The Poultry Ford.

THE POULTRY SHOW AT UTICA

were on hand, and some of them, especially the Silver Spangled Poland, were very superior. In short all the varieties called for by the Premium list, and many others, were out, and in such character and plumage as to command the admiration of all who saw them: but, unfortunately for the finances and reputation of the society, the citizens of Utica manifested but very little interest in the show. The attendance was very small, and the receipts correspondingly so.

The committee of gentlemen to whom was committed the arduous task of deciding the comparative merits of all the different varieties of Gallinaceous and Aquatic fowls, had indeed, a laborious task. They were Francis Roteh, John Giles and Daniel Barker. A SPECTATOR.

We have received the Report of the awarding committee, from which it appears that of the fifty-six prizes awarded, 15 first, one 2d and two 3d prises, were given to D. S. Heffron, Utica-six 1st and seven 2d, to E. E. Platt, Albany--one 1st and four 2d, to Thomas

The N. Y. State Poultry Show came off at Utica last week as advertised, at Mechanic's Hall, a fine room for the purpose. The show, taken as a whole, has probably not been surpassed by any previous show in this country.

The variety on exhibition was great-almost endless, and many of the specimens beautiful. Some of the largest contributors were D. S. Heffron of Utica, E. E. Platt of Albany, and H. Johnson of Patterson, N. J.

Geo. Anderson of Albany, Geo. Snyder of Rhinebeck, Mr. Hart of Clinton and Mr. Wright of Utica, each exhibited several coops.

John Giles, Esq. of Woodstock, Conn., exhibited five coops of most rare and beautiful Aquatic fowls; among them was the Cereopsis Goose, a great curiosity, and perhaps the only specimen in this country-a pair of Egyptian Geese, very peculiar and attractive, and also Rouen, Black Java and Aylesbury Ducks. Mr. Giles has recently returned from Europe with those and many other valuable and rare specimens of Aquatic and Gallinaceous fowls.

The large Asiatic fowls were predominant in the show, and certainly very creditably acquitted themselves, fully sustaining the reputation they have heretofore enjoyed. They would have done even more, had not the old birds, especially the males, appeared somewhat to disadvantage, not being in full plumage. Their name was legion, and their nomenclature, generally sensible, being Grey, Black, Buff, White or Dominique Shanghai, as the case might be. One coop, however, of fine Grey Shanghais, entered by T. B. Miner of Clinton, was prominently labelled "Brahma Pootra."

The Black Spanish were fine, though the committee found but one really pure bred bird of this variety, on which to bestow a premium. This was a cock said to have been obtained from John Giles, Esq.

White and Speckled Dorkings were fine. Gold and Silver Spangled, and Penciled Hamburghs, were prominent in the house. All the varieties of Poland fowls

Cummings, Rochester-two 1st to A. A. Hudson, Syracuse one 2d, to Geo. Anderson, Albany-one 1st, to J. W. Herring, Marcellus-ene 2d, to T. B. Miner, Clinton-one 1st and one 2d, to R. H. Van Rensselaer, Morris, for Speckled Dorkings-one 2d, to Israel French New-York Mills-one 1st, to J. F. Kettle, Utica-one 1st, to John Erwin, Utica-one 1st, to R. H. Avery, Wampsville-two 1st, to D. Burgess, Winfield-one 1st and one 2d, to 0. S. Cumings, Trenton Falls-one 2d, to Oliver Wilson, Whitesboro-and to F. W. Collins, East Bloomfield, 1st, for Pigeons, and to Thomas Gould, Aurora, the 1st for Rabbits.

Appended to the Report is the following letter, which explains itself. It is a very common thing to hear complaints-sometimes loud-of injustice done them by awarding committees; but we do not remember before to have seen an instance where an exhibitor protested that he had received more than was his due.

UTICA, Dec. 1, 1854. SIR-In connection with the report of the Judges of the late State Poultry Show, allow me to make a statement. As appears from the report, my birds have been unusually successful in the contest for premiums, sixteen out of twenty distinct varieties exhibited, being so honored. This was more than I expected, and more than I honestly think they deserved. And I am strongly of the opinion that, had they had more time, they would have come to a different conclusion in two or three cases. First, I think Geo. Anderson, of Albany, should have received the second premium on Buff Shanghae instead of myself. I suspected that the Clerk of the Committee had made a mistake in the entry, as my birds stood immediately over Anderson's, but he avers that he did not. In some respects, I think, Thomas Wright's Sumatra Games were better than mine, and should have been perfectly satisfied had they awarded my birds the second premium, instead of the first.

My Silver Spangled Hamburg fowls were awarded the first premium; and it is my impression that had they not stood in a dark place, where their defects could not well be discerned, they would have received no premium. So, had I been judge, my Silver Pencilled Hamburghs or Creoles would have received no premium; for, though their combs, earlobes, and formis were correct, there was some defect in markings. L. M. Tay.

50

The Deutzia Scabra. This is a beautiful hardy flowering shrub, from Japan. Flowers, white, in May and June-is a free bloomer, and worthy a place in all shrubberies.

DOUBLE FLOWERS.

The London Horticultural Cabinet of 1847, as quoted in Hovey's Magazine, says that merely planting the fresh seeds of double flowers does not at all insure double flowers again, nor even increase the liability over any other seed similarly used. But that, to obtain them, the seed must be kept several years, or to the extreme verge of vitality, when their vegetating power or vital force has become nearly expended, and that this will result in those imperfect or unnatural productions known as double flowers. In the words of the article alluded to,—

If, after having gathered the seeds of Malcomia annua, or Ten-weeks' stock, we sow them immediately afterwards, the greatest number of the seedlings will produce single flowers, whilst, on the contrary, if we preserve these same seeds for 3 or 4 years, and then Sow them, we shall find double flowers upon nearly all the plants. To explain this phenomenon, we say, that in keeping a seed for several years, we fatigue it and weaken it. Then, when we place it in a suitable soil, we change its natural state, and from a wild plant make it a cultivated one. What proves our position is, that plants, in a wild state, shedding their seeds naturally, and sowing them as soon as they fall to the ground, yet in a long sucession of time scarcely ever produce plants with double flowers. We thiuk then, after what we have said, that whenever a gardener wishes to obtain double flowers, he ought not to sow the seeds till after having kept them for as long a time as possible. This practice ought to be observed with all plants that we wish should produce double flowers, for all varieties of the Brompton stocks, Ten-week stocks,

and others of the same kind, there is no doubt that to flower them well they should be sown in autumn in well-worked soil, taken up when the cold weather comes and kept under a frame during the winter. In the spring they may be planted out again, when they will flower magnificently, and yield an abundant harvest of seer's. If you have not a frame at your disposal, you' may obtain the same result, by sowing the seeds at the end of February, under a south wall, for example. The principles that we have admitted above are just as applicable to melons and all plants of that family. We admit, like many other observers, that melon plants obtained from seeds the preceding year ought to produce, and do produce, really vigorous shoots, with much foliage; but very few fruitful flowers appear on such ́ plants; whilst, on the other hand, when we sow old seeds, we obtain an abundance of very large fruit. In fact, in all varieties of the melon the seeds should always be kept from three to eight years, before being sown, if we would obtain fine fruit, and plenty of it.

Can any of our skillful and observant gardeners vouch for the truth of this statement? It would be an easy thing to give it a fair trial. If true with regard to melons and cucumbers, it ought to be known more widely, and it may be easily proved by trying the experiment with a few repetitions with old and new seed, planted in equal quantities and under similar circumstances in all respects.

Fair and Productive Apples.

THE MCLELLAN.-Every day, almost, brings up some new variety of apple, highly recommended for its good qualities. On examination, we usually find these new sorts overrated, and that at best, they are a little, perhaps a very little below the point entitling them to cultivation. They are almost worthy of attention. Up to this "point of decided value," although there are very many candidates, few ever reach; like the many thousand men now living who are looking towards the Presidency, but very few get there-(although we must admit that in the latter instance, unlike the former, the best rarely get the highest.)

The character of our seasons and the success of the apple crop, seem to point towards a still further reduction in the list of those worthy of general adoption. A large portion of such as in flavor would be entitled to the term "very good," if not "best," are becoming either unproductive, or very scabby. This is enough to spoil the reputation of any fruit, no matter what may be its excellence in quality. Whenever, therefore, a new variety is brought forward, the first question, after inquiring its quality, should be, "Is it fair and productive through all seasons?"

Among those varieties which answer this question in the affirmative, are the Sops of Wine, Duchess of Oldenburgh, Porter, Lowell, Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, Talman Sweeting, Roxbury Russet, Peck's Pleasant, Fall Orange, and a few others, some of which although not of the highest quality, yet are so fair and productive as to stand high on the list for real value. The McLELLAN, so far as we can learn, will probably come in the same list. This variety was first described in the Horticulturist in 1847, about which time we received specimens from Connecticut, its native locali

The McLellan Apple. ty, through the hands of CHARLES DOWNING, and had an opportunity of testing its quality. H. S. RAMSDELL, of Thompson, Ct., who first brought it into notice, says (according to the Horticulturist,) that it is as good a bearer as the Rhode Island Greening and Roxbury Russet, and that it gives crops of fine fruit when the usual apple crop is exceedingly small. He also states that it has borne good crops when these two celebrated sorts have failed. The tree is a moderate grower.

The following description was prepared from the specimens before us; Rather large, nearly round, faintly inclining to oblong; skin smooth, very handsomely colored with short broken stripes, and finely mottled, with a bright pure red, on a yellow ground, stalk one half to three fourths of an inch long, in a moderately deep cavity; calyx in a moderate wavy basin. Sometimes both cavity and basin are rather deep. Flesh nearly white, very tender, fine grained, with a very agreeable, slightly sub-acid, but not very rich flavor. Season, first half of winter.

Accuracy and Guess-Work in Draining.

In order that the fine and delicate net-work of fibres which constitute the smaller roots of every plant, may extend freely through the soil, and be fed liberally with the nourishment they need, the soil must be mellow and porous, and moderately moist. If the ground is hard, they caunot easily penetrate it; if too dry, they cannot get nourishment from it; and if soaked with water, they can no more grow than a hill of corn planted in the bottom of a pond.

Now, it may seem paradoxical to assert that the best way to prevent land from becoming too dry, is to drain it; yet such is the fact. A soil that is deluged in! spring, has the particles which the frost of winter has crumbled, packed together again like a bed of mortar. It thus loses its sponge-like character, and cannot hold the water which fills it. It dries and hardens like a brick as the hot weather approaches. It can neither

retain a useful amount of moisture nor allow the fine rootlets to penetrate its hardened mass. It has become, in short, every way unfitted for the sustenance and growth of erops.

What a striking contrast there is in the two ways by which land becomes dry, whether by the slow process of spontaneous drying, or by the rapid artificial mode through tubular tiles. In the former case, the thousands of 'barrels of surplus water which fill a single acre of soil, must ooze drop by drop across the whole breadth of the field before it can escape at the lower side, or be gradually dried up by the almost imperceptible process of spontaneous evaporation, during the weeks of warm weather that follow the rains of spring. But on a well drained field, the escaping water sweeps rapidly from one side of the field to the other, through the smooth tubes of evenly laid tile, and the whole process is accomplished within a few hours.

These advantages are fully known to some of our best farmers, and is demonstrated in their practice, and we need not dwell longer upon them. But there is one part of the process of draining, that has been performed very much at hap-hazard, even by the most skillful managers. We mean here the total want of calculation, as to the amount of water to be conveyed off through the proposed ditch, and consequently an entire absence of any accurate knowledge as to the size of the tubular tile required. It is our purpose at the present moment to point out how this calculation can be easily performed, so that every operator may determine with much certainty beforehand, whether his pipes will be likely to be nearly empty on the one hand, or be insufficient to carry off all the water, on the other.

The first question is, how shall we know how much water a given drain is expected to carry. This may be determined if we know the circumstances. If, for example, no more water occupies the soil than that which falls upon it, we may assume that not over two inches in depth will at any time constitute the surplus. Few rains or snow-meltings ever amount to this depth; and as a part is needed on the land, this will be a safe estimate for extreme cases. Now, two inches of rain would be about 700 hogsheads per acre, which ought to be discharged at furthest in 48 hours of time. On a square ten-acre lot, with drains 33 feet apart, each drain would therefore be required to carry off half of this amount of water-that is, from a strip of land two rods wide and forty rods long. This would be about 175 hogsheads in 24 hours. The size of the pipe required must depend greatly on the slope of the field; and to determine this under all the varying circumstances the following general rule will be found of much value :

Let L, represent the tube of the drain, in the annexed figure, (Fig. 1.) The letter H may represent,

This may be thus expressed in words:-Divide the height (10) by the length (1320) which gives multiply this quotient by the fifth power of the diameter (fifth power of 232); extract the square root of the product, which being multiplied by 0.608, will give 0.29, the number of gallons discharged in one second of time. This would be 17 gallons per minute, 1020 gallons per hour, or 24,480 gallons or 390 hogsheads in 24 hours, being twice as fast as would be required to carry off the 175 hogsheads already estimated in this article. In other words, land sloping 10 feet in 40 rods, with two-inch tubular tile, will afford drainage from the heaviest floodings, in twenty-four hours.

Where the slope is greater than this, as is often the case, the smallest tile now manufactured may be safely employed.

There are circumstances, however, affording exceptions to this estimate. When the water from rains pours down from the sides of higher land upon the surface of the part subjected to drainage, an additional allowance must be made, according to this increased amount. Springs will also modify the estimate.

Where main drains are employed to receive the discharge of several ordinary drains, the preceding rule will enable any one who has a knowledge of arithmetie, to determine with precision the size of tile needed, it being only necessary to ascertain previously the extent of surface, and the amount of descent.

It is obvious that to apply this rule with any degree of accuracy, a level must be used to find the descent Where this is considerable, the simple contrivance shown by Fig. 2 will answer every practical purpose, being merely a common square, placed in a slit in the top of a staff, brought to a level by means of the plumb line, and fastened by a screw. A cup of water at tached to the rod, for the plumb to dip in, will prevent its being blown about by the wind, at the same time that it will move freely. Where greater accuracy is required, as in long and nearly level ditches, the "water level" may be used. It may be made of a lead tube about three feet long, bent up an inch or two at

A

Fig. 2. each end, and stiffened by fastening to a wooden bar, A, B (Fig. 3). Into each end is cemented, with

C

Fig 3.

sealing-wax, a small and thin phial with the bottom broken off, so that when the tube is filled with water it may rise freely into the phials. If the tube be now filled with water colored with cochineal or any dyestuff, and then placed upon the tripod, C, by looking across the two surfaces of liquid in the phials, an accurate level may be obtained. When not in use, a a cork is placed into each phial. "Sights" of equal

height, fastened to pieces of cork floating on the water, as shown in Fig. 4, give a more distinct line for the eye. The sights are formed of fine threads or hairs stretched across the square openings. To ascertain whether these threads are both of equal heights above the water, let a mark be made where they interFig. 4. sect some distant object; then reverse the instrument, or turn it end for end, and observe whether the threads cross the same mark. If they do, the instrument is correct; but if they do not, then one of the sights must be raised or lowered until it becomes so.

SUGAR CONSUMED.-It is said there are 750,000 000 pounds of cane sugar, and 27,000,000 of maple sugar consumed every year by the people of the Union --besides molasses and honey.