52 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
national Agricultural Society and School. 
Messrs. Editors —I notice in your last number for 
1840, a production from the pen of that distinguished 
farmer James M. Garnett, headed “ Importance of a 
National Agricultural Society.” I have long been in 
the habit of giving special attention to every thing pub¬ 
lished over the signature of that philanthropic and ta¬ 
lented Virginian, of more than 50 years of scientific ex¬ 
perience ; and it would afford me great pleasure as well 
as instruction, were it in my power to visit him and be¬ 
come acquainted with the man and his practices ; for 
if he farms as well as he writes—if he is as good a far¬ 
mer at home as he is in the agricultural papers, much 
might be derived from a visit to his residence. But, in 
so much as my own little matters at home preclude the 
idea of such a visit, permit me to talk' a little with 
him through a medium worthy of the man I address. 
With spirit and force, Mr. Garnett urges the form¬ 
ation of a National Agricultural Society. I agree with 
him that we ought and must have such a Society. I 
have no doubt that such an establishment would confer 
many benefits upon our agriculture, more than any man 
could now foresee, while it would tend rapidly to en¬ 
hance the respectability of that branch of business ; and 
therefore I do not write to oppose any thing Mr. G. has 
said, but to suggest for his consideration, as well as of 
your other readers, the idea of connecting a National 
Agricultural School, with a National Agricultural Soci¬ 
ety. It is well known that half a million of dollars is 
now in the treasury of the United States, donated by 
Mr. Smythson to this nation for the purpose of the men¬ 
tal improvement of our people. Now this fund cannot 
be applied in any way to do our whole population so 
much and such perpetual good, as by the establishment 
of a National Agricultural School. This point seems to 
be agreed upon by all your correspondents who have 
touched the subject; and if a National Society would 
also be useful, and therefore should be formed, what 
impropriety would there be in connecting tlie two to¬ 
gether ? Might they not mutually stimulate, improve 
and nourish each other ? Or if the two institutions 
should be separate and independent of each other, 
would not each be more feeble, less efficient and less re¬ 
spectable ? Under present circumstances, who have we 
to carry out the establishment of such a School? It 
must be apparent to every one, that if the whole, in its 
details and practice, is to depend upon the energies and 
devotion of our heated politicians, we need not expect 
it will soon go into operation, or that it will be well 
managed when in operation. I have some little expe¬ 
rience in the inefficiency of politicians, w'hen trusted 
with agricultural matters. Every little party excite¬ 
ment will engross more of their solicitude and attention, 
than the most important agricultural measure. Indeed 
you cannot get the politicians of this age to “ conde¬ 
scend” to a vigilant attention to such matters. How 
then are we to succeed in the establishment of an Agri¬ 
cultural School ? I answer not by the agency of politi¬ 
cians alone. Nor do I profess to know how it could 
best be done, and therefore write to induce others to 
think and express their view's. How would it do for 
Congress to place the establishment and management of 
the School in the hands of a National Agricultural So¬ 
ciety, to be made up annually, of delegates from all the 
States ? Now if every State had a State Agricultural 
Society, it would be easy for each Society to send the 
delegates to the National Society, and if Congress were 
to charter a School thus under the control of the State 
Societies, this act itself would no doubt cause the people 
in every State to organize in order to be represented, 
and thus agriculture would at once assume a stand all 
over the Union, while a great National Society and Na¬ 
tional School would be formed on a permanent basis. 
Thus the agricultural strength would be organized, so 
as to act in unison. This is the great desideratum. 
Let all our energies be concentrated, and we can do any 
thing in the power of man ; but divided and scattered 
as we are, we spend our forces, as it were drop by 
drop, whereas union would make us mightier than a tor¬ 
rent. 
If this view be correct, that the surest guaranty for a 
speedy and judicious establishment of a National 
School, is the formation of a National Society, let us 
see on the other hand how a National Society will 
thrive without a School; and here too, I wish not to 
be understood as speaking with full confidence that I am 
correct ; let all think for themselves, and express freely 
what they think. How xvill the National Society con¬ 
tinue to keep up incentives strong enough to insure al¬ 
ways full meetings? What important business can be 
always before the Society, to induce talented men to as¬ 
semble from all parts of the Union? Can it be suppo¬ 
sed that an Agricultural Fair of a national character 
will continue to hold out inducements sufficient to cause 
talented business men to ride a thousand miles on their 
own expenses, to the neglect of their own private busi¬ 
ness? While the thing is new, many a zealous friend 
to the cause would readily do it; but when we have 
had three or four annual meetings, will not every one 
be less inclined to make a sacrifice of his private inte¬ 
rest than at first? We shall all feel that we have put 
the ball in motion, and that it will move on if we do 
stop to think of our own affairs. Well, but Mr. Gar¬ 
nett intimates that the members of Congress might serve 
as delegates to the Society. I think, as I have before 
said, that politicians will not do to manage such busi¬ 
ness. How then shall we contrive to keep up our So¬ 
ciety ? To me, there seems to be but one plan, that of 
placing the School under the control of the Society. 
Then we may suppose that no man would ever feel that 
he was going upon an idle errand, when delegated to 
the National Society. All the inducements of the busi¬ 
ness of a National Society, a National Fair and a Na¬ 
tional School, when combined, would I think, be enough 
to make any man feel the importance of his mission. I 
should esteem it a greater honor to be elected by a 
State Society to represent my State in a National Soci¬ 
ety of this kind, than to be elected by my district to the 
House of Representatives in Congress. Indeed could a 
man do more for his country than to fill with ability an 
office upon which so much of his country’s prosperity 
would depend? But it may be asked, can Congress be 
induced to place the School under a National Society ? 
I reply, if the people demand it, it will be done ; and it 
is perhaps nearly if not quite as easy to stir them up to 
that, as it would be to induce them to form a National 
Society independent of a School. If we could engage the 
Hon. Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and a few others 
who feel the interest in agriculture that they do, to urge 
this kind of a National Establishment, upon the floor of 
Congress, the people would soon respond, that it must 
be done. And cannot half a dozen such men as Mr. 
Garnett, induce a few prominent members of Congress 
to take an energetic stand in favor of the measure? Can 
we not “ log roll it,” or act the part of lobby members, 
till we gain strength enough to give the position a re¬ 
spectable notice in Congress? And if we succeed thus 
far, the point is gained, for a majority will respond af¬ 
firmatively at the ballot box. Respectfully, 
F. H. GORDON. 
Clinton College , Tenn., Jan. 2, 1841. 
Xsincolnshire and Cotswold Sheep. 
Messrs. Gaylord Sc Tucker —In the last volume of 
the Cultivator, page 176, Mr. Sotham has commented 
pretty freely on an article of mine published in the same 
volume, page 93, in regard to my Lincolnshire sheep. 
He remarks—“I have perused with much pleasure a 
communication from Mr. Clift, on Lincolns, though I 
cannot say I agree with him, as being the best sheep 
for the country, or can I believe that length, height, 
breadth, or girth, denotes a good animal.” Now I had 
nowhere said “ that length, breadth, or girth, denoted, a 
good animal,” or that their measure in any way what¬ 
ever, was any “ criterion to goodness.” In relation to 
my buck, I only gave the simple fact as it was ; neither 
did it strike me as being at all “novel,” to give the 
measure of an animal; and so far from asserting or be¬ 
lieving, that this was an uncommon measure for a sheep, 
I stated that my Lincolns were not over large, but car¬ 
ried. great weight in their compass of carcass. As to 
Mr. Sotham’s not “ agreeing them to be the best sheep 
for the country,” I have not the least concern on that 
point, but will leave this to all those who have proved 
them, to judge, and time more fully to demonstrate, and 
shall be ready at all times to compare them with any 
other breed that may be produced. While on this point, 
it will not, I trust, be thought out of place to state, that 
during the last three years, I have sold to the farmers 
and butchers over 200 head of sheep of the cross and 
full blood Lincolns, and at prices generally varying, to 
the butcher from ten to thirty dollars per head, and to 
the farmer, from ten to fifty and in several instances at 
one hundred dollars per head ; and I state it as a mat¬ 
ter of great pride and satisfaction, that not in one in¬ 
stance that has come to my knowledge, have they dis¬ 
appointed all that was expected from them. For the 
information of Mr. S., I will state, that I have years 
ago turned lambs to the butcher, short of one year by 
two or three months, that weighed 18 and 20 lbs. per 
quarter ; but this can be by no means made a general 
practice with us ; so neither does it, or the fact to 
which Mr. Sotham has referred, disprove that it may 
not be considered early maturity to have our wethers fit 
for the stall at two, and at farthest, three years old. 
Animals that give us the best return, according to the 
expense of their keep in any given time, must always 
be the most profitable to the farmer, and that the Lin¬ 
colns have done this for me, (as sheep,) I again assert, 
with the fullest confidence, over all others I have yet 
tried. 
The best part of Mr. Sotham’s letter, for me, remains 
to be noticed ; after giving a very fine, and I have no 
doubt, just description of one of his bucks, he observes 
“ that if Mr. Clift approves of his good qualities, he 
will cheerfully sell him to me at a reasonable profit.” 
Now Messrs. Editors, Sam Patch, or somebody else, 
has quaintly observed “ that some things can be done 
as well as some others,” and it so happens that I am 
sometimes looking out to see what is going on in the 
world, as weli as some others ; so I had the curiosity 
to attend at the' late Fair of the American Institute, 
held in New-York, and I took along with me several of 
my Lincolnshire sheep to show and enter for the pre¬ 
miums. Here much to my surprise and satisfaction, I 
found Mr. Sotham with ail of his late imported stock, 
also for show and entered for the premium. Being both 
of us lovers of fine stock, we were not long in making 
acquaintance. Here then was American bred sheep, 
and Lincolns too, obliged to contend against some of the 
best sheep that England could produce. The contest 
between Mr. Sotham’s sheep and mine, lay, for the best 
ewe and lamb, a single pair each, and for the best buck, 
with this difference, or odds against me, that Mr. So¬ 
tham showed 19 fine bucks to my one, as I had but a 
single buck on the ground. I trust it will not be thought 
arrogant for me to say, that to me was awarded the 
first premium for the best ewe and lamb, a silver cup 
for each. I can moreover assure you, Messrs. Editors, 
that Mr. Sotham’s ewe was no fool of a sheep, either, 
for I liked her so well that I purchased her at a strong 
price, and she is now in my possession. I have noticed 
by the Dec. number of the Cultivator, that Mr. Sotham 
has done me the favor to acknowledge my purchase of 
him, of one of those bucks, and the loan of another 
buck, as represented in the Cultivator, for which favor 
I hereby tender him my thanks, and for his information 
will state that they have done fine, and show the right 
sort of constitution. With all due deference to the opin¬ 
ion of Mr. Sotham and others who sold this lot of bucks, 
I do not fear to hazard the opinion that they showed 
much stronger marks of Lincoln blood, than of any 
other breed, particularly in the appearance of their 
coats, great weight of fleeces, quality and firm constitu¬ 
tion which they indicated ; and quite certain I am, that 
the buck I purchased of Mr. Sotham, is altogether of 
that strain of blood, and Mr. Sotham will bear me wit¬ 
ness that I selected him more particularly with that 
view, as I hope by this means, to keep a part of my 
flock pure of this blood, and give the Lincolns a fair 
chance to maintain their ascendancy. I think that these 
bucks will give a little more size in the general, to my 
flock, without any sacrifice of their previous fine quali¬ 
ties, which in no case I should be willing to hazard for 
the sake of obtaining greater size. I have between 80 
and 90 choice selected ewes, now in lamb by these bucks, 
and I hope and intend, by my attention to my sheep, and 
adhering strictly to the true principles of breeding, to 
prove them still worthy of the attention of my fellow 
fanners. 
I have written with the best feelings towards Mr. So¬ 
tham, and only wish to remove any wrong impressions 
that his article may have given your readers, in respect 
to my Lincoln sheep. It will be but sheer justice for 
me to acknowdedge that I think Messrs. Sotham & Cor¬ 
ning entitled to much credit and liberal patronage, for 
their late importation of so much fine stock. I am free 
to acknowledge, taking their sheep as a whole, 1 never 
saw finer, and in several individuals of them, it would, 
I think, be hard to find their equal in any country. Of 
his other stock, I profess not to be as good a judge, but 
I should say, I saw some most beautiful Hereford cat¬ 
tle, very silky in their coats, and fine in their flesh. I 
have no doubt but they will prove a good cross upon our 
best native cattle, as well as upon the heavier fleshed 
Durhams, and other improved breeds among us. Their 
cow Matchless has been the most perfectly represented 
in the Cultivator, of any animal I have seen, as like its 
original in all respects. 
You will recollect that in my last communication to 
you, I gave the weight, price, &c. of some of my wethers 
for the last 2 years. The present winter, my primest 
wethers went to the market about the first of December, 
24 in number—6 of these sheep were 3 years old, and 
gave a total dead weight of 879 lbs., or 146i| lbs. per 
carcass, equal to 36£ lbs. per quarter, and I am inform¬ 
ed that one of these sheep gave 36 lbs. of fat in caul or 
rough. Pretty good weight this, for not over large 
sheep. With due regard, yours, L. D. CLIFT. 
Somers, N. Y. Jan. 26, 1841. 
Management of Salt Marshes. 
Messrs. Editors —It was my intention to have repli- 
ed sooner to the inquiries of Mr. Fairbanks of Nova 
Scotia, published in the November number of the Culti¬ 
vator, page 178, relative to the treatment of salt marsh¬ 
es ; but various engagements, and I might perhaps add 
some negligence, have prevented until the present time. 
I have had some experience in improving tide meadows, 
and have expended much time and money in arriving 
at a successful system of treatment upon this kind of 
soil. The following directions mav perhaps be useful 
to your correspondent, and others similarly situated. 
1st. That the marsh should be secured from the tide by 
a permanent bank. 2d. That a sluice or sluices of suf¬ 
ficient capacity be laid, to discharge the rain water, and 
back waters, which may proceed from adjacent up¬ 
lands ; so that at no time the water courses and ditches 
will be filled to overflowing. The sluices should belaid 
deep enough to draw the water through them from the 
lowest part of the marsh ; great care should be taken to 
have the doors made tight so as to exclude all the tide 
water possible. The water courses and drains should 
intersect each other at right angles, and no lot of marsh 
should contain more than ten acres ; if any rain water 
should lay upon the middle of these lots, it will be ne¬ 
cessary to cut small drains to let it pass off freely ; these 
might be covered where the materials are at hand. The 
mud and earth which come out of water courses and 
ditches, should be removed into the lowest part of the 
marsh ; by a neglect of this, the rain water will be con¬ 
fined too long upon the surface, and the most luxuriant 
growth of timothy or clover may in a short time be con¬ 
verted into a nursery of rushes, upon the same princi¬ 
ple that wheat so frequently turns to cheat. 
The best time to sow down in grass, is xvhen the tide 
is first shut off, and when the mud is soft; a growth of 
coarse grass will spring up sufficient to protect the fine 
grass in its tender state ; this crop should be mown off 
and not suffered to lodge upon the marsh. Timothy* 
and herds grass require about one bushel to sow four 
acres. The former will flourish where the water can 
* What we call timothy in New Jersey, is called herds gra*s 
in the New England States, and what we term herds grass, is 
known by Red Top there. To avoid mistake in my mean¬ 
ing above, timothy resembles the tail of a rat. 
