90 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
state munificence, associated enterprise, or individual 
liberality. — 
We have also received from the same source, an Ad¬ 
dress, delivered on the 20th of March, 1340, before the 
Agricultural Society of the south part of Seneca county, 
by Wm. R. Schuyler, Esq. 
It is an excellent address, enforcing in strong and ap¬ 
propriate language the utility of such associations, and 
the immense benefits they confer on the community; 
and illustrating his positions by reference to recorded 
results, particularly those eifected by the agricultural 
law formerly in existence in this state. One of the most 
favorable signs of th< present time, we consider to be the 
multiplication of such associations, as they can scarcely 
fail to produce the best effects by bringing farmers into 
contact with each other, and making more extensively 
known the most esteemed and profitable modes of cul¬ 
ture, the most valuable animals, and the most produc¬ 
tive and useful vegetables. We have room for but a 
single extract from the address. 
“The rapid advancement making in the agriculture of 
other countries, admonishes us that if we wish to be success¬ 
ful competitors, we must become not only practical but sci¬ 
entific operators. Says an elegant writer, ‘ a nation must 
seek for wealth and power, by encouraging that active and 
profound knowledge, which ascertaining the principles, the 
proportions, the combinations, the affinm«s of the mineral ; 
the habits, the productions, the qualities of the vegetable ; 
and the manners, the instinct, the properties whether useful 
or noxious, of the animal kingdom, can give to every sub¬ 
stance which it possesses or can obtain, every appropriate 
use ; can procure for them tiieir utmost value ; can convert 
them at will into instruments of pleasure, of riches, of 
grandeur, and of power.’ No people have yet attained 
this high point of national improvement; but exactly in 
proportion to the progress of improvement, will be the re¬ 
lative station which each and every country will occupy in 
the scale of nations. How important, then, to give to the 
pursuits of science connected with agriculture, every en¬ 
couragement which they require or which they can re¬ 
ceive.” 
We say to our public spirited farmers, go on. Give 
such associations energy and support, and in an increas¬ 
ed product, and improved agriculture, you will find an 
ample reward. 
Raising Calves. 
In the interesting account furnished by Robert Colt, 
of Pittsfield, Mass, in reply to queries addressed him 
by the Commissioner, of his method of farming and its 
results, the following occurs as the 21st question and 
answer. 
“ What is your management of calves intended to he 
raised 1” 
“ Take the calves from the cow, and feed them with 3 
quarts of new milk twice a day for three months, adding af¬ 
ter they are 3 weeks old, a little rye and corn meal scalded, 
then weaned off upon dry provender and grass, roots, or 
hay as the season may be.” 
Tn the same number of the N. E. Farmer, in which 
we find the foregoing, a “Farmer” gives his method of 
rearing calves which we also copy : 
“ Take the calf from the cow when quite young, say a 
day or two old, learn it to drink new rriiik first, in such 
quantity as it will take, as there is not much danger of its 
taking too much when so young. When it drinks well, 
skim the milk that has stood from morning till night, or night 
to morning, and heat it, so as to give if to the calf blood 
warm, and two quarts at a time twice a day; when the calf 
is a week or two old, let the milk stand longer before skim¬ 
ming, and as he grows older increase the quantity, till it 
gets to four quarts at a time, twice a day. If the milk is 
scalded, and then cooled to blood heat it will be better. If 
the milk is given cooler than blood heat, it causes the calf 
to scour, which is injurious.” 
We have tried repeatedly these distinct methods of 
feeding on new milk and on skimmed milk, and have 
xie er been able to perceive any material advantage in 
favor of the former. Feeding with skimmed milk 
makes rather more work than feeding with new milk, 
or allowing the calf to suck the cow, as is practiced by 
some, but the cream saved by using skimmed milk, will 
amply repay this extra lab»r, and in the course of the 
ten or twelve weeks the calf should be fed, the butter 
made, will nearly approach the actual value of the calf. 
Calves soon begin to pick a little hay or grass, and they 
should be freely indulged; roots, such as the turnep, 
or carrot, cut fine, or what is better, grated, may he 
given them early with advantage. 
The Sugar Beet. 
The following answer to the inquiry of J. J. B. of 
New-Rochelle, was accidentally omitted in the May 
number. His soil, a sandy loam, appears to he the 
right kind required for roots, when made sufficiently 
rich. To produce the roots in perfection, the soil should 
he by nature, or made such by cultivation, a deep vege¬ 
table mould, and greut crops can be grown on no other. 
Where the land to be put into roots is not sufficiently 
rich, and manure is with difficulty obtained, that which 
is applied, should be so given, that the roots may derive 
the full and immediate benefit of it. If fresh stable ma¬ 
nure is used, the manure may be placed in furrows, the 
depth of which must depend on the state of the soil, as 
it regards a capacity to retain moisture, and on the 
earth thrown back by the plow over this, the seeds are 
to be sown. In France and in Englanl, where the su¬ 
gar beet and the ruta baga are such prominent objects 
of culture, manure in the form of bone-dust, or pou. 
Arette, is deposited in the drill furrow by the same ma. 
chine that plants the seeds; and a small quantity is in 
this way found to produce a greater effect on the root 
crop, than a much greater quantity would applied in the 
usual way over the whole surface. Roots of any kind 
require a vigorous start in the outset, and the applica¬ 
tion of manures directly to them secures this effect. 
Some soils are too dry and light for the beet or turnep. 
This difficulty may be removed by giving them more 
capacity for the retention of moisture, by the applica¬ 
tion of clay, or clay marl, a remedy which has been tried 
with the most decided success in a multitude of ca¬ 
ses. Much of the desired effect of manures is lost on 
such light and dry soils, and their texture should he im¬ 
proved, before the cultivation of roots can fully succeed 
on them. We approve the determination of J. J. B. to 
grow roots. They are now one of the most important 
of our crops, and when a more improved and profitable 
system of farming shall prevail, their value both as a 
crop, and an ameliorator of the soil will be still better 
understood. 
Washing Sheep in Germany. 
Is is well known to wool growers, that the species of 
Merino produced from the infantado or Nigretti flocks 
of Spain, have a superabundance of grease, almost of a 
pitchy nature, and which cannot be extricated without 
some labor and care. Mr. Carr, an English traveler in 
Germany, gives the following account of the process of 
washing this wool in the north of that country, where 
the Infantado is preferred by the small farmers as more 
hardy, though producing wool a shade inferior to the 
Electoral Merino, or what we call the Saxon breed. 
“ The greatest care,” says Mr. Carr, “ is at all times ne¬ 
cessary in the operation of washing. A warm mild day, 
without harsh or drying winds is indispensable, and care 
must be taken never to rub the lleece with the hand. A 
marl pit, with a depth of from 8 to It) feet of clear water, is 
a favorite washing place, and is thougnt to become better 
every year. The sheep are thrown in from a stage, in the 
evening, and made to swim the whole length of the pond 
(2i) or 30 yards) between rails, with boards on one side, 
Irom which women or boys assist them through their bath, 
by placing wooden rakes or crooks under their chins, and so 
passing them onwards. Wh«n the water lias dripped from 
the tieeees for an hour or two, the sheep are put into the 
house for the night, as close together as possible, in order to 
cause the greater evaporation ; and the next day are swung 
through the same pond three or four times, the last time the 
head being rubbed a little, and they are kept in the house 
(weii supplied with clean straw) on dry food, for three or 
four days, until the wool by sweating, as it is termed, has re¬ 
covered its characteristic softness, when the shearing takes 
place.” 
Mortality among Swine. 
The New-England Farmer, of January 29, contains 
an article from the pen of G. P. Burnham, Esq., of Rox- 
bury, giving an interesting account of a trial made by 
him in feeding swine with hay lea, that is using a strong 
decoction of hay to mix with their other food, which had 
been refuse cabbages, beets, carrots, with an occasional 
mixture of ruta baga, and as these partially failed, with 
more ruta baga and sugar beet, the whole boiled and 
mixed before feeding to them. Mr. B. was induced to 
adopt the hay tea, from the flattering account given of 
its properties by Mr. Saunders, an English breeder of 
pigs, whose account was copied into the “American 
Swine Breeder” of 1839. Mr. Saunders states that in a 
week or fortnight after using the tea, his hogs rapidly 
improved in appearance, and gave every indication of 
its nutritive power, and its agreement with them. 
Mr. Burnham’s experience was directly the reverse of 
Mr. Saunders. From the commencement of mixing 
the hay tea with their food, they declined in ap¬ 
pearance, their coats grew rough, and all breeders, 
shouts and pigs, fell off' sensibly. Mr. B. did not attri¬ 
bute these results to his new mode of feeding, hut con¬ 
tinued its use, until nearly all his fine breeding stock, 
consisting of Chinese, Berkshire, and Mackay sows and 
boars, all of the best selected kinds, with numbers of pigs, 
both of the pure breeds, and crosses of several kinds 
were destroyed. The appearance, on dissection in most 
of the cases were very similar. “ The lower intestines 
completely clogged and tied up into knots, the lungs 
spotted and inflamed, and the liver full of small biles or 
pustules.” The knotting of the intestines was the same 
in all, but the more protracted the case of the animal 
was, the worse in general was the state of the lungs and 
liver. With the greatest care and attention Mr. B. was 
unable to pass any medicine after the attack, the con¬ 
tractions being impervious. His losses, as stated in his 
letter, were including young and old between 40 and 
50. Mr. B. had discontinued the use of hay tea, and re¬ 
turned to his former system of feeding. He does not 
assert that the hay tea was the cause of his losses; 
hut the probability is certainly very strong that it was. 
The hay used was clover and herd’s grass. 
There can, we think, be little doubt that the astringent 
qualities of the tea was the cause of the evil. We have 
given hay tea to calves,mixingitabouthalfand half with 
milk, and they suffered no injury from that mode of 
feeding ; but they fed daily on grass, which would have 
counteracted any such tendency. Consumption would 
have produced the results described by Mr. B„ viz : 
indigestion, inflammation, and consequent death . 
Every farmer and poulterer knows that nest eggs are 
very liable to be frozen ani spoilt in the spring of the year, 
and when cracked are eat by the fowls. To prevent this, 
manufacture a few eggs from lumps of chalk, and while 
they are secure against freezing, they will be accepted 
by the fowls as veritable eggs, and prove very durable 
Cleaning Fruit Trees—Pruning. 
Mr. Willot, in the Horticultural Register, gives the 
following directions for cleaning fruit trees, and pre¬ 
serving them from insects. 
“ The destroying of insects is also another important point 
in the culture and well being of fruit trees, which is effected 
by clearing and washing the outer bark—a piocess which I 
have reason to believe, can be done more effectually in the 
winter than in the spring. In the operation, care must be 
taken to remove all the loose outer bark, by scraping it 
from the tree so as to not injure the inner bark. In winter 
pruning, any large amputations or wounds made, should be 
pared smooth with a sharp knife, to which the following 
wash may be applied, viz : equal parts of clay and cow-dung, 
well mixed and composed together, and a moderate portion 
of potash added, and should be made of such a consistence 
as to be applied with a hair brash ; but, if the trees are very 
badly infected zvith insects, I would recommend the same com¬ 
position made into a thinner consistence, mixed with a quan¬ 
tity of the W'ash generally used for destroying the mildew 
on the grape vine, made of lime and sulphur, in the follow¬ 
ing proportions, viz ; eight gallons of the composition to one 
pint of the wash, which apply to the bark of the trees in a thin, 
regular manner, with a brush, when the outer bark has been 
scraped and cleansed as before directed.” 
Mr. Willot is a strenuous advocate for winter prun¬ 
ing ; and we think that either winter, or late pruning, 
is preferable to pruning in the spring, when the sap is 
flowing upwards freely, as is commonly practiced. The 
sap must be elaborated in the leaves before it can be 
converted into wood; and the more the tree is exhaust¬ 
ed of the sap by bleeding, the less rapidly can the 
wound be healed by the formation of new wood. It 
would be much better if the pruning of orchards and 
fruit gardens was performed more frequently, and not 
at such long intervals, so as to prevent the infliction of 
the severe wounds made by the removal of large 
branches. On skilful and judicious pruning much of 
the quantity and excellence of fruit, as well as the 
health and duration of the tree, is depending. The 
opinions of the Chinese on pruning appear to be well 
founded, and worthy of notice. The writer is speak¬ 
ing of the mulberry, hut the remarks are applicable to 
other trees—“ The last month of the year (January) is 
the most favorable for pruning : the month that follows, 
less so. In the last month of the year the sap is qui¬ 
escent, and the cessation of labor in the country leaves 
much leisure to the cultivators. Those persons who 
prune in the spring, only do it in order to peel them 
easily, (to make paper,) but that causes the mulberry 
or other trees, to lose a large quantity of sap.” 
DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 
Plain Rusk Pudding. 
Rusk your bread in the oven, and pound it fine; to 
five heaped table spoonfuls of it, put a quart of milk, 
three beaten eggs, three table spoonfuls of rolled sugar, 
a tea spoonful of salt, half a nutmeg, and three table 
spoonfuls of melted butter ; bake an hour. It may be 
eaten without sauce. — 
Wheat Flour Pudding. 
Stir into a pint and a half of flour, a quart of milk. 
It must be done gradually, so that there may be no lumps. 
Beat seven eggs and putin, and add two table spoonfuls 
of melted butter, and two tea spoonfuls of salt. Grate 
in half a nutmeg. Half a pound of raisins may he ad¬ 
ded, hut if the pudding is to be baked, they must not he 
put in till it has cooked long enough to thicken, or they 
will sink to the bottom. This flour pudding may he ei¬ 
ther baked or boiled, requiring an hour and a half to 
bake, and two hours to boil. If boiled the bag must 
not be more than two-thirds full, or it will hurst in the 
boiling. It must be put into boiling water and kept 
boiling till done. After boiling a few minutes, turn the 
hag over ; it will render the pudding light. Flour pud¬ 
dings must he eaten when cooked, or they fall directly. 
Serve them up with rich sauce. 
Boiled Rice Pudding. 
Into a quart of boiling water put two tea-cupfulls of 
rice, two tea spoonfuls of salt, and let the rice boil till 
soft. Then stir in a quart of cold milk, and half a pound 
of raisins, first taking the rice from the fire. Put in a 
couple of beat eggs, and half a grated nutmeg. Re¬ 
place it on the fire, and let it boil till the fruit is soft. 
Sauce, butter and sugar. 
Baked Rice Pudding. 
Boil a quarter of a pound of unground rice, in a 
quart of milk, till soft; then stir in a quarter of a 
pound of butter; take it from the fire, put in a quart 
of cold milk, two tea-spoonsfuls of salt, and a grated 
nutmeg. When lukewarm heat four eggs with one- 
fourth of a pound of sugar, and stir it into the pud¬ 
ding. Add half a pound of raisins, and turn the whole 
into a buttered pudding dish, and hake it three quarters 
of an hour. — 
Rice Snow Balls. 
Take small tart apples, pare them, and take out the 
cores with a knife, filling the cavity with a stick of cin¬ 
namon or of mace. Put each one in a small floured 
bag, and fill the hags about half full of unground rice. 
Leave plenty of room for the rice to swell. Put them 
in a pot of water, with a table spoonful of salt to two 
quarts of water. Much water will he required, as rice 
is a great absorbent. Boil an hour and twenty mi¬ 
nutes, then turn them carefully out ot the bags into a 
desert dish, and garnish them with marmalade cut in 
slices. Serve them up with butter and sugar. 
