140 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
THE SUFFOLK HORSE BRITTON.—[Fig. 78.] 
As a representative of this excellent breed of horses, 
a 
considered in England for use on the farm, or for heavy 
draught, as unequalled, we copy from the London Farm¬ 
ers’ Magazine, a portrait (fig. 68,) of the horse that received 
the first prize as a cart or farm stallion, at the meeting of 
the English Agricultural Society at Oxford, 1839. “ He 
is a bright chestnut, eight year’s old, sixteen and a half 
hands high, full of bone, and of admirable symmetry, good 
constitution, and staunch worker. Britton is one of the 
fastest walkers, and best tempered horses, that ever travel¬ 
ed Suffolk, or any other county.” 
According to Mr. Youatt, and other high English au¬ 
thorities, the Suffolk horse, originally descended from the 
Norman stud and the ancient Suffolk mare, is the very 
best horse in England, for those kinds of labor in which 
activity is combined with great strength and powers of en¬ 
durance. The true Suffolk, like the Cleaveland race, a 
cross of which with the full bred, has given England her 
hunters and carriage horses, is almost extinct. Some few 
however, remain, and the breed is in great request in the 
neighboring counties of Norfolk and Essex, both for the 
farm and for breeding. Some of the most highly prized 
carriage horses of the Duke of Richmond, combining 
strength, activity and figure, were obtained by crossing 
the Suffolk with one of his best hunters. 
Mr. Youatt, in speaking of the Suffolk Horse, says— 
“ The excellence, and a rare one, of the old Suffolk, (the 
new breed has not quite lost it,) consisted in nimbleness of ac¬ 
tion, and the honesty and continuance with which he would 
exert himself at a dead pull. Many a good draught horse 
knows well what he can effect; and after he has attempted 
it and failed, no torture of the whip, will induce him to strain 
his powers beyond their natural extent. The Suffolk, howev¬ 
er, would tug at a dead pull, till he dropped. It was beautiful 
to see a team of true Suffolks, at a signal from the driver, and 
without the whip, down on their knees in a moment, and drag 
every thing before them. Brutal wagers were frequently laid, as 
to their power in this respect, and many a good team was inju¬ 
red and ruined. The immense power of the Suffolk, is ac¬ 
counted for by the low position of the shoulder, which enables 
him to throw so much of his weight into the collar.” 
Some traces of the Suffolk horse, may doubtless be found 
in the United States; but we are not at present aware that 
any attempt to introduce this breed, as such, has been 
made among us. There appears scarcely a room for doubt, 
that a breed such as the Suffolk is represented to be, is pre¬ 
cisely the one wanted by our farmers, to work their fields, 
draw their grain to market, or make their team and wag¬ 
on horses. Lively, fast walkers, strong constitutioned and 
hardy, good tempered, honest, never trickish or baulky, 
and a well built, handsome horse, it appears to us to com¬ 
bine most of the qualities desirable in an animal intended 
for labor, rather than show, for use rather than to be pet¬ 
ted and admired. Some attempts have been made to im¬ 
prove our horses, by crossing with the small hardy French 
Canadian horse, with our large common mares; but we 
have some doubts as to the success of the measure, it hav¬ 
ing wholly failed in Virginia, where, a few years since, the 
experiment was fully tried. It is not desirable to make 
our farm horses smaller; what is wanted, is to give form, 
firmness, constitution, and fitness for draught; and for this, 
we should altogether prefer horses like the modern Suffolk, 
the Cleaveland cross, or some of our horses that have 
blood enough about them, united with a sufficiency of 
bone and muscle, to ensure activity and endurance. We 
think some of the gentlemen engaged in introducing first 
rate animals from abroad, Would confer a great benefit on 
the country, by bringing to this country a Suffolk horse, 
whose descent, and the character of his colts, are alike in¬ 
disputably good. 
WORK FOR THE MONTH. 
September is the month in which the great staple crop 
of the north is put in the ground. Experience has 
shown, that, unless in extraordinary cases, wheat sown 
in this month succeeds better than in any other. August 
is too hot, generally. The ground is dry, the dews 
which aid the young wheat so materially, fall sparingly, 
and the germination and first growth is imperfect and 
comparatively feeble. If sown much later, unless very 
late, it does not get rooted sufficiently to endure the 
winter well, and frequently suffers much from freezing 
out. We take it for granted your ground is in good 
condition, thoroughly fallowed, free from every vestige 
of a weed, fine, and rich from previous, not recent 
manuring. The quantity of seed on such land should 
be about a bushel and half per acre, and it should be 
harrowed, not plowed in, as the plow will cover some of 
the seeds too deep for vegetation. Wheat has two sets 
of roots, one set near the surface, and the other deeper. 
If covered too shallow, the two sets are confounded in 
their growth ; if too deep, the connecting part of the 
Toot, uniting the two sets, becomes feeble, from its 
length, and the shoot if thrown up at all, is imperfect. 
Do'not fear harrowing too much after the seed is sown, 
and a heavy harrow is better than a light one, unless 
the soil itself is very light. Passing the roller over the 
new sown grain is an improvment, as it ensures germi¬ 
nation, and leaves the surface in a suitable state for 
gathering the grain. Prepare your seed by brining, and 
liming it You may not fear smut, but the young plant 
will be sufficiently benefited by the process, to reward 
the trouble. Above all things use clean seed. Trust 
no man’s word that his seed is perfectly clean, unless a 
few hnndsful spread on the table and examined thorough¬ 
ly, show that it is free from every thing but pure wheat. 
The farmer who examines seed wheat in this way, will 
be surprised to find how little clean Avheat actually exists. 
The man who sows charlock, steinkrout, or cockle must 
expect to find such pianfs spring up to plague him for 
years. Look out for chess ; if you sow it, it will grow, 
and your wheat field will be adduced by the careless, as 
proof that wheat has changed to chess. If any part of 
your field is liable to injurv from surface Water, lay out 
your Avater furrows so as to remedy the difficulty. Wa¬ 
ter standing on wheat makes the ground heavy, injures 
the plant if it does not destroy it, and in the spring, ren¬ 
ders it liable to freeze out. Make your water furrows 
before the plow leaves the field, and afterwards see they 
are kept clean with the hoe. 
Selecting seeds is one of the most important items of 
the farmer’s business. The farmer who pays proper at¬ 
tention to this subject, will not only find he has made 
quite a saving in the course of the year, but that he is 
more certain of their quality than when purchased in 
the usual manner. 
In our climate it is always very desirable to have our 
vegetables and plants come forward and mature as early 
as may be ; and as the first and most perfect vegetables 
give the best and earliest seeds, such should be selected 
for this purpose. It is a common practice to use all the 
earliest plants, or fruits, and trust to such as are later 
for seeds. This is a very injudicious practice, and 
should never be adopted where seed is wanted. In sav¬ 
ing seeds from plants liable to crosses, as beets, squashes, 
&c. care should be taken to select from those least in 
danger from such action, and of course from those the 
farthest removed from each other. 
Hops should be gathered as soon as matured. If left 
long after this period, they rapidly part with the rich 
material which gives them their principal value. They 
should be allowed to hang until bleached and dried on 
the vine, but gathered and dried in the shade. Every 
farmer should groAV his own hops, and they are essen¬ 
tial not only in making good beer, but in many of the 
culinary operations of the housewife. When well 
dried, they must be packed in bags, and kept where they 
remain dry. Exposed to the air, they lose much of their 
peculiar aroma, and depreciate in value. 
If your hoed crops have been properly cultivated, 
they are now free from weeds ; still, as it is a practice 
where the Canada thistle prevails, and one founded on 
correct principles, to plant and hoe such lands, it may 
be well to look over the corn, potato, and other crops, 
and see that none of these weeds escape. A piece of 
ground kept perfectly free from vile weeds one year, is 
in a fair way to be recovered from their dominion. To 
succeed in their extermination, the advantage gained 
must be followed up, and neither respite or reprieve al¬ 
lowed. A few hours’ work properly applied now, may 
save the labor of weeks hereafter. 
Don’t be in a hurry to let your animals into your mea-' 
dow lands. If you do not allow them to he fed off at 
all, you will probably be the gainer, hut if fed at all, 
it should be reserved for sheep and lambs in the spring. 
In but few cases is it advisable to cut the second growth 
forrowen; such repeated mowings exhaust the roots 
too much, much more than grazing, from the time and 
manner of their performance. 
If the lands you are intending to put into spring crops 
next year, are infested Avith weeds of any kind, there 
will be an advantage in plowing it once if not tAvice be¬ 
fore Avinter. If the wire, or cut worm is in it, fall 
plowing is advantageous, as exposing the larvae or 
chrysalis of these pests, to such atmospheric changes 
as are fatal to many of them. The roots of many weeds 
are also destroyed in the same Avay ; and as frost is one 
of the best pulverizers to which soil can be exposed, 
heavy lands are much aided in preparation for spring 
crops, by fall ploughing. 
There are many herbs used for culinary purposes, 
such as sage, summer savory, parsley, &c. and for me¬ 
dicinal purposes, such as tansy, wormwood, arsmart, 
penny royal, &c. which should be saved as they arrive 
at the proper state. They are generally in their great¬ 
est perfection, when the foliage is fully expanded, and 
they begin to floAver. At this time in a dry day, they 
should be collected and dried in the shade. When the 
moisture is entirely exhausted, they must he pressed in¬ 
to masses of four or five inches square, papered and la¬ 
belled. Put into a dry box and in a dry place, they may 
be kept almost any length of time. The former during 
the Avinter finds occasional use for herbs in treating dis¬ 
eased animals, and the want of them or the trouble of 
procuring them, in running OA r er the neighborhood to 
beg them, is for greater than that of saving them. 
Where it is intended to soav wheat after corn, this crop 
should be cut up and removed from the ground as early 
as its maturity will admit. If the ground is well ma¬ 
nured for the corn, as it always should be, and Avell cul¬ 
tivated, a crop of Avheat may properly folloAV corn, and 
but comparatively little labor in ploAV’ing is required 
to get in the seed. We have seen very fine wheat rais¬ 
ed after corn; and as many experiments go to prove 
that corn cut up by the bottom is superior to that ripen¬ 
ing as it grows, or that is topped, it Avould seem the prac¬ 
tice might he advantageously extended. 
Cattle and SAvine intended for fattening should now 
haA r e increased attention paid to them. Although the 
fact is generally knoAvn, that animals will take on fat 
much foster in moderate, or warm weather, than they 
will in cold uncomfortable weather, it does not seem to 
have influenced the course of formers as much as it 
should. The same quantity of food Avill give a for great¬ 
er amount of pork in September and October, than in 
NoA’ember andDecember. Begin to feed them as early 
as your means will admit, and you will probably find 
your account in the method. Dealers in pork may not 
like to haA’e their operations commence too early ; but 
when meat is making for home consumption, this objec¬ 
tion does not apply. 
MILKING. 
“ Is there any remedy to keep a cow from holding up 
her milk ? or in other Avords, to make them give it doAvn 
when weaning the calf? I have tAvo cows that hold up 
their milk at such times, so that they would dry them¬ 
selves up in a short time; one of them I have milked 
for tAvo hours at a time, and could get hut very little 
milk, and then let in the calf and she Avouldgive it doAvn 
in a moment. I have been compelled to let my calf 
suck through the summer and foil to get any milk. 
Any information on the subject will be gladly received. 
“ Middlebury, la. July, 1840. A. Freeman.” 
Gentle treatment at all times; accustoming the heifer 
to having her udder handled before calving; and milk¬ 
ing her at first while the calf is about her, if she shows 
any disposition to retain her milk, will usually prevent 
a coav from holding up her milk. We have never had 
a cow addicted to this practice, and Ave know of no reme¬ 
dy for the habit, disagreeable as it is, when once con¬ 
tracted. A Avriter in a former volume of the New Eng¬ 
land Farmer asserts that placing a rope around the 
horns of a coav Avhen in the stanchels and drawing 
her head high Avhile being milked, will not only prevent 
her kicking, hut is a remedy for her holding up her milk. 
This may he reasonable, as elevating the head, must 
prevent that contraction of the muscles, and curvature 
of the back, ahvays obserA r ed when a cow holds up her 
milk or kicks. If any of our correspondents know a 
remedy, and will communicate it, it shall have a place 
with pleasure. 
Sowing Grass Seeds. —A correspondent of the Frank - 
lin Farmer, recommends that where the grass is wanted 
for pasture, a mixture of timothy, red clover, and blue 
grass be used; but where it is wanted for hay only, timo¬ 
thy alone is to be preferred. Red clover and blue grass 
have been found not to answer for meadows in Kentucky, 
according to this writer, Avho recommends sowing timothy 
in September, on ground well prepared by plowing and 
harrowing. It should be slightly harrowed or brushed in. 
He sows clover on rye in the spring, after the rye is suffi¬ 
ciently advanced for pasture, and then turns in his stock 
to feed on the rye until the seed is about to germinate, 
when the stock is taken off. 
