126 
THE CULTIVATOR 
the crossing of animals, whether with the view of main¬ 
taining the purity of blood of one, the improvement of 
the blood of another, or the institution of an entirely 
new blood. In either class of experiments, many new 
and interesting facts, regarding the constitutional differ¬ 
ences of animals, could not fail to be elicited. 55 
SALE OF STOCK AT THE STATE FAIR. 
From what we hear from various quarters, we think 
there can be little doubt but that those who wish to pur¬ 
chase fine stock, will have a better opportunity to select 
such as they may want at the New-York State Fair,than has 
ever before been presented them in this country. They 
will then be able to compare the herds and flocks of dif¬ 
ferent gentlemen, which will save them much trouble, and 
enable them to make their purchases much more satisfac¬ 
torily than when under the necessity of selecting from a 
single yard. In addition to the extensive collection of 
pure bred animals from our own state, many of which 
will be brought for sale as well as for exhibition, we ex¬ 
pect to see more or less from the adjoining states, as we 
are already apprised of the intention of several gentle¬ 
men from abroad, to send specimens of their fine animals 
to our Fair, in the expectation, in part, of finding an op¬ 
portunity to dispose of them. 
We publish with pleasure, the annexed letter from 
Mr. Clift, on the advantages which the State Fair offers 
both to buyers and sellers: 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —I was gratified to learn 
from the last No. of your paper, that you have some as¬ 
surances that the coming State Fair, which is to be held 
at Albany, in September next, will be well attended. 
You say “ that you are inclined to think, notwithstand¬ 
ing the state of the times, this Fair will far exceed, in 
the number and quality of the stock, implements, &c. 
exhibited, as well as in the attendance of the public, any 
thing of the kind ever got up in this country. 55 The verj r 
convenient location selected for the Fair, the efficiency 
of the men composing the Executive Committee of the 
State Society, and the spirit that is prevailing in respect 
to it, and I may add the good beginning that was made 
last year at Syracuse, I should think would warrant all 
you have said. 
It has occurred to me that it will not be thought im¬ 
proper, but highly important, in order more fully to pro¬ 
duce and realise such grand results, that every man who 
designs to exhibit good blood stock at the Fair, either 
for sale, or to enter for competition, would timely give 
such notice through the columns of the Cultivator, or 
that in some way it should be made public, that all per¬ 
sons whether residents in the state or out of it, and who 
are desirous of obtaining blood stock, may have some 
more positive assurance that if they will attend at the 
Fair, there shall not be wanting an opportunity for them 
to make purchases. 
Our annual State Fairs cannot be made what they ought 
to be, until it becomes perfectly a matter of reciprocal 
interest for the breeder and purchaser to attend them, the 
one to exhibit and sell his stock, the other to make his 
purchases. There must always be one advantage to the 
purchaser at such Fairs, as there he has the opportunity 
to compare and test the quality of animals of the various 
breeds, side by side, and can select according to his own 
judgment or fancy, much better than he could do, by 
viewing only a single herd or flock, and then he is of 
course at his own option, to purchase or not; whereas 
the breeder, perhaps, after all his toil, trouble, and ex¬ 
pense, in attending the exhibition, &c. will have to sell 
at a sacrifice or not at all. He will however have an op¬ 
portunity to learn one thing, and the sooner he learns 
this the better for him as a breeder, viz: if he is breed¬ 
ing a bad kind of stock, he will here, most likely, find 
it out by the same comparison. 
With these views, Messrs. Editors, you will permit me 
to say to the readers of the Cultivator, and especially to 
those of them, with whom I have not had the honor of a 
personal acquaintance, but with whom I have had the 
pleasure of a correspondence in relation to my sheep, du¬ 
ring the last four or five years, that if life and health be 
continued to me and mine, I intend to be at the N. York 
State Fair, with quite a number of my most choice se¬ 
lected Lincolnshire sheep, bucks and ewes, their ages 
from one to two years old, with perhaps a few lambs, 
from a late cross; I shall take them to the Fair for sale 
and show, and hereby invite honorable competition and 
inspection, with all others that may be exhibited at that 
time and place. Leonard D. Clift. 
FEEDING CATTLE. 
We find in the Philadelphia papers, an article on stall 
feeding cattle, from the pen of Dr. Mease, Vice Presi¬ 
dent of the Philadelphia Ag. Society, which contains 
some valuable hints for those engaged in the business of 
feeding cattle, and the substance of which we propose to 
lay before our readers. 
Dr. Mease says that animals on ■which it is intended to 
lay an extra proportion of fat should be in good condi¬ 
tion whent put up—otherwise they will not pay for the 
cost, feed and care. Each beast should have a handful 
of fine salt three times a week. The hay fed, should be 
of the first cutting (if clover,) and well cured. ■ It should 
be cut before the leaves and blossoms are turned black, 
should be turned and exposed in curing as little as possi¬ 
ble, and housed without being wet when it can be done. 
Dr. Mease dislikes mixing timothy with clover when 
the growth is for hay, as they do not come to maturity at 
the same time, and the clover if left to stand for the ti¬ 
mothy to mature, will be nearly ruined. Orchard grass 
mixed with clover, is not liable to the same objections; 
as they progress equally to maturity, and if cut when in 
full blossom, and not left too long in the field, make a 
hay which cannot be exceeded. From considerable ex¬ 
perience with both timothy and orchard grass in con¬ 
nexion with clover, we are inclined to think Dr. Mease 
is right in this particular. 
In feeding hay to the cattle, it should be given three 
times a day, and no more allowed than they will eat be¬ 
fore the next feeding, as all animals dislike the food that 
has been breathed upon, or impregnated with the stable 
effluvia. All that is left at the times of feeding must be 
taken away, not mixed with the fresh allowance. Ani¬ 
mals while fattening require water twice a day, and if 
they are obliged to walk some little distance for it, it will 
be no injury to them. 
From 10 to 16 quarts of Indian corn and oats ground 
together, is to be fed to each animal three times daily 
during ten days; then half a peck of boiled mashed po¬ 
tatoes, with a handful of corn meal strewed over them. 
The water in which the potatoes have been boiled, must 
be thrown away, as I know it to be hurtful to animals. 
In a week a change may be made of chopped pumpkins, 
or sliced Swedish turneps, or sugar beet, for the potatoes. 
Changes of food improve the appetite, and prevent cloy¬ 
ing, but corn meal, with or without oats, must be the ne¬ 
ver failing accompaniment of any other food. The 
ground corn meal or oats, is to be fed after the hay is eat¬ 
en, at the several times of feeding. Great care must he 
taken not to over feed, and the appetite must be carefully 
watched. The farmer should take the alarm the hour 
that he sees the animal leave any of his usual allowance 
in the trough or rack, clean out both, and by a daily walk, 
extra carding, and if necessary a dose of Glauber salts, 
try to restore the appetite. The food, other than hay, 
should be given in a box, and in the trough, alternately, 
that they may be daily washed or dry-scrubbed and 
scraped, to prevent any food from remaining and be¬ 
coming sour, which will infallibly disgust the animal. 
Cleanliness here is a point of the first importance, but it 
is one too often overlooked by the feeder. Flax seed 
jelly with corn meal, fed occasionally, will soften and 
loosen the skin, and produce that “ kindly feel 55 so essen¬ 
tial in all fattening cattle. 
Carding the animal thrice daily with proper cards, is 
an all-essential part in the process of feeding. Its effect 
is excellent on the animal, and is always highly grateful, 
as well as salutary. Medical men are well acquainted 
with the intimate connexion subsisting between the state 
of the human corporeal surface, and the stomach, and 
viscera connected with digestion, and the same connex¬ 
ion is observed in the ox when feeding. Regularity in 
the hours of feeding and watering, is an essential thing 
in feeding any animal. 
Clean, sweet, cut straw, sprinkled with corn meal and 
salt, may be given for change, and will be eaten freely. 
The stalls must be properly ventilated, as fresh pure air 
is necessary to the health of any animal. Attention must 
be paid to their feet, and if the cleft is obstructed or sore, 
a dossil of tow dipped in spirits of turpentine morning 
and evening, for three or four days, will be a good ap¬ 
plication. The stalls must be kept clean, and straw in 
abundance, for bedding, provided. They should never 
be allowed to stand or travel in wet manure, as their feet 
will in most eases be injuriously affected, and a conse¬ 
quent loss of appetite ensue. 
NECESSITY OF ECONOMY. 
There have been few years in which the necessity of 
economy in the farmer, and general prudence in the man¬ 
agement of his affairs, has been more apparent, than the 
present. The low price of produce, and small decline 
in the price of labor; the difficulty with which remune¬ 
rating sales are made of animals and farm crops, and the 
general firmnnss of price in the articles he is compelled 
to purchase; all indicate the propriety of paying particu¬ 
lar attent on to his income and his expenditures. This is 
particularly the case with him who is in debt; or who 
having little in advance, is dependent on the annual pro¬ 
ceeds of his farm, and his labor, for support. There are 
a few classes that the pressure of the times, the price of 
produce, or the scarcity of cash, scarcely reaches. They 
are those who subsist on the fees of office, or the interest 
of their money. Such do not stand in need of lessons of 
economy. 
But it is well for all to remember, that there is a wide 
difference between economy and paisimony; between 
prudence and coveteousness. If reform in expenditure is 
proper, the farmer should see that it falls on those things 
which are least essential to his present or future prospe¬ 
rity. It would be the height of folly to commence a sys¬ 
tem of curtailment by dispensing with any of the neces¬ 
sary implements of the farm; the want of these, would 
certainly produce the evil he designs to avoid. Equally 
erroneous would he be were his retrenchment to fall on 
any of those things necessary to enlarge and inform the 
mind; and thus promote the intelligence, respectability, 
and consequent happiness of himself and family. Far 
better would it be to dispense with a new coat, than with 
the means of instruction; to forego the dainties or luxu¬ 
ries of the table, than to starve the mind. The impor¬ 
tance of this point cannot be too strongly urged on the 
mind of the farmer; or the truth too forcibly or fre¬ 
quently impressed, that economy, or we should rather 
say parsimony, here, is a serious crime, and the means 
of inflicting irreparable injury. So too, if the farmer 
concludes to have little to do with his mechanics, when 
he requires the product of their skill, and is able to re¬ 
ward their labor, he is indirectly injuring himself, and 
positively injuring them. He is compelling them to for¬ 
sake their work benches, or their anvils, and commence 
farmers, a result which would have a tendency directly, 
by increasing the quantity of produce thrown into the 
market, to reduce the price of his own, and thus injure 
himself. Besides, the mechanic cannot be dispensed 
with by the farmer, and the soundest dictates of economy 
would demand that he should receive the encouragement 
and support, his merits and his wants require; or his ser¬ 
vices, when most wanted, may not be within reach, or 
available. It is not in these and similar things, that 
economy should be beg'un; but let the farmer, when he is 
tempted to purchase any thing, ask whether it is neces¬ 
sary to possess it; and if he will further make it a rule 
to invariably pay down for what he purchases, he will 
be astonished at the aid it will give him in becoming 
properly economical. Thousands of farmers have been 
ruined by having such excellent credits. A man’s credit 
is in some respects like his stomach; neither can be 
overloaded or overtasked with safety; and the surest 
sign they are in a healthy condition, is when their func¬ 
tions are performed without his cognizance or attention. 
WORMS. 
If we may credit the accounts which are reaching us 
from all parts of the country, the present year will be 
as noted for the ravages of worms, as for snow storms 
in June. By the way, we find some of our eastern and 
southern friends are inclined to doubt the truth of the state¬ 
ments that great numbers of sheep perished in some of 
our middle and western counties during the storm of rain 
and snow of June 11. There is no room for doub.t. A 
sheep stripped of its fleece, and 'within a few hours ex¬ 
posed, and this was the case with thousands, to a tempe¬ 
rature of 30°, could scarcely escape with life. We have 
known many die after shearing, from exposure to a 
storm, much less cold and severe than that of June. But 
to return from this digression. It seems that the damage 
inflicted this season on the farmer, and fruit grower, by 
worms has not been confined to one kind as is frequently 
the case, but that all varieties or species of these depre¬ 
dators have multiplied and thriven, and that in spite of 
rain or snow, apace. 
In the south and west the army worm has done im¬ 
mense damage. Cotton and corn fields have been rava¬ 
ged; and wherever the millions of this foe have shown 
themselves, from Wisconsin to Louisiana, the crop and 
the hopes of the farmer have disappeared almost in a 
twinkling. In the east the canker worm has committed 
its usual depredations on fruit and forest trees, and given 
ample opportunity for testing the preventive qualities of 
the lead or tin troughs so justly recommended. Every 
where the catterpillar has appeared in thousands, and 
the disfigured and defoliated orchards that are seen 
wherever we go, prove the prevalence of the pest, and 
we add the negligence of the farmer. There can be no 
good reason given why these ravages of the catterpillar 
should be permitted. If taken at the proper season, 
while the worms are m their nests, a little time and care 
will exterminate the whole race; but if left till they are 
scattered over the tree, or if their nests are destroyed 
while the occupants are abroad feeding, the efforts at 
destruction will avail little. It will take years for some 
orchards to recover from the damage they have this year 
received, even should they not perish; and as for fruit, 
the owners will in vain look for it on these trees so 
closely stripped of their flowers and foliage. While 
some of these tribes of depredators have been carrying 
on their operations above ground; another, and scarcely 
less numerous class, have been as active beneath the sur¬ 
face. From all quarters we hear complaints of the da¬ 
mages caused by the wire-worm and the cut-worm, and 
perhaps the farming public have suffered more from these, 
than from all the others combined. The first has been 
most destructive to all kinds of spring grain, and has 
spared few, if any, of the young shoots of the germinat¬ 
ing plants. Whole fields of corn have perished, and 
there are few that have not more or less suffered. Po¬ 
tatoes were much damaged by them last year in some 
places; the wire-worm penetrating them by boring, and 
rendering the surface rough, and subject to decay. In 
the gardens and corn fields, the cut-worm has done much 
damage. Cabbages, beans, melons and cucumbers have 
been cut down, and in some places, or where constant 
attention has not been paid to killing them, the gardens 
may be said to have been destroyed. It is somewhat 
singular that the extreme cold of the winter, the back¬ 
wardness of the spring, or the extraordinary low tem¬ 
perature of the forepart of June, seemed alike ineffectual 
in preventing- the development of these catterpillers and 
worms, or retarding their progress. The origin, the 
transformations and the habits of the most of these in¬ 
sect destructives, have been very satisfactorily determin¬ 
ed; yet the laws which govern their appearance, causing 
them in one year to appear in countless myriads, and in 
another to be almost unknown, have not yet been re¬ 
vealed. Their ravages, however, clearly demonstrate 
that there is no creature so insignificant in itself, as not 
to be able when sufficiently multiplied, to become one 
of the most formidable scourges that visit mankind. 
Encouragement for Farmers _General Dearborn, 
in a late lecture before the farmers in the Massachusetts 
Legislature, declared that 97 out of every 100, who 
obtained their livelihood by selling, failed, or died insol¬ 
vent. These facts were collected from custom house 
books, banks, probate offices, &c. &c. 
