The operation of this principle may be made apparent by the follow- among the subscribers thereto, in such manner as they may deem most ing experiment:-Take a small tube, with a little water in it, fold a advantageous to the interests of the said institution, and best calcu little lint round it, and having immersed it in ether till the lint is soak-lated to promote its objects. ed through, hold it in the air for the ether to evaporate. The cold. § 8. The stock property and concerns of the said corporation shall produced by the evaporation will cause the water in the tube to freeze. be managed by thirty-two trustees, of whom the governor and lieute -Parke. nant-governor of the state, for the time being, shall always, by virtue of their offices, be two; and the remaining thirty shall be stockholders of the said corporation, and citizens of this state. They shall be elected annually, and any seven thereof shall be a quorum for the transaction of the ordinary business of the said corporation. THE CULTIVATOR-JUNE, 1836. TO IMPROVE THE SOIL AND THE MIND. We publish below, the "act to incorporate the New-York State Ag. ricultural School." The books of subscription to the stock will be kept open by the commissioners, at their several residences, during the month of June, unless sooner filled. This stock, it is believed, will af ford a safe and judicious investment But the law does not appeal to mercenary motives-it has higher aims-its object is to improve the social and moral condition of the state, and to increase the products of its soil;-it is designed to give to productive labor the efficient aid of science, and to concentrate and teach the best modes of practice and to elevate, withal, the intellectual and moral character of that portion of our citizens, who are emphatically the guardians, of our civil and political rights. It is an untried experiment, and if it succeeds according to the hopes and expectations of its friends, similar schools will ere long be established among us. With these high objects in prospect, it is confidently believed, that a disposition will not be lacking, among our philanthropic and enterprising citizens, promptly to lend their means and their influence, in carrying its provisions into effect. An act to incorporate the New-York State Agricultural School, Passed § 8. The persons named in the first section of this act shall be the to one vote on each share of stock owned by him, and which he shall § 1. William L. Marcy, John Tracy, Jesse Buel, Stephen Van Rensselaer, Henry Yates, Gideon Lee, Joab Center, John P. Beckman, Cornelius W. Lawrence, Philip Hone, Benjamin Knower, Gouverneur Og. den, Erastus Corning, James Wadsworth, David E. Evans, Hiram Pratt, § 13. If any trustee of the said corporation, other than the governor Walter Cunningham, Gilbert O. Fowler, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, Ni- or lieutenant-governor, shall cease to be a stockholder thereof, or shall cholas Devereux, Anthony Van Bergen, Garrit Wendell, Archibald M'-remove out of the state, his office shall thereby become vacant; and Intyre, Thomas D. Burrel, John Greig, Thomas W. Olcott, Ziba A. Le- whenever any vacancy shall happen among the trustees, such vacancy land, George P. Oakley, John Delafield, Edward P. Livingston, John|| shall be filled for the remainder of the year in which it shall so happen, Townsend, Lewis F. Allen, and all such persons as now are or may by such person possessing the qualifications above required for trustee hereafter become associated with them, are hereby constituted a body of this corporation, as the remaining trustees for the time being, or a corporate by the name of "The New-York State Agricultural School," majority of them, shall appoint. for the purpose of instruction in literature and science, and improvement in scientific and practical agriculture and the mechanic arts. § 2. The capital stock of said corporation shall be one hundred thousand dollars, with liberty to increase it to two hundred thousand dollars, to be divided into shares of twenty-five dollars each, which shall be considered as personal property, and be assignable in such manner as the said corporation may, in its by-laws, from time to time, provide which said capital stock shall be exclusively devoted to the purposes and objects of the said corporation, as declared in the first section of this act, and to no other purposes or object whatever. And to the same end, the said corporation shall have power to take, hold, and convey real estate to the extent of its said capital. § 3. Jesse Buel, Lewis F. Allen, Henry Yates, John P. Beekman, Joab Center, Walter Cunningham, and John Delafield, shall be commissioners, to receive subscriptions, for, and to distribute the said capital of the said corporation. § 4. The said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall, within thirty days, after the passage of this act, open a subscription book for the said stock, at such times and places as they shall appoint; and they shall give at least fourteen days' previous notice thereof, in at least two of the agricultural papers in this state. § 5. At the first subsciption the capital stock of the said corporation, no subscription above one thousand dollars, by or in behalf of the same individual, shall be received. Five per cent on each share subscribed for shall be paid to the said commissioners at the time of making such subscription, forty-five per cent thereon when afterwards called for by them; and the remaining fifty per cent at the expiration of six months from the time of such subscription. § 6. If the whole of the capital stock of the said corporation be not taken up at the first subscription thereto, the said commissioners, or a majority of them, may receive further subscriptions thereto, from time to time, until the whole capital stock of the said corporation shall be taken up. §14. The trustees of said corporation, as soon as may be after their appointment or election under this act, shall, in like manner, proceed to elect, of their number, a president, two vice-presidents, a treasurer, a recording secretary and corresponding secretary, who shall respectively hold their offices for one year, and until others are elected in their places. They shall also appoint such professors, teachers, agents, and other persons as may be necessary to conduct the proper business, and accomplish the declared objects of the said corporation. § 15. The said trustees shall, as soon as may be, proceed to purchase a farm of about five hundred acres of land, either contiguous to, or near the Hudson river, and as nigh to the city of Albany as may be conve nient; and shall cause to be erected thereon such buildings as may be suitable and necessary, and make all such other arrangements as may be proper for the future business of the said corporation, and for the accomplishment of its objects. § 16. The said corporation, in exercising its power of making by-laws for its own government, shall make it an indispensable requirement that the professors, teachers, and pupils of the school hereby intended to be authorized and established, shall, unless prevented by sickness or other reasonable cause, occupy themselves for at least one-half of the time the said school is in session, between the months, of March and December, either in the practical agricultural business of the farm, or in the laboratories or mechanics' shops connected with said school. § 17. The said corporation shall in no case, out of the profits arising from its business, declare and make a dividend of more than five per cent per annum, upon its actual incorporated capital paid in and possessed; and if at any time after the payment of such dividend, there shall remain any surplus of such profits, it shall be expended in additions or improvements to the farm, buildings, library, apparatus, or other necessary establishments connected with the said institution, or in reducing the price of tuition at the same. 18. The governor shall appoint annually a committee of three persons, whose duty it shall be to visit the said institution, and to report § 7. The said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall, within twelve the condition thereof to the legislature at the commencement of its next months after the passage of this act proceed to distribute the capital session. The members of the said committee shall receive no compenstock of the said corporation among the subscribers thereto; and insation for their services under this act, but their reasonable expenses case there should be subscriptions to more than the amount of such shall be paid by the said corporation. stock, it shall be the duty of such commissioners to apportion the samell §19. The corporation hereby created, shall be subject to the provi sions of the eighteenth chapter of the first part of the Revised Statutes, so far as the same are applicable, and have not been modified or repealed. is required than when sown in drills; though we think a pound enough even when sown broadcast. After Culture-This consists in keeping the ground free from weeds, § 20. This act shall take effect immediately after the passage thereof.the surface loose, and in thinning the plants to the proper distance. RUTA BAGA. The corn cultivator is principally employed. It should be passed through as soon as the rows can be well distinguished. It mellows the ground, "The substitution of green crops [principally turnips] for fallow, on It should be passed both ways in the same interval, in order to perform and destroys the weeds in the intervals, before they attain much size. all but stiff clay lands, has been the greatest of all improvements ever made in agriculture, and has effected as great and beneficial a revolu- the work well. The turnip hoe, described and figured in our last votion in it, as the introduction of the steam-engine and the spinning- should not be left to grow at less distance than eight or ten inches. lume, may then follow to clean the rows and thin the plants, which frame has done in manufactures."-Edin. Qr. Review. The turnip culture began in Great Britain about sixty or seventy Two cleanings with the hoe are all that will be required at most. The years ago, and the ruta baga was of far more recent introduction. It crop may be dressed thrice with the cultivator with advantage, whether has led to the principal improvements in British husbandry. Since its there are weeds or no weeds. Time of Harvesting.-As we have remarked, the roots continue to introduction, the weight of neat fat cattle and sheep, has been doubled: an excellent improving rotation of crops has been introduced; lands grow till checked by frost; and as the late harvested keep best, and have increased in fertility, and, where the turnip culture has most pre- often partially frozen, or covered with snow, before it is gathered; and the tops longest, the ruta baga crop may stand late. The ground is vailed, have quadrupled in products; and the farmer has been enabled to enjoy more largely of the profits of the soil and the comforts of life. it has stood in the ground all winter, particularly the last one, with but The United States are capable of deriving as great advantages from partial injury. the turnip culture as Great Britain has experienced; for although in and they may be topped and tailed, with a bill-book or heavy knife, Mode of Harvesting. The roots may be mostly pulled by the hand; tra labor is fully compensated by the greater advantage our stock de- separately as they are drawn, or laid upon the ground in rows, and then rives from their succulent qualities during our long winters, confined, weather, and secured in cellars or pits as soon as the exterior is sometopped with a knife as they lay. They should be gathered in dry as they otherwise ordinarily are, to dry fodder. The Swedish turnip, what dry, and not exposed to frost after they are pulled; though a or ruta baga, possesses manifest advantages over all other species of the turnip. It gives a greater product; it is more nutritious; it improves smart frost does them no injury while in the ground. by keeping, and by enlarged size-the heavier being richer in nutriment the main reliance of those who cultivate on a large scale, must be pitPreserving the Roots.-Small quantities may be stored in cellars; but than the light; and it may be fed till June or July. We are now feeding ting in the field. For this purpose, select a sandy dry situation, not our last crop, May 14, and have a supply, in good condition, for three liable to be inundated by water, open a pit two to four feet deep, as the or four weeks. We hazard little in saying, that the quantity raised in dryness of the situation will allow, two and a half or three feet wide, northern and western New-York last year, was four times as great as and as long as may be convenient. Fill it with the roots, and raise them any former year, and that most of the farmers who raised them are 18 or 24 inches above the surface of the ground in the form of a ridge; preparing to extend their culture. But as the business is new with cover slightly with straw, and then with dirt. Then with a crow-bar many, we shall venture to prescribe directions, though for the tenth make holes at every two or three feet upon the crown of the ridge, and time, for their culture, with the view of encouraging and aiding be-put into each a wisp of straw, that the impure, or rarified air may at ginners. all times freely pass off. the north the roots must be drawn and secured for winter use, the ex The Soil.-All turnips do best upon a light sandy, gravelly or loamy soil. They do not prosper in a stiff clay, and will not thrive where it is wet. The Swede, in addition to a light soil, requires one that is rich, and which should at least be made so by a good dressing of manure, preparatory to sowing the seed. cattle yard, with great advantage to the stock and the dung heap. The Use of the Crop.-The tops, which are abundant, may be fed in the roots constitute an excellent food for cattle, sheep, hogs and horses, from November to June, though the latter often at first reject them unless they are first steamed or boiled. They increase the milk of cows, without imparting their flavor to the milk or butter where the animals the late winter and spring months, especially to ewes having lambs. Neat cattle and sheep are fattened upon them with facility—the former consuming from two to four bushels per diem, with straw or a little hay. Hogs thrive upon them. Preparation of the Soil.-If an old stiff sod, it may be ploughed the preceding fall, or early in the spring, the manure spread, the ground cross-have daily access to salt. They are peculiarly beneficial to sheep in ploughed, and harrowed before planting. If a young clover lay, which we deem best, it may be mown in June, manured, ploughed, and well harrowed immediately preceding the sowing. If tilled ground, manure and plough deep, and harrow. Sow as soon as possible after the last dressing with the harrow. The soil then contains air and moisture, both essential to the germination of the seed. Mode of Sowing. It is best to sow in drills, at 27 to 30 inches apart. This facilitates the after culture, and permits the surface of the soil to be kept loose, and pervious to heat, air and moisture, the prime agents of vegetable nutrition. A drill barrow greatly economises this labor. With it a man will put in four or five acres in a day. Bement's, Robins', or any drill in common use, will answer. In Great Britain, it is a common practice to drill upon ridges, which is done thus; when the ground has been properly prepared, furrows are first drawn at the distance designed for rows, in which the manure is placed; two furrows are then gathered over the manure, the seed is drilled upon these ridges, and a light roller is passed over, either before or after the seed is deposited. We have tried this mode, but think it preferable to spread the manure, and drill in the seed upon a level surface. In damp or cold grounds, or to economise manure, the ridge system may be preferable. Bone manure is now extensively used in Britain with this crop. It is placed in the drill with the seed, at the rate of 20 to 25 bushels the acre, and tends powerfully to augment the product. Time of sowing.-Cobbett recommended 25th June at Long Island. We prefer the first July at Albany. Much depends on the soil, the aspect and fertility, the coldest and poorest land, and northern aspect, to be sown first. We recommend, that in the extreme north, and in elevated cold districts, the sowing be done from the 10th to the 20th June; in our latitude, upon warm soils, from the 20th to the 30th June; and later as we proceed south; and that far to the south, they should not be sown till the summer heats have abated-say the last of August. The Swede is a hardy plant, native of a northern climate, and grows till the ground is absolutely frozen. Hot weather is unfriendly to a good crop of roots. Quantity of Seed.-We allow a pound to the acre, though less suffices. It is better to have an excess of plants, to be thinned on cleaning the crop, than to have vacancies. The seed is of little relative value compared to the roots which it produces. If sown broadcast, more seed Product and Profits.-From many years' experience, we estimate, as We may assume the following as the average expense of cultivating an average product, under good management, 600 bushels to the acres. and harvesting an acre: One ploughing and a thorough harrowing, $2.50 15.00 1. 00 075 1 25 4.50 375 $23 75 which divided by 600, the number of bushels, would bring the cost of the roots below five cents the bushel. But if we abate half the cost o the manure for the after crops, and allow a fair consideration for the tops, say $5, it will reduce the cost of the roots to less than three cents a bushel. Now a cow or bullock will do well and thrive upon two bushels a day; hence an acre will afford 300 daily rations, or maintai five cows 60 days, at the actual cost of $16.25, or $3.25 for each the two months. Let us contrast this expense with that of feeding hay We believe a ration of hay is 28 lbs. Let us suppose it to be 25 lbs Then to keep the five cows 60 days would require 7,500 lbs., or 3 tons 1 cwt. hay, which, at a fair medium price of $10 a ton, would amoun to $37.50-making a difference in favor of the turnips of $21.25, c nearly three-fifths. Let us test the relative profits in another way The average product of our grass lands is about two tons the acresay the product of two acres would be 7,500 pounds, then the produ of an acre in ruta baga would go about as far in feeding stock as th product of two acres in meadow; with the further advantage, wher the turnips are sown upon a young clover lay, that one-half the ha may also be cut from the acre which produces the 600 bushels of tu nips, the latter being raised as a second crop. But ruta baga is seldo fed alone. Every farm furnishes corn stalks, straw and other materials, which can only be fed profitably on the farm, and which are fed to advantage with turnips. Nor is it convenient at all times, in this latitude, to feed the turnips during the severe cold winter; but as the mild weather of spring advances, they are peculiarly grateful, and may be readily fed to all kinds of farm stock. There are vaFig. 1. rious devices in use for cutting or slicing the roots. The turnip spade, (fig. 1,) is an instrument with four blades, at right angles to each other. The turnip, or other root, is struck as it lies upon the ground, or in the feeding trough, and thus at one stroke divided into four parts. A meat chopper, with a long handle, termed a snick, is also advantageously employed to reduce the roots to a suitable size. A new and excellent mode of preparing the roots for feeding, is to grate them, and feed with cut straw, stalks or hay. We have heard of some ingenious machines for this purpose, which perform the work with great facility, and which we hope soon to be able to see and describe satisfactorily. We have seen a model of Robins' turnip slicer, of which we cannot yet speak with confidence, not having seen it in operation. The price of this machine is $10. The British mode of cultivating this crop, which is particularly adapted to moist, cold, or tenacious soils, or to farms where manure is scarce, is illustrated by the following cuts, which also serve to show, with trifling variation, their mode of cultivating the potato, which is mostly managed with but little use of the hand hoe. For this purpose the double mould board plough may be employed, but the single plough is preferred, as it does the work better, though it requires double the time. In the potato culture, the sets or seeds, are deposited upon the manure before it is covered with earth, at the distance of 8 or 10 inches. The turnip seed is sown upon the top of the ridges, above the manure, with a horse or hand drill, the former of which has a roller which precedes the coulters, and flattens the ridges, as shown in Fig. 5. In the potato culture, in 10 or 14 days after the seed has been planted, the field is harrowed crosswise, which nearly levels the ground. In the turnip culture, as soon as the plants have assumed what is term ed the rough leaf, and are about two inches in height, the process of hoeing commmences. This is done by turning first a light shallow furrow from the plants, or by the horse hoe, or cultivator with lateral coulters. The field will then assume the appearance indicated in Fig. 6. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. Cheap Paint.-A. Higgins inquires, in relation to Mr. Van Eps' cheap paint, described in our February number, 1. Whether water lime and water cement are the same? They are. 2. Whether the water lime is to be mixed with skimmed milk only? We understand that the lime and milk are the only materials employed. And, 3. Whether it will not be likely to be washed off by rains before it has thoroughly dried? We think not, if used in fair weather; and if we are wrong, Mr. Van Eps will set us right. Marl.-We have received samples of marl from the neighborhood of Schenectady, and from Cortlandville; and as soon as we can obtain an analysis, we will notice the results. The subject of marling has become one of deep interest, and every farmer who has this mineral should promptly test it upon his soil, leaving, an adjoining section unmarled. This is the best test of utility. An experiment, or a number of experiments, upon different soils, will cost but little labor; and the results may lead to very important advantages. The distinguishing characteristic of marl is lime in its natural state. Dry a sample, and pour upon it strong vinegar. If it contains lime it will effervesce-the vinegar having a stronger affinity for the base than carbonic acid with which it is naturally combined, the latter is driven out, which causes the ebullition. The richness of the marl depends in a measure on the proportion of lime which it contains. The books tell us, that the lime should amount to thirty per cent to render it worth applying. But the books are wrong: for even sand upon clay, or clay upon sand, are beneficial applications to improve the soil; the only question being, how far the benefits will repay the expense of application. The earthy materials of the soil are to plants, what the stomach is to animalsthe recipient of food, and the laboratory of the main process of nutrition. The presence of clay, lime and sand, are all essential in the soil, to enable it to perform its healthful functions. Where either of these is naturally deficient, it may be artificially supplied with manifest advantage. The mere earths are no more the food of vegetables, though some contend that they are requisite to give firmness to their structure, than the coats of the stomach, or the gastric juice are food to the animal-animal and vegetable matters, or their elements, constituting the true food of animals and plants. In reply to Mr. Loomis' other inquiries, we remark, that we know tice is, to make the ground rich, and to sow thick and late. We have of no certain preventive of the ravages of the turnip fly. Our pracnot lost a crop by the fly in fifteen years. The orange carrot is a field carrot. This crop should be sown in drills, at eighteen to twenty-four inches apart, and thinned to six or eight inches in the row. No preparation of the seed is required. The subject of teazles shall receive an early and more detailed notice. The potency of New-Jersey mail, in imparting fertility and value to light or exhausted lands, is fully illustrated in another column. Samples of this marl may be seen at the Cultivator office. Madder. We have complied with the requests of C. T. Smith, and S L. Loomis, in publishing, from Radcliff's Flanders, rules for managing the madder crop, though the requests did not reach us in time for our May number. It is not wholly the Flemish mode. The Fle when obtained, very troublesome and vexatious." mings plant in beds two and a half and three feet broad, and gather rid of much human machinery, which is often difficult to obtain, and the crop the second year. Ten or twelve days after the roots are gathered, they put them in an oven moderately heated, and when sufficiently dried, gently beat them with a flail, to get rid of the clay that may adhere to them. The roots are then ground and sifted, dried again in the oven for a short time, and then spread upon a hair cloth to cool. The madder is afterwards carried to a bruizing mill, reduced to a fine powder, and packed in barrels for market. Woad. We propose, in our next, to publish, in compliance with the request of Milo Bartholomew, and for the general information of our patrons, directions for cultivating woad, for preparing woad cakes, and the mode of extracting indigo from the woad. This dye weed, we believe, may be profitably raised by our farmers; the manufacturer's demand for it is daily increasing; and its culture is becoming important in a national point of view. Liming.-John Smith, of Morristown, N. J. gives us his experience in applying lime to low-land, the effect was to double the crops of buckwheat and corn, which were subsequently taken from the ground. As Mr. S. has omitted to state the quality of the soil, or the contents of the field on which he applied fifty bushels of lime, we content our selves with this notice of his communication. Analysis of Soils.-In compliance with the request of L. B. Armstrong, we give directions for analyzing soils. We extract them from a treatise on agriculture, written by Gen. John Armstrong. It is the mode recommended by the French chemists. "1st. Take a small quantity of earth from different parts of the field, the soil of which you wish to ascertain, mix them well together and weigh them; put them in an oven heated for baking bread, and after they are dried weigh them again; the difference will show the absorbent power of the earth. When the loss of weight in 400 grains amounts to 50, this power is great, and indicates the presence of much animal or vegetable matter; but when it does not exceed 20, the absorbent power is small, and the vegetable matter deficient.-[See also Davy's Elements.] "2. Put the dried mass into a vase, with one-fourth of its own weight of clear water; mix them well together; pour off the dirty water into a second vase, and pour on as much clear water as before; stir the contents, and continue this process until the water poured off is as clear as that poured on the earth. What remains in the first employed vase, after these washings, is sand, silicious or calcareous. "3. The dirty water, collected in the second vase, will form a deposite, which, after pouring off the water, must be dried, weighed and calcined, that is, reduced to a powder. On weighing it after this process, the quantity lost will shew the quantity of animal and vegetable mould contained in the soil; and, "4. This calcined matter must then be carefully pulverized and weighed, as also the first deposite of sand, but without mixing them. To these apply, separately, sulphuric acid, and what they, (the earths and acids together) lose in weight, indicates the portion of calcareous earth contained in them. What remains in the first vase, after deducting the lime, is silex; that in the other, alumina." Carbonate of lime, termed calcareous earth, is composed of 55 parts of lime and 45 parts of carbonic acid; this acid is displaced and driven off by the muriatic acid, in consequence of its stronger affinity for the base. Hence, if the earths and acid weigh 45 grains less after the mixture than before, supposing the quantity experimented upon to be 400 grains, it shows that 45 grains of carbonic acid has been driven off, and that the soil contains 25 per cent of calcareous earth, or one-fourth. The proportion of this earth in good soils, varies from 10 to 30 per cent. Benefit of clay to farm stock in winter.-We have often been told of the efficacy of clay to farm stock, and particularly to sheep, in winter; that it served as a salutary corrective to the animal stomach, when surcharged with acid, or its heathful powers otherwise deranged. A communication which we solicited from Dr. Butler, of Oxford, which related to the experience of Mr. G. Vanderlyn, was inadvertently omitted in our last. We have since been favored with a communication from Mr. Vanderlyn, on the subject, which will be found under the head of correspondence. The subject is worthy of the attention, and we think experiment, of the cattle and sheep farmer. COL. POWELL'S STOCK. Among the earliest importers of the improved Short Horn Cattle, was Col. JOHN HARE POWELL, of Philadelphia. At great expense and with great care in his selections, he made two or three importations between 1820 and 1830; and many of the finest animals in our country may be traced back to his stock. Col. Powell being about to relinquish his farming, to travel in Europe, has sold off his remaining stock at auction. We are indebted to our friend, Dr. Mease, for a catalogue of these fine animals, with the prices at which they sold, and the names of the purchasers, which latter were, we understand, mostly from the western states. We subjoin a part of the schedule, to advise our readers of the high value to which the short horns have attained. Animals. No. 1. Mandane, imported bull, 2. Ohio, 17 months old, 3. Mandane II. 2 years old, 4. Bellina II... 5. Bellina III. calf,. 6. Bertram II. 2 years old, 7. Desdemona II. 2 years, 20. Daphne,. 21. Daphne, II. 22. York Belle, 2 years,. Purchasers. Price. $600 The whole lot averaging $365 each. Who, after this, will doubt the propriety, or the profit, of rearing this valuable breed of animals. handed to us the following remarks: A correspondent who was present at Mr. Powell's sale, has kindly "The animals were in fine condition, and were very much admired by the numerous spectators. Mr. Powell certainly deserves great credit for his liberal exertions to introduce this superior breed of cattle into this country; and the above catalogue of his sale, will show how far he has been remunerated for his expense and trouble. Much benefit may be expected from the distribution of this herd. They were confined, however, to Connecticut, N. Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky. To analyze Marl.-Pour a few ounces of diluted muriatic acid into a flask, place them in a scale, and let them be balanced. Then reduce a "Although the prices for which they were struck off, would appear few ounces of dry marl into powder, and let this powder be gradually high to many, still, they are much below what the same blood could be thrown into the flask, until, after repeated additions, no farther efferve- obtained for in England. Those imported by the Ohio Co. and passed scence is perceived. Let the remainder of the powdered marl be weigh-through this city last summer, would not compare with these in symed, by which the quantity projected will be known. Let the balance metry of form or blood-like appearance, although they were obtained be then restored. The difference in weight between the quantity pro- at high prices. jected and that requisite to restore the balance, will show the weight of air (carbonic acid gas) lost during effervescence. If the loss amounts to 13 per cent, or from 13 to 32 per cent, the marl assayed is calcareous marl, or marl rich in calcareous earth. Clayey marls, or those in which the argillaceous ingredient prevails, lose only 8 or 10 per cent of their weight by this treatment, and sandy marls about the same proportion. The presence of much argillacious earth may be judged of by drying the marl, after being washed with the spirit of salt, (muriatic acid,) when it will harden and form a brick-See Orfila's Practical Chemistry. A correspondent, J. A. writes, among the machinery mentioned in the Cultivator, Concklin's Revolving Press Harrow, is a great desideratum in farming, and to the ordinary roller adds many, if not all the advantages, of Gen. Beatson's Scarifying Machines. Can this be had at Albany or its neighborhood?" We answer, not at present; but some are soon expected. Again. "If the Mowing Machine be found to do its duty well, the owners of grass farms will become rich, besides getting "The great objections to the colour of this breed are fast giving way, and the time is not far distant when the pure unalloyed Durhams will supersede the present race now in this country. Ohio and Kentucky have entered into the spirit of improvement with a zeal and determination, highly to be approved of; and they now possess more of that breed than all the other states put together. Other states will follow the example, and the demand will increase. The importance of breeding from animals with correct and pure pedigrees, is beginning to be appreciated. Is he or she, as the case may be, thorough bred, and can you glve a full pedigree? is the first question now asked. In England they are as tenacious of the pedigree of their cattle, as the Arabs are of their horses." GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. Our legislature have passed an act providing for a geological survey of the state. Similar surveys have already been made in the states of Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, and we believe Tennessee. The promoting that union between the sciences of Geology and Agriculture, Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland have directed their attention which it is the patriotic object of the Highland and Agricultural Socie to like surveys, and some luminous reports have already been render-ty of Scotland to effect." ed. From one of these, Mr. Miln's, on the geology of Berwickshire, we make the following extract, showing some of the benefits to agriculture, which are likely to result from geological surveys. ESSEX (MASS.) AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. We love to refer our readers to this society, because it is an old one, "The connexion between agriculture and geology being thus so close has done and is doing much good, and its organization and means proand apparent, the only remaining question is, in what way can a ration. Its permanent vested funds exceed $6,000, the income of which mise to perpetuate its usefulness. It has been eighteen years in ope knowledge of geology be rendered practically useful to the farmer? is about $600; and other $600 are annually drawn from the state treaA few observations may now be added on this head. "1. The farmer, knowing, from experiments or observation, the sury, thus affording the society about $1,200 per annum, to be awardsoils which are best fitted for agricultural purposes, should ascertained in premiums, and to defray expenses. Their proceedings are an what the rocks are, in any particular district, and whether they are nually published in a handsome 8vo. pamphlet, of about 100 pages, such as are likely to produce, by their disintegration, rich and abun the last of which has been kindly sent to us by the secretary, J. W. dant crops. If the rocks are entirely silicious, he ought to add alu. Proctor, Esq. The address affords a happy illustration of the advanmine and carbonate of lime in certain proportions to the soil, in order tages which have resulted from agricultural societies down east. "I to effect a proper admixture. If, in like manner, there is too much suppose," (we quote the words of a reverend clergyman) that ten argillaceous matter supplied by the subjacent strata, in consequence of bushels of rye to the acre, twenty of Indian corn, one ton of English which the soil is wet and otherwise unfavorable, then he should cor- hay, and 200 bushels of potatoes, were formerly considered as average crops. Since premiums have been offered, we have claims for rect the evil by the addition of sand. "But how little are these things attended to by farmers? The from forty to fifty bushels of rye, from one hundred to one hundred only mineral substance which they ever think of adding to their land is and twenty-two of corn, from three to four tons of hay, and from four lime, and that without any attempt or desire previously to find out, confined to single acres; in several instances the products of entire to five hundred bushels of potatoes. Our improvements have not been whether there may not be already more than enough of calcareous matter in the soil, and whether it would not be less expensively and more ef- farms have been more than quadrupled." fectually improved by the mixture of some other substance. We extract from the pamphlet of 1835, some facts from which oth“2. The agriculturist, if he knows the formations in different parts early in May, one-third late in that month, and the other third 10th ers may profit. D. Putnam drilled in half an acre of corn, one-third of the country, with the character of which he is not otherwise ac- June, to furnish a succession of green food for his cows. The produce quainted, is thus enabled to select that part which is most likely to amounted to eight tons. Mr. Putnam has an acre of irrigated mea. yield a fertile soil; and the same remark which applies to a person who is about to commence farming operations in an unknown district, dow, the product of which was one and a half tons of hay! Elias Phinney, of Lexington, raises three good crops with one plough applies also to the case of a person purchasing an estate. If he is desirous of having land capable of yielding luxuriant crops, he willing, viz: corn, rye and grass. His practice is, to manure well a piece prefer the new red sandstone district, and avoid the coal-measures. of greensward, plough and plant it with corn in drills; cultivate su If he is in search of rich sheep pastures, he will select the trap hills perficially, so as not to break the sod, but never to make hills; gather and not the greywacke, far less the granitic chains. Such information his corn crop, then run a shallow furrow through the rows, sow rye and timothy, and smooth off with a bush harrow-the second year cut may, no doubt, be of less use in a country like Great Britain, where his rye, and the third year his grass. Two acres thus managed, proevery facility exists for the examination of the soil itself; but it is easy duced 140 bushels corn, 694 bushels rye and five tons of hay in three to see how a knowledge of the rock formations may, both to farmers and intending purchasers, be of the greatest use in unknown regions of the earth, such as Canada, America, and New South Wales, where no other means exist of discovering previously the productiveness of the land. "3. Nothing to the farmer is so important as a knowledge of the causes of wetness and dryness in the soil, and of the means which he should adopt to correct any excess of either. Some of his crops may bear or require a drier soil than others; and if he knows the nature of the rocks which occur in different parts of his farm, he will also know those parts of it where the water will easily escape of itself through the subjacent strata, and those where he must himself supply those means of drainage which nature has denied. At the same time he is enable to select those parts of the soil which, by their natural dryness or moisture, are the best adapted for particular crops. "4. A knowledge of the position of the strata also enables the farmer to obtain a supply of water when he requires it, and thereby to save him much trouble and expense in searching for it. For if he makes himself acquainted with the nature, direction, and dip of the rocks, he can tell in what direction the water which filters through the soil will run, and whereabouts it will probably burst out in the form of a spring. "It is known to Berwickshire farmers, that drains which run in a north and south direction, do not carry off from the land one-half the quantity of water, which drains running east and west carry off. One reason probably is, that as in the former case the drains cross the croppings of the strata, the water escapes between their edges; whereas the drains that run east and west are parallel with the edges of the strata, Another reason may be found in the fact, that the greater part of Berwickshire consists of undulating ridges, which run east to west; -so that the drains that are cut in that direction are necessarily long-|| er, and collect more water than the drains which cross these ridges. 5. To an agriculturist, and especially to landlords who are anxious to improve their estates, by building offices and walls, a knowledge of the places where good building materials may be found and quarried, is of the greatest consequence. But without some acquaintance with the nature and relative position of the rocks in a district, it is quite impossible to discover the particular spot where stone can be found, and to what depth it must be bored for. "These are a few of the most obvious advantages which would result to agriculturists, if their art were aided by a knowledge of geology. Into this subject, however, the author forbears to enter at greater length; for he finds that his paper has already exceeded all reasonable limits. But enough has been said, it is hoped, in the brief though imperfect sketch which has been given, to show the great expediency of VOL. III. ** seasons. Colman, on cutting and preparing food for cattle and horses, in which The pamphlet contains an interesting paper, drawn up by the Rev. H. many facts are adduced to show the saving of fodder effected by the practice. We quote two of the many cases in the statement: 1. In 1816, Mr. Hale, proprietor of a line of stages running from Newburyport to Boston, purchased for his stable, from April 1 to October 1, six months, and fed uncut, 32 tons, 4 cwt. 10 lbs. hay, at $25 per ton, $800 00 From October 1 to April 1, 1817, he purchased for the same teams, and cut, Straw 16 tons, 13 cwt. 3 qrs. 10 lbs. Hay 13" 14" 1 0 " Deduct on hand April 1, by estimation, four tons more than there was Oct. 1, at $25 per ton,........ $160 23 .... $510 23 410 23 $390 77 Saving, by the use of the straw cutter, in six months, " The horses had the same allowance of grain during both periods. 2. Mr. Shelden, of Beverly, took accurate account of the feed required for his stock of fifty-one head of horses and neat cattle, when fed uncut and when cut; the result was, he saved $2.86 per day by cutting his fodder, besides "an increase of six gallons of milk per day from his thirty-five cows," and "likewise something for the improvement of the condition of his whole stock." The trustees seem wisely determined to make provision for the next generation, in articles in the first necessity, wood and timber, by encouraging the planting of forest trees. They offer premiums amounting to $240, for the greatest number of oak, locust, larch, white ash and chesnut trees, raised from seed on an acre, the number in each case not to be less than a thousand. They also offer premiums amount |