THE CULTIVATOR. 
115 
MAKING JOINTS with the AXE and JACK-KNIFE. 
“ Quid Nunc, what are you trying to construct with 
your axe and jack knife?’ 5 said I to my dilignte and eco¬ 
nomical neighbor, who was so busy with his work that 
he could scarcely glance his eye to see who had called 
on him. 
“ I was trying to construct a reservoir, to catch some 
rain water, 55 was his reply. “ The joints of my cistern 
were not made tight, and the earth has washed in and 
filled it.” 
O economy, thought I, what a jewel thou art! 
Here we have it, Messrs. Editors, exactly the modus 
(ypcrandi of three-fourths of our farmers; and among them 
too, some who are constantly harping on calculation and 
economy. How striking the contrast between such farm¬ 
ers, and the man who spends his time, and exhausts his 
patience, in constructing a vat to hold water with a jack 
knife and axe. 
The honest farmer, who is the spine, the bone and the 
muscle of the land, lives beneath his rights and his dig¬ 
nity. He suffers himself to be led about by the oppres¬ 
sive hand of the speculator, or the cash of the selfish na¬ 
bob, as the patient ox is led to and from the stall, for¬ 
getting his superior potency, and unmindful that he has 
horns that may hook, or “ heels that may kick” his first 
aggressor. The truth of the business is, too many of our 
farmers “ blunder along” through the world, with little 
or no order, bad management, bad calculations. Too 
many spend their time in the old routine of business, 
without regard to improvement or system; are always 
doing and never done; and never know into which ves¬ 
sel to pour a fluid, for the joints of all are made with the 
axe and jack knife. 
There is my industrious neighbor A., than whom a 
more systematic and economical man never lived, (as he 
thinks,) and one who has always attached the greatest 
importance to economy, in door and out. His father gave 
him a noble farm, which puffed him up with self-impor¬ 
tance; he married the belle of the city, for she could 
drum neatly on the piano, or chant melodiously in unison 
with the guitar: but the organs of hearing were sadly 
pained at the vibratory tones of the frying pan, or the 
harsh notes of the dish kettle—it was too condescending 
to wait on the dinner table—she must parade in the par¬ 
lor or lounge on the sofa—or ride in the chaise with her 
consort, and with the velocity of Jehu dash about town 
to make her fashionable calls. The upshot of the matter 
has been, A’s farm has been taken awayby the merchant, 
ten acres at a time—his costly furniture, his china, and 
silver plate, were sold at sheriff's sale—his costly cottage 
was taken from him, and he learned, as many others do, 
when too late, that tight joints cannot be made with the 
axe and jack knife. 
Here comes Mr. G. What has he on board? Ah ! he 
is going to the tannery with hides. He is a practitioner 
of the skinning system. He laughs at book farming; 
scowls at agricultural journals; and wonders how farm¬ 
ers can content themselves with fifty or a hundred acres 
of land, and be obliged to keep so little stock. The re¬ 
sult was in his case, as it always is. He was always in 
a hurry; was obliged to do all things for the present, and 
not with reference to the future; must accomplish so much 
in a given time; keep so much stock on a given quantity 
of fodder; therefore, in the fall his straw was not properly 
secured, his corn stalks remained in the field, his roots 
not properly saved from the frost, and before spring, he 
is running about town trying to purchase a little straw, to 
keep his cattle out of the mud, and a little hay to keep 
them from starving. It is clear that Mr. G. has not 
learned that he cannot make a water proof cistern with 
the axe and jack knife. 
There is my friends., who has just begun in the world, 
but at the outset he imbibed the idea that cultivating the 
soil was a drug, and that the mercantile business was just 
the thing for him. He sold his farm, went in partner¬ 
ship with a friend as inexperienced as himself, and the 
consequence has been, his draw was made with the axe 
and jack knife, and his money all slipped through. 
And here is his neighbor D., who is in trouble up to 
his knees. Spring has come on. He let out his teams du¬ 
ring the winter, to be worked for their keeping, and they 
are now wholly unfit for work, and must be lifted up 
whenever they lie down. He, like too many others, 
loved to be independent in regard to threshing his grain. 
So he purchased a two horse machine, with which he 
could thrash when he chose, and with his own hands. 
The issue was, he could not thrash as much with his ma¬ 
chine, as the hand required to tend it, could with flails; 
and further, it was always out of order, and a complete 
kill-horse. One word as to threshing machines—don’t 
trust to these « pepper mills.” Five and six horse ma¬ 
chines are the only ones that should go into a barn. 
Threshing with these little half-built, dangerous ma¬ 
chines, is like making a water tight vessel with the axe 
and jack knife. 
Mr. F. is a pretending, but in his own estimation, an 
able jurist. His daily walk is to the store, where he 
keeps gentleman’s company. He rants exceedingly; 
pronounces freely on the expediency of such and such 
topics of legislation; talks of Shakspeare; peruses Gib¬ 
bon’s Rome; makes now and then a journey to the coun¬ 
ty seat, and struts along the path with all the pomposity 
and ostentation of a blue hen with a speckled chicken. 
Meanwhile his fields are overrun with weeds; his fen¬ 
ces scattered to the four winds of heaven; his cattle are 
the rulers of his domain; sheep, swine, and geese, feed 
from the same trough, and occupy the same cote; and 
those that get the most are the best fellows. Here is ri¬ 
gid economy practiced on an extensive scale; for the 
trough being made with the axe and knife, what falls 
through, the hogs and geese will pick up. In the next 
yard, horses, cows, and calves, feed from the same rack; 
the weak ones are driven about by the strong; the fat 
grow fatter, and the poor poorer; and before spring, he, 
like Mr. G., has a lot of hides for the tanner. _ 
When shall we all learn that tight joints cannot he made 
with the axe and jack knife. 
One word in closing. Let us then exert our influence; 
use our utmost exertions, to hasten the day when the 
farmer shall take the station which the great Jehovah de¬ 
signed for his occupancy: when penury and want shall 
be driven from the land, and vessels and implements be 
introduced, made by the real artizan, for those that owe 
their origin to the axe and jack knife. Economist. 
SETTING GATE POSTS. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —In former numbers of 
the Cultivator, I have noticed several plans and descrip¬ 
tions of farm gates, furnished by different gentlemen, 
some of them very good. But the one figured and de¬ 
scribed in a late number, by your esteemed and very in¬ 
teresting correspondent, James M. Garnett, Esq. Presi¬ 
dent of the “ Agricultural Society of the United States,” 
I think is the best one I have seen; and the iron “fix¬ 
ings” which he describes, strike me as being a great 
improvement, and peculiarly calculated to preserve the 
gate in its proper square form, without which it is im¬ 
possible any gate should work well. But the most im¬ 
portant part of a good gate—indeed a part upon which 
depends entirely and absolutely its successful operation— 
has been overlooked or omitted by these gentlemen, I be¬ 
lieve without a single exception. I refer to the gate 
posts. Almost any farmer can make a gate, and a good 
one too, but very few can, or do put up the posts pro¬ 
perly; and unless these are so put up, the best made gate 
in the world would be an aggravation, instead of a conve¬ 
nience. To make up in some measure this deficiency, 
I propose here to add what is believed to be, by at least 
one humble practical farmer, the best mode of setting 
gate posts; and if any of your readers know of a better, 
I hope they will let us have it through a communication 
in your columns, not forgetting to add that other very 
important though much omitted appendage, at the bot¬ 
tom, their real name and whereabouts. 
Gate posts should be made of some durable timber, 
large enough to square not less than ten inches above the 
surface of the ground, and then full size left below; ex¬ 
cepting about one foot on the gate side of the posts, which 
should be hewn for the end of the bed piece or sill to 
rest against. The posts should be set four feet deep, and 
the hole in which they are put, should be so large as to 
leave a space of four inches on every side, which should 
be filled up with small stones and leached ashes firmly 
beaten down around them. A bed piece or sill of round 
timber, ten inches in diameter, sawed square at the ends, 
is then snugly fitted in lengthwise between the posts, and 
bedded down in the earth so as to project three inches 
above the surface; this will prevent the posts from sway¬ 
ing towards each other, and if the gate should sag so as 
to rub on the bottom, a small wedge driven in between 
the end of the sill or bed piece and the post upon which 
the gate hangs, will immediately bring it up again to its 
proper position. This bed piece will also prevent swine 
from rooting under the gate to effect a passage; and be¬ 
ing three inches higher than the surface ground, the gate 
may be hung to shut so close upon it, as to prevent the 
smallest pigs from crawling through. Some farmers have 
had this bed piece tenanted into the posts and firmly 
pinned, and the consequence was that the posts in the 
spring were found thrown up out of their proper place, 
by the action of the frost upon the bed piece. This will 
always be the case when the bed piece is fastened to the 
post, but if put in as I have directed above, this evil will 
be entirely avoided. J. Horsfield. 
Castile, N. Y. April, 1842. 
AMERICAN BREEDERS. 
Editors of the Cultivator —It is I think a true 
saying, that one extreme begets another, and whenever 
we permit ourselves to indulge in extremes, even in the 
best of causes, we create suspicion, excite jealousy, cause 
disappointment, and throw obstacles in the way of that 
sure, practical instruction, which, if ever, we receive it 
generally through our agricultural publications, must 
come from those who derive theirs from the stern reali¬ 
ties of every day experience. Having been a tiller of 
the soil from boyhood, bred and fed some stock, sufficient 
perhaps to justify me in making a few remarks, I do not 
now attempt it, without being perfectly aware of my ina¬ 
bility to impart much instruction to others, or feeling the 
necesssity of receiving much myself. 
And first as regards the breedingof animals. How ma¬ 
ny there are who appear to be ignorant that there is any 
art in breeding, or that are aware, that if they were in 
possession of some of the best bred animals, they would 
inevitably, without the skillful and constant exercise of 
that art, soon see their produce rapidly retrograding to 
their original state. It is discouraging to hear the fre¬ 
quent outcrys against importing any more stock from 
abroad, and the assertions that we are now prepared to 
breed independently. Why just look around us for one 
moment. Where are all those fine Spanish Merinos that 
the owners were a short time ago, almost obliged to send 
a begging for purchasers, and sell at such prices as they 
could get ? Why I venture to say, there is scarce a pure 
bred flock of those animals in the country; and where is 
the man that will now attempt the task of breeding the 
cross blood Saxons into such sheep as the Spanish Meri¬ 
nos formerly were? They were larger, longer lived, 
hardier, and would produce almost double the quantity 
of wool that the present mongrels do. The man who 
wishes pure Spanish Merino stock, must now import it; 
the old fashioned kind are not to be found; and I have no 
knowldege of any one in the middle or eastern states who 
is prepared to go ahead either in breeding sheep or cat¬ 
tle for any time, without fresh importations. 
As for any one attempting to establish a distinct breed 
from our best cross blood animals, it is my opinion, if he 
would try all his skill for twenty years, the probability 
would be, that he would be no nearer the object of his 
wishes than when he commenced. It certainly requires 
great art and skill to keep up a breed when you have it, 
pure, but to attempt to establish a pure breed from mon¬ 
grels, is just such a job as I should not advise any one to 
undertake, whenever they have the opportunity of breed¬ 
ing from pure blood stock. The want of opportunity to 
make the necessary crosses with different families of the 
same blood, is, I conceive, one of the greatest disadvan¬ 
tages under which breeders in this country have to labor. 
Even when we breed from pure blood always on the 
sire’s side, we are likely to have discouraging obstacles 
to contend with, before we can feel much confidence; 
and when we have attained to what would be considered 
full bloods, it will be well if we are not sometimes dis¬ 
appointed in our expectations. 
I would therefore advise every breeder to aim at breed¬ 
ing and maintaining pure blood, whether Devons, Here- 
fords, or Short Horns; and let their choice of these de¬ 
pend on the quantity of feed their land produces. If this 
is abundant, any of them will do well; but if scant, the 
Devons are preferable. 
As regards the partialities or prejudices of different 
persons to different animals and their breeders, I would 
most earnestly recommend every person who has a judg¬ 
ment of his own, in which he feels at all willing to con¬ 
fide, to examine for himself; for I verily believe that 
self interest is the mainspring that moves most of us in 
the cause. Far be it from me to dare to assert that there 
is but one man’s herd in England that would improve 
our own; but I dare say with confidence, from personal 
observation, that I do believe there is neither quackery 
or “ witchery” about Bates or his stock. I fancy it takes 
realities to induce the Royal Ag. Society of England to 
award prizes to, and toast their successful breeders. As 
to the representatives of Bates’ stock in this country, I 
believe they are few. He has not been in the habit of 
purchasing of other breeders, to speculate on in the Uni¬ 
ted States. I am, however, gratified in being able to say 
that I have one of them, (a three years old part, York- 
shireman,) and if some of the spirited breeders in your 
vicinity, would desire to see him placed along side of 
theirs, when they pass through Philadelphia on their way 
to the National Show, I should be willing to gratify them 
with an opportunity of seeing how he would compare 
with theirs. I remain respectfully yours, 
Joseph Cope. 
East Bradford, Chester co. Pa. 13 th of 5th mo. 1842. 
P. S. I hope some breeders will turn their attention to 
the handling properties of cattle; as I am convinced the 
knowledge so imparted, is of great importance in making 
correct decisions. To understand it, it is only necessary 
to practice handling different animals. J. C. 
REMARKS OF “ AGRICOLA.” 
Mr. Thrall’s Oat Crop. —By reference to his state¬ 
ment, Cultivator, vol. IX. p. 48, Agricola will see that 
nine bushels are charged, which of course is the quantity 
sown on the four acres. 
Cutting up Corn. —Alluding to Commentator’s re¬ 
marks on cutting up Corn, p. 52, Agricola says: “I ap¬ 
prehend that Commentator has not seen stains put up in 
the right way. His stooks are perhaps made too small, 
and not bound sufficiently tight at top. The practice has 
of late years, become very general and very popular in 
the west.” 
Horses. —It has frequently occurred to me that there 
was too little attention paid to horses, by yourselves and 
correspondents. There is no subject relating to agricul¬ 
ture, which may not be profitably discussed in your pa¬ 
per ; and certainly there are but few matters more closely 
connected with the comfort and interest of the farmer 
than this. The draft horse, the carriage horse, and the 
saddle horse, are all in which he is interested, or at least 
which legitimately claim his attention. Hogs, cattle and 
sheep, have received all due attention—and it is right 
that it should be so—an interest has been awakened which 
has resulted in great good; and why may not the same 
interest be aroused in relation to the horse? A writer in 
the Cultivator (Mr. A. B. Allen, I think,) has remarked 
that there are but two classes of horses in Ky., the one 
adapted to the turf, the other fit for nothing. I quote 
from memory, but think I do not misstate. If this is the 
condition of that State, which has devoted so much atten¬ 
tion to the subject, lamentable indeed must be the condi¬ 
tion of those which have devoted none. But with all 
due deference, I will demur to this sweeping denuucia- 
tion, and may at some future day attempt to prove to 
others, if not to himself, that there are other horses in 
Kentucky, besides the Woodpeckers, the Medocs, the 
Noaxies, the Franks, the Trumpetors, the Glencoes, and 
that thing with the speed of light, the famous Grey Eagle. 
