THE CULTIVATOR 
109 
Notices of Nero ^publication©. 
Elements of Scientific and Practical Agriculture; intended 
as a text-book for Farmers and Students in Agriculture. 
By Alonzo Gray, A. M. 
It Is a subject of congratulation to every well wisher 
to the cause of agriculture, that the means of a thorough 
acquaintance with the principles which govern its pro¬ 
gress, are being brought within the reach of every tiller 
of the soil. Ten years since no publisher would have 
hazarded the publication of a work on agriculture in this 
country. Now, there is no difficulty in finding publish¬ 
ers; and what is of more consequence, so far as effect 
is concerned, finding readers. In our last we noticed 
Dana’s “Muck Manual,” a work of great merit on the 
subject treated, and which we are glad to hear, is pass¬ 
ing through a second edition; and now we are presented 
with another work, more comprehensive in its details, 
admirably written and arranged, and adapted to the wants 
of multitudes in our country. Hitherto the farmer has 
not had a book to aid him in his inquiries, such as is 
found in every other pursuit. There has been no text¬ 
book in the language, suitable to give the student a full 
knowledge of the elements of agriculture, or which 
could be advantageously used in schools; hence Mr. 
Gray’s book is most opportune, and we will not doubt, 
will be most acceptable. 
The object of the work is thus stated by the author in 
his preface. After adverting to the inconsistency of the 
states in making ample provision for almost every branch 
of knowledge with the exception of agriculture, the art 
on which all depend, he adds—“ To supply, in some de¬ 
gree, this glaring deficiency in our popular system of 
education, and to call the attention of those who are in¬ 
terested in the prosperity of our free institutions, to the 
importance of having the sons of republicans well in¬ 
structed in this most noble art, have been the principal 
inducements, for giving this work to the public in its 
present form. For we are fully persuaded that agricul¬ 
ture will never be held in the high estimation it deserves 
to be; that it will never attain to that perfection to which 
it is susceptible; until it is made a regular branch of 
study by those who practice it as a profession; until it is 
incorporated into our systems of education. 
“ But, although this work is designed for students in 
agriculture; it is not intended to be studied exclusively 
by those who are attending at some public institution. 
It is designed for the farmer, at whatever stage of his 
education he may have arrived; for we believe it is as 
true of farmers, as of any other class of men, that they 
are ‘ never too old to learn;’ and that, unless they are 
very stupid, they generally do learn something every day 
of their lives.” 
There are but few of our primary schools, in which a 
class studying the “ Fdements,” might not be advanta¬ 
geously formed; and we should be glad to hear it was 
used in this manner extensively. The arrangement is 
such that there is scarce a subject connected with plants, 
soils, or their management, that is not very fully treated. 
In a work on subjects where there are so many points 
not yet clearly understood, it is not to be wondered at if 
some should be left open for discussion; or that some of 
the opinions advanced should receive from all, only a 
qualified assent. We hail the appearance of this work 
as not only useful to the public, but in its execution 
honorable to the country. For real utility to the agri¬ 
cultural interest, the “Muck Manual,” and the volume 
before us, are unrivalled by any of the numerous Euro¬ 
pean publications on the same subjects. 
The work is very well got up, in a volume of some 
370 pages, 12 mo., Dayton and Newman, New-York, 
publishers. 
BARCLAY’S AGRICULTURAL TOUR. 
In our last we acknowledged the receipt, from . 
Boyle, Esq., England, of this new work, and have 
since had an opportunity of perusing it, and shall pro¬ 
ceed to give a brief notice of its contents. 
The object of Capt. Barclay’s visit and tour in this 
country, was to determine whether an intended purchase 
of land for a near relative, should be made in the U. States 
or in U. Canada. The tour was made in the summer of 
1841. He arrived at Boston in May. He says—“ From 
the quantity of well fed beef and mutton I saw in the 
butchers’ market, I inferred that the land about Boston 
must be good, and feeding well understood. The fish 
and poultry markets were also excellent, and, in short, 
there appeal’d to be in Boston no want of the good things 
of this world.” He visited some of the country around 
Boston, and says—“ I could not discover any appearance 
of a regular system of farming. The implements of 
husbandry were clumsy and uncouth.” On the 8th of 
May, he came on to New-York, via Stonington, and on 
the 1.1th and 12th visited Long Island and Staten Island. 
Of the first he says it is the garden of New-York, but that 
its agriculture is without system, and that no regular ef¬ 
fort is used to make the most of its great advantages. 
On Staten Island he found “large tracts of rich meadow 
land applied to comparatively little profitable use. They 
mow a considerable part of the meadows, but I saw very 
little stock—no sheep—and such cattle as were to be 
seen were of the most heterogeneous breeds, bad Lanca- 
shires, Scotch and Welsh, no two bearing the least ap¬ 
pearance of consanguinity. The farming implements 
are of a rude and awkward description; and, in a word, 
here is a fine tract of land which, as regards the matter 
of agriculture, is almost neglected.” 
On the 14th he left New-York, and on the 15th was 
in Albany. Here he met with Mr. Sotham, and inspect¬ 
ed Messrs. Sotham and Coming’s Herefords, and Mr. 
Prentice’s Short Horns. From thence he proceeded, on 
the 18th, by rail-road to Utica, Syracuse, Auburn; and 
by stage to Canandaigua. This last mode of conveyance 
calls forth sundry exclamations not savoring of praise, 
and deep condemnation of our roads and coaches; but 
the “ admirably broken and high spirited horses,” and 
the skill of the whip, was some compensation for the 
grumbling. He was delighted with the country from 
Geneva to Canandaigua, but regretted to see such fine 
land “ evidently mismanaged and its intrinsic value lost.” 
From Canandaigua he proceeded, on the 20th, to Gen. 
Wadsworth’s, at Geneseo. “He lives,” says our author, 
“ in a fine house, exactly resembling that of an English 
squire, picturesquely situated on a rising ground, and 
commanding views, similar in character, and not excel¬ 
led in beauty, by the prospects from Richmond Hill, or 
Windsor Castle.” Col. Wadsworth’s system of farming 
finds little favor in the eyes of Capt. Barclay, and he 
again regretted “ seeing land so valuable covered with 
stock of so inferior a description. The Red breed of 
cattle, which I had seen all over New r -York, Col. Wads¬ 
worth informed me, are considered to be Devons. If so, 
they are much degenerated, being of diminutive size, 
coarse and evidently bad feeders, averaging not more 
than from 25 to 30 stones.” 
As a fair representation of the farming of this coun¬ 
try, the course of cropping, management of manures, 
rotation, &c., Capt. Barclay dwells at considerable length 
on Col. Wadsworth’s methods, and finds little in them 
to approve. The plowing in the clover for wheat, in¬ 
stead of feeding it off on the land, and the waste of such 
vast quantities of straw, is pronounced a “most impro¬ 
vident mode of agriculture.” One of the greatest defects 
in our system, Capt. B. considers to be our renting lands 
to tenants, the landlord receiving a portion of the pro¬ 
duce in kind, instead of leasing it to them for a term of 
years, as is practiced in England. In the first case, the 
tenant is only anxious to get as much from the soil as 
possible without regard to the future; in the latter case, 
it is for his own interest to farm well, and make all the 
improvement possible. 
Capt. Barclay much admired the control and action of 
our farm horses, but their blood like form appeared ra¬ 
ther slender, and he thought that a cross of the Suffolk, 
Clydesdale, or heavy Lincolns would be an improve¬ 
ment. 
From Geneseo, Capt. Barclay proceeded to Niagara, 
by the way of Caledonia, (where he visited several 
Scotch emigrants who had become wealthy,) Batavia, 
and Lockport. The Falls disappointed him; and from 
Niagara he crossed the Lake to Toronto. On entering 
Canada, he was much struck with the difference existing 
in favor of the United States, and at a later period he 
says—“This was my early impression, and every thing 
I have since observed, or by inquiry ascertained, has 
served to confirm it, and to satisfy me, that, of the two 
countries, the States hold out, for agricultural pursuits, 
by far the greater advantages to persons possessed of 
any capital.” That Capt. Barclay’s judgment in the 
matter is not influenced by his political opinions, and 
that his loyalty is undoubted, we have a right to infer 
from various passages, and particularly his high wrought 
eulogium on Sir Allen McNab. 
From Toronto Capt. B. recrossed the lake to Lewis¬ 
ton, proceeded to Buffalo; up Lake Erie to Erie; from 
Erie to Pittsburg, by stage; (which again draws forth 
sundry maledictions on the American roads;) from 
Pittsburgh to Wheeling; from Wheeling to Baltimore, 
Washington and Richmond, which was the extent of his 
journeyings to the south. His object in visiting Vir¬ 
ginia was to inform himself as to the true state of Ameri¬ 
can slavery; and he was happy to find “ the condition of 
the slaves physically one of great comfort and enjoy¬ 
ment, in comparison with that of our own manufactur¬ 
ing" population; by thousands of whom, I cannot doubt, 
it would, in relation to the necessaries of life, be looked 
upon with envy.” 
At Richmond he had a good opportunity of witness¬ 
ing one of the best specimens of southern farming, on 
the estate of Mr. Marx, but he was sorry he could no 
more approve of Mr. Marx’s system of husbandry, than 
of that he had remarked elsewhere. One great cause of 
the light crops of grain in the United States, he attribut¬ 
ed to the light seeding, we not using in general more 
than one-third that used in England. 
Returning to Washington, he visited congress, and 
heard some speeches on the McLeod affair, and from 1 
what he heard of congressional eloquence, pronounces 1 
the principal speakers “ superior to many who figure in 
the house of commons.” Proceeding to Philadelphia, 
Capt. Barclay was delighted with the fine farms in the 
vicinity of that city. “ The stock was of a superior 
kind, but blood or pedigree seemed to have met with no 
attention.” Capt. Barclay here makes some very judi¬ 
cious remarks on the propriety of cultivating more roots 
for stock, although he admits that “ the cultivation of 
corn supersedes here the use of green crops as food for 
stock.” From Philadelphia, our traveler returned, 
through New-Jersey, to New-York, and on the 17th of 
July sailed for England. 
Capt. Barclay’s concluding observations contain many 
valuable reflections, but we have little or no room here 
to refer to them. One is, that “ where nature is bounti¬ 
ful, man is apt to be indolent;” as explaining the little 
skill shown by us in agriculture. Another is that, al¬ 
though wages are nominally less here than in Europe, 
the quantity of labor a given amount will purchase, is 
equal to that of England. This he illustrates in several 
ways; and we think few will doubt it, who have com¬ 
pared American with foreign laborers at most kinds of 
farm work. 
An appendix is given, detailing the proceedings of a 
dinner got up in honor of Capt. Barclay, in 1838, at his 
farm in Ury, at which most of the nobility and gentle¬ 
men of the country were present. At this meeting the 
chairman gave, as a toast, “Prosperity to the Royal 
Glenury Distillery,” of which Capt. Barclay was the 
founder and proprietor. Capt. Barclay returned thanks, 
and stated that the consumption of grain was 80,000 
bushels per year in the distillery. We hope the Scotch 
will think better of this matter, and come to the conclu¬ 
sion that the way to supply a starving nation with bread, 
is not to use 80,000 bushels of grain annually in a single 
distillery. 
ROYAL ENGLISH AG. SOCIETY. 
By a report in the Gardener’s Chronicle of the meeting 
of the above Society on the 16th of March, we find a ve¬ 
ry favorable notice of Mr. Hatch’s machine for sowing 
grain, seeds, plaster, &c., of which a figure has been gi¬ 
ven in the Cultivator, and of which a model machine had 
been presented to that Society, by our friend Mr. Rotch, 
of Otsego. Since that time, a copy of the cut given in 
the Cultivator, with the description, has appeared in the 
London Farmer’s Magazine, and the machine seems to 
have attracted much notice from its great simplicity and 
effectiveness. 
At the meeting of the Council of this Society on the 
18th May last, “on motion of the Duke of Richmond, 
seconded by Earl Spencer, Professor Liebeg, and Mr. 
Henry Colman, were unanimously elected honorary 
members of the Society.” 
The following is the statement of the present amount 
of members; no less than 500 new members have been 
elected during the last six months:—Life Governors 101, 
Governors 211, Life Members 328, Members 5,195; to¬ 
tal 5,824. 
At the annual meeting of the Society, May 23, the Earl 
ofHardwicke, was elected President for the ensuing year. 
The annual Cattle Show for the present year is to be 
held at Bristol, commencing on the 14th of July. 
GUANO MANURE AND POTATOES. 
We have before alluded to this new manure, which is 
exciting so much interest in England, as one of the most 
efficient yet known. In C. W. Johnson’s great work, 
the Farmer’s Encyclopedia, now publishing in numbers, 
we find under the article Guano, some facts which, as 
exhibiting several matters comparatively, are of in¬ 
terest to the farmer, we give fbr the benefit of our read¬ 
ers. From a series of careful experiments, Mr. J. con¬ 
siders 35 bushels of Guano equal to 70 loads of good rot¬ 
ted manure, in its effect upon crops. Guano, it may not 
be amiss to add, is the dung of sea fowls, and found on 
some islands in the Pacific, on the shores of Peru. Con¬ 
siderable quantities have been imported to England, and 
as the quantity is apparently inexhaustible, the use of it 
promises to extend rapidly. It consists of the most ac¬ 
tive ingredients, bone earth, uric acid, and ammonia. 
The experiments of the table below were made by Gen- 
Beatson; and in every instance 35 bushels guano, 35 
loads of horse dung litter, and 35 loads of hog dung litter 
per acre, were used. The potatoe was the root planted, 
and the table will show in what manner. 
Large Potatoes planted whole. 
Guano. 
Horse 
Hog 
Simple 
Depth planted. 
bush. 
dung. 
dung. 
soil. 
12 inches deep. . 
492 
408 
397 
9 << < ( ....... 
460 
427 
327 
6 “ “ . 
683 
447 
395 
3 “ “ . 
479 
414 
811 
Large Potatoes cut in pieces. 
12 inches deep,. 
648 
369 
285 
9 “ “ . 
589 
434 
882 
6 “ “ . 
631 
466 
408 
3 “ “ .. 
611 
375 
414 
Middle eye of Potatoe cut out. 
12 inches deep, . 
479 
299 
165 
9 “ “ .. 
479 
298 
210 
6 “ “ ........ 
663 
405 
337 
3 u u ...... .. 
3S2 
48S 
343 
Small Potatoes planted whole. 
12 inches deep, . 
401 
692 
369 
9 “ “ . 
612 
625 
440 
6 “ “ .. 
583 
644 
670 
3 “ “ .. 
414 
440 
440 
The comparative produce in lbs. of potatoes from these 
manures, was therefore as follows: 
Guano,. 639 
Horse‘(lung,. 626 
Hog dung,. 634 
Simple soil,. 446 
The effect of different depths in planting, is as follows, 
in the total produce of bushels at each depth; a differ¬ 
ence worthy the notice of the farmer, as showing that a 
depth of six inches is better than one greater or smaller, 
12 inches deep,•••• • - • — - •............ 7isi bush, 
9 “ 6828 « 
6 “ 8177 t< 
3 “ 7106 « 
Another result is shown in this experiment, mid that 
is the difference in the crop where large or small pota¬ 
toes, whole ones or cut, are employed for planting. In 
Gen. Beatson’s experiment, the. advantage is greatly in 
favor of small potatoes planted vyhole• and there are not 
wanting many farmers in thJU country, who maintain the 
same position. 
Large potatoes planted whole, .. 7390 bush. 
“ “ cut in pieces,. 7^20 “ 
Middle eye of potatoe cut out,.... 6230 U 
Small potatoes planted whole,.......8^64, tt 
