12 
THE CULTIVATOR 
TRIALS OF PLOWS. 
In our first and second numbers of the Cultivator, for 
last year, we gave a full account of this implement, 
and the results of numerous experiments, made in Eng¬ 
land and in this country, to ascertain the form best 
adapted to remove the soil perfectly, and at the same 
time require the least draft, or, in other words, be the 
easiest for the team. Since that time, the subject has 
Continued to receive public attention; the makers of 
plows have redoubled their efforts at improvement, and 
the most active exertions have been made to produce 
implements as perfect as possible. This is the more 
gratifying, as the plow ever has been, and will continue 
to be, one of the most essential implements of agricul¬ 
ture, as well as the most common; and every improve¬ 
ment that shall render it better adapted to general use, 
and spare the labor of our patient animals, will be 
widely felt. Until the means of measuring the draft, by 
the dynamometer, became common, the vast difference 
existing in the power required to move them, was not 
known, or understood. A plow was a plow; so, at least, 
the farmer considered it; and though the teams used 
might have told a different story, had their opinions 
been asked, or their distress when at work been admitted 
as evidence, there was for years little effort made for 
rendering their construction more philosophical, or con¬ 
sistent with the obvious principles of mathematics. The 
idea that a philosopher could know any thing about a 
plow, was scouted as absurd; and we well remember the 
ridicule, not to say suspicion, with which the celebrated 
essay of Mr. Jefferson, with its reasonings and diagrams, 
was received by the farming public. 
The annual agricultural meetings and fairs, with their 
plowing matches, have contributed much to bring and 
keep the subject of plows before the public mind; and 
those of the last fall have, in many instances, had par¬ 
ticular reference to this great element of good hus¬ 
bandry. Massachusetts has, in this respect, taken the 
lead; and the trial of plows at Worcester, in 1840, did 
much to invite the attention of agriculturists, both at 
home and abroad, to the necessity and possibility of j 
improvement. The plows of Howard, Prouty & Mears, 
Ruggles & Co., all of Boston, and all deservedly cele- j 
brated, are among the finest specimens of mechanic and 
scientific skill the country has yet seen. The improve- j 
ments made during the past year in their plow, by the : 
last named firm, have rendered it at least equal to the 
best of the New England plows, in the opinion of 
those competent to decide. The estimation in which 
the Howard plow is held, may be inferred from the 
fact, as stated in the New England Farmer, that the 
makers have received orders, during the past year, for 
four hundred more than they were able to pi’ovide. 
The fair of the N. Y. S. Ag. Society brought together 
a great number of plows, as well as other agricultural 
implements; and although the trial, owing to the cir¬ 
cumstances stated in the Report of the proceedings, was 
not as perfectly satisfactory as it might have been, still 
it was sufficient to show a great improvement had been 
made in the form, mechanical execution, and ease of " 
draft, over those that had preceded them. At this fair, 
the Mottville plow, which received the first of the reg¬ 
ular premiums, the Laughlin plow, and the Wisconsin 
plow, as well as one presented by Ruggles, Mason, 
Nourse & Co. to the editors of the Cultivator, but not 
offered for the premiums, attracted much notice. But 
the double mold board plow of Messrs. Mooers & Slater, 
from the excellence and novelty of its construction, the 
facility with which it would operate on side hills as well 
as on level land, and its ease of draft, rendered it de¬ 
servedly a favorite implement, and the honorary pre¬ 
mium was deemed well awarded. It was supposed by 
many very good judges of plowing, that the resistance 
offered by the land side share would increase the draft 
sensibly, but the result showed that such was not the 
case. 
The trial of plows which took place under the direc¬ 
tion of a committee of the American Institute, at New- 
York, was very well conducted; and although, the num¬ 
ber of plows on the ground was not as great as at 
Syracuse, the trials with the dynamometer were more 
satisfactory. It is to be regretted that some of the fa¬ 
vorite Massachusetts plows had not been present for 
competition, as a full investigation and understanding of 
the matter requires repeated and careful comparison of 
plows in the same soils, and as hear as possible under 
the same circumstances. We believe that such will here¬ 
after be the case. The manner in which the report of 
the trials of plows last year at Worcester was presented, 
renders a comparison of the actual draft used there and 
at New-York, difficult; but as the mode was adopted at 
New-York that English experimenters have used, a 
comparison between the plows of England and Scotland, 
and those of this country, is more easily made. The 
following table, which we find prepared at our hand in 
an account of the New-York trials, given in the Brook¬ 
lyn Star, we transfer to our columns with pleasure, 
merely remarking that we have verified the correctness 
of the foreign results, by reference to the reports in the 
Journals of the English Royal Agricultural Society, and 
the Scotch Highland Ag. Society, from which they were 
taken. The reader will see that the best British plow, 
Yester No. 1, weight 170 lbs., draft 380 lbs., removed 
a furrow slice of only 10 inches by 6, while the best 
American, Barnaby & Mooers’ double mold board 
side hill plow, (the same that received the premium 
at Syracuse,) weight 142 lbs., draft 350 lbs., removed 
& furrow slice of 12 inches by 8, or nearly twice as 
large. We are gratified to learn that this plow, which 
received the premiums at Syracuse and New-York, has 
been presented by the Institute to the Royal Ag. Society, 
and that doubtless it will be subjected to comparison 
with the best plows of that country. In examining the 
list of English agricultural implements, we have often 
remarked the fact, that English plows range in prices 
from $20 to $30, while the best improved American ones 
do not cost more than from $10 to $15. The table will 
be understood without further explanation. 
NAMES OF PLOW. 
Hart’s, English, • •• 
Ransome’s wheel, do., 
Yester 
No. 
u 
Scotch, 
, English 
Scoular’s swing, do., 
Hunter’s, English,••• 
Currie’s, Scotch,. 
Weight 
of 
Plow. 
•S’! . 
§ X- 
e-2.2 
Q -S' s 
REMARKS. 
140 lbs 
400 lbs 
Furrow not well taken out 
168 
480 
Bet. furr. not well laid up 
170 
380 
Clean furroAV. 
136 
440 
a 
Li 
150 
446 
it 
it 
190 
560 
Furrow not well laid up. 
170 
500 
a 
it a 
176 
500 
Second best furrow. 
180 
510 
Third 
it n 
185 
500 
Good furroiv. 
175 
540 
a 
it 
160 
462 
a 
a 
230 
560 
Good work. 
1S9 
560 
a 
a 
189 
680 
a 
a 
were tried at Sing Sing, 14th October : 
142 
350 
Best Avork of any Americ’n 
170 
438 
Secend best Tate. 
451 
Good furroAV, 
460 
a 
a 
472 
it 
it 
Coltman’s, do., 
Hadden’s, do., ■. 
Neill’s, do.,. 
Wilkens’, English, •••• 
Ransome’s swing,. 
Palmer’s wheel, Eng., 
New spring, Scotch,"• • 
Sussex, English,. 
The following plows 
Barnaby & Mooers’, ■ ■ ■ 
Wisconsin,............ 
Beebe’s swing, --- 
Minor, Horton & Co.’s, 
Cornelius Bergen’s, ••• 
The furrow slice turned by the European plows, was 
10 inches broad, and 6 deep, and that by the American 
plows, at Sing Sing, 12 inches wide, and 8 deep. 
AGRICULTURAL JOURNALS AND EDITORS. 
During the past year, several changes took place 
among the agricultural papers of the country, some of 
which ive noticed, en passant , and there are one or two 
others, to which we wish to refer at this time. The first 
is the establishment of a new paper, at Boston, called 
the “ Massachusetts Ploughman,” (with which the Yan¬ 
kee Farmer has just been united,) under the manage¬ 
ment of the veteran Buckminster, formerly of the Boston 
Cultivator, which paper is still continued by its propri¬ 
etor. 
The other event to which we have referred, is the 
accession of our friend, the Agricultural Commissioner 
of Massachusetts, the Rev. Henry Coeman, to the chair 
of the New Genesee Farmer, at Rochester, as sole editor 
and joint proprietor of that paper. The highly favor- 
able opinion we have always entertained, and so fre¬ 
quently expressed, of the talents and extensive acquire¬ 
ments of this gentleman, need not be repeated here; 
the pages of the Genesee Farmer, previous to its union 
with the Cultivator, and indeed those of nearly every 
other agricultural journal of the country, bear the clear¬ 
est evidences of his practical knowledge, and his happy 
talent at imparting instruction. We consider his con¬ 
nection with the NeAv Genesee Farmer an auspicious 
event to the agriculture of our State,—a state that will 
feel proud to welcome him as a citizen. For ourselves, 
we present to Mr. Colman, as a gentleman, a citizen, and 
an editor, a most cordial welcome to New-York. 
WINE IN THE WEST. 
One of the most successful efforts at the culture of the 
grape and the production of wine, that has been made in 
this country, is that of Mr. John Davis, in Indiana, near 
Clinton, and about ten miles from Louisville, Xy. Mr. Da¬ 
vis has about seven acres in vineyard, but o»ly one and a 
half in bearing. The vines are planted in rows six feet 
apart, and three feet apart in the rows; and the editors 
of the Louisville papers say that in September, on the 
acre and a half in bearing, the rows presented the ap¬ 
pearance of “ almost solid walls of fruit.” This we can 
readily believe, since the quantity of wine made from 
this ground is now ascertained to be 1,170 gallons. 
No European vineyard has surpassed this; and the ordi¬ 
nary product is not more than half this quantity. Mr. 
Davis’ mode of training his vines is very simple. Posts 
eight feet apart are set along the rows, with pegs driven 
in them, fourteen inches apart. On these, rods of 
Avood or lath are laid and secured, and to these the 
vines are lashed with bark. The ground should be 
prepared by the spade, or trench plowing, so as to place 
the rich surface earth beneath the point of washing. 
Of all the varieties he has tried, Mr. Davis prefers the 
Catawba, and from this the wine was made. Mr. Davis 
uses cuttings of well ripened wood, from sixteen to 
eighteen inches long, of the last year's groAvth, cut be¬ 
fore the sap begins to flow, and cut square, immedi¬ 
ately above and below a joint, as is generally practiced 
in all countries with grape cuttings. The holes are dug- 
eighteen inches in depth, and about the same across, 
into which, about the middle of April, two cuttings, 
one on each side, are placed, and the holes filled with 
rich earth. One or two buds should be left above 
ground, and the earth well trod about the cuttings. The 
cuttings, when taken from the vines, should be placed 
or buried in a cool cellar, and when taken out for 
planting, it is found to assist their sprouting to soak them 
twenty-four hours in rain water. There is every indi¬ 
cation that wine and silk will become no inconsiderable 
items in the aggregate of western products; and they 
certainly are articles for which, at the present time, 
large sums of money leave this country annually. We 
shall most cordially welcome any new necessary product 
or manufacture, that shall make us more independent of 
foreign nations, and less liable to be laid under contribu¬ 
tion by them. 
Notices of fJnbikatkmo. 
“ THE POULTRY YARD.” 
We have here in a neat and convenient form, one of 
the very best works on poultry extant; one which is 
much needed in this country, and which will be found 
useful to every one, and indispensable to those farmers 
who make the rearing of poultry and the sale of eggs an 
important item of their profits. The author, Mr. Boswell 
of Greenlaw, Scotland, has given a practical view of the 
best methods of selecting, rearing, and breeding the va¬ 
rious species of domestic fotvls, arranged under the fol¬ 
lowing heads:—1. Poultry yards and sheds; 2. Kinds 
and breeds of fowls; 3. Feeding of Poultry; 4. Pair¬ 
ing, laying, and hatching; 5. Breeding; 6. Peculiar 
sorts of fowls; 7. Aquatic fowls; 8. Diseases of Poultry. 
The present is the first American edition; and for this, 
the public is much indebted to the publishers, Wiley & 
Putnam, New-York. Messrs. Wiley & Putnam deserve 
much credit for the valuable publications on domestic 
husbandry they are furnishing us,and thus supplying a want 
which has long been severely felt. We hope hereafter 
to present plans of poultry houses given in this work, to 
the readers of the Cultivator, as well as extracts from the 
mass of useful information contained in the volume. 
THE FARMER’S ENCYCLOPAEDIA. 
We have received the two first numbex-s of this new 
work from the pen of Cuthbert W. Johnson, Esq. It is 
published in monthly numbers of 130 pages each, price 
5s. commencing in September last. It is to be completed 
in ten numbers; cost, some $12. The plan is very much 
like that of the Dictionary of Agricultural Terms, Pro¬ 
cesses, &c. pi-epared for the two last volumes of the Cul¬ 
tivator, and which Avill be continued. It of course em¬ 
braces more topics, and treats subjects more fully, than 
the limits of our journal will admit. The numbers before 
us embrace letters A and B, and from the examination 
we have given them, we think the work will prove a 
valuable contribution to the agricultural public. Mr. 
Johnson is certainly one of the most able scientific men 
of England, and as he has for years devoted much of his 
time to the connection of the natural sciences, particularly 
chemistry, with agriculture, he can scai-cely fail of bring¬ 
ing togther a great mass of useful facts for the advance¬ 
ment of an improved husbandly. His observations on the 
species of gx-ains and grasses, so far as they have come 
under his notice, are valuable to the farmer, and credita¬ 
ble to him as a man of science. We can recommend the 
Fax-mer’s Encyclopaedia to such of our friends as wish a 
comprehensive book of reference on agricultural topics. 
It is published in London, but may be had of Wiley & 
Putnam, New-York. 
Mr. ELLSWORTH S APPENDIX—No. 2. 
We acknowledge our obligations to that indefatigable 
friend to agriculti-al improvement, H. L. Ellsworth, Esq. 
for copy of the pamphlet, the title of which is giv-en 
above. It consists of a letter addressed to E. Goodrich, 
Esq. of Hartford, on the state of Agriculture in the West, 
particularly in the Wabash Valley; letters from H. O. 
Smith, Solon Robinson, and A. C. Stevmnson, Esq. in re¬ 
ply to a series of queries on subjects of great agricultural 
interest, addressetl to them by Mr. Ellswoi-th. The mode 
of fencing prairie farms adopted and recommended by 
Mr. Ellsworth, possesses so many advantages, that we will 
present it to our readers, as soon as we are able to furnish 
the cuts for illustration. We find much in this pamph¬ 
let of practical interest, but have room for only the fol- 
lOAving extx-act on sowing corn for fodder. Our own ex¬ 
periments leave us no room for doubting the perfect cor¬ 
rectness of Mr. Ellsworth’s statement; and we recom¬ 
mend the pi-actice to our farmers. 
££ Pei-mit me to mention an experiment made by myself 
at Washinglon on the subject of fodder. Noticing the 
statement made in the French periodicals, that the stalks 
of cox-n (maize,) contained one-half as much saccharine 
matter as cane, and knowing that my ancestors made their 
molasses during the revolutionary war from these stalks, 
I sowed four and a half bushels of common corn, broad¬ 
cast, and harrowed in the same; this labor was easily 
perfox-med by a single man Avith a team, (including the 
ploAving) in a day. Hatnng soaked the corn in saltpetre, it 
took a rapid start, overtopped the weeds, and covered the 
ground with a forest of stalks. When fairly tasselled, I 
cut the same, which I fed to cattle, horses, and hogs, 
both green anti dry. If fed to swine after being cured, it 
was cut and fermented with chop or bran. Being anx¬ 
ious to ascertain the quantity, I measured a few square 
feet of the stoutest. I found I had 5 lbs. of green fodder 
per square foot: this may not seem incredible, and it is 
probably less than what would grotv on rich lands at the 
west; if, however, Ave consider there are 43,560 square 
feet in an acre, we shall obtain 217,800 lbs. equal to 108 
1-2 tons of green fodder. I cut the first crop the eax-ly 
part of July, and plowed and sowed the land again, and 
took a second crop two thirds as large, anil even tried a 
third on the same land; but it did not reach OA-er ten inch¬ 
es before the frost seized it. Persons who haA r e only a 
small patch of ground may try this experiment to advan¬ 
tage, and fill their barns with fodder.” 
