THE CULTIVATOR. 
7 
and grovel along, without an effort to become enlightened in 
the great principles of agricultural science.” 
Of all the associations that have been organized the 
present season, however, the reports of which have 
fallen under our notice, none seem to have originated 
under more favorable auspices, to have been conducted 
with more spirit and intelligence, marked by a greater 
degree of liberality, or placed in a position to warrant 
the expectation of a wider usefulness, than the Agricul¬ 
tural Society of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, which held its 
first meeting, cattle show and fair, at Cleveland, on the 
30th and 31st of October last. 
Committees on the subjects of farms, horticulture, 
silk and mulberry, agriculture, domestic manufactures, 
and animals, consisting of spirited and influential gen¬ 
tlemen, had been previously appoined to examine the 
district, and interesting reports on all the subjects nam¬ 
ed, were made to the meeting. 
The premium on farms, $50, was awarded to S. Gid- 
ings of Cleveland, and by that gentleman was immedi¬ 
ately presented to the society in aid of their funds. The 
southern shore of Lake Erie has long been celebrated 
for its fine fruit; and the report on horticulture furnishes 
proof that for strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries 
and grapes, in addition to the more common produc¬ 
tions of the garden and orchard, it may become equal¬ 
ly celebrated. A number of lots of mulberry were 
examined, and of these, and the few attempts at the 
making of silk, (principally thread,) the report speaks 
in the most favorable terms. The report on agriculture 
cannot be considered as exhibiting a state of things al¬ 
together satisfactory; but the pointing out of defects in 
a system, and the announcement of remedies, can hard¬ 
ly fail, in an enterprising and intelligent community, of 
producing the happiest effects. From this report we 
take the following account of a field of corn raised by 
Mr. Sherman of Mayfield, and which received the first 
premium. Two acres were offered. The land a black 
ash swale without manure, planted four feet each way, 
labor performed as follows : 
Plowing two acres, 2 days with team,. $4 00 
Planting do 2 days,. 1 50 
Hoeing first time, 4 days,. 3 00 
do second time, 3 days,... 2 25 
do third time, 3 days,. 2 25 
Harvesting, 4 days,. 3 00 
Cutting and shocldng, 2 days,. 1 50 
$17 50 
Credit. 
By 182 bushels 22 quarts of corn, at 50 cents 
per bushel,. $91 00 
Corn fodder,..... 8 00 
16 loads of pumpkins,. 8 00 
$107 00 
17 50 
Nett profit,. $89 50 
Of other crops that received the premiums of the so¬ 
ciety, was one of potatoes, 432 bushels per acre; of 
carrots, one at the rate of 853 bushels per acre; ruta 
baga, 972 bushels per acre ; sugar beet, 928 bushels per 
acre^ The wheat crops that received the premiums, 
were two of two acres each, of which the first produced 
by weight, 103 bushels, 44 lbs.; and the second, 112 
bushels, or 56 bushels per acre. If there are many such 
crops produced in Ohio, we shall cease to wonder it is 
becoming famous for its wheat. Of domestic manufac¬ 
tures a great variety of useful and beautiful articles 
were exhibited, many of which were from the hands of 
fair contributors, and were alike honorable to them and 
the occasion. The report on animals, speaks in warm 
terms of the efforts made by the spirited farmers of Ohio 
to improve their domestic animals, and the great suc¬ 
cess which has attended their exertions. Ohio has set a 
most commendable example in this respect, and she is al¬ 
ready reaping a rich reward for her labors. 
The address was by the Hon. F. Whittlesey, and was 
precisely what was to be expected from his talents, ge¬ 
neral information and intelligent zeal in the cause of 
agriculture. The views presented by Mr. W. are such 
as must commend themselves to the mind of every in¬ 
telligent man, to every one that has reflected on the re¬ 
lation the agriculture of every country bears to its pros¬ 
perity, and the high rank to which it is entitled in the es¬ 
timation of every true friend of the nation’s welfare.— 
His remarks on farming, both in its theory and its prac¬ 
tice ; the rules that govern the fertilization of the earth, 
and should govern the rotation of crops taken from it; 
the best methods of culture ; the advantages of know¬ 
ledge, and the circulation of agricultural information; 
and the necessity of paying particular attention to the 
choice of animals for breeding, and seeds for planting ; 
are eminently appropriate and well timed, and prove 
that to the consideration of the subject, had been brought 
the resources of a Avell disciplined mind, conversant 
alike with the theory and the practice of agriculture. 
Every person conversant with agriculture in this coun¬ 
try, is aware that strong objections have been made by 
a certain class to the importation of animals, alleging 
that we have among ourselves, and of our native breeds, 
as valuable animals as can be imported. For the sake 
of the argument this may be admitted; but have we any 
evidence that these animals will produce others like 
themselves ? On the contrary, have we not the most con¬ 
clusive evidence that these valuable qualities are in 
these animals accidental,—that they do not belong to the 
constitution or type of the breed, and therefore their 
continuance in the progeny cannot be counted upon with 
any degree of certainty. Now in the thorough bred im¬ 
ported animals, we have a stock that by long and skil¬ 
ful breeding have been brought to such a point that 
these valuable qualities are constitutional, they belong 
to the type, and we can count with safety on the certain¬ 
ty that the progeny will retain the good qualities of their 
parents. By abandoning thorough bred animals for our 
native ones, therefore, admitting that some of the lattei 
can be found equal to the former, we throw away a cer¬ 
tainty for an uncertainty, and voluntarily conclude to be¬ 
gin our improvements at a point some seventy or eighty 
years since, and from which, with infinite skill and per¬ 
severance foreign farmers have in that time brought 
their several kinds of cattle, sheep and swine, to their 
present high standing and perfection. The only extract 
we have room to make from Mr. Whittlesey’s able ad¬ 
dress, shall relate to this important topic. 
“ Many look with a jealous eye upon the stately Durliams, 
as aristocratic intruders upon ground of right belonging to the 
piebald, ringstreaked and speckled denizens of the soil.— 
They wont bear starving, says one—and thinks himself high¬ 
ly favored in possessing cattle in whom the breath of life may 
be preserved by the least possible quantity of food. They 
give no adequate return it is true, either of milk, meat or la¬ 
bor, but then they keep so easy. Another declares it trea¬ 
sonable to import cattle from a foreign country, and most of 
all from Old England, the land of our foe. Why not improve 
our own stock, if improvement must needs be the order of 
the day. Set about it then, and after a lifetime has thus 
been spent, learn too late that a half century is still wanting 
to bring your improvement on an even keel with that you 
foolishly refused to profit by. Thank heaven, a different spi¬ 
rit is prevailing, and in a part at least of this community, as is 
evinced by the unwearied pains taken to introduce the very 
best kinds of stock among us. And our own Ohio, young 
as she is, is behind none of her sister states in this noble 
strife. The best description of every kind of stock is here, 
from Durham cattle, and the blood of old Eclipse, down to 
Berkshire hogs, and Leicester and South Down sheep. The 
farmer has only to choose, and in so doing he can scarcely 
go wrong, choose as he may. All, however, should recol¬ 
lect, whether foreign or native breeds be selected, whether 
unable or unwilling to change the stock already in possession, 
or both able and willing, that a prime requisite either for pro¬ 
fit or pleasure is a full rack or manger. Keep no more than 
may be well kept, discarding every worthless animal the mo¬ 
ment that fact is discovered, and a double advantage will en¬ 
sue, for a creature well fed, sleek and smooth, is both a plea¬ 
sure to the eye and a profit to the purse.” 
Situated as Cleveland is, at what may be called the 
northern gate of Ohio, located in a fertile district, and 
commanding an extensive trade, an agricultural society 
in such a position, conducted as the newly organized one 
evidently is, by able and spirited men, cannot fail by its 
example and its influence on the agricultural public, to 
produce the most beneficial results. We are confident 
we shall hear from this, as well as the other societies we 
have mentioned, again, and we trust under still more fa¬ 
vorable auspices. Embarrassments growing out of a 
complication of causes which can scarcely again occur, 
have produced a depression in agricultural products; 
but this depression will pass away, as it is impossible to 
destroy the farmer’s trade, while men will eat, and drink, 
and wear; or permanently depress an interest on which 
experience so conclusively shows all others are depend¬ 
ing. __ 
Statistics of Agriculture. 
We are pleased to perceive that a suggestion of ours, 
made some time since, of the necessity of taking some 
measures to secure more ample and correct statistical 
accounts of the agricultural resources of this country, 
and the propriety of the government making such ar¬ 
rangements as shall secure this object at the time of 
taking the next census, or during the present year, has 
been adopted in substance by some of the soundest and 
most influential journals of the country, and advocated 
with an earnestness and ability which we hope will at¬ 
tract the attention of those servants of the public whose 
duty it is to manage affairs belonging to the general 
welfare. To take a record of our foreign trade, and 
preserve memorials of our indebtedness, requires an 
expenditure of millions annually; and an accurate col¬ 
lection of the items that belong to our agricultural 
wealth, cannot be objected to on the score of the trifling- 
additional expense it may occasion, since the amount 
of the last very far exceeds that of the first; and so far 
as regards the actual increase of prosperity to the coun¬ 
try, can admit of no comparison. 
The fact, that to agriculture—to its spread and to its 
prosperity—we owe most of the increase in wealth,and 
consequent civilization and refinement, that marks the 
present age of the world, has become so obvious, that 
agricultural statistics are considered by every states¬ 
man as a kind of thermometer indicating most uner¬ 
ringly the advance or decline of a nation’s prosperity. 
Hence the care which is taken to collect and register 
them, in all those states or nations where the true prin¬ 
ciples that regulate trade and productive industry are 
best understood. 
The events of the last few years have forced on the 
public mind the necessity for this kind of knowledge. 
A monetary revulsion, preceded by changes and convul¬ 
sions unexampled in the history of the world, seems to 
have originated and had its spread more from agricul¬ 
tural causes, and a want of knowledge of the actual 
state of productive industry throughout the world, than 
from any other. There can scarcely be a question, that 
had the actual quantity of grain grown in Great Bri¬ 
tain last year, and the quantity of cotton and wheat 
produced in the United States for the same period, been 
well understood, the shock which the prosperity of both 
has received, might have been avoided. It would have 
been known that we have the surplus wheat, which an 
apprehended or actual deficiency has made necessary 
there, and the fear of which has aggravated ten fold the 
monetary difficulties under which the country was re¬ 
ally laboring. . 
We wish to know the total value of the agricultural 
and productive industry of this country. Of the cotton 
we are able to give a tolerable estimate, since it is most¬ 
ly sent from the country; but of the wheat, corn, rye, 
oats, barley, &c., of the cattle, horses, sheep, and swine, 
we know comparatively nothing. The immense amount 
that is produced by industry from our soils, or our fields, 
yearly, we are ignorant of, and must be until measures 
are taken to collect the scattered results, and show them 
in a vast whole. This can easily be done by the mar¬ 
shals and their deputies at the taking of the census. 
Every house and family will then be visited, and should 
the government adopt the suggestions the friends of the 
agricultural interest have proposed, blanks of the pro¬ 
per kind can be readily prepared, to which the informa¬ 
tion so collected can be transferred. Let it be once an¬ 
nounced that the agricultural statistics of the country 
were to be collected; let the public once understand that 
inquiries on these topics were to be made and answer¬ 
ed, all would be prepared, and the extra time consumed 
would be very limited. But let the additional expense 
be what it may, the public interest and the public voice, 
we think demand that a full report of our agricultural 
statistics be made. ___ _ 
«« The Farmer’s ompanion.” 
We are indebted to the publishers, Marsh, Capen, 
Lyon and Webb, for a copy of this valuable contribution 
to the stock of agricultural reading and information, pre¬ 
sented to the American farming public by Judge Buel. 
The volume was prepared for the Massachusetts School 
Library Association, and will be found not one of the 
least acceptable of the volumes put forth by that enter¬ 
prising body. The topics presented in the volume, be¬ 
long to the most necessary and practical departments cf 
farming, embracing all those things proper to a right 
understanding of the nature of soils, and the most effi¬ 
cient methods of culture, and given in that clear and ac¬ 
curate manner of detail, so peculiar to the lamented wri 
ter, of whom this volume was one of his latest labors. 
The object of the volume will be understood by the 
folloAving extract from the preface, and the intentions 
here shadowed out, have been amply fulfilled in the exe¬ 
cution. 
“ The great objects of the farmer should be, to obtain 
the greatest returns for his labor, without deteriorating 
the fertility of the soil; and to restore fertility, in the 
most economical way, where it has been impaired or de¬ 
stroyed, by bad husbandry. It has been my aim to give 
instruction upon these points, and to explain the princi¬ 
ples upon which my recommendations are based, and 
upon which my individual practice has been founded.” 
We shall have frequent occasion to avmil ourselves, 
for the profit of our readers, of the mass of interesting 
matter in this volume, and the others prepared by Judge 
Buel. The present publication contains, in addition to 
the Essays, the Address prepared to be delivered before 
the Agricultural and Horticultural Societies of New Ha¬ 
ven, but which intention Avas prevented by the death of 
the Avriter, while on his journey to fulfil the appoint¬ 
ment. It is clearly one of the ablest of those papers, 
which the acceptance of similar invitations had produ¬ 
ced, and which have been the means of the delight and 
instructi on of thousands. _ 
Rocky Mountain Flax. 
We knoAv of no plant which seems to better deserve 
an effort for its introduction into the class of cultivated 
vegetation, than the one above named. The common 
flax plant is an annual; is exposed to the depredations 
of many insects; to get the full amount of the crop it is 
necessary it should be pulled, and yet with all these 
drawbacks it is a valuable crop, and indispensable for 
many purposes. If a plant possessing the same valua¬ 
ble qualities as the common flax, yet Avhich Avould be 
perennial, and could be cradled or moAvn at maturity,— 
thus giving an annual succession of crops from the same 
root,—could be discovered and brought into use among 
us, and particularly in the fertile valleys and prairies of 
the western states, the advantages would certainly be 
very great. Such a plant is the Flax of the Rocky 
Mountains; and the individual or the society that shall 
introduce it into cultivation, should it answer present 
indications, will be considered as benefitting the agricul¬ 
ture of the country essentially. Of the various notices 
which we have seen of this plant, we select the foIloAA^- 
ing, as more particularly describing its appearance, and 
the extent of its growth in those regions. 
Mr. Parker, in his excellent narrative of his journey 
across the Rocky Mountains, from the Mississippi to the 
Pacific, says, “ Flax is a spontaneous production of this 
country. In eA^ery thing, except that it is perennial, it 
resembles the flax that is cultivated in the United States 
—the stalk, the bowl, the seed, the blue floAver, closed 
in the day time, and open in the evening and morning. 
The Indians use it in making fishing nets. Fields of this 
flax might be managed by the husbandman in the same 
manner as meadoAvs for hay. It would need tobemoAA T - 
ed like grass: for the roots are too large, and run too 
deep in the earth, to be pulled as ours is ; and an 
