THE CULTIVATOR. 
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111 
portation, it would certainly enhance the value of those 
already imported, a thing which would no doubt be very 
desirable in some quarters. Mr. Allen raises a ghost 
about the c expense of importation’ being enormous; but 
he says nothing about the ‘enormous’ prices paid for ani¬ 
mals of the improved breeds in this country. But as the 
old Scotch proverb says, ‘ it is not for nothing that the 
glid whistles.’ ‘ An Onondaga Farmer’ tries to impress 
the idea on the public mind, that we have enough of cat¬ 
tle of the improved breeds to supply our present wants; 
but that man must be but slightly acquainted with the 
country, who does not know that we have but a small 
fractional part of what is required for any speedy im¬ 
provement : for both the ‘ enormous’ high price and the 
great distance that farmers at present have to take their 
cows for the purpose of crossing with these breeds, causes 
them to spread so slowly, that a long time must elapse 
before ‘ An Onondaga Farmer’ will realize the ‘ immense 
improvement’ he is looking forward to, with so much 
£ pleasure.’ ” 
BUTTER—TEMPERATURE AND SALTING. 
A correspondent, speaking of the importance of a 
knowledge of the proper temperature of cream for mak¬ 
ing butter, says a gentleman of his acquaintance finding 
his family frequently baffled in their efforts to make but¬ 
ter, sometimes the cream being supposed to be too cold, 
when hot water was added; and sometimes too warm, 
when it was diluted with cold water; or if these were 
not added, the cream was transferred from the cellar to 
the fireside, or vice versa, finally recollected reading an 
article on the manufacture of butter, in which the proper 
temperature was stated; and purchasing a thermometer, 
found that by regulating the temperature, there was no 
difficulty whatever in making- the butter from the cream. 
This temperature he thinks was 66°. 
Our correspondent further says—“ We purchase all the 
butter used in our family, and for fifteen years have had 
our winter supply from one individual. It has been put 
up in stone pots or jars, and only one parcel has ever 
been inferior. I showed this to the maker, and he was 
at a loss to conjecture the cause, as it was all made in the 
usual way, except one pot, which was made by his ten¬ 
ant, and their butter was as good as his own. I asked 
if it was not salted with Liverpool salt. He said not; as 
they never used it for dairy purposes, knowing it was 
unfit for that, or for meat: and that himself and his tenant, 
use the best Rock or Turk Island salt. Further inquiry, 
however, proved that the wife of the tenant, overlooking 
the facts of the unfitness of that salt, had used it for seve¬ 
ral pots of butter, one of which we had, and thus the in¬ 
feriority was accounted for. Dr. Mitchell in a paper on 
the use of-salt, deprecates the Liverpool as unfit for the 
dairy, or provisions of any kind; and ascribes the ill 
health and death of seamen in particular to that cause. 
Such salt may do where the article is- to be used immedi¬ 
ately, but not where it is to be preserved for any conside¬ 
rable time.” 
Note by Eds. of Cult. —-From experiments made by 
Dr. Barclay, Mr. Allen, and by Mr. Ballantyne, it was 
found that the proper temperature to commence churn¬ 
ing, was from 50° to 55", and that if it exceeded 65° at 
any time, the effect was injurious on the quantity and 
quality of the butter. Mr. Ballantyne found that the tem¬ 
perature of cream rose in churning. Thus 15 gallons of 
cream at the temperature of 50° was placed in the churn; 
at the end of two hours it was 56 3 and at the end of the 
churning was 60°. Mr. B. found that the greatest quan¬ 
tity of butter was obtained at 60°; and the best quality 
at 55° in the churn just before the butter came. When 
the heat exceeded 65° or 68°, the milk could not be de¬ 
tached from the butter without the aid of salt. 
STACKING STRAW. 
“ Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —At page 30, of the 
current volume of the Cultivator, I observe your remark 
about feeding sheep and cattle at stacks, in which you 
state that it has been your practice for several years to 
stack your straw in such a manner as to have it eaten out 
at the bottom; and that as it is thus eaten out, it gradu¬ 
ally settles down until the whole is consumed; and that 
it is a mode of feeding straw more economical and useful 
than any other you have tried. My object is to request 
you to describe your manner of constructing such stacks. 
Castile, Wyoming co. N. Y. J. Hcrsfield.” 
Select some convenient position in relation to the yard, 
barn, and the manner in which the straw will be deliv¬ 
ered from the threshing machine, and then set four strong 
posts firmly in the ground, in a square form, some 14 or 
16 feet from each other. These posts may be three or 
three and a half feet in height. If they are not crotched, 
deep notches must be cut in their tops to receive a stout 
pole, one of which is placed on each side of the square. 
The poles must be carefully notched together at the cor¬ 
ners, so as to preclude slipping. Over these, and point¬ 
ing to the centre, smaller poles, or smooth rails are laid 
at intervals of from 8 to 12 inches, at an angle of some 
30°. The bottom part of the rails will rest on the ground, 
supported by, and lying across the large horizontal poles, 
and pointing upwards and outwards for the reception of 
the straw. After a small quantity has been put into this 
frame work, the rails must be equally and properly placed 
and then the straw may be thrown on till the stack is 
complete, when the upper part will project some 8 to 10 
feet over the poles. If the rails are laid too flat, the 
straw as the bottom is eat out, will not settle easily and 
equally, so as to be always within the reach of the cat¬ 
tle, as it will do when their inclination is greater. If the 
quantity of straw is great, such stacks may be made of any 
length; and as animals can go on all sides of them, they 
form while they last, an excellent protection against 
storms of rain or snow. We have been in the habit of 
occasionally throwing a little salt over the straw as the 
process of stacking was going on, and believe we have 
found a decided benefit from the practice. We prefer 
this mode of stacking, or rather getting rid of our straw, 
for these reasons:—it is as easily disposed of in this way 
as any other; it is always available as food for animals; 
it requires no labor in feeding out; it forms a good shel¬ 
ter for a considerable part of the winter; and the manure 
made when so eaten, will more than compensate for all 
the trouble. In getting out the manure, the rails and poles 
are removed. The posts alone remaining. 
THE BEST MEANS OF PROMOTING AGRICUL¬ 
TURAL KNOWLEDGE. 
We have received from our correspondent F. Burt, of 
Ohio, a long communication on the subject of National 
and State Agricultural Societies, in which the writer con¬ 
tends strenuously against the right or the policy of the 
General or the State governments, to appropriate funds 
for the aid of such societies, he maintaining that the whole 
system of premiums is founded in error, and calculated 
to do more harm than good. Mr. B’s remarks are prin¬ 
cipally in l eply to “ Commentator,” and “ Salmagundi;” 
but as he has been already heard in our columns, we have 
concluded to omit that part of his communication, and 
give that part in which he unfolds his plans of agricul¬ 
tural improvement, and in which we think he will find 
many of the warmest advocates of Premium Agricultural 
Societies to agree in the main with him. 
“ I really wish some of the friends of fashionable Ag¬ 
ricultural Societies, would give us some matter of fact 
statements and arguments, showing wherein such socie¬ 
ties are going to exalt the character, and improve the 
mind of the farmer. I wish to see the character and in¬ 
terest of the farmer improved; he ought not to be a her¬ 
mit wrapped up within himself, with no interest or feel¬ 
ing but what can be calculated by dollars and cents. He 
ought to take an interest in the affairs of his own state 
and nation, and he ought to take a great interest in the 
affairs of agriculture. I believe that the best plan to pro¬ 
mote that knowledge, would be to form societies in eve¬ 
ry town for the diffusion of such knowledge; to meet to¬ 
gether often, have addresses if any of the members feel 
disposed to deliver such, and have familiar conversations 
on all agricultural subjects. Here might also be a never 
ending source of information in reading and discussing 
agricultural topics; every one could learn something 
from his neighbor; every one could give his views, or 
his experience, in raising wheat, corn, or cattle; and the 
very wise might possibly learn something from those that 
are considered marvellously ignorant. We might also go 
on a larger scale, and once or twice a year have county 
meetings for the same purpose, which might pass off with 
a good public dinner, every one to eat at his own ex¬ 
pense. The same may extend to the States, or the Uni¬ 
ted States, if any think that good can result from it. In 
this way farmers can meet together as friends and equals, 
and part as such. They will not meet like a party of 
loafers around a lottery office, all anxious for the prize, 
and part after that is declared, some few triumphing, but 
by far the greater number disappointed and chagrined. 
The spirit of good feeling is what ought to exist among 
farmers; and this exalting one above another, or putting 
a handle to a man’s name, because he has hauled out two 
hundred loads of dung, as proposed by Mr. Morrell in his 
Salmagundi, is folly in my estimation.” 
DICTIONARY OF FRUITS. 
Our correspondent J. Horsfield, asks whether “there 
is such a work in our country as a Dictionary of Fruits, 
or any publication giving a complete list of all the fruits 
cultivated or known in the United States, with a full de¬ 
scription of each.” 
We know of none precisely answering this description; 
but we think the last edition of Kenrick’s Orchardist, ap¬ 
proaches so near it, that our correspondent will find it 
about the thing he wishes. If he wishes figures of the 
fruits, he will find them in the “ Orchardist’s Compan¬ 
ion,” a splendid work now in the course of publication in 
Philadelphia, and noticed in the last No. of the Cultivator. 
THE WEATHER—SNOW STORM. 
Extract of a letter from a correspondent in Onondaga 
county, dated June 17, 1842. 
“ Fortune has hitherto had the reputation of being the 
most inconstant jade extant, but she has at last found a 
formidable rival in the weather. Only think of snow 
and frost the 11th of June, this blessed year 1842. The 
latter part of May was cold and ungenial; the forepart 
of June was the same, ‘ only a good deal more so.’ On 
the 1st of the month there was a slight frost, but not to 
do injury. On the 7th there was a hard frost, which in 
the most exposed situations, killed corn, beans, melons, 
cucumbers, &c. Friday, the 10th, was a cold rainy day, 
wind from N. to N. E. Thermometer which was at 78" 
the day before, fell before night to 36", and at ten o’clock 
in the evening snow began to fall. Saturday morning, 
the Uth, the hills in the south part of this county, and in 
Cortland, were white with snow. On the most, elevated 
parts it was from two to three inches in depth, and did 
not disappear before 12 o’clock. On the morning of the 
11th, at sunrise, the thermometer was at 30"; the snow 
which fell wet was frozen hard on to plants, trees, fruit, 
flowers, &c. presenting a most gloomy and singular spec¬ 
tacle. In districts or places particularly liable to frost, 
potatoes and corn were killed to the ground, but on the 
whole the damage was not so great, as there was at first 
reason to apprehend. Fruits were unharmed, but gardens 
suffered much. This storm was followed by another frost 
on Saturday night; since which time we have had fine 
weather, with seasonable showers and high temperature, 
which has given vegetation a great start. How far this 
untimely snow storm extended is not yet known, but it 
has been heard from, from Oneida to the west line of the 
state, along the elevated lands that separate the waters 
of the lakes from those flowing south. As it melted ra¬ 
pidly when falling, the depth would have been conside¬ 
rable had it remained as it fell, and sleighing in June 
might have become a reality instead of remaining a word 
to mark incredible things.” 
CORN FOR GREEN MANURE. 
“Messrs. Editors —Can you inform your readers the 
comparative difference between turning under with the 
plow, two crops of Indian corn during summer, (sown 
at the rate of from 4 to 6 bushels to the acre,) and cutting 
it, and feeding to cattle; whether the difference would 
be in favor of turning under, or feeding. My own opin¬ 
ion is, that this crop plowed under, is worth three times 
its quantity, passed through the stomachs of cattle, for the 
improvement of the soil. L. P.” 
We are unable to state positively the results of the two 
methods of manuring proposed by our friend “ L. P’s” 
question; but if, as is maintained by all late writers on 
agricultural chemistry, the value of manures is depend¬ 
ing on the quantity of nitrogen they contain—that ani¬ 
mal matter contains a much larger proportion of nitrogen 
than vegetable matter—and that animal manures contain 
large quantities of animal matter, and consequently of 
nitrogen, we think it very possible that the corn crops 
fed out, and the manure made applied to the soil, would 
produce more effect, than if simply plowed in for de¬ 
composition. 
STRAW CUTTERS AND FANNING MILLS. 
“Messrs. Editors —Will you please to say in your 
next Cultivator, what cutting box is considered best for 
small farms where manual labor is to be used, and what 
make of winnowing machines is preferred for small grain. 
Ridge P. O., S. Ca. R. Ward.” 
Green’s straw cutter, every thing considered, is gene¬ 
rally preferred among farmers, as it is very little liable 
to break or get out of order. Those who wish machines 
that will cut finer than Green’s, can have Gilson’s or 
Willis’. Of Fanning mills there are an almost endless 
variety, as any one can see by visiting the wheat grow¬ 
ing sections of this state, all of which will perform good 
work, principally differing in the rapidity of execution. 
Good fanning mills can be had in any part of the state. 
PROSPECTS OF THE ENGLISH GRAIN MARKET. 
Although in the present state of things, we can ex¬ 
pect to export but little wheat or flour direct to Great 
Britain, yet the stale of the grain market there, will of 
necessity more or less influence the price of flour here- 
perhaps not the less because the greatest portion of Ame¬ 
rican wheat enters England as Colonial produce, from its 
having passed through Canada in its transit from our 
wheat fields and mills to Europe. The following extract 
from the Mark Lane Express, the highest authority in all 
matters relating to the English grain market, may perhaps 
furnish some idea of the prospect existing for a foreign 
demand for our surplus products: 
“ That the last crop was deficient is undisputed; some 
parties went so far as to estimate the deficiency at a fourth, 
others at a fifth, and the most moderate at a sixth; it is 
also a well known fact, that at the time of harvest, the 
stocks of old English wheat were completely exhausted, 
and that the consumption was consequently immediately 
thrown upon the new crop. Calculating then that the 
total produce of wheat should in average years be 20 - 
000,000 qrs , and supposing the yield of last year only 
one-sixth short, we should have a deficiency in round 
numbers, of 3,300,000 qrs.; and if to this be added the 
deficit caused by the decrease in weight, which cannot 
be taken at less than 3 lbs. per bushel, or 24 lbs. per qr. 
we shall have a further falling off of 1,000,000 qrs., ma¬ 
king together, the enormous difference of 4,300,000 qrs. 
[Thirty-four millions, four hundred thousand bushels!] 
To make up for this falling off in our own growth, we 
had an importation from abroad of about 2,500,000 qrs., 
nearly the whole of which has already been consumed. 
It would appear, therefore, that the stocks now in the 
growers’ hands, must be very much below what they usu¬ 
ally are at a corresponding period of the year. As yet, 
we have scarcely felttbe deficiency of our lastcrop, hav¬ 
ing hitherto had plenty of free foreign; now, however, 
it must soon become apparent, as the stocks of the latter 
kind are nearly exhausted.” 
England has a population of some 25,000,000, and it 
seems to be a startling assertion that the falling off in her 
principle article of bread stuff the past year, is equal to 
one-half the W'hole consumption of wheat in the United 
States, with a population of 17,000,000. England, it 
must be remembered-, has not our immense crop of In¬ 
dian corn to fall back upon for bread when wheat fails 
as we should have ; and hence the suffering- and distress 
for want of bread in that country, with a prospect of a 
frightful increase of misery before the next harvest. 
