THE CULTIVATOR. 
S2K3Hg3ESE2» 
61 
MON THLY NOT ICES. 
“ The Northern Light.” —The first number of a monthly 
journal, with this title, has just been issued by an association 
of gentlemen in this city, under the editorial supervision of 
John A. Dix, Esq., a gentleman whose reputation as a writer, 
as well as the paper before us, affords a sufficient guarantee 
of the ability with which it will be conducted. It is devoted 
to the discussion of the principles of political economy, agri¬ 
culture, literature and a record of passing events, and to be 
issued on the first of each month, in the same style and form 
as the Cultivator—price $1.00 a year. 
Exportation of Bones.— We learn that Mr. S, Titcomb, of 
Waterford, Saratoga county, in 1839, sold to an English gen¬ 
tleman for exportation twenty tons of bones at eight dollars 
per ton; and that the same person has lately written to Mr. 
T. asking whether he could obtain a farther supply, and offer¬ 
ing at the rate often dollars per ton. That a profit is realized 
by the exportation, we have no doubt; but. we would ask 
whether it would not be better to grind and use these bones 
at home, than to send this invaluable article abroad, and im¬ 
port wheat and potatoes in return. 
Breeding Cattle. —In the interesting reports of the agri¬ 
cultural meetings at Boston, furnished tor the Boston Courier 
by Mr. Colman, is a notice of the “Creampot breed of*Cat- 
tie,” produced by Col. Jacques of Charlestown, and an ac¬ 
count of their qualities, &c. by that gentleman. In the course 
of his remarks, he said, “He had now twenty-eight cows and 
heifers of this stock.; and at his pleasure he could breed his 
stock with orange color or yellow around the eye; of a maho¬ 
gany color, white bags and black teats, as might be desired.” 
* * * * “ With a view to test his principles (of breed¬ 
ing) he had gone largely into the breeding of rabbits ; and it 
had required the ninth generation, and four hundred rabbits 
to reach the point he aimed at.” 
Tobacco in Canada.— The Buffalo Advertiser says that to¬ 
bacco is almost the only crop made by the cultivators of the 
soil for the distance of seventy-five miles east from Malden, 
along the northern shore of Lake Erie. We saw many dry¬ 
ing houses or barns a hundred feet in length, and nearly filled 
with the poisonous weed hung up to dry. or cure. The run¬ 
away slaves and free blacks from Virginia and elsewhere 
have carried with them a practical knowledge of cultivating 
tobacco to their new residence, which in despite of its unpro- 
pitious latitude, they are able to turn to good account. 
White Carrot. —From some experiments that have been 
made with this root, it appears that it will produce nearly or 
quite double as much on the same soils and with the same 
treatment as the common orange. Whether it will be as 
valuable for feeding remains to be seen. Should it prove so, 
the Flemish carrot will be a great acquisition. 
Going Backward-. — A Mr. Carmichael in the American 
Farmer, places the Tinicum cattle, a breed he imagines can 
be traced to the island of Tinian in the Pacific Ocean, at the 
head of our cattle, and while admitting the advantage of 
crosses, sagaciously observes, “ I should prefer a bull from 
New-England to one from Old England.” There are many 
beautiful cattle in New-England, but the best found there are 
the result of recent crosses with imported English bulls. 
Bone Manure. —In the Farmer’s Register is a record of a 
series of experiments made by T. A. C. Jones to test the value 
of bone manure in comparison with stable manures, and he 
arrives at the following conclusions: “ 1. That when applied 
at the rate of from fifty to eighty bushels per acre on the ex¬ 
hausted lands of Virginia, one bushel of crushed bone3 is 
more than equal to one cart load of (twenty-five bushels) good 
farm yard manure, in.its effect on the crop. 2. That the ef¬ 
fect of bone manure is more durable than that, of any putres¬ 
cent manure usually procured on a farm. 3. That when ap¬ 
plied to land which is in good heart, the effect is much more 
powerful than it is on very poor land. 4. That when com¬ 
bined with manure and applied in the form of compost [eight 
per cent of bone dust with the scrapings of the farm yards] 
the effect both instant and remote, far exceeds that of any 
other application with which I am acquainted ; and lastly, if 
stable manure has to be purchased, or even hauled more "than 
half a mile from your own stables, bone manure at fifty cents 
per bushel, the price it cost me, delivered on my farm, is the 
cheapest manure of the two.” 
Poudrette — Mr. Minor, of New-York, at one of the legis¬ 
lative agricultural meetings in Boston, made some interesting 
statements respecting the value of this manure on crops. On 
winter sown wheat it added much to the crop, and its value is 
truly great on corn and root crops generally . The method of 
applying it to corn, is give each hill a gill and a half, half 
at planting, and half as a dressing to be worked in with the 
hoe or cultivator. The price of poudrette at the manufactory in 
New-York is $1.75 per barrel of four bushels; or three bar¬ 
rels for five dollars. Of the fertilizing powers of poudrette 
there can be no question, but experiments would seem to show 
that it is better adapted for corn or roots that require to be 
brought forward rapidly, than fur the spring grains, particu¬ 
larly wheat, as by giving a rank and rapid growth of straw 
the tendency to rust or mildew is increased. 
Grasshoppers :n Januarv.— The N. H. Herald mentions 
that a gentleman of V/oodbridge had brought to that office a 
number of real grasshoppers, gathered in the. open air, when 
the thermometer was nr. zero. There had been a thaw imme¬ 
diately previous to their being found. We have seen full 
grown grasshoppers of the previous year, in March; and a 
friend of ours assured us several years since that he had 
caught trout in the Ousco lake on hooks, baited with grass¬ 
hoppers caught in the open fields in February, and dropped 
into the water through holes cut in the ice. The grasshop¬ 
per would seem therefore to be more tenacious of life than has 
generally been supposed. 
“Tree Fence.”— Mr. Asa Chatfield in the Herkimer Jour¬ 
nal gives the following account of an experiment in fencing 
made by him. In reference to an article in the Cultivator on 
fencing, he says: “ I will describe a kind of fence I have on 
road passing by my house for the distance of eighty or ninety 
rods. When I put them there, I designed them for nothing 
more than ornament, my farm for the most part being very 
well supplied with stone for walls. The trees grew very ra¬ 
pidly, and after a few years the idea struck me, that I would 
Procure black ash rails, us being as durable as any I could 
get on the farm, (cedar would be preferable where it could be 
got,) and bore and mortise the trees the same as posts, and fit 
the rails in them. I did so—it took but five rails to a length, 
and the very next year the rails were grown in perfectly solid, 
and have remained so ever since. There is no falling off of 
the rails, neither can any wind blow the fence down, nor can 
any animal of any description push or shove it down. * * * 
The poplar tree, if used for the fence, should have its top ta¬ 
ken off once in eight or nine years, and that will prevent too 
much shade, where the fence runs across the farm.” 
Great Porkers. —Whatever may be thought of the year 
1840 in other respects, it will long remain famous for the 
heavy hogs it has produced. Mr. Willard of the Shaker So¬ 
ciety at Canterbury, in a note to Gov. Hill says, “We give 
you the weight of three of the full blood Berkshires which we 
slaughtered a few days since. Two weighed, when dressed, 
each 476 pounds, and one 550 pounds, all of which had no 
extraordinary keeping, and we are induced to believe that by 
proper management and more feeding they could have been 
made considerably larger.” 
Another Pig. —Mr. J. Osborne, of Kennebec, Me., slaugh¬ 
tered a pig the last of December, not quite eight months old, 
which weighed, including the rough fat, 401 pounds. Such a 
pig is we think hard to beat. 
Still another Lot. —Our Kentucky friends must look to 
their laurels, or the old Bay State will wear them yet. Mr. 
Phinney has furnished the New-England Farmer with the 
weights of fifteen Berkshire and Mackay hogs killed by him 
2d February. “ 733, 655, 579,574, 555, 528, 523, 517, 503, 501, 
487, 480, 476, 441, 400, pounds; aggregate weight 7,958 
pounds; average weight 530j pounds.” 
Preparation of Cions. —From some experiments made 
last spring by Mr. Newton, of Worcester, it appears that the 
chance of the cions inserted in grafting living is much in¬ 
creased by dipping the upper end of the cion in wax, or co¬ 
vering it with a film so as to prevent evaporation. We have 
tried the same method with cions, and with cuttings, and 
think it worthy of adoption. 
Wheat in Connecticut. —The quantity of wheat grown in 
Connecticut as shown by the agricultural census is as follows : 
Hartford county, 13,449; Nevv-H'aven, 7,032; New London, 
10,138; .Fairfield, 10,802; Windham, 8,899; Litchfield, 23,- 
544; Middlesex, 5,463; Tolland, 7,553, Total, 86,880 bushels. 
This is pretty well, but Connecticut can and will do better 
hereafter. 
Cooking Hams. —A correspondent of the N. H. Farmer’s 
Gazette says : “ If you have not cut your hams, I will tell you 
of a good way to cook them. Boil the ham three hours, then 
skin it nicely, pound crackers fine and sprinkle on it, then 
bake one hour. Cooked in this way they are very nice.” 
Capabilities of the Soil.— Under this title Mr. Town¬ 
send, near New-Haven, has given the Farmer’s Gazette a 
statement of the crops raised by him on a small piece of 
ground in four years. The land measured just five-eighths of 
an acre. First year fifteen ox cart loads of forty-two bushels 
each of pumpkins, or 630 bushels. Second year potatoes, 
which sold for $70. Third year thirty-one shocks of rye, 
large sheaves. Fourth year (1840) cut three tons of hay of good 
quality. The expense of culture, manure, &c. of all the crops 
was $46. 
To make Leather Water Proof.— We find in the Maine 
Cultivator the following directions for making boots or shoes 
water proof: “ Take three ounces spermaceti and melt it in a 
pipkin or other earthen vessel over a slow fire; add thereto six 
drams of India rubber, cut into slices, and these will speedily 
dissolve. Then add of tallow eight ounces ; hog’s lard two 
ounces ; amber varnish four ounces; mix, and it is fit for use. 
Two or three coats with a common blacking brush are to be 
laid on, and a fine polish will be the result. 
Agki. Statistics of Michigan. —Horses and mules, • • 23,784 
Neat cattle,. 179,193 
Sheep,. 95,584 
Swine, . 304,353 
Bushels of wheat,. 2 , 147,585 
“ barley,. 119,491 
oats,. 2,053,074 
rye,. 33,129 
buckwheat, . 100,797 
corn,. 2,238,796 
“ potatoes,. 2,040,941 
Pounds of wool,. 144 793 
Corn for P’odder. —Mr. Letton, of Davidson, Ky., last year 
sowed three acres of corn for fodder, and cut from this land 
twenty hay-loads of fodder, estimated to weigh one ton each, 
or more than six tons of first rate fodder per acre. Some ex¬ 
periments have been made in the New-Englnnd states with 
corn sown for this purpose, and with favorable results. We 
think there are many farmers who might greatly increase their 
means of feeding their cattle or horses by sowing corn in this 
way. 
Pickled Beef and Pork.—I t is well known that these arti¬ 
cles are with difficulty preserved s.weet in the south. To pre¬ 
vent their souring, take them out of the brine and smoke them 
until dry—throw away the old pickle, or cleanse it by boiling 
and skimming. Smoke the barrel thoroughly and repack the 
meat. 
Great Egg. —Mr. Buckminster says : “ A gentleman from 
Medford showed, us last week the largest hen’s egg we ever 
turned eyes on; its girth was seven and three-quarters of an 
inch, by six and a half—the fowl was quite young, and had 
laid several eggs nearly as large as this—she laid three, in 
lour days last week.” 
Another. —We have just measured an egg, taken from a 
basket received from our friend of the “Three Hills Farm,” 
and find its girth to lie fifths by 7fths inches. 
African Sheep. —The Boston Society of Natural -History 
have received from D. S. M’Cnuly, United States Consul at 
Tripoli, two varieties of the sheep in the north of Africa. 
Three of these animals are of the Bengazi or four horned 
breed, and are distinguished by the size of their tails, which 
sometimes weigh fifteen pounds, and are highly prized by 
epicures. The fourth is a ram of the Fezzon breed, much re¬ 
sembling the goat in its appearance, limbs and hair, and inha¬ 
bits the high ranges of the Atlas. They cannot probably be 
considered as of great value, other than as curious specimens 
of tin's animal, not hitherto known in the United States. 
“A Lady Agriculturist.” —We learn from the Maine 
Cultivator, that at the last meeting of the Kennebec Agricul¬ 
tural Society, Mrs. Content W- Hains claimed and received 
the premiums for the best crops of Indian corn and wheat. 
The yield of corn was 132 bushels of ears to the acre, and of 
wheat 29 bushels. There were a number of competitors, but 
they were fairly distanced by the lady 
County Agricultural Societies. 
Onondaga. —The following list of officers of this So¬ 
ciety, chosen at its last annual meeting, has been fur¬ 
nished us by the President: 
JOHN SANFORD, President, Marcellus. 
Silas Gaylord, 1st Vice President, Skaneatles. 
James L. Voorhes, 2d “ Lysander. 
George Geddes, Recording Secretary, Camillus. 
John C. Brown, Corressponding Secretary, Onondaga. 
Mr. Wallace, Treasurer, Syracuse. 
Executive Committee—One for each Town. 
Salina, Joseph Savage. 
Camillus, Talmadge Cherry. 
Onondaga, E, Marks. 
Dewitt, N P. Bogardus. 
Elbridge, John Ranny. 
Skaneateles, Chester Moses. 
Marcellus, Myron L. Mills. 
Spafford, John Baxter. 
Otisco, Warner Abbot. 
Tully, Nichol Howel. 
Fabius, Aden Howe. 
Pompey, David Marsh. 
LaFayette, John Spencer. 
Manlius, P. R. Read. 
Van Buren, John B.owman. 
Lysander, John Stevens. 
Clay, S. L. Wormwood. 
Cicero, John Bowring. 
Monroe. —At the annual meeting of the “ Genesee 
Agricultural Society,” held Feb. 2, 1841, the title of the 
Society was changed to “ Monroe Agricultural Society 
and the following officers elected : 
LYMAN B. LANGWORTHY, President, Greece. 
William Garbutt, 1st Vice President, Wheatland. 
Henry E. Rochester, 2d do. do. Gates. 
William C. Cornell, 3d do. do. Henrietta. 
Henry M. Ward, Recording Secretary, Rochester. 
Michael B. Bateham, Corresponding Secretary, Rochester. 
Charles F. Crossman, Treasurer, Rochester. 
Board of Managers. 
John B. Smith, Ogden. 
John H. Robinson, Henrietta. 
George C. Latta, Greece. 
J. P. Stull, Rush. 
George Sheff'er, Wheatland 
Doctor A. Baldwin, Clarkson. 
R. Harmon, Jr. Wheatland. 
Oliver Culver, Brighton. 
Thomas Weddle, Greece. 
Isaac Moore, Brighton. 
H. E. Barnard, Mendon 
William Pixley, Chili. 
Enoch Strong, Perinton. 
Cortland. —The annual meeting of this Society was 
held Feb. 13, 1841. Reports were presented, on the ge¬ 
neral state of Agriculture in the County, by H. S. Ran¬ 
dall —on Cattle, by R. Boies —on Horses, by T. Har- 
rop —on Swine, and on Fence Building, by J. Onder- 
donk —on the Dairy, by A. Rice —on Fattening Beef, 
by I. Boies —on the Comparative Value of Potatoes and 
Ruta Bagas, by J. Ives —on the Application of Ma¬ 
nures, by P. Barber —on the Tlmory and Practice of 
Draining, by H. Stephens. These Reports are to be 
published. The following officers were elected for the 
present year : 
JESSE IVES, President. 
H. S. Randall and Dayid Matthew?, Vice Presidents, 
R. Boies, Trersurer— Amos Rice, Secretary. 
Executive Committee. 
Dan Hibbard. 
Morris Miller. 
Manly Hobart. 
Paris Barber. 
Israel Boies. 
A. Chamberlain. 
Crops, and their Value from Five Acres. 
In conversation the other day with a gentleman of our 
acquaintance, well known as a most successful farmer, 
he remarked that the productiveness of good soils was 
not generally understood, and that their capability was 
one of the strongest arguments in favor of small larms. 
As a proof, he instanced the crops he had grown on a 
small piece of land in four years, without extra tillage 
or manuring. The course of cropping pursued, he said, 
was not one to be commended, as it partook too much 
of the exhausting kind ; but circumstances seemed to 
render it proper at the time ; and it was not until very 
lately on looking over his books to ascertain products 
and prices, that the profits of this piece of ground had 
presented itself as worthy of notice. We made a mi¬ 
nute of the crops grown, and their prices, from his mem¬ 
orandum, and we here give it to the reader. merely re¬ 
marking that a crop of clover and roots should have in¬ 
tervened between such a course of white crops. The 
field contained 6£ acres, but with the exception of the 
last crop of wheat, only five acres of it were in tillage. 
It had been a meadow, well manured, and the soil na¬ 
turally fertile. The first year, the land was carefully 
broken up, and sowed with spring crops ; these were 
taken off and winter wheat put in ; to this crop succeed, 
ed spring grains ; and these by winter wheat taken off 
last summer, or in 1840. 
1st year, 1 acre spring wheat, 28 bushels, sold at $2 
1 
3 
2d year, 6 
3d “ 5 
3d “ 6 
4th «‘ 61 
barley,.. 47 
oats, . 254 
winter wheat, 125 
oats,. 100 
barley,. 170 
winter wheat, 150 
6s. 
4s. 
$2 
31c. 
44c. 
$1 
$56 00 
35 25 
127 00 
250 00 
31 00 
74 80 
150 00 
Bushels of grain,. 874 Value when sold, $724 06 
It will he seen that the two first years were years of 
high prices ; but at the average rates of grain, farming 
like this must he profitable. 
Farm Implements—The Harrow. 
In the former numbers of the present volume of the 
Cultivator- we have given descriptions and figures of se¬ 
veral of the most approved plows and drills in use ; and 
shall now notice some of the principles that govern the 
construction of the harrow, with figures of some of those 
implements that have been the most approved on trial. 
Every farmer is aware that a good harrow is one of the 
most effectual implements in fitting the soil for the re¬ 
ception of seed, by breaking up clods, disengaging roots 
and pulverizing the earth, which he can have at his 
command ; and he must have lived and observed to lit¬ 
tle purpose, if he has not found that some forms of the 
harrow are much better adapted to accomplish these 
purposes than others. 
The simplest form of the harrow, and one which we 
have frequently seen used in new districts, is the crotch 
of a tree, with holes bored in the diverging parts into 
which wooden pins are put for teeth, and is drawn by 
the projecting forward part; and the first improvement- 
