6 2 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
sheep ; and is, though not perhaps to the same extent 
with the common Saxon, a poor nurse. 
A variety carrying a fleece similar to that of the Me- 
rmo, but more resembling the coarse woolled breeds 
in those points where the Merino is defective, would be 
the desideratum of the American wool grower. Can 
such a variety be produced ? Probably if would be im¬ 
possible to retain to their full extent, in a cross, the 
pertectionsof the coarse and fine woolled races. But I 
believe an approximation to it can be made. I believe 
that a variety can be produced with a fleece closely re¬ 
sembling the Merino, and perhaps equal to it, with the 
size of the carcass, aptitude to fatten, &c. very decided¬ 
ly improved. I shall proceed to state the result of 
some experiments, on which I have founded the fore¬ 
going opinion. 
At the annual fair of Otsego, several years since, I 
saw some lambs which were a cross between the South 
, own and the Merino. Their wool was even, but per¬ 
haps hardly fine enough for the purposes of the wool 
grower, and they inherited much of the unsightly throati- 
ness of the Merino. The evenness of the fleece, how- 
ever, which is usually lost in interbreeding between 
line sheep, and those of larger and coarser varieties, 
induced me to hope much from a South Down cross en- 
gra ted on the fine woolled stock. The Down, as is 
well known, can not be excelled in those points where 
the Saxon and the Merino are most defective It is 
moreover an upland sheep, and will bear hard stock- 
xng, qualities in which it resembles the fine woolled 
race, and which fits it for the purposes of the wool 
grower. Its wool, which in length belongs to the mid¬ 
dle class, is compact and even, and in fineness ranks 
about as follows: 
Diameter of fibre. Serrations in an inch. 
k- Down, of an inch, - - 2,080 
Merino, ^ “ “ - - - - 2,400 
Saxon, “ “ - - - 2,720 
It will be seen that the South Down wool approxi¬ 
mates almost as near to the Merino, as the Merino does 
to the Saxon. The first cross therefore between the 
South Down and the Saxon would give wool of a qua¬ 
lity near that of the Merino. The second cross (breed¬ 
ing towards the Saxon) would give a wool equalling or 
excelling the Merino. 
I have tried the experiment, and the event justifies 
these conjectures. I enclose four specimens of wool 
from lambs one-fourth South Down, two bred with pure 
Saxons, and two with sheep in which the Saxon and 
Merino was about equal. You will perceive that they 
are already three inches long, and of the quality I 
leave you to judge. I will only say that No. 1 and 3, 
(bred with Saxon) would not suffer much by compari¬ 
son with any Merino wool I am acquainted with. No. 1 
and 2 are from bucks which Have run with fifteen ewes 
apiece, have received no grain, and yet are in first rate 
order, and are fully as large as Merino yearlings. The 
fleeces of all I have, are extremely compact and hea¬ 
vy- The one-fourth bred lambs were much larger when 
dropped than Merino or Saxon lambs, and evidently 
much stronger and hardier. I left out several exposed 
to the weather the first night after they came, which 
was a cold and stormy one, and in which Merino or 
Saxon lambs of the same age, would certainly have 
perished, and in the morning every one rvas alive and 
active. 
I prefer the Saxon cross, because, independent of the 
superiority of the wool, better forms can be obtained, 
and the coarseness about the head, and throatiness, pe¬ 
culiar to the Merino, are avoided. But the largest, 
strongest, and best breeding ewes should be selected to 
couple with the South Down ram. The produce, even 
in the second cross, (one-fourth South Down and three- 
fourths Saxon,) so far as my experience goes, are a de¬ 
cidedly hardy sheep, sufficiently so to withstand a win¬ 
ter in this climate, without shelter, or any other food 
than hay. This being the case, the increased fineness 
of their wool gives the one-fourth bred the preference 
in my opinion, over the half-bloods. 
If this new variety of sheep can be established and 
perpetuated, I am sanguine in the belief that it would 
form a breed peculiarly adapted to the wants and inte¬ 
rests of the wool grower. Here, however, undoubted¬ 
ly, is the main difficulty to be encountered. The at¬ 
tempt to perpetuate a cross by breeding directly among 
themselves, is contrary to theory and sound experience. 
But a rigorous system of selection may do much. If 
necessary, reject thirty or even fifty per cent of the in¬ 
crease until the desired points are found to be stamped 
on them with sufficient certainty. The time and ex¬ 
pense attending such a process among larger and slow¬ 
er breeding animals, such as the horse and cow, has 
probably prevented its ever having been tried among 
them to the extent here advised. 
At all events, I think the experiment worth trying. 
Should it fail, the South Down blood thus introduced 
into our Saxon flocks, can not but be a most renovating 
admixture. Even the uncertainty of breeding uniformly 
good animals, is preferable to the certainty of breeding 
uniformly bad ones. Yours, &c. H. S. R. 
Cortlandville, Feb. 7, 1840. 
period embracing the months of June, July and August ■ 
2d period, September, October and November; 3d pe¬ 
riod, December, January and February; 4th period 
March, April and May. Also, the best method of pro¬ 
ducing a large quantity of cream from a given quantity 
of m * lk - AGRICULTURE. 
Hot-Air Furnaces.—[Fig. 34.] 
To Dairymen or Dairy women. 
Can some of your obliging correspondents among this 
numerous class of your valued patrons inform one of 
your constant readers about the average quantity of 
milk, (from a fair run of cows,) required to produce a 
quart of cream, for four equal periods of the year: 1st 
. ^ have repeatedly been asked for information respect- 
mg hot-air furnaces ; and as summer is the time for their 
erection, perhaps a short description will not be unac¬ 
ceptable. 
Permit me to speak very briefly of their advantages, 
alluding of course, to the mode of construction here de¬ 
scribed. Fuel is a large item of expense in every fami¬ 
ly, and is becoming still more so. We know many 
farmers who annually consume, in warming the differ¬ 
ent rooms of their houses, as many as fifty cords of 
wood, and some much more. We can not alter the 
quantity of heat which a given quantity of fuel throws 
off in combustion, without altering its nature; but we 
can adopt means to save this heat, and apply it to warm¬ 
ing our rooms. Experiments have shown that by the 
use of a common brick fire-place, the owner pays nine- 
tenths^ of the cost of the fuel for the privilege of heating 
the air above the top of his chimney. The hot-air fur¬ 
nace is the best thing, by far, that we have seen, for 
saving fuel. A neighbor has kept several rooms of his 
house warm night and day, through the past winter, by 
means of one, and from his experiments it is clear that 
it will not require ten cords of wood for the whole 
year. 
Another important advantage, is keeping up only one 
fire for several rooms. As the wood is burned large, it 
saves much labor in cutting, and needs replenishing 
once only in five or six hours. Another advantage is 
the house-room saved, none being occupied by stoves 
or fire-places. Another is the prevention of dirt, the 
universal accompaniment of fire-places. It also ren¬ 
ders all the rooms warm in the house, by night as well 
as by day, imparting to them the peculiar and comforta¬ 
ble warmth of the air of summer. It is safe—children 
do not burn their fingers, and if rightly constructed, the 
house is far less liable to take fire. And by no means 
a small consideration to the person who loves the cul¬ 
ture of flowers, and who can not afford the expense and 
care of a green-house, tender plants may be kept in any 
of the rooms, without the least danger of their being 
frosted, and with no other attention than that of wa¬ 
tering. 
The hot-air furnaces commonly erected in cities are 
on an entirely different plan, and, in my opinion, great¬ 
ly inferior. The one here described is the result of 
many experiments, and is the best form of several which 
have been tried. It was designed by William R. Smith, 
of Macedon. 
A, fig. 34, is a longitudinal section of the stoi'e, for 
the reception of fuel. It should be large to admit large 
sticks of wood, so as to lessen the labor of cutting, and 
to cause the fire to burn long without renewing. Three 
feet in length is not too much. The bottom, instead of 
being a plate, is a grating, made of cast iron bars, run¬ 
ning .lengthwise with the stove, supported at the ends 
and in the middle by cross bars. Through this grating 
the ashes fall into the ash-pit B. The advantages of this 
are, the wood burns more freely, the fire need not be in¬ 
terrupted to remove the ashes, and the ashes are much 
better in quality, as they contain no mixture of char¬ 
coal. The doors, a and b, of the stove and ash-pit, 
should, if practicable, shut very closely, for the better 
regulation of the draft, as the fuel will burn slowly for 
a long time when desired, as for instance, during night 
and in mild weather, when the draft is nearly closed. 
All the air admitted to the fuel, should be through the 
ash-pit door. 
C, C, C, C, are four flat, square, cast iron drums, 
connected by short cast iron pipes, and through which 
the smoke passes to the smoke pipe D, from which it 
escapes into the chimney, or passes out into the open 
air. As the smoke thus becomes much cooled before 
entering the pipe D, the soot accumulates more ra¬ 
pidly, and hence this pipe should be as short as prac¬ 
ticable. It should, however, have some height to cause 
draft, or should enter a tight small chimney, for the 
same purpose. The drums should have small openings 
for cleaning. They are supported by bricks not shown 
in the figure, to prevent confusion. 
At a short distance from this apparatus, a double 
brick wall, with an included plate of air, is built around 
the whole. It is covered by a layer of bricks, support¬ 
ed by iron bars, and on this a layer of four or five inch- 
es of ashes, covered again by brick, mortar or boards. 
it will be observed, that the greatest part of the heat 
of the burning fuel is thrown out from the drums, and 
heats the surrounding air; this heated air is confined 
witlnn the brick air chamber ; until it escapes through, 
the air-pipes, E, E, into the rooms above. The object 
of the double walls, is the more perfectly to confine 
the heat, and to prevent its escape through any other 
channel. Probably if the included space between the 
walls, were several inches in thickness, and filled with 
dry ashes, or still better, with powdered charcoal, this 
would be more completely attained. If the inner wall 
is occasionally braced by a cross brick to the outer, it 
need be only two inches in thickness, or composed of 
bricks on edge. 
The furnace should be built in a room in the cellar, 
entirely devoted to the purpose, and a window left open 
for the admission of fresh air to the chamber; or if this 
can not be done, a trunk or pipe one foot square, should 
lead from without through the wall to the chamber. In 
the former case, several air holes/four inches square or 
more, should be made at the bottom of the chamber. 
On one side of the chamber, should be two double 
sheet-iron doors, for admission in cleaning the drums, 
&c. and sufficient space for this purpose should be al¬ 
lowed between the drums and the walls. 
The pipes E, E, through which the hot air escapes to 
the rooms above, should be of bright tin, and as nearly 
vertical as possible, and from eight to twelve inches in 
diameter. The larger they are, the less the tempera¬ 
ture of the air chamber need be raised to heat the rooms 
above, consequently less fuel is required, and the cast 
iron will not burn out so soon. 
In the seventh volume of the Genesee Farmer, is a 
description of a furnace somewhat similar; but the 
drums are there placed in succession above the stove. 
In the present plan, the descent of the smoke causes it 
to throw out its heat more completely; and as the last 
drum is the lowest, the coldest and freshest air conies 
in contact with it, and the smoke passes off at a lower 
temperature than that of the air in the upper part of 
the chamber. But great care is necessary to have the 
drums tight, to prevent the escape of smoke into the 
chamber, and for this purpose the cracks at the joints 
should be stopped with a paste made of iron filings or 
turnings mixed with sal ammoniac and water. 
The expense may be diminished by substituting sheet 
iron for cast iron for the two last drums. 
Circular brass or iron grates, turning on the center, 
placed in the floor of the room, over the air pipes, E, E, 
regulate the quantity of hot air admitted. 
This method of warming houses has been found pre¬ 
ferable in point of health and comfort, to any other; 
and the only objection appears to be, we do not have 
the cheerful “ blazing hearth^ to gaze at. But habit, 
which created our desire for this, will soon remove the 
difficulty, and most will learn to prefer a book, a picture 
and a stand of fine flowers in winter, to blazing sticks, 
smoke and a heap of ashes. 
Should any one wish further information, I would 
communicate it with pleasure, through the columns of 
the Cultivator. Very respectfully, 
J. J. THOMAS. 
Macedon, 3 mo. 1840. 
Good Crop of Wheat. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —As I frequently see 
notices of extraordinary crops recorded in agricultural 
and other publications, I am induced to send you an ac¬ 
count of a crop of wheat raised the past season on the 
farm of Mr. Jacob Kirk, of York county, Pa. 
In the fall of 1838 I sowed three acres of ground to 
wheat, using one and one-fourth bushels of seed per 
acre—the varieties sown were the Orange Bearded (so 
called here,) and the Blue-stem, a variety preferred in 
this section to many others, of bald wheat. The yield 
produced by the above three acres, was one hundred 
and twenty-eight bushels ; or forty-two and two-thirds 
bushels per acre. No difference could be observed while 
growing, between the two varieties, neither was there 
any perceivable difference in the yield, but the Bearded 
unquestionably makes the most flour, being larger in 
the kernel, and the flour being whiter than that of the 
bald. 
This wheat was sown between the 3rd and 8th of Oc¬ 
tober, on a soil which I suppose would be called allu- 
minous—what we here call red-land soil, having red 
shale for its basis, and which twelve or fourteen years 
ago, was so completely worn out that it would scarcely 
reproduce the seed sown upon it. It was then purcha¬ 
sed by Mr. Kirk, who commenced the following system 
of “ rotation of crops,” with this worn out piece of land. 
First year, rye; second, corn; third, fallow; fourth, 
wheat, with manure, when it was likewise seeded to 
grass, (clover and timothy;) fifth, mown; and sixth, 
grazed, when it was again broken up and sown with rye 
and the same system as above again pursued. This sys¬ 
tem has been but twice gone through with since Mr. 
Kirk became the owner of it, and has with two ordina¬ 
ry manurings produced the above mentioned crops—but 
the cause of its fertility is supposed to lie in this, that 
Mr. Kirk has his barn so constructed with sheds that 
his manure is always in the dry, and when carted to the 
field is immediately plowed in; and the wheat immedi¬ 
ately after sown upon it. I have now no method of as¬ 
certaining what quantity of manure was applied to the 
last crop, but it was certainly not an extraordinary quan¬ 
tity. I do not send you this as a brag crop, but merely 
to show what manure will do, especially when kept in 
