158 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
fruit trees as are exposed to destruction from this source. 
We hope this suggestion willbeacted upon by our farm¬ 
ers ; as it is certain the washing of the trees with this 
preparation could not injure them, and in all probability 
would, when applied about their roots, be an effectual 
stimulus to their growth. 
But the most valuable part of Mr. Wither’s volume, is 
an original essay on the planting and culture of trees in 
general, from the pen of Mr. Simmonds, the well known 
writer on agriculture, the associate of Mr. Johnston in 
the preparation of the Farmer's Encyclopedia lately pub¬ 
lished, and the writer of the notice of the meeting of the 
Royal English Ag. Soc. which appeared in the Sept. No. 
of the Cultivator. The essay embraces the following to¬ 
pics:—1, the situation of a nursery; 2, the soils best 
adapted for that purpose; 3, on lopping, pruning, and 
general management of nurseries; 4, culture and manage¬ 
ment of hardy trees and shrubs; 5, on the diseases and 
casualties of trees ; 6, on the produce and profits of such 
plantations; and 7, the law in regard to timber. The di¬ 
rections for the planting of seeds of the various trees and 
shrubs, are very plain, and as this matter appears to be 
little understood in this country, we shall at an early day 
return to this subject. In the meantime, we can recom¬ 
mend to our readers the perusal of the present volume; or 
which is perhaps still better, Mr. Downing’s excellent 
work on Landscape Gardening. 
FARMER’S MAGAZINE FOR AUGUST, 1842. 
This number of the Magazine contains a fine portrait 
of the justly celebrated Robert Balcewell, a man who was 
the pride of the agriculturists of the last century, and who 
perhaps, more than any other man, by showing what 
could be done in the improvement of animals, has led 
the way to the production of the beautiful and valuable 
stock of various kinds, now the glory of the English farm¬ 
er, and of which so many fine specimens have been in¬ 
troduced into this country, Mr. Bakewell was born at 
Dishley, in Leicestershire, in 1726, and died at the same 
place in 1795. The New Leicester sheep remains the 
proudest monument of Mr. Bakewell’s skill in breeding; 
and it is much to be regretted, that his peculiar policy in 
that department, should have led him to keep the steps 
by which he was so successful, a profound secret, and 
thus lose to the world the great advantages which his 
successors in cattle and sheep breeding, must have other¬ 
wise derived. The memoir which accompanies the 
portrait is well written and instructive. 
The following extract from the monthly article on the 
Corn Trade, we make for the sake of calling attention to 
the part we have italicised, as this is the first intimation 
we have had of the existence of such a practice, a prac¬ 
tice which must be limited, as it can only be followed 
where white corn of a peculiar quality is grown. 
“ Large quantities of wheat, the produce of the United 
States, will be sent across the border, will be converted 
into Canadian flour, and entered for consumption in the 
United Kingdom, on payment of colonial duty. Our 
shipping interest, however, will have the advantage of 
the carrying trade of this American Canadian flour, for it 
cannot be imported here, unless under the British flag. 
Our home wheat growers may also confidently calculate 
on their property being met in our markets during the 
ensuing corn season, by unusually large supplies of wheat 
and flour, direct from various quarters of the United States 
themselves, independently of the quantity that will be 
smuggled into this country in the character of Canadian 
produce. Shipments to a considerable extent continued 
to be made to Europe, but the American millers must cease 
to mix Indian corn with wheat, before confidence can be placed 
in the good baking qualities of American flour.” 
This number contains a most valuable report of Mr. 
Smith’s lecture on Drainage, before the Royal Ag. Soc. 
showing the method and its advantages, most conclusively. 
SUBSOIL PLOWING AND DRAINING. 
In another part of the Cultivator we have alluded to Mr. 
Smith’s excellent lecture on draining and subsoil plow¬ 
ing. The following extracts we think are worthy the 
notice of those who have hitherto been doubtful on this 
subject; and some facts which have lately come to our 
knowledge respecting the use of the subsoil plow in this 
country, have convinced us that its general introduction 
would be of most essential service to our farmers. In 
the course of his lecture Mr. Smith said: 
“ A notion has prevailed with some people that it is 
possible to drain land too much. I do not think so, from 
the very fact that the mold becomes an excellent maga¬ 
zine for the retention of moisture. A circumstance took 
place in regard to this in my district, in 1826, a very dry 
season. In that year there was such a long period of 
dry weather, that the pond was dried up, and there was 
a great deficiency of crops. I had a field which had 
been treated in the way I have described, [drained and 
subsoil plowed,] and I had a crop of hay upon it. The 
hay in the country round was very poor indeed, produc¬ 
ing not above half a crop. On this field which I had 
deepened to 16 inches, I had a very splendid crop. A 
proprietor of land in the neighborhood, one of the old 
school, resisted to the utmost of his conviction with re¬ 
gard to the result of thorough draining and subsoil plow¬ 
ing. A person occasionally employed by me, was also 
engaged in doing work for him. He had asked about 
this hay, and the old gentleman was rather puzzled at 
the state of the crop, and exclaimed that he really thought 
I had drained my land so much that I should have no 
crop at all. He was immediately after this completely 
wedded to the system, and from that day has been vigo¬ 
rously engaged in introducing thorough draining and 
subsoiling all over his estate; and he is now having a 
great deal of poor soil, on a very rich and productive 
estate, treated in the same way. Taking the average of 
that gentleman’s estate, I should say that he now produ¬ 
ces double the quantity of corn that he used to obtain. 
He now grows potatoes where he could not grow them 
before, and on the old clay he produces regular and large 
crops of turneps.” 
In the course of the lecture the question was asked by 
a gentleman—“What effect thorough draining and sub¬ 
soil plowing would have on the habit of throwing out 
the wheat plant by frost? ” To this Mr. Smith answered, 
‘ ‘ There is no difficulty in answering this; because it is 
well known to be owing to the moisture, that the wheat 
plant is thrown out; and whatever removes the moisture 
will have the favorable tendency required. I have 
known many places where almost every winter the 
greater part of the plants were thrown out. Now the 
result of thorough draining and subsoil plowing is, that 
these places retain the plant perfectly well, and have 
very abundant crops.” 
MR. COKE OF HOLKHAM, EARL OF LEICESTER. 
We find in our late foreign journals, biographical noti¬ 
ces of this distinguished agriculturist, one of the most able 
men of the age, and than whom, few have deserved so 
well of their country and mankind. His strict honor and 
probity, his exemplary moral conduct and his political 
integrity, made him respected by the first men in Great 
Britain; and the revolution which his example and in¬ 
fluence effected in the agriculture of no inconsiderable 
portion of that country, gave him a right to the title of 
the Great Farmer, as well deserved as was the celebrated 
Pitt’s, of the Great Commoner. 
The Earl of Leicester, was 91 at the time of his death, 
and for 70 years, he has as a farmer, occupied a most 
conspicuous station. Born to the possession of a princely 
estate, when he came to take charge of it, he found a large 
portion of it leased to a Mr. Butt, and the lease within 
two years of its expiration. The former lease had been 
Is. 6d. per acre; the current lease was 3s. per acre; and 
Mr. Coke offered to renew it at 5s. per acre, which Mr. 
Butt declined, and the proprietor at once assumed the 
management of his immense estate. Ignorant of the 
practical details of agriculture as Mr. Coke found him¬ 
self, he was not ashamed to learn, and he soon col¬ 
lected some practical men around him, and almost from 
the first, instituted annual meetings of the neighboring 
farmers, where agricultural topics were freely discussed, 
and which gaining greater celebrity as they became more 
widely known, and more extensively useful, were the 
foundation of the Holkham sheep shearing meetings, so 
long justly celebrated for their practical utility. 
“West Norfolk, at that time, was a rye growing dis¬ 
trict; his lordship made it a wheat growing one. The 
system of cropping was detestable. Three white crops 
were grown in succession, and when the land would pro¬ 
duce no more, broadcast turneps followed. No manure 
was purchased, and very little produced on the farm. Mr. 
Coke began with two white crops in succession, and kept 
the land in pasture two years in every course. But still 
he could not grow wheat. The land was naturally weak, 
and could be made to produce little food for cattle, so as 
to increase the live stock. The first thing to be done 
was the purchase of manure, and he was induced to try 
rape cake as a top dressing. But the most effective 
source of improvement, was a stratum of rich marl, at va¬ 
rious depths, underneath the surface soil of the district, 
which is a very light sand. Pits were opened, the marl 
dug out, and laid upon the surface. This gave to the soil 
the solidity essential for wheat, which was first raised in 
1787. Clover and other artificial grasses followed, and 
the power of keeping more live stock thus obtained.” . 
After a variety of experiments to ascertain the ani¬ 
mals best adapted to his system of farming and his soils, 
he fixed on the Devons for cattle, the South Downs for 
sheep, and a cross of the Neapolitan andSu®jdk for pigs. 
Mr. Coke was the first to introduce covenants, pre¬ 
scribing the particular course of cultivation to be fol¬ 
lowed, into leases, and in the opinion of Earl Spencer, 
who has given a most interesting memoir of the Earl of 
Leicester in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Soci¬ 
ety for 1842, it was the combination of judicious cove¬ 
nants and long leases, which enabled him to effect such 
great improvements, not only on his own estate, but by 
his example and influence in the whole district. Such 
men as the Earl of Leicester are benefactors of man¬ 
kind; and when the Marlboroughs and Wellingtons of 
his own country are weighed against him, they will be 
found wanting. _ 
“ THE HERD BOOK.” 
We learn by a letter from J, Whitaker, Esq. Eng¬ 
land, to E. P. Prentice, Esq. of this city, that so many 
entries have been made for the forthcoming addition to 
the Herd Book, that it has become necessary to make two 
vols. of it, instead of one, as originally proposed. This 
has also caused the delay which has taken place in its 
publication. Mr. Coates now wishes to include all the 
animals entitled to a place in it, up to the time of its go¬ 
ing to press. Gentlemen in this country who have not 
forwarded their lists of animals, may yet have them in¬ 
serted, by immediately communicating the necessary re¬ 
gisters to Mr. Coates. The vols. now to be issued, will 
be devoted, one to males, (about 2800,) and the other to 
females, of which about SOOO^have been entered. Price, 
one guinea per vol. 
AN AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL. 
Mr. Pedder, has announced in the August number of 
the Farmer’s Cabinet, of which he is the associate editor, 
that he has connected himself with Joseph Cowper- 
thwait, Esq. for the purpose of opening a Farm Insti¬ 
tute on the farm of the latter, which lies on the banks of 
the Delaware, 12 miles above Philadelphia. On this 
farm, which is adapted in every respect to the purpose, 
Mr. Pedder proposes to receive and instruct a limited 
number of young men in the principles and practice of 
Agriculture and Horticulture. The course will embrace 
the cultivation of crops—the rearing of the choicest live 
stock—the system of draining—and the formation and ap¬ 
plication of composts, &c. Much attention will be gi¬ 
ven to the plow and its management, the subsoil one par¬ 
ticularly, the best implements and best stock having al¬ 
ready been selected. The students will have the advan¬ 
tage of studying horticulture in its various branches; 
there being a green house, flower garden, &c. &c. under 
a professed gardener, with an enclosed garden of more 
than two acres. 
That our friend Mr. Pedder will perform all that he 
promises no one can doubt: and we are gratified that he 
has so far advanced in opening the first Agricultural 
School in the United States. We have often urged upon 
some of our wealthy and public spirited farmers, the pro¬ 
priety of farm schools of this kind. Under competent 
managers and practical instructors, they could scarcely 
fail of success; and when once the “ ice is broken,” when 
it is seen by the success of but one school, that individu¬ 
al enterprise is sufficient for their establishment, we may 
hope to see them rising in every state of the Union. Mr. 
Pedder has not given the terms of instruction in his In¬ 
stitute; we presume they can be learned by application; 
and confident that the author of “ Frank,” will make an 
excellent agricultural teacher, we close by wishing him 
and his Institute every success. 
Eden-Hill Farm Institute, 
On the river Delaware, twelve miles above Philadelphia, 
eight miles from Bristol. 
The Editor of the Farmer’s Cabinet, takes the oppor¬ 
tunity of stating to its numerous readers and his personal 
friends, that being relieved in a considerable degree from 
the details of the office, by an arrangement with its pre¬ 
sent proprietor, he is enabled to realize his long cherish¬ 
ed desire, to practice the art of agriculture in this, “ the 
land of his adoption.” To this end, he has connected 
himself with Joseph Cowperthwait, Esq., upon whose 
farm, in every respect adapted to the purpose, he propo¬ 
ses to establish an Institution, for the reception and in¬ 
struction of young men in the principles and practice of 
Agriculture and Horticulture. He will occupy the ele¬ 
gant mansion, now in the tenure of P. L. Laguerrenme, 
Esq., which, for healthfulness and beauty of situation, 
cannot be surpassed; and it will be the study of himself 
and family to tender to their young friends the conven¬ 
iences and comforts of a home. 
The exercises of the institution will embrace the prac¬ 
tice of Agriculture in all its various branches and details 
—the cultivation of the best crops, and the rearing of the 
choicest live stock—the best animals having been select¬ 
ed, and the most approved implements obtained. The 
management of the plow will form a leading feature in 
the course of instruction—sub-soiling will be adopted on 
a regular scale, as well as a system of draining, the for¬ 
mation and application of composts, &c. Horticulture 
will occupy a large share of attention, the students having 
the advantage of studying and practising this branch—the 
care of the flower garden, green house, and culture of 
the vine, under a professed gardener, having the charge 
of a range of houses, with an enclosed garden, of more 
than two acres in extent. 
The estate is bounded on the west by the Bristol turn¬ 
pike; on which, and within its borders, is situated the 
Episcopal church of “All Saints,” with several other 
places of worship in the vicinity. The Trenton and 
New-York railroad passes through the centre of the 
farm; while the river Delaware, its easternmost bounda¬ 
ry, affords repeated daily access by steamboats—a boat in 
regular attendance at Risdon’s ferry, landing passengers 
within a few yards of the line. 
A limited number of students only can be accommoda¬ 
ted ; and as it is the wish of the subscriber to commence 
operations early in the autumn—the commencement of 
the agricultural year—he would be happy to receive ear¬ 
ly applications from those parents and guardians who 
may honor him with their confidence. 
JAMES PEDDER, Office Farmer’s Cabinet, 
ARTIFICIAL WATERING PLACES. 
Several inquiries have been made as to the artificial 
watering places described in a former volume of the Cul¬ 
tivator, by a subscriber, as constructed by Mr. Robertson, 
of Fishkill Landing. The method consisted in merely 
digging a hole in the earth, placing a barrel in the hole, 
which was to be filled with small stones, and then whe¬ 
ther any indications of water had previously existed or 
not, water would soon accumulate and fill the reservoir. 
Considering the plan as unphilosophical at the time, we 
could not vouch for the success of the system; and we 
have since learned nothing respecting it, that has induced 
us to change our first impressions. In the only trial made 
of the plan that has fallen under our notice, it was a com¬ 
plete failure, although made under as favorable circum¬ 
stances as can generally be expected. For ourselves, we 
should have no faith in the plan, and if any have suc¬ 
ceeded, we have not heard of such instances. 
