88 
Hence the droppings from sheep are richer in that propor¬ 
tion, as stated. The manure, therefore, takes its qua¬ 
lity for promoting vegetable growth, from the quality 
of the food the animal feeds on, from which the manure 
is dropped. Respectfully, D. TOMLINSON. 
Schenectady, 12th March, 1841. 
Proper Time for Cutting Bashes. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —When I first settled 
in Yates, county, I bought a farm which was much neg¬ 
lected, and the bushes and briers were grown up round 
those fields which had been cleared, almost to the tops 
of the fences. I took a strong sythe and cut them 
close as I could to the ground about the second quarter 
of the moon in June, when the leaves were nearly the 
full size, and the sap flowed the most freely of any time 
of the year ; and they seemed to bleed to death, (that 
is, the sap flows from the root and dies ;) not one out 
of fifty ever sprouted again. The experience of 25 
years has, in all cases, proved successful—also in cut¬ 
ting all underbrush and saplings of almost any size ; 
not one in ten ever sprouted. I have practiced it on 
oak land and on low lands and almost all kinds of tim¬ 
ber. I have often plowed out the stumps with a single 
team, where it had not been cut over four to six years, 
that were a foot through ; and from my experience I 
would pay treble wages at that time of the year if I 
wanted to clear land, rather than have them cut at any 
other time of the year for nothing. But do not cut any 
other timber which you want to preserve, without you 
split it or take the bark off, for it will soon decay and 
rot and be full of worms. I am well convinced that if 
you want timber to last, it should be cut after the leaves 
begin to fall, say in October or November. I think it 
will last in the ground or out, nearly twice as long as 
it will if cut at any other time of the year. Try it and 
see for yourselves. ABEL PECK. 
Benton, Yates co., N. Y., Feb. 25, 1841. 
Horses vs. Mules—Correction. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —There is an important 
error in my last communication in the part which re¬ 
lates to mules, which it is desirable to correct. Having 
taken no cop} r , I don’t know whether the fault is with 
me or the printer, but what I fully intended saying was 
this : “ Probably, it would be overstating the case to 
say, that with little grooming, half the attention and 
feed, and no disease, they will out live the laboring 
lives of three (3) horses, and do the whole work of 
each.” Thus, if the average termination of a horse’s 
working age, including all that die from disease, expo¬ 
sure and the effects of labor, or are rendered unfit for 
its performance, be fixed at 16 years, deduct from this 
4 years before it should commence, we have 12 years as 
the average working age of the horse ; and if the ave¬ 
rage life of a mule be 40 years, including all that die 
from disease and the effects of labor, deducting 4 years 
for the colt, we have 36 as his working age. This I 
have no doubt is overrating the endurance of a mule in 
all the privations and hardships he would have to un¬ 
dergo in ordinary employment; but I am sure the full 
capacity of the horse is given for our country, includ¬ 
ing all that are disabled from unsoundness and otherwise. 
It has been asserted that the natural age of the ass is 
nearly twice that of the horse, and that the hybrid com¬ 
bines in himself the ages of both. This assertion re¬ 
quires proof, and it is for the purpose of eliciting in¬ 
formation on this subject rather than imparting it, that 
these suggestions have been made. It is to be hoped 
some of your readers will do us the favor to communi¬ 
cate some facts to enlighten us on this point. 
Buffalo, April 8, 1841. R. L. ALLEN. 
Mississippi Agriculture. 
Messrs. Editors — I take it for granted that from the 
deep interest you feel in the advancement of agriculture 
throughout the country, you will not hesitate to lay be¬ 
fore your readers the accompanying bill,* recently en¬ 
acted in this state. It was drawn up by a citizen of 
this county, and received the sanction of the people’s 
representatives with great warmth and cordiality. The 
destructive and desolating consequences of the entire 
neglect of our citizens of all the other branches of hus¬ 
bandry and agriculture except our staple, and the wild 
and restless spirit of speculation which pervaded the 
whole community, has carried with it its antidote. 
This bill is the omen of an utter change in ti e policy 
of the citizens of this state. With a degree of energy 
peculiar to the people of this new and growing country, 
a spirit for the improvement of her native stock by im¬ 
portations from Kentucky and from abroad—a desire to 
become independent of other states for the necessaries 
of life, by the application of labor and capital towards 
the raising of her own supplies, and a determination 
not to be excelled either in the quantity or quality of 
her products, has aroused a laudable and noble rivalry 
among her own citizens, which cannot but be produc¬ 
tive of much good to the country. A gentleman from 
Kentucky hasVecently settled in an adjoining county to 
this, with some choice specimens of improved Short 
Horn Durham cattle, (among them I find the cow 
“ Julia,” whose portrait was published in the Cultiva¬ 
tor,) several imported Berkshire, Leicester and Gra¬ 
zier hogs—several genuine imported South Down and 
* The bill enclosed, is an Act of the Legislature of Missis¬ 
sippi, incorporating a State Agricnltut.al Society,_ with auxil¬ 
iary Societies in the several counties, for the details of which 
we cannot make room. — Editors. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Saxony sheep, and a number of mixed blood sheep of a 
superior quality. Other gentlemen in the same coun¬ 
ty have recently received some fresh importations of 
Berkshire hogs. The cross of these fine bloods on our 
native stock cannot but prove most beneficial. The 
contrast too, will be so great as to create a general de¬ 
sire to participate in the improvements going on. You 
will perceive too, from the bill, that even in these wild 
woods we expect to support annual fairs, for the exhi¬ 
bition of fine stock and the products of domestic indus- 
“n Just ^ ce t0 J rou I cannot fail to add, that the 
. Cultivator” has been seriously instrumental in get¬ 
ting- up this feeling, and by way of encouragement I 
shall embrace the earliest leisure day I have towards 
procuring you subscribers. Cincinnatus. 
Tellabusha Co. Miss. 6th March, 1841. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —I am much obliged by Mr. 
1 hurber s remedy for blind staggers in pigs ; had I known it 
sooner, it would probably have saved me $30. I would like 
to have him, or some of your correspondents, go a step fur¬ 
ther, and say what are the causes and preventives ? It is stated 
that it is owing to too great confinement, but I have known it 
oc< j ur occasionally when they had not been kept up close. 
Also can any of your correspondents say whether sows 
may, in ordinary health and condition, continue to breed till 
b or 8 years old, two good litters annually, or whether by ob¬ 
taining more than one, the health of the sow or her capacity 
lor producing strong, good and perfect pigs, and large litters, is 
impaired ? Isolated animals will not answer the above query; 
a considerable lot of sows well taken care of for a series of 
years, will alone solve it satisfactorily. R. L. 
USEFUL RECIPES. 
To Kill Lice on Cattle. —Feed them a quantity 
of sulphur, a small dose at a time, mixed with cut 
roots or other feed. It will affect the blood and kill 
^ ce - F. W. Sipperly. 
For Keeping Apples through the Winter._ 
Gather them without bruising and after they have laid a 
few days to sweat, barrel them, putting a little dry straw 
at the top and bottom and around the edges in the bar¬ 
rel ; let the barrels lay in a dry place in the air till if 
unpacked they would freeze, (whether they freeze in 
the barrel or not I do not know,) then put the barrels 
in a dark cellar to use when you shall think desirable. 
1 have kept apples in this way till in August, and on 
one occasion till I gathered winter apples the next year. 
To CURE THE Bots in Horses. —Pour down the 
horse a quarter of a pound of alum dissolved in a pint 
of water, (milk warm ;) in five or ten minutes after 
pour down him a pint of Linseed oil or other mild ac 
tive purgative; in ten minutes the horse will rise and 
eat - Amicus. 
Cure for Scratches on Horses. —Feed a horse 
one or two table spoonfuls of sulphur per day, (in or¬ 
der to cleanse the blood) for three or four days, wash 
the feet in clean soft warm water, then put on dry sul¬ 
phur and wind a linen cloth around the sore, and twi 
or three times a day drop in dry sulphur between the 
cloth and the sore. Be careful to keep the feet dry, as 
it is of no use to doctor the feet until the blood is put 
in order. This seldom fails in the worst cases. 
New Haven, Vt. 12 mo. 1840. A. M. 
Protection of Yines. —Plaster sprinkled over 
squashes and cucumbers when they first come out of the 
ground, will protect them from that “ little destroyer,” 
the striped bug. 
Cure for Corns. —A subscriber to your valuable 
paper told me a few days since how he had cured seve¬ 
ral corns, which had compelled him to wear mocasins. 
He paired them off with a sharp knife, bathed them 
freely with Spts. Turpentine, and laid upon them a li 
nen cloth which he frequently wet with turpentine. In 
a few days the corns came out root and branch, to the 
great relief of the sufferer. The remedy is simple, 
attainable by all, and from its effectual cure in the case 
cited, is worthy of a trial by such as are sufl’ering from 
these painful visitants. J. R. S. 
Fultonville, Jan. 26, 1841. 
Cure for Poisoned Lambs. —In your Feburary 
number you published a recipe for the cure of lambs 
poisoned with “ witliey,” which shrub answers the 
description of what is here called “ low laurel.” I 
herewith send you a recipe which is far preferable, as the 
materials cost nothing and are always at hand. Take 
two quarts of red or yellow sand from under the soil, 
pour in water enough to cover it. boil it a few minutes, 
then drain off the water and give two or three table spoon¬ 
fuls at a time ; three or four doses generally effects a 
cure. I have never known this to fail. Otis Soule. 
To relieve Bloated Cattle without fail.—- 
Take about a wine glass full of powder, mix it with 
cold hog’s lard, make it into balls and put it down the 
creature, and commence driving it about and it will ve¬ 
ry soon relieve the patient. I have seen the above re¬ 
medy applied frequently and have never known it to 
fail. Shaftsbury , Vt. J. M. Olin. 
To cure the Black Tongue. —Take 1 oz. of cop¬ 
peras, 1 oz. of salt petre, 1 oz. alum ; to be pulverized 
and mixed with 1 pint of honey, 1 pint of Jamaica rum 
or spirits, 1 pint of strong sage tea. The blister on the 
tongue should be stripped of skin and the composition 
applied with a swab on every part affected, especially 
around the roots of the tongue. About 15 or 20 minutes 
after applying the liquid, swab the mouth well with 
another swab dipped in a vessel of linseed oil ; pour 1 
ill of the oil down the horse once a day to prevent his 
throat swelling. A. D.- 
Motices to Correspondents, &c. 
To enable us to publish as many of the favors of our friends 
as possible, we have this month omitted the Dictionary of Ag¬ 
ricultural Terms, used smaller type than usual, and given quite 
a number in a condensed form; but still we have not been 
able to insert several, to which we had intended to have given 
place m this number; among these is the Essay of W. A. 
bEELY, Fsq. on Vegetable Nutrition, which, with a number 
ot others, is already in type. We trust our correspondents 
will bear with us with patience, when they see the efforts we 
are thus making to publish their favors as rapidly as circum¬ 
stances will admit. Absence from town during the greater 
part or the past month, has prevented an answer to several 
inquiries and private correspondents. 
Our thanks are due to J. VV. Proctor, Esq. for the “ Trans¬ 
actions of the Essex Ag. Society for 1840,” of which farther 
notice will be taken hereafter. Can complete setts of the 
1 ransactions of the Essex Ag. Society be had ? Our thanks 
are also due to Dr. Akerly of Staten Island, and C. Osb >rn, 
Fsq. of New-Jersey, for handsome specimens of Indian com 
cultivated by them. Also to the Hon. Mr. Ellsworth, for 
seeds ol the Tomato and Capsicum, from the Island of Cuba. 
Communications have been received during the past month, 
from F. Rotch, L. F. Allen, A. Walsh, S. Robinson, O. Hus¬ 
sey, W. H. Sotham, N. Darling, J. B. Dean, S. B. Jones, A. 
B. Allen, T. T. Roberts, P. E. Pease, Cor. Bergen, J. W. 
Knevels, G. C., A Planter, J. N. Smith, T. R. Hu •sey, Ce- 
phas, S. Homer, Jr., Uncle Jo, One of your Subscribers, (who 
will see from the crowded state of our columns our inability 
to comply with his request,) C. M., J. C. Robertson, T. W. 
Wells, E. C. Frost, F. H. Gordon, G. W. T., S. R., S. Wood. 
P‘ ^J os ^ er ' J- N. Keeler, Pearl, R. L. Allen, W. A. See¬ 
ly, R. L., L. A. Morrell, S. E. Todd, Wm. Kingham, A 
Northern Man, H. C., O. F. Tucker and B C. Leavell. 
We have unpublished communications from the following 
gentlemen, received previous to last month, which we have 
thought best to acknowledge, as it may be some time before 
we can publish all of themS. W. Jewett, S. Robinson, A. 
C. , L. A. Morrell, L. R. Jr., J. M. Dupre, J. Bowen, A. S. 
Rice, L. B., B. E. Bowen, A. C. Stevenson, M. Y. T., Hen¬ 
ry Stephens, E. Westfall, P. Diehl, E. S. B., A Friend to 
Agriculture, B. S., S. Hecox, Viator, J. Lewis, H.Van Kleeck, 
J. S., J. Mines, C., J. C. Mather, R. M., J. Cain, S. Wood, 
L. Durand, S. H. Nichols, C. G. Page, J.P.,S. Henkel, P. P. 
Bonesteel, S. Stewart, and Senex. 
SCr The proceedings of the Executive Committee of the 
N. Y. S. Ag. Society, at their monthly meeting on the 21st 
ult., are necessarily deferred till next month. The next meet¬ 
ing of the Committee, it should be remembered, is to be held 
on Wednesday the 19th of May 
CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. 
Notice of Liebig’s Organic Chemistry, applied to Agricul¬ 
ture, . 
Work for the Month on the Farm and in the Garden,. 
Transmutation—Plaster on Wheat—Corn Culture—Tobac¬ 
co—Bees—Sheep in Ohio—Feeding Milch Cows,. 
Inquiries—A Tennesseean—Indian Corn—Suggestions about 
Pigs—Profitable Sow—Pit Saw and Slitting Machine- 
Charlock—Mustard Seed—Pumps—Working cattle—Eng¬ 
lish Berkshires and Bacon,. 
Parasitic Animals—Ag. Census of New-Yoik—Diseased 
Peach Trees—Morello Cherry,... 
Maxims and Precepts for Young Farmers, &c. by J. M. Gar¬ 
nett— Canada Thistles, by D. S. Curtis— Bulleting,- 
Shearing Sheep, by L. A. Morrel— Transportation of Cattle, 
by R. L. Allen,... 
Hussey’s Reaping Machine, by O. Hussey— Plans of Barns 
and Cattle Yards, by J. F. L.—To Preserve Hams, by D. 
G. Mosher —To Cure Scratches,. 
The Hessian Fly, by E. Tilghman —Ash House and Smoke¬ 
ry, by C. Moses— Suggestions to State Ag. Society—by N. 
N. D.—Planting in Drills, by C Osborn,. * 
Farm Report, by E. Marks —Herefords vs. Short Horns, by 
W. H. Sotham— Culture of Corn, by A Subscriber, .. 
Weight of Berkshires, by A. B. Allen —Experiments in Ma¬ 
ryland, by D. G. Weems —Culture of the Hop, by J. H. 
Dunbar —Weight of two Lambs, by J. & S. Adams, . 
Short Horn Bull Northumberland—Pitts’ Thrashing Ma¬ 
chine, by C. N. Bement —Ornamental Gardening,4>y A. 
Walsh— The Weight of Six Hogs, by S. Homer, Jr.. 
American Society of Agriculture, by Solon Robinson— In¬ 
quiry, Raising Chestnut Timber, by F. H. Gordon— Far¬ 
mer’s Song, by A. W.—Light on the Silk Culture, by E. 
Morris —Culture of Corn, by H. H. Barber, . 
Notice of Improved Cattle, by J. Pasco— The Rohan Pota- 
tato at Quebec, by H. Gowen —Root Steamers, &c. by 
Fran’s Rotch —Wool Growing in Buenos Ayres, by A 
Northern Man —Buckthorn for Hedges, by C. L. Shepherd 
—The Howard Plow, by J. Breck & Co.—Animal Ma¬ 
nures, by D. Tomlinson, . 
Proper Time for Cutting Bushes, by A. Peck— Horses vs. 
Mules, by R. L. Allen— Mississippi Agriculture, by Cin- 
cinnatus— Blind Staggers, Ac., R.L.—Useful Recipes— 
Notices to Correspondents, <fcc.,. 
£73 
75 
176 
1 
| 77 
^78 
^79 
180 
i“ 
1 82 
183 
184 
185 
j 
[86 
■87 
88 
Illustrations. 
Fig. 46.—Ox Gearing,. 
Fig. 47.—Parasitic Animals,.. 
Fig. 48.—Reaping Machine, . 
Fig. 49.—Farm Buildings,. 
Fig. 60.—Ground Plan of do.,. 
Fig. 51.—Ash House and Smokery,- • 
Fig. 62,—Marking Roller,. 
Fig. 53.—Bull Northumberland,. 
77 
78 
81 
81 
81 
82 
82 
85 
The Back Volumes 
Of the Cultivator may be had of the following Agents : 
Ilovey & Co.,.Boston, Mass. 
A. H. Stillwell,.Providence, R. I. 
Israel Post,.88 Bowery, New-York. 
G. C. Thorburn,.88 John-st., ' do. 
Judah Dobson,. Philadelphia, Pa. 
G. B. Smith,. •••*.... Baltimore, Md. 
Frank Taylor,.Washington, D. C. 
R. Hill, Jr. & Co.,.Richmond, Va. 
Trabue, West & Co.,.Nashville, Tenn. 
W. Dinn,.New-Orleans, La. 
J. & T. Cunningham,.Greensboro, Geo. 
VAN BENTHUYSEN’S PRINT 
ALBANY, N. Y. 
