133 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
IMPROVED DURHAM BULL, NERO.— [Fig. 69.] 
Three years old, owned by E. P. Prentice, Esq. Mount-Hope Farm, near Albany. 
Landscape Gardening'. 
Feeding Cows, &c. 
Messrs. Editors— I observed in your May number, a reply 
to some inquiries as to the “ best and cheapest manner of feed¬ 
ing milch cows.” I would direct the attention of your inqui¬ 
rer to the use of oil cake, either by itself or mixed with other 
feed. I have used it myself to are at advantage in both ways; 
and am persuaded it is one of the best (and taking results in¬ 
to account) one of the cheapest kinds of feed for cows at least; 
and perhaps also for hogs and sheep. On this point, howev- 
cver, I cannot speak from my own experience, but my neigh¬ 
bors who have tried it, speak well of it. 
My own practice is to grind equal quantities of Indian corn 
on the cob, oats, and oil cake together, and give my cows a 
mess at night and morning while at pasture, and three times 
a day when not at pasture. I think it the best plan to grind 
the oil cake and break the corn and cob first, and then mix 
them all together and grind them. In this way they are more 
intimately incorporated together, and are better than if ground 
separately and mixed afterward. I have found that cows fed 
in this way will give from one quarter to one third more milk 
and of a much better quality, than if fed in the common way. 
I have made from one cow kept in this way, 25 lbs. of butter 
of very superior quality in the last month. One of my neigh¬ 
bors has used the oil cake meal with chopped roots (turneps, 
beets, &c.,) or corn stalks, and found it to answer a good pur¬ 
pose. 
Much prejudice against it exists in the minds of some, from 
a supposition that it makes the milk oily or of bad flavor; but 
this is a mere notion. I have known persons so prejudiced, 
30 completely deceived with milk of cows fed upon it, as to as- 
sert that such milk could only have come from the best of pas¬ 
ture, and could not be from cows fed on oil cake. If fed 
wholly upon it, as is sometimes done to fatten cattle rapidly, I 
have no doubt that the milk would taste of it; as is the case 
with turneps and some other feed when used solely ; but that 
it may be used very liberally not only without detriment, but 
with decided advantage, both as respects the quantity and 
quality of the milk, I am satisfied. 
Again, the cost is objected to by some, as it is generally 
rather higher than other feed; but this is only true as regards 
its first cost; taking its effects into the account, it will be found 
considerably cheaper than other feed. Of this, I am further 
convinced by the fact that the demand for it in England is 
such, that the greater part made in this country is exported 
there, where it sells at a much higher price than if doss here. 
I should say for the benefit of those of your readers who 
choose to try it, (and I hope a number of them will, and give 
us the result of their experience,) that cows when first fed 
with it, should be so more sparingly than those that have been 
accustomed to it, particularly if near calving; as it is some- 
tunes injurious to-them in large quantities at such a time. 
I am glad to see that farm nouses, barns, &c., continue to 
interest your readers so much. I hope you will be able to fur¬ 
nish us many more plans. Of those already given, there is 
much to approve; but the ne plus ultra of a farm house has 
not yet appeared. It would indeed require an amount of prac¬ 
tical knowledge of farming and of architecture which few pos¬ 
sess, to produce it; but as it is not an impossibility, the diffi¬ 
culty instead of discouraging us, should only stimulate to fur¬ 
ther efforts. Although I do not feel competent to furnish a 
plan, I would furnish a suggestion or two which may be use¬ 
ful to other projectors. A farmery, to be complete , would ne¬ 
cessarily be so extensive and comprise so many out buildings 
and offices, as to deter men of small capital from attempting 
it. It would therefore be of great benefit to devise a plan con¬ 
sisting only of such parts as were indispensable in commenc¬ 
ing a farm upon a small scale ; yet so contrived that the va¬ 
rious out buildings might be afterward added as the means of 
the proprietor increased, in such a manner that they would 
all appear to have formed a part of the original design ; and 
not have grown up by accident, as most farm buildings seem 
to have done. For this purpose, the plan should contain what 
is absolutely essential, fairly laid down ; and the additions to 
be made afterward as taste or necessity required, designated 
by light lines, so as to show how the original would look by it¬ 
self, and how the additions would harmonise with it.^ A little 
m.>re attention also might be paid to picturesque effect, than 
most of the designs already furnished, evince, without increa¬ 
sing the cost materially, or lessening their utility. A little stu¬ 
dy of the English cottage or rural gothic style, would assist an 
architect, in this department- Some good hints on this, may 
be found in Downing’s Landscape Gardening and Rural Ar¬ 
chitecture, just published ; and various English works which 
have appeared within a few years. Long Island. 
A desire to indulge in a passion with which I am strongly im¬ 
pressed, for practical improvement in Agriculture, and its hand¬ 
maid, Horticulture, and a desire to impress others with a like 
passion, induces the following remarks on a late publication, 
eminently calculated to confer great public utility. 
Without puff, or any previous intimation that I can learn, 
there has just come forth from the press a desideratum —“ A 
treatise on the theory of Landscape Gardening, with remarks on 
Rural Architecture, adapted to North America, by A. J. Down¬ 
ing.” 
I presume the author of this beautifully written and beauti¬ 
fully executed volume, was much influenced by the laudable en¬ 
thusiasm of doing good, for he leaves the book to make its own 
way to public favor ana patronage. If merit can win favor, the 
publisher will have no occasion to callonhis employer to make 
up deficiencies. 
If to do the work on a garden, to erect a building, to lay out a 
plantation, it be essential to taste or profit, that it be done well, 
it is clearly essential that the operator be skillful, be master of 
the business he would undertake. Mr. Downing's work is the 
true key to this knowledge, and the man who has but one acre 
of ground will find his advantage in a careful perusal of this 
work. How much more valuable must it be to the owner of one 
hundred acres ? This book is ornamented by a beautiful steel 
engraving as a frontispiece, and is interspersed with a large 
number of well executed wood cuts of buildings, decorative 
trees, as fit accompaniments to the dwelling-house, beautifully 
laid out grounds, the formation of artificial waters, and the 
flower garden, &c. 
“ In the sweet scented pictures, Heavenly artist, 
With which thou paintest Nature’s wide spread hall, 
What a delightful lesson thou impartest 
Of love to all!” 
Throughout the work are given plain, pleasing, and occasion¬ 
ally fascinating descriptions and directions for executing the 
presented views. 
It is an error in laying out and managing lands, as in almost 
all pursuits, to adhere rigidly to antiquated practice, as if every 
system was born in perfection and was incapable of improve¬ 
ment. 
It is a gross and lamentable error, to suppose that a few shil¬ 
lings or a few dollars expended in the purchase of books, is so 
much thrown away by those who already know all that is need¬ 
ful. 
There is much to be gained by a correct and tasteful method 
in building and ornameting grounds, and much to be lost for the 
want of it, and so of human pursuits generally, extravagant ex¬ 
penditure is not necessary, extreme niggardness is not economy; 
be “ profuse of genius, not profuse of gold.” 
If the land owner when about to build, whether on a large or 
small scale ; would avail himself of the instructions contained 
in this fascinating book, he would find convenience and grace¬ 
ful strength in his buildings, the greatest pleasure from his gar¬ 
den and ornamented grounds, and lasting and growing satisfac¬ 
tion from the well-designed connected beauties of the whole, in 
a greater degree and at little more expense, than can be procu¬ 
red from unskillful design and uncalculating economy. 
Lansinghurgh, July , 1841. A, WALSH. 
Upper Canada. 
Messrs. Editors —As your valuable paper has a fair circu¬ 
lation in this Province, and as that circulation is rapidly in¬ 
creasing in this Township, you will perhaps devote a small 
space in its columns to make known to the friends of agricul¬ 
ture and the breeding of stock, that in this District the farmers 
have taken advantage of the liberality of our government, 
(who furnish double the amount of any private subscriptions) 
and have formed an Agricultural Society, having for its object 
the importation and improvement of farm stock and produce, 
the improvement of tillage, agricultural implements, &c., the 
encouragement of domestic manufactures, of useful inven¬ 
tions, and generally of every branch of rural and domestic 
economy. 
A meeting of the Society will take place at this town on the 
second Wednesday in next October, when will be exhibited a 
perhaps somewhat small, but very choice stock of Durham 
and Devon cattle, Leicester and South Down Sheep, Berk¬ 
shire, Hampshire, Shropshere, Montgomeryshire, Improved 
Yorkshire and other pigs. There will doubtless be many hor¬ 
ses shown, but I very much doubt there being any really good 
ones. I have heard of some of your high spirited countrymen 
visiting such exhibitions in this Province ; if any of them will 
favor us with their presence, they may rely upon courteous 
treatment. It may be proper for me to add that Guelph is sit¬ 
uated about 30 miles from Port Hamilton, at the head of Lake 
Ontario. I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant, 
JOHN HARLAND, 
Guelph, V. C., July 9, 1841. Secretary to the Society. 
The Hessian Fly. 
Messrs. Editors — I observed in your last (June number,) a 
communication relative to the Hessian Fly, the writer of which 
endeavors to confirm the opinion adopted by Miss Morris of 
Germantown, that the ovum is deposited in the grain before it 
is harvested. 
The article in question contains many judicious and valuable 
remarks, evidently evincing that Mr. Mines has closely observ¬ 
ed much that is essential in the culture of wheat. But however 
plausible the theory that the egg is deposited in the grain, it is 
not borne out by my own experience, and facts that have come 
under my observation. 
It is now about 60 years since the Fly made its appearance in 
this country, being first discovered, (in its “ flax seed” state,) 
on the farm on which I now reside, and on one about a mile ana 
a quarter distant, then owned by Rem Adrianco. The Hessians 
had previously been quartered in the neighborhood. The intro¬ 
duction of the F'ly was ascribed to them, and it was asserted, 
from what was then considered good authority, that the insects 
then existed in Hanover, or in the north of Germany. Hence 
the name. 
I am aware this has been denied ; it having been said, inqui¬ 
ries instituted resulted in the conviction that the Fly was not 
known in Hanover. 
At the time of their discovery here, each of the farms in ques¬ 
tion contained a piece of wheat damaged by this insect. It is 
probable they had been introduced a few years previous, and 
that their number was augmenting rapidly ? though unobserved. 
This, however, was the first miss crop which they were known 
to produce. 
More than 40 years ago, I had a small piece of winter barley, 
sown, however, in the spring, in which not a single stalk head¬ 
ed, on account of the bug. I counted over 140 of the insects in 
a single stalk, some of which, in consequence, grew at the joints 
as thick as a man’s finger. 
From 60 years’ observation, I am led to the conclusion that the 
seed is deposited in the plant soon after it comes up. I will re¬ 
late a single experiment as proof that the egg is not deposited 
in the grain. About 40 years ago, I procured two bushels of 
wheat from the Genesee country, then an “ uninfected dis¬ 
trict,” which I sowed adjoining seed of my own gathering. 
Both pieces were severely damaged by the Hessian Fly. This, 
to my mind, was conclusive proof that the seed was deposited 
in the plant during the progress of growth, and not in the grain 
of the preceding year. 
A few years since I soaked my seed wheat in strong pickle, 
and it grew comparatively free from the bug. In 1S39, I again 
tried the experiment, but not with similar success. Last year 
I sowed without soaking, and my crop is uninjured. 
I believe with Mr. Mines, that in order best to avoid the in¬ 
sect, much depends upon the time of sowing. This will vary 
with the season. The best time for sowing in this latitude, is 
commonly from the 25th Sept, to the 10th Oct. The Fly is usu¬ 
ally by this time either killed by a sharp frost, or driven from 
clean fields by heavy north and west winds. They make their 
appearance again in the spring, and in late sowings, where the 
plant is quite small, deposit their eggs. Hence the necessity of 
avoiding either very early or late sowings. 
It was formerly my practice to sow both winter and summer 
barley, besides rye ana winter wheat. The winter barley and 
wheat were always most affected with the Fly. The reason is 
obvious. They grow somewhat differently from the others; 
their leaves when small, concentrating more, thus affording 
the insect a better opportunity to deposit its seed. 
One more fact as proof that the ovum is not deposited in the 
grain. I have uniformly found my grain most affected in spots, 
—usually near the edges of the field, where long grass and 
weeds grew, which afforded shelter and protection to the Fly. 
Brooklyn , N. Y. June 21, 1841. GARRET BERGEN. 
Weight of Hogs—The By fields. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —I observed in the last num¬ 
ber of your paper, the weight ot'Berkshire and Woburn pigs. 
Some few years ago, a friend of mine from the County of Or¬ 
ange in this State, sent me two small pigs, male and female, 
of the Byfield breed. The male I have yet; the female was 
run over by a train of cars when she was two years old, giv¬ 
ing suck to 6 pigs; she then weighed 300 lbs. nett, and I sup¬ 
pose if she had been fattened, would have weighed at least 
400 to 500 lbs. I gave, the 6th of July, to two of my servants, 
two pigs of the half breed. One of them was my miller, and 
I suppose he gave him as much as he would eat of corn meal, 
&c.; the other was given to my blacksmith, which was fed 
upon bread crust, parsley, squashes, cabbages, and sometimes 
a little corn. They were killed at six months old—the miller’s 
weighed 163 lbs. nett, and the blacksmith’s 173 lbs. nett. 
They were one month old when I gave them to them. I gave 
my brother and a nephew, two of the genuine breed, a male 
a piece ; they killed them last year; my nephew’s weighed 373 
lbs. nett, and my brother’s 343 Ifis. nett. _My brother has the 
Berkshire and the Surry, and he says he is sorry he killed the 
Byfield. My nephew who is the most successful fanner in 
my neighborhood, and who you see the Editor of the Southern 
Planter mentions in one of his numbers (Mr. Edward Win- 
sted,) is so pleased with them that he says he prefers them to 
any breed he ever had. I had about 30 years ago, two Spa¬ 
nish hogs, which my brother brought from Cadiz, which I 
liked very much. Yours respectfully, 
Taylorsville , Hanover Co. Va., 1841. W. D. TAYLOR. 
Inquiry. 
Messrs. Editors — I should be pleased to see in the Cultiva¬ 
tor an explanation of the causes which produce a premature 
decay of the head of our common June grass, Poa pratensis. 
I have observed it in many meadows and fields the present 
season, and in some cases, there dead heads were so frequent 
as to change the color of the whole field. The head of the 
grass does not, however, look ripe, but. dead white, and has 
evidently been killed before maturity. Last year, it was said 
a worm like the Hessian fly worm was the cause, and was to 
be found in the grass. I have examined many this spring, 
but can see none. The grass generally dies at the first or se¬ 
cond joint from the top. A. B.” 
Cure for Murrain.— This terrible epidemic, which has caused 
so much loss in Britain and on the Continent, has at last reach¬ 
ed Ireland, and according to the Durham Advertiser, a priest 
near Muff, in Westmeath, is converting the calamity into a 
profitable speculation. “ He sells 1 blessed salts’ as a preven¬ 
tive and cure at 2s. 6d. to comfortable farmers, Is. to the poor¬ 
er class ; but the priest says they are of no use to any cattle 
but those whose owners purchase direct from him. The delu¬ 
ded people are sending sixty or one hundred miles for this mi¬ 
raculous sulphate of soda.” 
Sheep with Foul Noses.— The Am. Farmer says:—Make a 
small mop or swab, by wrapping a rag about the end of a stick 
—dip this in tar, taking up as much as will adhere to it—roll 
this in salt, and then thrusting it into the sheep’s mouth, hold 
it there till he is forced to wiihdraw and swallow the tar and the 
salt, and your sheep will soon get good health and clean noses. 
