only where there is a large consumption of chaff fodder; but, on the other hand, it will unquestionably give rise to a very material change in the system of supporting domestic animals. Although it is plain, at the very outset, that these fodder arrangements are sure to give their projector a great profit; yet there is another question to be settled beforehand, namely, how will the health and breed of cattle, in the course of time, ultimately be affected by this system of feeding? It is evident no decision as to the general introduction of chaff feeding for the whole stock of the manor can be arrived at except by a very careful examination and consideration of the subject, and by previously submitting it to the test of experience. This trial was made, and it was found to succeed well; the system was generally introduced in 1839, and two years thereafter the measures taken by the director of Alcsúth were fully justified by their good success. the animals fed chiefly with steamed chaff, continue in excellent health and condition; and the liveliness which the cattle show, both in the stall and in the yoke, is a clear proof that the food answers in the most perfect manner all the requirements of the animal organism, both of cattle for draught and breeding cattle. The following, which is drawn from official papers and books, and which refers to the winter of 1839-'40, will show that this system ensures a considerable saving: A.. Expenses for profit on 2000 old wethers, for 120 days.-For 100 wethers the daily winter fodder was formerly estimated at one metzen of potatoes, and for each wether 2 lbs. of hay and 1 lb. of straw for picking. In the case of steamed food, on the other hand, 100 wethers receive daily only 1 metzen of potatoes, and each wether besides, one-half pound of hay and 1 1-2 lb. of steamed chaff, consequently each receives 1 1-2 lb. less of This, at the present prices of hay and hay, and 1 1-2 lb. more of straw. straw, the former being 2 florins 30 kreutzers a cwt., and the latter 25 kr. a cwt., makes the saving of the 30 cwt. less of the former amount to 75 florins, and the excess of 30 cwt. of the latter to 12 florins 30 kreutzers; so that with the entire stock of 2000 wethers there is a daily saving of 62 florins 30 kreutzers-equal to $12 50. B. On 208 draught oxen, for 108 days.--Formerly the usual daily quantum of winter-fodder of full grown cattle was half a metzen of potatoes, 20 lbs. of hay and 5 lbs. of straw. At present a full grown ox receives daily one-eighth metzen of potatoes, 5 lbs. of superior hay in its raw state, also 5 lbs. of inferior quality cut to chaff and boiled, lastly 20 lbs. of steamed chaff. Accordingly, at present an ox receives less daily one-eighth metzen of potatoes and 10 lbs. of hay; and, on the other hand, receives 15 lbs. more of straw a day. This makes for 208 head a daily saving of 26 metzen of potatoes and of 2080 lbs. of hay, which is 78 fl. a day; if we deduct from this the daily greater cost of 3120 lbs. of straw at 25 kr., there remains a clear daily profit A Pressburg metzen is equal to 1 3-4 English bushel. A. 78 13 Al. 65 = $13 + One florin, Vienna currency is equal to 20 cents; one florin is 60 kreutzers. 6. On 34 studs, for 180 days.-During the winter season a horse formerly received daily 13 half metzen of oats, 10 lbs. of hay, and 2 lbs. of straw; at present however he receives 10 half metzen of oats, 5 lbs. of hay, and 6 lbs. of chaff, which for 34 horses gives a daily saving of 7 fl. 5 kr. or about $1 42 cts. The entire saving of fodder being thus for the whole stock daily, in Vienna currency, 134 fl., 35 kr. equal to $26 87, amounts for 180 winter days: In conclusion we will note here the entire cost of the steaming apparatus described above, and which is calculated to steam daily 600 metzen of fodder. Cost with a copper boiler of 250 lbs. weight, including the cost of putting it up, 428 fl. 40 cr. Vienna currency, or $85 68. To give an idea of the great attention paid in Alcsúth to the production of fodder, we will simply state, in what the stock of fodder consisted on Nov. 1st of the sterile year of 1839, when the whole country was suffering from the scarcity of fodder. There was then The above quantities of fodder were sufficient to winter 10,264 sheep, 70 horses, and 136 head of cattle, besides leaving a considerable supply of fodder for the winter of 1840-'41. In June, 1840, when the scarcity of fodder had reached its height in Hungary, the committee of the Hungarian Society of Farmers found the barns and thrashing floors of Alscúth better supplied with stocks of fodder, than the largest farms used to be at the setting in of winter. The committee took this as the best evidence of the fact that, at Alscúth farming is carried on upon rational principles, in such a manner as to have sufficient provision made in the out-set, even for the worst of harvests. It is only by such precaution and circumspection that the farmer, especially he who devotes his chief attention to breeding of cattle, can ensure good success, and the highest average profits. CONTENTS OF APPENDIX No. 1. II.-Historical Sketch of Silesian Wool Culture.... IV. On the improved Merino Sheep, with illustrations....... V. On the Formation and Growth of Wool, with eighteen VIII.-Wool Shears; improved ones; with illustrations.. IX. Sheep Yard and Stables; with illustrations.. XIII.-Wool Growers' Convention and Wool Markets...... XV. On the Export of Wool from Germany to other Countries, and future prospects of the German Wool Trade......... XVI. Requisite Qualities of Wool for Manufacturing Purposes.. APPENDIX No. 2. REPORTS RELATING TO THE CROPS, &o. CHARLESTOWN, November 1, 1847. Dear Sir: I transmit to you the following brief report of the agriculture of this region. I also enclose one that I wrote last year, but did not transmit, having heard that no appropriation was made for a report on the subject. The reason of my sending it is, the remarks and facts contained therein relative to the potato rot, a subject that has by no means yet lost its interest. The spring was unusually backward, the snow lying on the ground till nearly the end of April, so that the ground was not in a fit state for planting till two weeks later than is common and even till the summer solstice: the nights were more than usually cool, as a whole, though there were none of the severe late frosts that sometimes occur. July was very hot and rather dry-so much so, indeed, that on ridges and knolls of light warm soil the growth of the tubers of the potato was wholly stopped and they sprouted auew when the rain came again in abundance, which it did in the very last of the month. With the exception of a few days, August was unusually cool and damp, as also September and October, although severe frosts, in the latter part of the time, were unusually delayed. The first week of September was very hot and at the same time damp. Notwithstanding the lateness of the beginning of farming operations, on the first of August, the various kinds of produce had reached the usual degree of maturity of that time. Afterwards their progress to perfection was slow and their full maturity, in some instances, incomplete. The crop of hay was good, and extremely well cured, in both quantity and quality, rather above an average. Hops, of which the cultivation has been increasing in this region, yielded a good crop. The crop of apples was small and the fruit rather deficient in flavor. Beans produced well, but their ripening was imperfect, and it is proba ble, that when they come to be threshed, the crop will not be found large. Pumpkins were small and imperfectly ripened. This, also, was the case with squashes. Melons ripened imperfectly and were singularly wanting in flavor. Oats gave a good crop. Rye also, but wheat yielded poorly. It was in many places considerably injured by the weevil. The crop of corn was very good, but from imperfect ripening there was more of soft than usual, and in some instances it moulded in the stalks from the dampness of the weather. Garden fruits, as plums, pears, gave but a light yield. Grapes of hardy kinds yielded abundantly, but their ripening was slow, and there was a want of sweetness in the later kinds. The crop of potatoes wore a very promising appearance, on the whole, till the warm, sultry week in the beginning of September. The central black spot in the leaves, the beginning of the disease, then made its appearance precisely as it had done in similar weather in the two preceding years, (see last year's report accompanying this,) and in a week the tubers began to be affected, probably from one-third to one-half of the crop was destroyed. Mr. Smee has published a work in which he attributes the disease to the ravages of a species of aphis, which he calls the aphis vastator. I carefully examined the plants in my garden for the express purpose of discovering this aphis, but found very few of them at the time the disease first showed itself-not more than may be found at any time, and could discover nothing that would induce me to coincide with his conclusions. From the peculiar and similar state of the weather at each time that the disease has made its appearance, it seems most likely that its origin is owing to atmospheric distemperature, and that if aphides should make their appearance, they are more likely to be the attendants than the authors of the calamity. The character of the seed does not seem to be the cause, as I planted about the middle of June, a few hills of potatoes, just then received from New Zealand, where the disease has never made its appearance, yet the plants were attacked simultaneously with the others, and as badly. The long red potatoes, called here the long-johns, (I think the same as the mercers,) seemed to suffer the least. Very respectfully, yours, SAMUEL WEBBER. REMARKS ON POTATO DISEASE IN 1846. In the early part of the summer the potato crop was very promising; the vines were thrifty and the bloom early, and potatoes fit for the table came into use about the middle of July. On the 24th of July, I first noticed a change in the appearance of the vine. What first attracted my attention was a blackish spot, about the size of a finger nail, in the centre of many of the leaves. Upon examination this spot appeared to be dead, and was covered on the under side with mildew. At this time the weather, for about a week, was very warm, sultry and damp, with frequent showers, and for a considerable part of the time, cloudy. The stem of the potato was, at this. time, perfectly sound, as, far as I could perceive, and I examined them very carefully. The black spot increased rapidly in size day by day, and con tinually showed itself in leaves before sound, till by the fifth of August most of the leaves were decayed and dry. From the time the spot made its appearance, I dug every day two or three hills of potatoes for use, and purposely selected some of those in which the leaves were most affected. On the fifth of August, I for the first time, noticed symptoms of decay in the tubers. In a hill I then dug, there were found two potatoes very obviously and considerably unsound, and two or three more were found on preparing them for the table. The skin did not appear to be affected, but the substance beneath it was in spots, soft and semi-fluid, apparently to the depth of a quarter of an inch. One being cut open and examined with a microscope, the decayed part seemed like a mass of soft starch-the cellular texture seemed to be destroyed and the starch |