproducing their species, has by them been satisfac¬ 
torily proved and explained. These seeds are but little 
heavier than air, (being smaller than the dust raised 
from treading on the common puff-ball, which are its 
seeds ;) consequently the air may become charged to a 
considerable extent with this vegetative dust, already 
prepared by nature, "when the gentle breeze, accompa¬ 
nied by suitable humidity, shall give the signal, to in¬ 
trude itself into all the grain in the neighborhood; hence 
few fields escape, of those lying in one vicinity. It usu¬ 
ally attacks by districts, and its deleterious effects are 
frequently felt through a wide spread of country. In 
order that we may arrive at an explanation easily un¬ 
derstood, we will presume that the striped or speckled 
appearance of the surface of a straw infected with rust, is 
caused by alternate longitudinal partitions on the bark, 
one of which is sound and impenetrable, the other po¬ 
rous or with mouths, which are closed in dry and open 
in wet weather, and of course cannot fail to contract or 
inhale moisture when the straw is damp. By these 
pores, which exist plentifully on the leaves and glumes 
of culmiferous plants, it is believed the seeds of this 
Fungus gain admission, (a moist atmosphere greatly ac¬ 
celerating their union ;) they germinate and push their 
minute roots through the tender stalk to the cellular 
texture from whence they draw their support, by inter¬ 
rupting that sap intended by nature for the nutriment 
of the grain, which becoming more and more shriveled 
in proportion as those Fungi are more or less abun¬ 
dant. The substantial or floury part of the grain is 
only abstracted; the cortical part, or bran, remains 
■without diminution. It seems most likely the leaf is 
first infected in the early part of the season, before the 
plant rises into straw ; it is then of a bright yellow color, 
and as the straw approaches maturity it assumes that 
brown appearance usually denominated rust. These 
plants, or Fungi, are so diminutive in size as to need a 
glass of high powers to enlarge them sufficient for ob¬ 
servation. Each pore on a straw would produce at least 
twenty of these Fungi, and these again would produce 
seed without number: how soon after these seeds take 
root, the plant becomes perfect and sheds its seed, can 
not be easily ascertained; but the probability is, it is 
very short; a few days in very warm weather would 
most likely bring it to maturity. If the weather is dry, 
these pores are not sufficiently open to admit the seed ; 
and if they are, there may not be moisture enough to pro¬ 
mote germination. It would be presumptuous to offer 
a remedy for an evil so little understood; conjectures, 
founded upon the cause and origin here assigned, may, 
I think, be safely hazarded; and when practical men 
become scientific men, or when men of science become 
dependent upon the earth by their own labor, for the 
bread they eat, these things will be better understood— 
the sources of evils Avill be sought out with more avidi¬ 
ty, and their remedies applied with greater certainty. 
FARMER C. 
Manlius, January, 1840. 
The communication of “ Farmer C,” intended for 
our January number, was not received till after the pa¬ 
per was issued.— Eds. 
| 
l”i- ) 
ve -5 
Contents of this Number. 
Notices—Establishment of a Board of Agriculture— 
“ What should a Farmer be ?” 
The Garden—Water for Animals, 
Wheat—Agricultural Societies, Addresses, &c.—Mr. 
Garnett’s Address at Frederick—Cortland Co. Ag. 
Society 1 —Mr. Colman’s Address, 
Domestic Economy—Poultry—Preparation of Souse— 
Hard Water—Batter Cake, . 
Extracts from our Correspondence—Answer to Inqui¬ 
ries, &.c.—Water-Proof Cloth—Internal Improv 
ment—East and the West—Silk Culture, 
Inquiries—Suffocation of Wheat'—Inquiry, Roots—-) 
Forcing Pump—Giant Rhubarb—Dutchess county / 
Agricultural Society, ..... j 
Are your Apples good ?—Dictionary of terms used in l 
Agriculture, and its kindred sciences, . . 5 
Improvement of our Cattle—Iron Manufacture, . • 
Items from our Note-Book, No. 2.—Butter in Winter—) 
Mad Itch—Sugar Beet—Buckwheat Straw—Le I 
Conteur on Wheat—Churning Butter—Hybrid ( 
Plants—Sound Advice—Cost of Fences, . J 
Essay on Cattle, by Henry S. Randall, 
Mr. Garbutt’s Premiums, by Wm. Garbutt, 
New Imported Boar, Prince Regent, by A. B. Allen, 
Chinese Tree Corn, notice of, by B. H. 
Education of Farmers, by Josiah Holbrook, 
Report on the Culture of Silk, by C. F. Durant, 
Burning Prairies, &c. by Solon Robinson, . 
Farm Accounts 1 —Balance Sheet, by S. Porter Rhoades, 
Management of Sheep, No. 9, by L. A. M. 
Soil and Climate of Tropical Florida, by Dr. Perrine, 
Agriculture, and its Improvement, by Alex. Walsh, . 
The Place to Dig a Well, by M. Adams, 
Clover in the Southern States, by Sidney Weller, 
Russian Horses and Equipages, by A. B. A. 
Expense of Keeping Useless Horses, by D. S. Curtis, 
History of a “Comforter,’ by A. 
Rearing Calves—Remedy for the Turnep Flea—Ap 
pies as Food for Stock—Imposition in Sale of Seeds 
by D. Tomlinson, .... 
On Rust in Wheat, by Farmer C. 
List of Cuts in Nos. 1 and 2. 
Fig. 1. Bots, in their different stages. 
Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Chinese, Berkshire and native 
Hogs, ...... 
8. Miner’s Pump, . 
9. Laborers’ Cottages, ..... 
10. The Devon Cow, ..... 
11. The New Leicester Cow, .... 
12. The Ayrshire Cow, ..... 
13. The Holderness Cow, .... 
14. Improved Short Horn Cow, 
Figs. 15 to 24. Illustrations of Drawing, . 
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SPECIAL AGENTS. 
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Auburn-— H. Ivison, Jr. Bookseller. 
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Boston —Hovey &. Co. Merchant’s Row. 
Baltimore —Gideon B. Smith. 
Buffalo —H. Case, assistant p. m. gratuitous. 
Cort/andvi/le —Henry S. Randall, gratuitous. 
Johnson's Springs, Va. —E Valentine. 
Lansingburgh —Alexander Walsh, gratuitous. 
New-York — Israel Post, Bookseller, 88 Bowery: A. Smith, 
Seedsman, and A. Wakeman, Office of Am. Institute, 
Broadway; G. C. Tliorburn, Juhn-street. 
Philadelphia —J udah Dobson, Bookseller, and D. Landreith, 
Seedsman. 
Rochestei' —F. D. A. Foster, at old office of Genesee Farmer. 
Richmond, Va. —Richard Hill & Co. 
St. Louis, Mo. —John Thorburn, Seedsman. 
Toronto, U. C .— Eastwood & Skinner, and E. Leslie & 
Sons, Booksellers. 
O’Every person will be considered an agent who obtains 
five subscribers and forw r ards the money for them, and will 
be entitled to one copy gratis. 
[UpThe previous volumes—the first four at 50 cents each, 
and vols, 5 and 6, at $1.00 each—can be sent to new sub¬ 
scribers at newspaper postage, and they are also for sale by 
our agents in the principal cities. 
FROM THE STEAM PRESS OF 
C. VAN BENTHUYSEN, 
ALBANY, N. Y. 
