DDDDnDDDDnDDnnDDDDnDnnnDnnnDDnna ° H ° 9 D 9 D * 'SI iAj w «> 9 □ > 11 ra ra " 1^ □ '^ i\^Mr *** D n '^Ar^s^S' 9 D D g UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS g g LIBRARY H D □ ° 9 D = □ ° 9 ° 9 ° 9 ° 9 g •, \ : '^' -^Ofiaiii § ° 9 D 9 ° 9 ■=• 9 ° 9 ° 9 ° 9 ° 9 ° 9 •=■ 9 D 9 D 9 ° 9 o 9 ° 9 D 9 ° 9 ° 9 D □ D 9 DDDDDnDnDaaDDaDnDnDDDDDDDDDanDDa LIBRARY f '\ v. v 1 F Aivlhb"\ui, IVinSS. A F 1 THE GENESEE FARMER: A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE & HORTICULTURE, DOMESTIC & RURAL ECONOMY. ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS OF FiRM BIIILBM, OIPLEMENTS, BOMEWK FRUITS, FLOWERS, SHRUBS, &c. EDITED BY DANIEL LEE. JOSEPH FROST, CONDUCTOR OF THE HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. VOLUME XV., SECOND SERIES. - 1854. ROCHESTER, N. Y.: DANIEL LEE, PUBLISHER AND PROPRIETOR^ AMERICAN BUILDING, BUFFALO-ST. 1854.. INDEX TO VOLUME XV. A. Agricultural changes at the West, 14 — climatology,. 392 — education, 18 — Fair iu Hamilton, C. \V., 162 of Monroe Countv, 3o4 — — of New York State, 188, 290, 321, 349 of Virginia, 321 — Implement Association, 48 — improvement ef Ireland, 217 — improvements, ._ 121 — meteorology, 41 — princess, _ 2S8 — firngresa of tlie South 26 — prospects of the United Slates, 9 — qualities of Nebraska 213 — Report of the Patent Otnce tbr 1853, 332 — Schools, remarks on, 9G — science, the prnmotiou of, 37 — Soc. of Essex Co. (Mass.), trans, of,. 171 of N. Y. State, officers for 1854,.. 98 transactions of. 75 of Marvland. memorial ot; 206 of the Cnited States, .... 34, 291 of Wisconsin, transactions of, 127 — State Fairs for 1854 260 Agriculture and other improvements iu Chili, 238 — as a profession, 161 — experiments in hy Slv. Vlechi, 216 — its claims upon Congress, 38 — its essentials and non-essentials, 297 Araori.;an fiimprs in Palestine, 242 — inventors i'l P^ngland, 16 — Pom:ilo<,nfal Society, 159 A nndil post'aister..." 161 Ancient agriculturists, 121 An upward tendencv in land 97 Apple. King (Tompkins county), 59 — Northern Spy 129 — orchards, remarks on, 254 — worm, how to destroy,... 319 Apples, bitter rot in, ...". 228 — chea)) and efficient mode of .saving,. 31^ — diseased, _ 2S7 — for cider, gathering and preserva- tion of, 94 — seedless, 124, 156 — seedling, 123 April, hints for, 105, 126 Ashes, bones and oyster-shells, 195 — for manure, ". 30G Atkins' Automaton, or Self- raking Reaper and Mower, 27 August, hints for, 233 B. B'^ar'ng-rein on the uselessness of, 309 B^'a-is not an exhausting crop, 211 B-ddin< plants, 122 Bes moth, ...' 68 B 'et root brandy, 193 Blackberry, New Rochelle... 157, 287 Botanical gardens of the Royal .igi-icul- tur il Soc, England, experiments in,.. 209 Brea\a few words about, 225 Brick ttle, 150 Bmd raares, on the choice of, 16 Buckwheat as a fertilizer, 162 B'lshel and acre, 121 Batti>r and cheese, exports o^ 355 — Sireat productof, 1.50 — land, remarks on, 2S9 — making, prize essay on, 15.3, 1S4 Butterfly plant, 352 Carriage-house and stable, design for, . . 241 Cashmere goata, propagation of in the United States,. 2.59 Cattle, advantages of for f;trm labor, 57 — and sheep, red-water in, 268 — Ayrshire, 215 — European, 149 — European, importation of,.. 87,126, 139 — fit, the points forjudging, 44 — feeders in Ohio, ._ 250 — feeding in England, proUtableuess of, S4 — foul in-the foot in, 243 — from Te.xas, 258 — gain of weight in feeding, 247 — Holdernes.s, 214 — how to relieve when choked, 227 — how to remove lice on, 68 — imported, 214 — murrain in, 2o5 — sale of in Ohio, , 347 — sheds, _ C7 — Short-horn, 142, 214 Celery, cultivation of, 58 iJhanging population, 217 Charcoal as a fertilizer, 163 Cherry on the Mahaleb stock, 28 Cheese, cheap mode of pressing, 160 — making, 257, 277 — weighing over 500 jiounds each, 120 Chimney swallow.s, 116 Churches, designs for, 249 Clearing lands, 150 Clematis azurea, 252 Clover hay, the curing ot;__ 144, 218 Coffee, reasons why it is not well made, 108 Corn bread, _ 243 — culture, 76, 147 — manuiing for, 127 — meal, kiln-driel, 335 — st.alks, machine for cutting, 226 — Stowtdl,... ' 2.50 Cotton (lin, remarks on, 110 County Agricultural Fairs, . 2;50 Cows, garget in, 119 — good, pi( iduct of, 84 — high-priced, 83 — milch, how to choose 82 — milk, proxim.ate analysis of, 380 — product of the milk and butttr of 14 Ayrshires, 194 — sore teats, remedy for, 355 — spa^-ing of, 249 — improved native, 1.39 Cranberry, cultivation of, 129, 140 Crops in California, 282 — in Seneca county, N. Y., 275 — speculations on _ ,303 — when they should be gathered, 345 Curculio, rem.arks on, 155 Currants, how to pre.serve, _ 352 — London, 2S7 Cut-worm, remedy for, 206 D, Dairies in Newcastle county. Pel., 354 Dairy husbandrv 72 December, hints for, 362, 379 Decline of prices in California. 355 Destructive worm, an account of its ravages, .._ _ 124 Distillery slops, 42, 50, 113, 116 Divining rods, 66 Dometic animals, introduction of into the United States, 23 Drainage, the importance of, 94 Drill culture, advantige of, 194 Drouth and crops in Knox Co., Ind., ... 290 -^good tilhig . a preventive of, 115 — its action on plants, 307 Duties of a farmer's wife in olden time, 225 K Elliott's Fruit Book, review of, 283 Entomology, I94 Evergreen and deciduous trees from seed, hardy climbing roses, &c., 129 Experiments upon the properties of the Water of Salt Lake for preserving meats, 226 Eitraordinary result, 377 F. Farmers and farming in Canada, 97 — College in Ohio, 64 — study your profession, 149 Karmaig in California, 113 — in Illinois, 182 in Indiana, 114 — in Long Island, 337 — in Middlesex county, Mass., 237 — in Oregon, 148, 368 — in Pa!estin(- 152 — in the Peninsula of Maryland, 320 ■ — iu the Sandwich Islands, 239 — laud in Kentucky, value of, 290 — n ear Liverpool 210 Farm, experimetal and model, 290 — in Sileria, description of, 57 — manigement, 302 Fences, cheap paint for, 292 Filtered rain water, 97 Finger- and toe in root crops, 337 Fire-kindler.s, 347 Fi.-ewood, shelterfor, 36 Fish, artificial breeding of, 117 — a-sa fertilizer, 227 Flax culture, 51, 22'? in Ohio, 179 — Rocky Jlountain, 178 Flower seeds, the saving of, 319 Fruit and fruit tree culture, 31 — gaiherii;g, 314 — rai.sing in California, 224 — trade, lemarks on,. 349 — trees, ciilical rt marks on the culti- vation of 187 — culture of, 190 how to treat when barren, 319 stocks for, 68 time for buying, 352 — and vegetables, keeping of, 32 ripening of, 32 — foreign, 68 — gathering and presciTation of, 315 G. Gardening, importance of water in, SO — operations, 155 Gates vs. bars, 194 Gooseberries, cheap and excellent ma- nure for. 377 — mildew on, 159, 220 — remarks on 122 Grape frame, Cro.ss' patent, 373 — mildew, to remedy, 3,3 — profits of a vine, 94 Grapes as an article of food, ." 224 Grass, a most v.alvable kind, '86 — seed, mi-xture and sowing o^ 235 Grasshopper food, 25 0 n INDEX TO VOLUME XT. ©reen wood, viuprofitableness of, Groundnuts, tlio trade in, Guano and gypsum, -- — on corn, — on cotton, — on potatoes and corn, — on wheat, — Pettit's fisheries,.- ,-- — the amount on the Chincha Islands, — the best mode of applying,. — the trade in, — trade, horrors of, — with plaster, lime and ashes, 6uUe, H. High manuring, - Hint for every reader, Hints for the season, Hogs, how to fatten, — how to keep, - — in Kentucky, number of, — packed in the West,.. — remarks on, Home of taste, - Honey a profitable crop, -- Horses, colic in, 55, — foot-evil in, — — method of administering medicines to — poU-evil in, - — remedy for sore backs, — — sale of In New York, — scours in, — the breeding and rearing of, 56, Horticultural Exhibitions, &c., in Cay- uga and Tompkins counties, — Soc. of the Valley of the Genesee, 93, Hydraulic ram, I. Ice-houses, Insect, a destructive, Insects, destruction of, Interesting discovery, Idternal commerce of the West,. Inquiries and answers, 37, 66, 127, 163, 227, 260, 292, 323, 355, Irrigation and insects, — — experiments in, — importance of, — in the old vrorld, — spring and river water for, J. January, operations for, Japan Cedar, ---_- July, operations for, 20o, June, hints for, — operations for, L Lftdies and agriculture, Leguminous plants, Lightning conductors, LiriumTuouipsoniaum, Lime and ashes, experiments with, Linen trade, eil'ect of the Russian war upon, Utera7y notices, 65, 162, 195, 227, 291, 356, London Crystal Palace, - - - M. Manure, cost of, -- — covered and uncovered, — experiments with, — fire-fanged, :---.-.--- — from sewers, cess-pools, &c., in cities, — how to convert straw into, — — its properties of sinking in the soil,. — the study of, - Hills for grinding feed, Mince pies, how to make without mince, Moffil's Grain Separator, trial of in England, Mothers, advice to, Mount Vernon for an Agricultural Col- lege, N. Kebraska and Kansas, Kemophila insipnis, - . Notices of periodicals, &c., 36, 37, 12V, 194, 226, 258, 259, 322, — to correspondents, 65, Kovember, hints for, 50 151 127 78 77 78 27 244 79 368 240 250 348 13 322 63 96 33 355 322 193 175 257 36 291 185 309 308 152 259 86 172 251 253 235 366 219 94 162 333 195 381 129 335 275 143 267 0. Obituary notice of the death of Mrs. Daniel Lee, 226 October, hints for, 298 (Ml for machinery, wagon wheels, &c.,. 305 Orchard, singular disease in, — .- 223 Oregon, letter from 213 Ornamental flower sUmds, 220 Osage Orange, -- 68, 90 Patent Office Report for 1852-3, items from, - 20, S32 Peach ochards, ripening of the fruit,.. 350 — trees, a select list of, 31 remedy for the curl, 377 Peaches, different methods of preparing for the table, 257 Pear culture and vegetable physiology,. 91 — Sheldon, 283 — trees, River's remarks on, 33 Pears, descriptions of new varieties, ... 253 — gathering and preservation o^ 319 — on Mountain Ash stocks, 235 — on Quince stocks, 350 — winter, cultivation of, 373 Philosophy of advertising, 35 Pie plant, ashes as a manure for, 224 Pine wood in Eastern Virginia, 282 Plan and description of a cheap Farm Cottage, - 151 of a Fai-m Cottage in the Ru- ral Pointed stvle, 61 of a Manure Cellar and Barn,. 49 of an Octagon Barri, 119 of Denwood, a private resi- dence at Germantown, Pa., 180 of Messina, a country seat on the Hudson, - - 276 Plow vs. spade, 118 Plumbago larpent raries, 34, 63 — study of the calendar, '. 204 Thin seeding, . -_ 275 Threshing grain, 31S Tile, how to manufacture, 148 To the ladies, 95 Tobacco, cultivation of in Afiica, 281 Transactions of the Rhode Island Soci- ety for the encouragement of domes- tic industry, 170 Trees and shrubs of California and Ore- gon, - -- 158 — hints on the rearing and manage- ' mentof, 220 — to cure the canker in, 314 Trial < f churns at the New York Crys- tal Palace, 304 INDEX TO VOLUME XV. vn U. Onderdraining, 78 tTnfermented bread, 48 University of Georgia, 289 Useful hints, 125, 191 — metal, 259 V. Valley of the Amazon, 300 Vegetable vitality, ....» - 111 Veterinary knowledge, 290 — School at Alfort, 54 Victoria Regia in open ponds,. .. 286 w. Washing machine, the Knuckle, 35-1 Wash-tub, Wisner's patent, 342 Watermelons, Orange and Ice Cream, description o^ 352 Water-tight cellars, how to make, 206 AVhat can be done in a garden, 376 — shall we eat? 281 Wheat after corn, 107 — beuetit of nitrate of soda on, 348 — crop in Illinois, 213 — culture in Massachusetts, . 50, 344 the United States and Canada, ... 201 Western New York, ^ 372 — drills, 38 — fl}', orweevil,. * 258 — how to improve, 250 — its introduction into the Valley of the Mississippi, 126 — manner of harvesting and saving, .. 365 — on old lands, 37 — preparing land for, 246 — sowing and fallowing, 274 — splendid specimen of, 372 Why don't the ladies learn to cook ?.. . 191 Wind engine, Halliday's, 356 — mill for raising water, 312, 347 Wine, American, 228 '■ recipe for making, 323 — currant, recipe for making, 269 Willow, Kilmarnock Weeping, 256 — Marsh, how to destroy, 128 — Osier, 9T Wool, decline in the price of, 20$ — growing in Australia, 127 in California, 355 — interest, 169 Woman, epigram on, 257 — proverbs on, . 288 Words of encouragement, 379 Y. Yellow dock, how to destroy,; 3S3 INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS. TOWLS AXD DOITESTIC ANIMALS. ISroup of Cochin China fowls, 24 Portrait of an Ayrshire cow, 215 ■—Cleveland stallion, 56 "—■Earl Spencer's prize Short-horn ox,. 142 ■ — Holderness cow, 215 I— New Leicester sheep, 88, 89 •— Short-horn buU, 214 s*» South. Down sheep, 63, 63 FARM AND OTHER BUILDINGS. Carriage-house and Stable, 241 Church in the Romanesque (or Lom- bard) style,.... 248 Cottage in the Rural Pointed style, 61 tJenwood, a private residence at Ger- mantown. Pa., 181 Farm Cottage,' 151 Improved Octagon Barn, 120 Ksssina, a country seat on the Hudson, 276 MISCELLANEOUS. Atkins' Automaton, or Self-raking Reaper and Mower, 27 Eagle Cotton Gin Ill Ice-cutting at Rockland Lake, 366 — implements used, 367 Ornamentil Flower Stands, 220 Patent Smoke-consuming Stove, 81 Plan of a Manure Cellar, 49 Seven figures, illustrating the manner of gathering and preserving fruits, 315 — 318 The Months : __ July, 7. 204 August, 233 September, 266 October, 299 November, 331 December, 363 Tillinghast's Centrifugal Chum, 304 Water Tower, 30 Wheat Midge, or Weevil, i 238 Wind-mill for raiding water, 312 Wisner' 3 Patent Wash-tub, 342 HORTICULTURAL. Clematis azurea, 252 Dwarf Cherry Tree, 23 Houghton's Seedling Gooseberry, 123 Japan Cedar, 188 King Apple, i 59 Lilium Thompsonianum, 351 Lonicera fragrantissima, 285 Nemophila, 189 New Eochelle (or Lawton) Blackberry, 157 Osage Orange Hedge, manner of trim- ming, M Plumbago larpentje, 189 Saxe-Gothaea conspicua, branch o^ 374 fructification o^ 375 Sheldon Pear, 283 Victoria Regia in open ponds, 2SS ^^•^"^S^T: '^ nBfflsaasnKTRKiKnswnEsemamaRKS' Vol. XV. Second Sekiss. ROCnESTER, N. Y., JANUARY, 1854. No. 1. A IIOXTULY JOUIiXAL OF AGRICULTURE & HORTICULTURE. VOIiUME XV., SECOXD SERIES. 1854. EACH NUMBER CONTAIXS 32 ROYAL OCTATO PAGES, IN DOUBLE COLUMN'S, AND TWELVE NUMBERS KOKil A VOLUME OF 3S4 PAGES IN A YEAR. Ternxs. Single Copy, $0.50 Five Copies, 2.00 Eight Copies, -.- - 3.00 And at the same rate for any larger number. JJ^" Remittances properly mailed, and postage paid, at the risk if ilie Publisher. Jj;^^ Postmasters are respectfully requested to act as Agents. D.\MEl. liEE, Publisher and Proprietor, Roclicater, N. Y. FOR PROSPECTUS AXD PREMIUMS, SEE LAST PAGE. In sending out to the world onr Fifteenth Vol- ume, second series, in a New Y'^ear's Dress — plain and becoming — we tender our grateful acknowledgments to eveiy patron and friend of the work. It has not been published in the Valley of the Genesee twenty- five years without producing important and au.spicious results. Ohio contains as fertile lands as Western New York ; but there is not one county in that rich and productive State that comes within a half million bushels of Monroe county in her annual crop of wheat, whose farmers have tauglit each other through the pages of the Genesee Fanner for a quarter of a cen- tury. Such are the vlsil)le, undeniable fruits of sus- tainining a cheap medium for the mutual instruction of the cultivators of the soil. Monroe county, in which Rochester is situated, not only produces five hundred thousand bushels of wheat more than any other in the United States, but its farmers have more capital invested in agricultural implements and ma^ chinery than any other. In the production of fruit trees, and ornamental plants of every kind, our nur- serymen do a larger business, as was often stated by Mr. Downing, than exists elsewhere m the whole Union. These facts are most gi-atifying — indicating a cultivated tagte in the community in which we live, and pecuHar advantages for making our journal the most reliable and instructive of any of its class in the country. It is the old, the acknowledged exponent of a Lancasterian Agricultural School, which, we trust, will continue to grow and. improve sO; long as water runs, and children arc born with the wants of food and raiment impressed upon their consti- tutions. We respectfully invite tlie perusal of every article in this number, and trust that the reader will be so much pleased as to aid the editor and proprietor by procuring more subscriljers for this volume. CUE AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS. We have been alive to whatever affects the farming interest for many yeai-s, and it gives us much pleasure to be able to say that our agi'icultural prospects have never before been so promising in the present cen- tury. Many causes have conspired to bring about this auspicious change in favor of the owners and cultivators of American soil. A few of the more obvious influences we will name, that our readers may see what we regard as the most important elements of their national prosperity. Inventions of labor-saving, wealth-creating ma^ chines of all kinds, and discoveries in science and art, are beyond all question the most powerful pro- moters of human comfort and improvement. They create at once a demand for all the necessaries and liLxuries grown in the field, the garden, and the or- chard, and the means of paying for the same. Pears have sold in considerable quantities in our large com- mercial cities at a dollar a dozen ; and good fruits of all kinds yield almost fabulous profits on the cost of production. Farmers should ponder deeply the undeniable fact, that the laboring milhons really pro- duce vastly more than they did ten, twenty, thirty, and fifty years ago ; and, consequently, they can not only sell more, but buy more, and consume more, of the rich and varied fruits of human industy, according to population, than ever before. This general and most substantial advancement in the art, the science, and the power of production, secures to the intelli- gent cultivatoi-s of the earth, in all coming time, what in a business point of view they most need — a market for the products of agricultural and horticultural skill and labor. Were we altogether dependent on our own industrious people for consumers of our various crops and provisions, prices would doubtless rule low for some years to come ; but, fortunately, the inhabi- tants of Europe, and other foreign countries, neecl our agi-icultural staples to the amount of some hun dreds of millions a year. Our armual export of co' 10 THE GENESEE FARMER. iQu alone, at present prices, exceeds one hundred mil- lion dollars, and has increased over 800 per cent, in ihirty years. If laborers can be had to pick this vciivtabie wool (it has all to be gathered by hand, dill the crop is now full three thousand five hundred ]niilion pounds of seed cotton a year), our annual ex- port will soon reach $200,000,000 of this article alone. Kugland, which is so large a purchaser of cotton, U becoming a vciy liberal consumer of American l)readstuifs. Jler commercial ^yants in this line have never been stucUed in this country so closely as they deserve ; and we can hardly render the farming com- munity a better service than to point out the intimate relations which are so rapidly growing up between the wheat and corn fields of the United States and the gi'eat commercial and manufacturing towns of Great Britain. McQ^iieen's Statistics of the British Empire gives the quantity of cultivated land in Enghxnd at 25,- 630,000 acres ; of these he computes that about three-fifths, or 1.0,379,200 acres, were pasture and meadow, and two-fifths, or 10,252,800 acres, were gar- den and arable. He calculates the average value of the whole to be twenty-five shillings per acra I'his is an annual rental of about six dollars, and equal to an average of two hundred dollars per acre, paying three per cent, interest in perpetuity. There are at this time not far from two inhabitants to one arable acre in England — a fact of gi-eat im- portance to the land-holders of this country. In our researches into the statistics of Great Britain, we learn from Porter that the annual consumption of grain in the manufacture of beer (involving the use of land on which to grow barley and hops) is greater in England than in any other country. We have not the volume at hand from which to copy the exact ngiues, but we have given them in another work, as ■ve!l as evidence that in some orphan asylums more 'rallons of beer are given to young children than of milk ! The ofiBcial returns to Parliament show that the average importations of wheat into the United King- dom, during the last twelve yeai-s, were 32,000,000 bushels per annum ; and during the four years of 1849, 1850, 1851, and 1852, the annual average was over 40,000,000 bushels; while the crops of this gi-ain grown at home were a full average. The London Bankers^ Magazine, with the best means of being well informed on the subject, makes the following re- marks : "The average annual production of wheat bv this country being about 24,000,000 quarters [192,000,000 bushels], there will be a deficiency of about 5,000,000 quarters. If to this we add the deficiency that must necessarily arise from the very limited breadth of land sown with wheat — probably nearly one-fifth — and that an importation of 8,000,000 quarters has been on an average required and ob- tained for the last few years, it will be seen that we shall require the astounding quantity of neariy 18,- 000,000 quarters of wheat during the period inter- vening between the harvests of 1853 and 1854." A quarter being about eight bushels, eighteen million quarters of wheat are one hundred and forty-four mil- lion bushels, to be imported in one year. While we regard this as an over-estimate, it is proper to say that the lowest one which we have seen is in ihQ'Mark Lane Express. It is sixty-four mil- lion bushels. Tliat old and most reliable journal has discussed " The Wheat Trade " during tlie last few months with characteristic clearness and ability. The following remarks deserve the attention of American fanners : " It is now a well-known and admitted fact that the supply of wheat from Northern Europe has for some years been declining in quantity. Many causes have contributed to produce this falling otF; but we will mention only four of these as being of a permanent character, and likely still further to dimin- ish the exporting power. The first of these is the fact that the poi^ulation of Europe has increased to the extent of from 80 to 100 miUions since the peace of 1815, and consequently there must have been a corresponding increase of consumption." The writer is too prolix for our limited space to be copied entire ; and we will attempt to express his idciis in fewer words. The second cause is tliis : The Austrian, llussian, Prussian, Belgian, and French governments are now, and have been for some years, trying to render their respective nations more inde- pendent of all others for the sugar needed for home consumption. To attain this important object, a good deal of arable land and farm labor has been diverted from grain-culture to the business of gi-owing Silesian beets, and the mainifacture of sugar. This is preferred to the growing of wheat for foreign consumption. The third cause is the operation of the landwehr, or conscription law, now generally adopted by the continental nations, by virtue of which every male subject, except ecclesiastics, when he arrives at the age of twenty, is bound to seri'e three years in a regi- ment of the line as a private soldier. To teach eveiy youth the trade of a soldier is a system admirably calculated to beget habits of idleness, dissipation, and vagabondism, most undriendly to sober, steady farm labor in after life. A fourth cause is the subdivision of the land into small proprietaries, which has been adopted by Prus- sia, as is now the practice in almost all the conti- nental states and kingdoms. Our farmers have no idea of the inconveniences attending the extreme sub- division of landed estates, so that no one head, or one family, can control more than five or ten acres of ground; and millions not over the fourth of an acre. Under such circumstances garden-culture may flourish, but wheatH^ulture can not. Without enlarging on this view of European agri- cultiu-e, enough has been said and suggested to justify us in congratulating our brother farmers on the bright prospects ahead for them and their noble calling. Let us be grateful to God that we are permitted to have nearly five acres of improved land to every in- habitant in this incomparable and happy republic. Five acres of improved land to each soul ! The his- tory of mankind furnishes no parallel to this in all the ages that have come and gone since the creation. Europe is about to be convulsed with the wars long anticipated by that conscious weakness and conscious wrong which train every male twenty years of age, whether high or base born, to be a soldier of the line; and twenty harvests may be garnered in this peaceful repubUc before the monarchial governments of the old world, or their republican successors, shall sen- THE GENESEE FARMER. 11 ously attempt to beat their spears into pruning-liooks ;md their swords into plow-shares. Through what civil commotions, what protracted pangs of travail, have the nations of Europe to pass before they can reach the enviable position now occupied by the Ameri- can people! Providence has given us these great blessings not without imposing on that popular sov- ereignty, which is at once our pride and our safetj^ corresponding duties. By walking humlily in the jjath pointed out by duty, the pilgrim lathers and their descendants have made our country and its institu- tions what they ai'e. Many a reader will share both our hope and our anxiety for the future of this latest born and most extraordinary nation of tlirmers. Pub- lie opinion in great cities is always impulsive, often wrong, and never reliable, to guide the helm of state. In rural districts, wisdom is of slower growth ; but with proiwr culture it will never cease to grow — never fail as a salutary, conservative element in our repulilicau system. To attempt to make public opin- ion in the countiy what it ought to be, is a task that involves no light responsibility. AVhen, in our hum- ble way, we talk to an audience of 500 or 1000 per- sons, more or less, it is comparatively of little moment what is said ; but when we write for the perusal of 100,000 or 500,000 readere, and the matter is to be kept in a book for reference and the reading of indefi- nite numbers hereafter, thoughts at once pure, truth- ful, and instructive, would alone seem to be worthy of record. In discu-ssing "Our Agricultural Prospects," we feel bound to say that they would be greatly improved if we had in the United States a thousand truly com- petent teachers constantly engaged in the work of imparting all needful professional knowledge to the millions of farmera in our thirty-one states and six territories. But instead of a thousand men wisely and properly ^^repared to teach the true principles of tillage and husbandry, gardening and orchard cul- ture, our country can not claim one such teacher in the whole republic ! Deprived as we all have been of thoroughly educated instructors, let us, brother farmers, one and all, do our best to instruct each other. The principle of mutual interchange of expe- rience, and of the most diversified observations, made by practical men, may render the farming interest an invaluable ser\ice. Every person should be alike willing to learn, and willing to teach what he has learned. In this way we shall cultivate our social, intellectual, and moral faculties, and rapidly improve both ourselves and the community in which our lot is cast, and that of our children and friends. There is something of a public nature for every one to do, if he would have the public protect either his life, his property, or his civil and religious rights as a citi- zen. A man who does nothing for the improvement of society deserves to be cast out from all human associations, and to herd with wild beasts ; for if all persons were to follow his poHcy and practice, human society would soon degenerate to a condition worse than that of common brutes. It is not enough that a few give up their lives to the public service, to make the masses eveiy where labor for their own elevation. Costly aa'sueh sacrifices often are, something more is needed to inaugurate a reform that shall embrace the deep, iron-bound subsoil of the community. Shallow culture, whether of the earth, the human heart, ci understanding, jdelds but a scanty, unprofitable har- vest. The millions must become in part their own teachei-s — do their own thinkmg and studying. Milk. — The richness, or proportion of butter and cheese, contained in cows' milk, is well known to de- pend upon the food of the animal, and the period of gestation, and the time of her giving the milk. That taken last from the cow during the same milking con- tains much the larger proportion of butter. To the naked eye it seems a pure, white liquid ; but when viewed through the microscope, an infinite number of minute globules appear, which contain the oily part, or the butter. When the milk is set away in the dairy, these oily particles, bemg the lightest, gi-adually rise to the surface and form the cream. But when milk is exposed to the atmosphere, the sugar it contains slowly changes into an acid called lactic acid. This causes the casein or curd to coagulate, prevents the separation of the cream, and the milk becomes sour. As this acid is usually formed before all the buttery globules have risen to the surface, the curd always contains more or less butter ; sometimes as much as two per cent., or one-half the whole quantity con- tained in the milk. Hence, the longer we can keep the milk sweet the more cream we can obtain. SOUND AND UNSOUND POTATOES. There is no other vegetable that will fully com- pensate the loss of the potato, and if it be possible to prevent the premature decay of this tuber, no pains should be spared to attain that object. The Journal of Commerce says : " Mr. Barret, of Cayu- ga Bridge, sowed a,shes over his potato field once a week for six weeks, commencing shortly after the sec- ond hoeing. That field was saved, while others ad- joining were extensively subject to the rot." A writer in the Patent Office Report for 1845 (in which the potato malady alone fills some 200 pages), over the signature of " Chcmico," says: "Dr. Lee, a scientific gentleman of New York, who is at present engaged by the New York State Agi-icultural So- ciety, to ^^sit every county in tliat State and deliver lectures on Agricultural Chemistry, in a letter to the editor of the Albany Cultivator, remarks: "More than one-half of the ash of potatoes is potash. A sugar maple, a grape nne, a potato plant and an ap- ple tree need a soil that abounds in potash. In every town I have found scientific farmers, who, by the use of unleached ashes, lime and plaster in equal parts, placed in the hill with the seed, and on the hill aa soon as the tops are well gTOwn, have wholly escaped the rot." At an agi-icultural meeting, at the old State Hall in Albany, April 25th, 1844, our remarks axe thus re- ported in the Cultivator of that year: " Dr. Lee ob- served that the defect which was complained of here last year (1843) had prevailed in parts of Europe several years, and he referred to the theory of some ^vriters there, that the defect was occasioned by the de- generacy of varieties from age. The facts brought out by the meeting, did not seem to support the idea thai the defect here could properly be attributed to that 12 THE GENESEE FARMEE. a use, iiiasmucb as it did not appear to prevail most >vith the old varieties. The most hardy kind it eeeras liave been least affected, and the least hardy, as the Mercer or Chenango, Foxite, etc., the most. It was nearly the unanimous opinion of those who spoke on the subject, that the unusual prevalence of the defect, or as some called it " disease," last year, was caused ')y the very warm and wet weather, following, a se- ^■cre and long-continued drouth. This idea was sup- ported by many stutementa that potatoes which wei-e planted ou dry soil, and so early that they reached uMturity before the great change alluded to came on, were scarcely affected at all; whereas the same varie- ties planted later, and being in an immature state when the change took place were nearly worthless wlien harvested, or had become so during the winter." ■J'en years subsequent experience and observation have ijut strengthened the views expressed by the intelligent gentlemen, among whom our friend Howard, of the Boston Cultivator, was a leading spirit at this meeting. A variety of causes contribute to the premature dissolution of every part of the potato plant; one of which is a defective gi-owth of the tubers, predispos- ing them, so to epeak, to rot in wet, warm weather. Why do early &ummer apples rot sooner than late fall apples, when both are exposed to a common tempera- ture, dampness, and to like gases? The disorganiza- tion of fresh meat, cucumbers, pumpkins, apples, po- tatoes and onions, is rarely u disease ; although it is not always easy to say what organic bodies are dis- eased, and what are not. Our studies of this subject lead to the conclusion that it is generally easier and better to prevent maladies than to cure them; and the prevention of the early rotting of potatoes is no exception to this rule. In onr report as Secretary of the New York State Agricultural Society for 1845, us pubUshed in the Transactions of that year, oora- ineucing on page 49, we say: "Suppose a farmer had lOU pounds of the minerals contained in the dung and urine of a cow while feeding on timothy hay; u'ould the application of these minerals in manure to the hills of potatoes, supply 100 pounds of the pre- cise minerals which potatoes need to form 10,000 pounds of their tubers? No. And here is the diffi- culty that meets the practical farmer who despises a knowledge of the things that make potatoes. 10,000 pounds of tubers use in growing only lOOipounds of earthy minerals; but they are not the same in kind and proportion that exist in timothy hay. In 100 pounds of the ash obtained from timothy there is but 15 lbs of potash; while in an equal weight of potato ash there is Sl^tbs of this alkali. Hence to give growing potatoes 51 Jibs of potash by the applica- tion of cow dung, made from timothy hay or grass, enough must be used, which if burnt would yield 340 lbs of ashes — being a loss of 240tbs, or more than two-thirds of the mineral elements in the dung, to say nothing of the needless waste of carbonic and nitrogen, or of the organic elements of timothy and potatoes." The reader will see how anxious we were to foster a critical study of the things that make potatoes; and to fhow that common barnyard manure is not adaj^t- ed to the natural wants of this valuable plant. To raise sound potatoes, one must not only have land that is well drained to free it of all poisonous -alts of iron, alumina and magnesia, but he must feed his gi-owing crop with such food as nature demands for the perfect organization of the starch and tissues of the plant. And is this adaptation of the food of a living, growing being to its natural wants, an un- reasonable requiVemeut? We think not; and so we have taught for thirty years. To make a soil just right in all its mechanical or physical properties, is the first intention of all scien- tific farming. This purpose is eflected by draining, and securing a due admixture of mold, clay and aand, or fine gravel, proper for cultivation. Decaying for- est leaves on new land make better potatoes than any other food and soil that we have seen in many years of close observation. Leaves cojitain from six to twelve times more of the minerals fomid in pota- toes than exist in mold derived from decaying wood, and various wild plants. The richest virgin mold is formed from forest leaves by a law as beautiful and universal as the vegetable kingdom. Almost the first thing that attracted our attention in Georgia and South Carolina was the gi^eat depth to which the tap roots of Pines descended into open or perviona subsoil, in search of their appropriate aliment. We have traced them down into the earth more than ten feet. The minerals thus extracted are very sparingly deposited in the wood of roots, trunks and limbs of trees ; while the leaves gave us four per cent of ashes. A thousand grains of dry pine wood yielded only about tliree grains of ashes; and the same weight of leaves yielded forty grains. The leaves of pine and of all other trees fall every year and thereby give to the surface soil potash, soda, magnesia, lime, phospho- ric, sulphuric and hydrochloric acids, drawn from the deep subsoil, and carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hy- drogen in an organized condition, taken directly, or indirectly, from the atmosphere. It is in this way that old and badly worn fields axe rejuvenated by the growth of trees. One needs sound seed, sound land, and soundly cul- tivatele elements of agricultural plants. The criti- cal reader will see in the " manure " named below a large amount of ashes and lime, but no ammonia, except the very little that may be presumed to exist in the "street manure," which usually contains far more clay and sand than dung of horses or other animals: A correspondent of the Ceiitei-ville (Md.) Times relates the success of a farmer of that county by a liberal use of manure. It appears he purchased the farm in 1844, pre- vious to which it scarcely produced enough to support a family ; and since then, now nine years, he has used 10,998 bushels ashes, 17,805 bushels stone lime, and 9,700 of shell lime, beside street manure, in all costing $3,224. In 1844 the produce of the farm sold for $491, and was gradually increased until 1852, when it sold for .f 3,504. The sales of the nine years amount to $16,215, or $12,990 over and above the cost of the manure. At the rate of yield of 1S44, the aggregate sales of the nine years would have amounted to only $4,424, so that he has a clear gain from produce alone of $8,506, by the application of manure for nine years ; in addition to which his farm, of 308 acres, which in 1840 was assessed at $4,928, is this year assessed at $10,780 — increase in value, $5,852. During the nine years he also sold $1,900 worth of wood and rails, making a total increase of $16,318. The facts so concisely stated in the above para- graph, present a most important study to the agricul- tural student. The why and the ivherefore such re- sults were attained by the use of lime and ashes, are agricultural problems of the highest practical signifi- cance. These ashes contained no element more valua- ble than phosphoric acid ; and we have been creditably informed by farmers in the Connecticut valley, that they somethues pay as high as thh'ty and forty cents a bushel for good wood ashes to apply to their broom corn land. The longer we investigate the elements of fertility, the deeper is our conviction that the value of these elements is not known except to a very limited degree. More facts of a reliable character are needed before the true powers, separate and combined, of potash, bone earth, ammonia, gypsum, common salt, wood a.shes, and lime, can be known. Salt has been used as a manure some three or four thousand years; but like the phosphate of lime, of which our bones are principally formed, it has never been properly studied as the food of plants. Prof. Way has said: " The soil, when pulverised, will absorb ammonia from the atmosphere during a wintei's exposure, estimated as equal to a dressing of two hundred weight (224 pounds) of guano." If this statement be true, it aids us in understanding how tillage and such mirierals as phosphate of lime, g-j-psum, salt, and common wood ashes, enrich a farm without purchasing costly ammo- nia. As all manure is drawn primarily from the earth and atmosphere, we cherish the belief that far more of the constituents of wheat and other crops may be extracted from the ground and air, and at a cost so small as to supply cheap manure to the^ farmer. We do hope that a few at least will see the ira portance of testing this matter of drawing alkalies, phosphoric and sulphuric acids, and chlorine, from as 16 THE GENESEE FARMER. much greater depth in the earth than any forest trees or smaller plants are able to extract them. Our ad- vanced art and advancing science ought to go bej'ond the shallow, empirical practices of the dark ages of agriculture. At the recent examination of students at the Royal Agricultural College of England, it was stated that some virgin soils to which no manure had ever been api^lied, contained nearly one per cent. of ammonia. This would give some thirty thousand pounds to an acre, estimated to the depth of twelve inches. ^A-***^ AMERICAN INVENTORS IN ENGLAND. The following remarks of the London Times will be read with interest and j^leasure by every true American: The British locksmiths who have been content to carry on their business by rule of thumb, will immediately find Mr. HoBbs turning out by machinery far better and cheaper Jocks than theirs ; so the gunsmiths will find Colonel Colt bringing the same agent to bear in supplying the demand for his revolvers. And it further adds and admits : It is no secret that Mr. Whitworth, of Manchester, has brought back from his recent tour, as a Royal Commissioner, through the manufacturing districts of the United States, a report filled with the most startling evidences of the progress which the mechanical arts are making there. The inventive ge- nius of England, is about to be encountered on its own soil by a rivalry whicli it cannot too soon prepare itself to face ; and one of the first classes that must meet this competition, is the body of agricutural implement makers ; and it will not be the" fault of that pushing, bustling, restless advocate of improvement, the owner of Tiptree, if the Garretts and Ransomes escape the contest. The American reaping ma- chines found their way to liis wheat crops, as if instinct- ively, in 1851 ; the American threshing machine comes now, and we are promised, at no distant date a steam cul- tivator, the invention of an American, which is to deprive agriculture of her motto, and render it no longer necessary to " Speed the Plow." We have long contended that American Machinists and Inventors are in advance of those of the Old World; and our employment of four years in the Patent OIBce at Washington served but to confirm this believe, where we had the best possible opportu- nities to study every thing relating to improvements in agricultural implements and machineiy. The model of what the London Times calls the American Steam Cultivator, impressed us very favorably. It may be worked by horses and oxen as well as by steam ; being a rotary digging machine, that combines the mechani- cal operations of the pick, the hoe, the spade and the plow. So important do we regard the possession of first-rate tools, implements, and machines on a farm, that we shall venture to devote more space to the description and illustration of such in this volume of the Farmer than Ave have hitherto assigned to this department of rural economy. Farm labor is gener- ally verj' high, and whatever lessens the cost of grow- ing a bushel of grain, or the production of other crops, by sanng human toil, will benefit not only the producer, but tlie whole human family, so far as they ■ ; onsume the fruits of agriculture, husbandry and hor- ticulture. Useful inventions will find an earnest iriend in the Genesee Farmer; while those that are ; worthless will be repudiated. Job had 14^000 sheep, beside oxen and camels. ON THE CHOICE OF BROOD-MARES. There can be no doubt but that the breodinf of horses of a superior description would amply repay those farmers who are possessed of the requisite knowledge; and whose farms present a suitable com- bination of light, productive, arable land, with pas- ture of good quality. The price of first-rate horses has advanced in a remarkable degree of lute years, and is not likely to decline so long as the country en- joys an ordinary degree of prosperity. It is every where matter of complaint among buyers that good horses never were so scarce as at the present moment'; and the man who is possessed of a weight-canyini? hunter, or a fine carriage horse, will, if inclined to setl them, not find himself long without a customer. Still, notwithstanding these inducements, the breeding of horses on a large scale is confined to a few districts, of which the principal are the east and jjart of the North Riding of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and part of Northumberland. On the Yorkshire Wolds it is a pleasant sight to see, field after field, with its half- score of handsome colts; some of them adapted for the chase, while others are destined for London car- riage-horses. Though not so plentiful as I remember them twenty years ago, especially the higher bred ones, they are still to be found in sufficient numbers to show that the farmer considers them a portion of his stock productive of profit, and consequently worthy of attention. Even there, however, breeders might with advantage propose to themselves a higher stand- ard, and aim at producing hunters of the first class, which would surely renumerate them better than the leggy and somewhat underbred coach-hoi-ses, which arc every day less suited to the requirements of cus- tomers. One reauson why hunters are not bred there so extensively as in former years, is that farmers, either tempted by the high prices offered by foreign ers, or under the pressure caused by agricultural dis tress, have, from time to time, parted with their best brood-mares. Much as it is to be lamented that either good mares or stallions should ever leave the country, there are nevertheless abundance remaining from which to rear, with judicious management, a valuable breed of young horses. In the hopes of af- fording some encouragement to the extension of this important department of agriculture, I oiTer the fol- lowing hints: One of the most important elements of success is the choice of brood-mares. Never breed from a mare which is not well bred. By well bred I do not mean having many crosses of blood ; for many mares, nearly and even quite thoroughbred, are very undesi- rable animals to breed from. A well bred mare, in the true sense of the word, is one of whifh the pro- genitors, for many generations back have been care- fully selected. In this respect Yorkshire breeders po- sess a considerable advantage over those who reside in districts where breeding is less extensively carried on. In the former country it is easy for a farmer, even of moderate means, to procure mares which are above the suspicion of being tainted with cart-blood. Ow ing to the abundance both of thoroughbred and " nag"* stallions, a roadster-mare is seldom or never •A " iwg" is a roadster. He is less in size than a coach-horse, and better bred. THE GENESEE FARMER. lY j.mt to a horse of inferior stamp to herself. Thas, with little or no trouble or cost, a class of mares is in the hands of Yorkshire farmers which elsewhere it would require much expense and research to gain. With but little of outwai-d show to recommend tlicm, tliey breed exceUeut huntei-s, when put to a suitable thorough-bred horse; whereas mares of similai- aj> pearauce in other comitries would only produce stock fit for harness — if, indeed, they were good for any- thing. The reason is, that in the latter case the ciul or other inferior crosses would reiij^pear, and thus bafHe the calculations of the breeders. Perhaps mares such as the Yorkshire farmers use are, on the whole, the safest for the agiiculturist to breed from. Although not so high bred as some otlici's, they are less expensive to purchase, and re- quire less judgment in their choice than those of a more ambitious character. They possess one reconi- niendatiou which the farmer should never lose sight of — I mean power. Let his object be to produce a a colt which, if it fails as a hunter, will be useful in harness; or, if some accident should unfit him for fast •work, will at any rate take his share of work on the farm. 1 know no better test of success than this, viz., that the colt which loses a portion of its conventional value, should yet retain its real usefulness. Always make strong, well-set-on forelegs a primary object. They should be placed forward, so as to be an effi- cient support to the animal; and the shoulder ought to stand backward, in order to allow the legs liberty of action ; but it must be somewhat round and full, not thin and confined, which some pereons conceive to be a fine shoulder. Never breed from either mare or stalUon with a decidedly bad shoulder. An animal may dispense with almost every other point of excel- lence, and yet be of some value; but if it has a bad shoulder, it bears so thoroughly tJie stamp of worth- lessness, that nothing else can make amends for this fundamental malformation. If your mare is tolerable in her shoulders, but not very good, endeavor to find a stallion which is jjarticularly excellent in this res- pect. The forelegs and shoulders being right, action usually follows. But this being a very important point, do not take it for granted, but subject it to your strictest scrutiny. For my oyvn part, I almost think as highly of action in a horse as Demosthenes did of it in reference to an orator; at any rate, not even the most fabulous combination of beauty, breed- ing, temper and shape, would induce me to buy a horse which did not possess it. The foot ought to be taken up straight, by a grace- ful bend of the knee, and set down again flat, with- out any deviation either outwards or inwards. The most common faults of action are a sort of shovelling- movement forwards, with the knees almost straight, and a sideways motion, either outwards or inwards, with one or both feet. But it is quite possible for the knee to be too much bent, and the foot to be ap- parently pushed backwards when taken up instead of forwards, thus causing it to be set down too near the place wdience it w^as raised. Objectionable, however, as such stand-still action may be in a hack, I should prefer it in a brood-mare to the opposite defect. The great reason why action in the mare is so essential is, that she having the roadster blood ought to supply 't; whereas, it is not always possible to find it m a stallion; it is, indeed, very rare to see a thorough bred horse whose action is such as would be desiror ble in the park hack, the roadster or the hunter. The racing man cares not, provided his horse's head is first seen at the winning-post, in what form he moves his forelegs. The qualities which win fame for the racer are speed, endm-tmce, and pluck. The con- formation most conducive to speed uepends more on the back, loins and hindlegs than on the forelegs; it is therefore by no means uncommon to find horses, wiiose performances on the turf have been above me- diocrity, with forelegs such as would not wear for three uionlhs on the road, and with action such as no man would willingly endm'e in his hack or his hunter. Thorough-bred horses, with every point such as the breeder would desire, combining power and beauty, equally excellent in their forelegs, then' ribs, and their hindlegs, are not to be met with in every neighbor- hood, and even when found will seldom cover half- bred mares at all, and then only at exhorbitaut prices. These are the magnates of the stud, which will not condescend to mates of descent less illustrious than their own. If, then, you cannot secure their services, you must avail yom-self of the best within your reacL Supposing your mare has the forelegs of the action which I have recommended, you may safely jjut her to a horse which has tolerable forelegs, provided he is in general power, in pedigree, and in performance such as you desire. I mentioned in a former letter that I once put some mares of my own to " Tomboy;" his forelegs were by no means first-rate, and his front action was decidedly scrambHng and bad; but my mares being excellent in both those points, their stock showed no traces there of their sire's deficiency. To breed colts with bad forelegs and insufBcient bone, is to encumber your land with stock neither useful noi saleable. With mares of first-rate excellence in that respect, you greatly extend the range of stallions which it is safe to put to them. I shall not enlarge upon other points of the mare in detail, for the reason that their selection may in general be left to the discretion of the breeder; and also, because there are many of them which in prac- tice will be more frequently supplied by the horse than the mare. I must say, however, that I should not like to breed from a mare with a bad head or a small eye. Natm-al soundness, especially in the feet, is very important, and so is good temper. With mares, as with cows and ewes, there is a certain char- acter difiScult to describe, but which the experienced breeder knows by instinct, as belonging to those likely to produce good stock. It is not the largest, or the most showy, but those which have a certain refine- ment of form, and a gracefulness of outhne (which are as characteristic of the well-bred female as power and muscle are of the male,) which will most faith- fully reflect in their offspring then- own merits, and those of its sire. Many a large, showy mare, on the contrary, will be provokingly uncertain in her pro- duce; one year biinging a foal as much undersize as next year it is overgrown. Such a mare ought to be discarded as soon as possible. By observing the course which I have recommen- ded, farmers who exercise ordinary judgment will make as safe an investment as they would in the breeding of any other kind of stock. Their colts will li THE GENESEE FARMER, make either hunters, carriage-horses, or hacks, of a useful and powerful kind. There Is a class of nKires much higher than that which I have described above; I mean those which combine gi-eat power with a pedigree little short of thorough-bred — mares which have in their youthful days been foremost in the hunting-field, and contend- ed, perhaps not unsuccessfully, in the steeple-chase. Such are the dams of the craclvs of the Melton field, and of the ^^ctors at Liverpool and Leamington. But tliey are so difficult to buy and so rarely in the market, that the majority of breeders have Httle chance of trj-ing their luck with them. Their owuei-s naturally desire to secure a foal, when it may be a great prize, won at a small cost, and will therefore seldom be disposed to pai-t with them. It requires, moreover, a more ripened judgment and more mature experience, to select mares fit for the production of first-class huntere and steeple-chasei's, than for the rearing of a less ambitious character of stock. The stallion to which they are put ought to be one of a superior class to the majority of the itinerant animals which secm-e the custom of so many farmers, simply because they save them the trouble of further inquiiy. It may be laid do^^^l as a general rule that the horse ought, if possible, to be a better animal than the mare. Then there is the difficulty, even when a horse of tried excellence is found, of discovering whether his points and his blood are suited to the mare. The art and the science of breeding first-rate horses, are not to be mastered without much thought, trouble and research. There is no royal road to it. He who wishes, in spite of every obstacle, to attain golden re- sults, must adopt a course the very antipodes of the too common one, of putting some mare, because he happens to have her, to some horse, because it hap- pens to come into his yard. He must never breed from a bad mare or a bad horse; nor must he grudge a few pounds spent in securing the best of either sex within his reach. A judicious outlay of capital ^^^1I here assuredly not fail to reap the reward which has attended the improvement of eveiy other description of stock. — Mark Lane Express. Soda Bread axd Biscuit. — ^^lany families are in the habit of making bread and biscuit by adding mu- riatic acid to carbonated soda for the production of gas in dough, instead of raising it by yeast. The practice would be harmless if both the acid and soda were pure, for common salt results from the combina- tion of the alkali and acid named. Muriatic or hy- drochloric acid usually contains lead in solution, ac- quired in the process of manufacture, and jjersons have been attacked with painful chohc from eating soda bread in which the acid named was used. We use tartaric acid with soda in making light warm rolls, and find it purer and better than muriatic acid. Two tea-spoonfuls of tartaric acid to one of the su- percarbonate of soda raises bread or biscuit enough for a family meaL Trying to farm without capital, is Uke trying to run a locomotive without fuel Money and wood both nvust be consumed, if they are to move the ma- chine 'jf the farm or of the rail AGRICULTQRAL EDUCATIOX. The Hon. Marshal P. Wildkr, Chairman of a Bo:ird of Commiss-iouers appointed by the Legisla- ture of Massachusetts, has A\Titten an extended and interestiug report on the subject of Agi-icultm-al Edu- cation. It contains an instructive account of the principal colleges and schools in England, Scotland, Irehuid, France, and other continental nations, de- signed to teach the several arts and sciences which pertain to rural afiim's, from the pen of Prof. Hitch- cock, who devoted some months, while abroad, lo collecting the information given. The Royal Agri- cultural College at Cirencester has six professors, and 700 acres of laud for agricultural pm^wses. The object of this institution is to prepare young men to become intelUgent proprietors of farms, or to superin- tend in the most skillful and successful maimer the farms of others. From the mihappy operation of caste in English society, says Prof. IL, and from the want of governmental patronage, this college is not so well attended as its founders anticipated. There are accommodations for 200 students, but only .'jO now belong to the school. Those residing in the building pay S355 annually; those who board eL<'- where, pay $175. Formerly, the school was open for the sons of smaller farmere, but could not find support on that plan, and it was found that, if these attended, the wealthier classes would not send their sous. 'J'he price, accordingly, has been raised, and none but the sons of gentlemen, such as clergymen and wealthy laymen, now attend. None of the nobility send their children, though many give their money for its support. The impassible barriers of caste happily do not exist in this republic; and it would be impossible to establish an experimental farm of 700 acres, erect suitable buildings to accommodate 200 students, ap- point six able professors, aided by museums to illus- trate natural histoiy, comparative anatomy, vegetable and animal physiology, and provided with a chemical laboratory for making original researches, cabinets of minerals, and all other needful appliances, and not have the institution crowded with students. The Agricidtural School at Grignon, near Paris, is in a much more flourishing condition. " In going through a stable," says Mr. H., "containing a num- ber of fine cattle, I observed one young man with a broom, cleaning the legs of an ox, which had laid down in its leavings. The director whispered to us that that young man was the son of a wealthy banker. Indeed, the pupils aU appeai-ed as if they had not been accustomed to labor. Formerly, pupils were admitted from the laboring classes to attend the lec- tures, without residing in the institution, but they are now excluded. They now pay 750 francs, or 5?138, for board, and receive nothing for their labor. This institution receives $1,100 fi'om government an- nually." Ah-eady it has sent out about 600 pupils, and the present number is about 80. The farm connected with the institution contains 750 acres. The system of instruction and study is extensive and thorough, embracing algebra, geometry, mechanics, suiTcying, levehng, stereometry (measuring solid bodies), Hnear drawings, in the mathematical sciences; meteorology, mineral chemistry, mineralogy, geology, and botany, THE GENESEE FARMER. 19 in the physical sciences; organic chemistry, or agri- cultural technology, agriculture, aboriculture, syhi- culture, veterinary art, agricultural zoology, and equi- tation, in what are denominated technological sciences; and rural architecture, forest economy, farm accounts, rural economy, and rural law, in the noological sciences. There are six professorships, and three years are re- quired to go through with a course of study. At Versailles there is a National Agronomic Insti- tute, employing nine fii-st class professors and 3,6.50 acres of land. The report of Prof Hitchcock fills over ninety octavo pages, and we regret our want of room to give copious extracts from this truly valuable contril)ution to the agi-icultural literatvu-e of the United States. It is a work of great labor and con- densation. AVithout the text, the thirteen tables would be nearly unintelligible. The following sum- mary, however, will indicate the territory surveyed: But though my list is doubtless deficient, I have been amazed, as I doubt not the committee will be, at ito extent. The following summary will bring the whole subject under the eye : lu Flndan.!, IreliUid, . Scotland, France, It.ily, Belgium, _ Prus.sia, Austria, Wurtemburg, Bavaria, Saxony, Brunswick, Mechlenburg Schwerin, Schleswig Holstein, Principality of Anli.ault, Grand Duchy of Hesse, Gratid D uchy of Weimar, Duchy of Na-ssau, Electorate of He^se, G-rand Duehj- of Baden, Duchy of Saxe Meningen, Russia, Total ..._ 22 I 54 214 48 14 3.5: The 22 " Superior Schools " in the above list will rank with our best colleges in the extent and variety of sciences studied, while the 54 "Intermediary Schools" ■will compare favoral^ly with most Ameri- can colleges. It is remarkable that the United States should not contain a single institution of the kind, and that all efforts to e.stablish one in the great State of New York, for the last thirty years, should prove unsuccessful. Nor has the report of the Massachu- setts Commissioners been favorably acted upon, even in a State so distinguished for its liberality to all other educational institutions. One serious impedi- ment has been the lack of well qualified gentlemen to fill the several professorships. These must be edu- cated in Europe before we can establish a first class professional school. When meflical schools were first founded in this country, nearly all our teachers of anatomy, physiology, surgery, theoiy and practice of physic, &c., were educated abroad. Professional schools of a high character could be established in no other way. Doubtless Congress might establish an institution of the scientific grade of West Point Academy, and procm-e such gentlemen as Liebig, Agassiz, and Boussixgault, to serve as teachers un- til a reasonable number of talented Americans could be prepared to fill professorships in State Agricultu- ral Colleges. At present, we not only lack institu- tions of this kind, but gentlemen duly quahfied to teach all the sciences that legitimately appertain to the noble profession of agriculture and husbandry. The people of the United States have over six hundred millions of dollars invested in domestic ani maLs; and if a young farmer, engaged in stock raising, wishes to study the digestive organs, the muscles, nerves, or blood-vessels of the horse, cow, sheep, or hog, there is not a inu.seum in all America where this can be done, and he must cross the Atlantic for the purpose, or remain in ignorance. We do not depend exclusively on books to teach the anatomy and phy siology of man, but make dissections, have occular demonstrations, and valuable museums, still further to illustrate all parts of the system, both in a healthy and diseased condition. Why should we be so unwil- ling to form agricultural museums? Why so reluctant to provide facilities for the successful study of the organization of valuable domestic animals, with a view to preserve their health, increase the growth of flesh, fat, and wool, and the production of milk, butter, and cheese? \\ ill it be said that a knowledge of all this living macliineiy is of no value to tie country? Is there no chance for additional improve- ment in thirty millions of sheep which elaborate wool and mutton, nor in the five or six miUions of cows which yield all the products of the dairy in the United States? On the contraiy, is there an intelligent man in the Union who does not know that nine-tenths of all our domestic animals, from the horse down to dung-hiH fowls, are susceptible of very great improve ment? In 1818, William Kjxg, of Wurtemburg, estab- lished an Institute of Agronomy and Forests on the royal domain, of some 82.5 acres, having one direc- tor, six professors, four functionaries charged with various labors, beside two tutors who hear lessons in the school. The instruction given is embraced in forty courses, divided into three groups, as follows: 1. Agricultural matters. 2. Forest matters. 3. Auxihary sciences. In the Jirst course are included — 1, of climate; 2, of soil; 3, of manm-es; 4, of tools and implements of tillage; 5, of clearing up of grouud; 6, of mead- ows and pastures; 7, of agi-iculturc in general — this is divided into plowing and other tillage, seed plots, of grain and root culture, threshing and preservation of grain, &c. ; 8, of special agi-iculture. All cultivated plants are treated of particularly. Second course — Viticulture: 1, culture of the vine; 2, wine making. Third course — Culture of fruit trees. Fourth course — The rearing of cattle; the races; the crossing; the young. Fijih course — The rearing of the horse; natural history of the horse; different methods cA raising; choice of animals for reproduction; treatment of mares; treatment of colts. tSeventh course — Ru ral industiy in luinter; the manufacture of beet sugar 20 THE GENESEE FAEMER. of liquid manure; of malt beer and brandy. In siim- nwr, manufacture of beer, vinegar, cider, lime, and draining tiles. Eighth course — Rural economy ; valu- ation of real estate; general circumstances of the country; of farms in general ; of different parts of the same farm; of the home means of maintaining its fer- tility; of system of culture; of labor and the inter- nal organization of a farm; relation between the num- ber of beasts and land worked; of capital of the un- dertaker or farmer; of tlie different modes of working afarm. A''inth course — Agricultural book-keeping, &c. Auxiliary Sciexces. — First course — Higher arith- metic. Second course — Algebra. Third course — Planimetry. Fourth course — Stereometry. Fifth course — Trigonometry. Sixth course — Applied ge- ometry. Seventh course — Mathematics applied to forests: 1, of the culture of trees and of the entire forest; 2, of the increase of trees; 3, of the valua- tion in money of forests. Eighth course — Physics. JVinth course — Mechanics. Tenth course — Chemis- try. Eleventh course — Oryctognosy. Twelfth course — Geognosy. Thirteenth course — Vegetable botany and physiology. Fourteenth course — Sjjecial and rural botany. Fifteenth course — Zoology. Sixteenth course — Verteriuary medicine: 1, natural history of our domestic animals; 2, anatomy of the same; 3, animal physiology; 4, care to be taken of animals; 5, of the medicines proper for shght chseases; 6, de- scription of diseases, pathology and therapeutics; 7, veterinary surgery; 8, internal diseases of animals and murrains. Seventeenth course — Of forest law. Eighteenth course — Rural constructions. JVinetecnth course — Of preparing plans. Twentieth course — Drawing of machines. To illustrate these courses of instruction, the means seem to be very ample at Hohenheim. They are as follows: The operations on a large farm annexed to the In- stitute; a forest of 5,000 acres; a libraiy open twice a week; a geological collection; a miueralogical do. ; a botanical do.; a collection of woods, seeds, and resins from the forest; a collection in comparative anatomy; do. of specimens of wool; do. of agricul- tural products; do. of models of instruments for til- lage; do. for physical science; do. for chemistry and laboratory. Students board where they please, at a price from $24 to $120 per annum, but lodge at the Institute. The number of students in 1849 was about 100. but it had been 140 for many years. No less than 1650 finished then- education at this seminary within thirty- one years. Dr. Hitchcock pertinately asks: " How is it possible that so many, having gone through such a thorough system of instruction, should not exert a powerful influence upon agriculture throughout the community?" If the number of students appears small, it must be borne in mind that the small towTi of Hohenheim has seven agricultural and horticultural schools of an inferior grade. In Saxony there is a Superior School vnth nine professors, and a domain of 7,355 acres. Brunsmck has a Superior School with thirteen professors. This practice of subdividing the business of teaching among so many professors, each of whom gives his undivided attention to the advancement of a particular art or science, secures that pre-eminence in German Uni- vcreitics and scholars for which they are distinguished Is it not possible for the United States to have one school worthy of the republic? — D. Lcc, in Patent Office Report. ^»*.^ ITEMS FROM THE PATENT OFFICE llEPORT FOR 1852-3. Wk find the followmg interesting items from the last Patent Office Report prepared by the editor of the Genesee Farmer, in the Register and Examim-r, of West Chester, Pa., — a journal that selects and condenses with skill and judgment: " Judging from all the returns that have reached the Patent Office, the farmers of Ohio produce not only more wheat in the aggregate than those of any other State, but more bushels per acre on an aver- age." " In some counties in this State, the bam-yard ma- nure is designedly wasted, as the soil does not require it, and it is removed from the yard only because this is cheaper than to remove the bam. It is noticed, however, that the average yield on old lands is less per acre than formerly." " The best remedy," says one writer, " for Hessian flies and "Weevils, is the propagation and care of the fussy and feathering tribes of the air. To the swal- lows in general, but more particularly to the chimney swallow, is assigned the duty of waging successful and incessant war, during the warm seu \)u and until late in the fall, ujiou those immense armies of insects which float in the summer breeze, the Weevil and Fly included. These birds, as is generally well knov.m, procure all their food, consisting of insects, upon the wing. After their broods have been reared, they partake of but two meals a daj- — breakfast and sui> per. In the morning they range fiulher; in the eve- ning they procure their food nearer their domiciL When feeding their young they are busy all day." " Now, if these birds can be multiplied to any de- sirable extent on every farm, I submit, whether their being so multiplied would not insure our wheat 'crops against the ravages of all insects. The house I live in," continues the writer, " has been built twenty-seven years; it has two stacks of chimneys, with two flues in each from the second floor. One of these cliim- neys, and one flue of the other, is every summer and fall exclusively devoted to the use of swallows: here they are permitted to breed undisturbed, and all avail- able means are resorted to to remedy accidents. Thus encouraged and cared for, my colony of swallows has become quite respectable in numbers, amounting to something like one hundred in October last. I have been but little, if any, troubled with the fly, and with such an effective corps of champions, I feel quite se- cure from the ravages of the Vandal insect." The wi-iter recommends the raising of cliimneys, "made of boards, and attached to barns and out^ houses, at small expense," for the propagation of these useful little creatures. He further remarks that " the killing of birds for pulling up corn, resembles some- what the biting the hand that feeds us. What ! kill your most devoted servant; your only efficient labo- rer in securing your crop from utter destruction; one who has toiled through the whole spring — ^haa fol- THE GENESEE FARMER, 21 lowed close upon your heels in eveiy furrow you have turned; and when you have retired for rest and re- freshment, still pushes its unremitting laboi"s, crossing and re-crossing in every direction the newly turned furrows — all to clear the soil of those sure harbingers of fate to your crop, the wornis. Such conduct would be better designated by any other appellation than one that denoted good economy, sagacity, or self-inter&st" "In selecting steel's for the yoke, judgment and skill are necessary; in temper, motion, build and size, they shoidd be alike; docility, mild temper, rather quick motion, a tight and heavy build, and large sizei, are the desirable qualities of a work-ox. If the op- posite of any of these quahties are found in a steer selected for the yoke, dismiss him at once, and sub- stitute another." Another writer says, " the best remedy for the Hes- sian fly is to sow between the 15th and 20th of Sep- tember, giving time for a frost before the wheat is up enough for the inject If the insect should get in the wheat, the best method is to turn on sheep, and feed it short in the fall." " If proper selections were made from native cat- tle, and the same care and feed afforded iu rearing such selectioas as are given to the Durhams, I think a stock of cattle might be produced that would com- pare favorably with blooded stock." In speaking of potatoes, the following anecdote is related: " A lumberman in St. Lawrence county, New York, economised in this way: potatoes were scarce and dear; he wished to eat and plant out of his small stock; he took his knife and carefully cut each eye out, not much larger than a dime, and saved the resi- due for eating. In planting, he found he had not seed enough to cover his ground. Another resort was had to the knife; each eye was carefully divided into four parts; four pieces only were put in a hill. He harvested a good crop, as good from the latter as from the former cuttings." The following, in answer to a circular from the Patent Otfice, written by a farmer of Michigan, de- serves to be extensively copied: " Millions of the United States revenue are expen- ded in protecting our commerce. All right. The ai'my and navy, and West Point to boot, are never overlooked, but come in for all the glory and full pay. All light again. But how stands the case ■nith the great mass? Five millions of farm laborers, who have caused civiUzation and science to tread close upon the retreating heel of the ' red man' — who have made the wilderness to ' bud and blossom as the rose' — have made the ' solitary places become vocal ' — who have performed the Herculean task of clearing up the vast expanse of forest from Maine to Texas, and fi-om Florida to the great northern Lakes — who have covered the domain with fertile fields and thrifty hamlets — who have checkered it with roads and thoroughfares — have dotted its surface with school houses and churches — who have done more than all other classes united, to make this 'the land of the free and the home of the brave,' — what has Congress done for them? Why, they have indirectly taxed them for more than two-thirds of the revenues, and given them — what? The Patent Office Report; a work of real worth and utility, a treasure indeed to the farmer who is fortunate enough to get a copy. If the supply were equal to the demand, it would give greater satisfaction." " The Halls of Congress are fiUed with legal ana commercial men, but few farmers find a seat there; which, in some measure, accounts for their interests being overlooked." " As a cliiss, however, we are willing to forget the past if we can but have the assurance that the pros- pects of the future shall not be dimmed by neglect.'' " We feel like swinging om- caps, and giving nine of our loudest cheers to the few choice spirits who a.ssembled at Washington last summer, and formed a National Agricultural Society. Their names are a guarantee that something ■will be done. It is hoped that they will cany the ' war into Africa' with Con- gress, and press the subject home upon that body so strenuously, that our uiterests will be duly considered.'' " The farmers and jilanters are unable to establish experimental schools, that would have the desired ef- fect. An institution of this kind should have an ' odor of nationality about it' In conclusion I would suggest to the National Agricultural Society at Washington to sound the reveille in earnest, and the yeomanry of every State and Territory in this broad Repubhc will muster and stand ready to wheel into line at the tap of the di-um. The farmers are ripe for action ; all that is necessary is to ' go ahead.' " " The growing and fattening of mules is now con- sidered the most profitable business of the farmer in Kentuckj'. So many persons are engaged in it that it has increased the demand for young mules so much, that large numbers have been brought from Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, to be prepared for market in this region of Kentucky. They are generally sold again at two or three years old, and the price is from $75 to ^150, according to quality. Some very infe- rior ones are sold lower, and superior ones higher. A feeder of mules told me to day that the cost of feeding was about %2 a month the first year, from the time of weaning, and $3 a month the second year. The weaning is generally at five or six months old." A letter from the territory of Oregon will furnish some idea of its agi-iculture. " The average product wheat per acre is about thirty bushels. The prices of wheat, at this time, cannot be considered as a gen- eral tiling. It is now worth at our barns $3 per bushel, and our best markets are paying $5 per bushel. The average yearly product of butter per cow is 75 pounds; average price per pound, fifty cents. The cost of rearing neat cattle till three years old, is noth- ing more than a little salt, and a little time to looli after them. At that age they are worth for beef from eight to twelve cents per pound. Milch cows are worth from $60 to $85." How TO Keep Smoked Hams. — A wi'iter m the Farmer's Companion, published at Detroit, states that he has for many years preserved his hams, through the summer, in the most perfect condition, by pack- ing them in barrels, with layers of corn-cobs between them, so that the hams would not come in contact with each other. They should be taken out and rub- bed dry once during the summer. The cask should be placed on a bench or trussel, in a cool, dry cellar. 22 THE GENESEE FARMER. DOMESTIC KECIPES. SELECTED FBOM VABIOOS SOUBCES. To KoAST Fowls. — Pick and draw them; be care- ful not to break the gall-bag in drawing, as, if the gall be spilled, it will render any part which it touches bit- ter; a fowl should be so cleanly drawn as to require uo washing, but merely to be wiped out with a clean diy cloth. Singe them; then press domi the breast bone. Break the legs by the middle of the first joint, draw out the smews, and cut off the parts at the break. Put the ^zzard in one pinion and the Uver in the other, and turn the points on the back; put a skewer in the first joint of the pinion and bring the middle of the leg close to it; put the skewer through the middle of the leg and through the body, and the same on the other side; put another skewer through the small of the leg and the sidesman, and another through the other side. Cat the head off close to the body, leaving sufficient skin to tie on the back. Suspend' it neck downwards. Baste with butter for some time after putting to the fire. They will re- quire from half an hour to an hour, accorchng to the size. When fowls are large they are very good stuffed like turkey. Serve roast fowls with melted butter or gra^y sauce. Before you send them to table, remove all skewers and strings which may have been used in trussmg. Fowls and all other feathered animals are served with the breast upwards. HoE Cake. — Stir together a quart of Indian meal, and a tea-spoonful of salt, and a piece of butter the size of an egg. Wet it with milk, not very stiff; af- ter you have stirred all well together, spread your dough about half an inch thick, upon a smooth board prepared for the purpose. Rub it over with sweet cream, and set it up, before a good fire, supporting the board with a fiat-iron. When it is well browned turn it over, loosening it vnth a knife. After moisten- mg it with cream, brown the other side, as before. When it is done, cut into square cakes, and send them to the table, hot; split and butter them at table. Buckeye Bread. — Take a pint of new milk, warm from the cow, add a tea-spoonful of salt, and stu- in fine Indian meal until it becomes a thick batter; add a gill of fresh yeast, and put it in a warm place to rise; when it is' very light, stir into the batter three beaten eggs, adding wheat flour until it has become of the consistence of dough; knead it thoroughly, and set it by the fire until it begins to rise; then make it up into small loaves or cakes, cover them with^ a thick napkm, and let them stand until they rise again, then bake in a quick oven. Kextucky Corx Cake. — ^Take a quart of corn meal, put in it a spoonful of salt, and water enough to make a stiff dough. Knead it into a cake. Then rake open the ashes on the hottest part of the hearth; put in the cake, and cover it with hot ashes, and then with coals. It -will take two hours to bake it; when done wash off the ashes with a wet cloth. Minot's Pudding. — A baker's loaf sliced, the crust taken off, the slices buttered, laid upon a flat dish, and a custard poured over, as much as the bread will absorb; let it stand half an hour, then fry it To Make Yellow Butter ix Winter. — Put in yolk of eggs just before the butter comes, near the termination of the churning. This has been repeat- edly tried, and it makes very fine, sweet butter. It is kept by many as a great secret, but its gi-eat value requires publicity. Cure for Boxe-Felox. — A coirespondent of the Baltimore Clipper, says that a thimlileful of sn/t soap and quicksilver, niLxed and bound tightly over the felon, will draw it to a head in the course of ten or twelve hours. The curative can then be removed, and by the application of the usual poultices, the sore will soon be healed. This remedy is said to be a veiy severe one, but altogether preferable to the disease. Bone-felous of late years are quite common, and the remedy, if effectual, will prove a real blessing to the sufferers. Gum Paste. — IMr. A. Tate^i, of Philadelphia, gives the following recipe for making gum paste, in the Scieiitijic American: Take of gum arable 3 ounces, white sugar 1 ounce, cold water 4 J omices, acetic acid (vinegar) | ounce. The gum should first be dis- solved in water, then add the sugar, and lastly the acid. This affords a beautiful, almost colorfess and permanent paste, possessing the adhesive quaUties of the gum, and will answer almost all the puiposes for which an adhesive paste is desired. IxsTAXTAXEous Black Ixk. — The Scientific Ameri- can has the follo\\iug : " Dissolve one ounce of ex- tract of logwood in 72 ounces of warm rain water, then filter (strain) and add, while wann, a solution of 30 grains of neutral chromate of potash in a very Uttle warm water; shake it well and the ink is made." RULES IX BREEDING STOCK. Mr. Clixe, a distinguished anatomist and surgeon, and one of the most scientific and successful breeders and Nvi'itera on stock breeding that England has ever produced, lays down the follo^^■iug rules on this subject : Although the form of domestic animals has been greatly improved by selecting with care those possessed of tlie best shape for breeding, vet the theory of improvement has not been so well understood that rules could bo laid down for directing the practice in every case ; and although the external form has been much studied, and the propor- tions well ascertained, these are but indications of iiUernal structure. The principles of improving it must, therefore, be founded on a knowlede of the structure and use of the internal parts ; and of these, the lungs are of the first im- porta,nce ; it is on their size and soundness that the strength and health of an animal principally depend — the power of converting food into nourishment being in proportion to their size, an animal with large lungs being capable of converting a given quantity of food into more nourishment than one with smaller lungs, and therefore having a greater aptitude to fatten. The external indications of the size of the lungs are the form and size of the chest, but a deep chest is not capacious, unless it be proportionately broad. The pelvis is the cavity formed by the junction of the haunch-bones with the bone of the rump, and it is essen- tial that this cavity should be large and capacious ; its size is indicated by the width of the hips and the breadth of the twist — which is the junction of the thighs — the breadth of the loins being always in proportion to that of the chest and pelvis. The head should be small ; the length of the neck in proportion to the height of the animal ; the mus- cles and tendons large, the strength of the animal depend- ing more on the muscles or tendons than on the bones. Many animals with large bones are still weak, and those THE GENESEE FARAIER. 93 tiiat are iinperfectW nourished during their growth have their bones often disproportion-itel v large. A €■ mpact, rouiid made body, a deep, full chest, a broad loin, full Hank and straight back, a small head and clean chaps, with fine tapering neck, limbs and bones not coarse and large, a soft but not thick skin, with soft and tine hair, are among the chief marks of a good kine. It has been generally supposed that the breed of ani- mals is im|)roved by tl;e largest males. This opinion has done considerable mischief, and probably would have done more, if it had not been counteracted by the desire of se- lecting animals of the best form and proportions, which are rarely to be met with in those of the largest size. Experience has proved that crossing has only succeeded, in an eminent degree, in those instances in which the fe- males were larger than in the usual proportion of females to males, and that it has generally failed when the males were disproportionately large. If a well-formed, large buck be put to small ewes, the Iambs wiU not be so well shaped as their parent ; but if a good small buck be put to larger ewes, the lambs will be of an improved form. The improvement depends on this principle : that the power of the female to supply her oft'spring with nourish- ment, is in proportion to her size and to the power of nourishing herself from the excellence of her constitution. The size of the foetus is generally in proportion to that of the female parent ; and, therefore, when she is dispropor- ttonally small, the quantity of nourishment is dispropor- tionally small, and her offspring has all the disproportions of a starveling ; but when the female, from her size and good constitution, is more adequate to the nourishment of a fcetus of a male smaller than herself, the growth will be proportiona-ely larger. The larger female has also a greater quantity of milk, and her offspring is more abun- dantly supplied with nourishment after birth. To produce the most perfectly-formed animal, abundant nourishment is necessary from the earliest period of its existence until its growth is complete. To obtain animals with large lungs, crossing is the most expeditious method, because well-formed females may be selected from a variety of a large size, to be put to a well-formed male that is rather smaller. By such a mode of crossing, the lungs and heart become larger in consequence of a peculiarity in the circulation of the fcEtus, which causes a larger proportion of the blood, under such circumstances, to be distributed to the lungs than any other parts of the body ; and as the shape and size of the chest depends upon that of the lungs, hence arises the remarkably large chest which is produced by crossing with females that are larger than the males. But this practice must be limited, for it may be carried to such an extent that the bulk of the body might be so dispro- portioued as to the size of the limbs as to prevent the ani- mal from moving with sufficient facility, so that, where ac- tivity is required, this practice must not be extended so far as in those which are intended for the food of man. The kinds of animals selected for cross-breeding ought never to be of very different habits and sizes ; for notwithstand- ing the confessed advantages derived from cross-breeding, vet great or sudden changes are highly improper — that Laving often been found injurious to the health and charac- ter of the stock. The use of the bucks of the pure Dish- ley or BakeweU stock has, with several coarse flocks of sheep, been attended with no sensible advantage, owing to this cause — the characters and habits of the breeds being so widely dissimilar. Whenever, then, cross-breeding is attempted, care ought always to be taken to do it gradu- ally, and to rear the progeny in a proper manner ; and when the matching is conducted progressively, and with due attention to the diversity of habit in the animals, it succeeds well — the chief art being to begin gradually at first — and in process of time, as the blood of one family is diminished that of the other will be increased, till improve- ment to the degree wished for be attained by gradual ap- proximation. The great improvement of the breed of horses in Eng- land arose from crossing with those diminutive stallions, Barbs and Arabians ; and the introduction of Flemish mares was the source of improvement in the larger breed of cart horses. The form of the swine has also been greatly improved by crossing with the small Chinese boar. But when it became the fashion in London to drive large bay horses in carriages, the farmers in Yorkshire put their mares to much larger horses than usual, and thus did inn- nite mischief to their breed, by producing a race of small- chested, long-legged, large-boned, worthle s animals ; and a .iuiilar project was adopted in Normandy, for the pur- p se of enlarging their breed of horses — the use of the Hols ein stallion — by which the best breed of horses i.i France would have been spoiled, had not the farmers dis- covered their mistake in time, by observing the offspring much inferior in form to that produced by their own horses. IXTRODUCTIOX OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. TiiE following account of the introduction of do- mestic animals into this country, has been condensed from the Census Report. It furnishes a clue to the origin of our native cattle: The first animals brought to America from Eiu-ope, were imported by Columbus in his second voyage, in 1493. He left Spain as admiral of seventeen ships, bringing a collec- tion of European trees, plants and seeds of various kinds, a number of horses, a bull and several cows. The first horses brought into any part of the territory at present embraced in the United States, were landed in Flo- rida, by Cabeca be Vaca, in 1527, forty-two in number, all of which perished or were otherwise killed. The next im- port;! tion was also brought to Florida, by De Soto, in 1539, which consisted of hor es and swine, among which were thirteen sows ; the progeny of the latter soou increasing to several hundred. The Portugese took cattle and swine to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in the year 15.53. Thirty years after, they had multiplied so abundantly, that Sir Richard Gilbert attempted to land there to obtain supplies of cattle and hogs for his crew, but was wrecked. Swine and other domestic animals were brought over to Arcada, by ^l. L'Escarbot, a French lawyer, in 1604, the year that country was settled. In IGOS, the French exten- tended their settlement into Canada, and soon after intro- duced various animals. In 1609, three ships from England landed at Jamestown, in Virginia, with many immigrants, and the following do- mestic animals, namely : six mares, one horse, six hundred swine, five hundred domestic fowls, with a few sheep and goats. Other animals had been previously there. In 1611, Sir TnoMAS Gates brought over to the same settlement one hundred cows, besides other cattle. In I6l0, an edict was issued in Virginia, prohibiting the killing of domestic animals of any kind, on penalty of death to the accessory, and twenty-four hours whipping to the concealer. As early as the year 1617, the swine had multiplied so rapidly in the colony, that the people were obliged to pallisade •Jamestown, to prevent being overrun with them. In 1627. the Indians near the settlement fed upon hogs, which had become wild, instead of game. Every family in Virginia, at that time, which had not an abundance of tame hogs and poultry, was considered very poor. In 1648, some of the settlers had a good stock of bees. In 1667 sheep and mares were forbidden to be exported from the province. By the year 1723, or before, sheep had somewhat multi- plied, and yielded good fleeces. The first animals introduced into Massachusetts were by Edwaed Wikslow, in 1624, consisting of three heifers anil a bull. In 1636, twelve cows were sent to Cape Ann. In 1G29, one hundred and fifteen cattle were imported into the plantations on Massachusetts Bay, besides some horses and mares, and several ponies, and forty-one goats. They were mostly ordered by Fkaxcis Higginson, formerly of Leicestershire, whence several of the animals were brought. The first importation into New York was made from Holland, by the "West India company, in 1625, comprising one hundred and three animals, consisting of horses and cattle for breeding, besides as many sheep and hogs as wa* thought expedient. THE GEXESEE FARMER » THE BREEDING AXD REAKING OF POULTRY. No subject discussed in agi-icultural journals and books is more hackneyed than that of i^oultry. Fowls of every size, from the tiny Bantams scarcely large enough to crow, up to those mammoth birds from China, which are at once monsters in growth and monsters in deformity, have been described with all the minuteness and professional learning of domestic ornithology. ^Yith particular races and breeds, as compared with others, we have nothing to do ; our purpose is to deal with general principles, and sug- gest certain economical views in the breeding and rearing of poultry, applicable ahke to birds of every feather kept either for their eggs or flesh. Ducks and Guinea fowls are the best layers, when properly fed and othera'ise cared for, although ^eese, turkeys, and Dunghill fowls often surprise us By their extra- ordinary fecundity. "What circumstances most influ- ence the production of eggs in domestic birds ? Newly laid eggs are valuable either for eating or propagation ; and how to obtain the maximum yield froju a given quaatity of food is a point worthy of investigation. If one desires to obtain many eggs he should keep young birds, or rather avoid feeding old ones for that purpose. Stock fowls should consist of puUets and hens of from one year to four, and of no more cocks than one to every twenty-four or thirty hens. Too many males affect injuriously the egg-forming process in the system. Like every other function, its physiological laws ought to be studied and understood. Excessive pairing, over-age, defec- tive nutrition, extremes of cold or heat, impure air and water, and disquietude from frequent disturbances, ai'e the more common causes of barrenness in this class of animals. Many are the ingenious contrivances that have been resorted to to keep hens constantly laying, and to cure them of the natural desire to set or incubate their eggs. During the rage for particu- lar breeds, fertile eggs of favorite kinds have been worth a dollar apiece, and of course the time of the hen that lays such is too valuable to be wasted in hatching chickens and nursing them, which a common bird may do as well. When well supplied with ani- mal food (butcher's offal, cracklings, and the like), Poland hens are so prolific in eggs as to be denomi- nated " everlasting layers." Those engaged in rearing extra-fine stock fowls, boil all refuse meat for their daily consumption. From such digestible food, birds form either eggs or flesh with the utmost facihty. Wheat and oats are more congenial aUment than corn, although the latter is far from being worthless. Poultry-houses and yards ought to be kept very clean ; and all walls and fences should be thickly covered with whitewash made of lime. For wallowing in, to kill lice and other vermin, dry leached ashes, kept under shelter, are excellent, and even earth is better than nothing. Some gi-een food, like chopped cab- bage, potatoes, or carrots, contributes much to the health of all poultry in winter. A variety of food is important ; and not less so are pure air and a due degree of warmth. We give, on the opposite page, portraits of prize Cochin China fowls (buffs), the property of Thomas Btukgeon, Esq., Manor House, Essex, England. This breed is thus described by a writer in the London Farmers .Magazine: I have kept Cochin China fowls (I cannot jet accede to the change of name, and call them Shanghaes, until I see a much better reason than has yet been given) for a length of time, quite sufficient to enable me to speak of their qualities ; and, as I have other sorts, I can bear my testi- mony also to their comparative merits. For those whose space is limited they are undoubtedly the birds ; they are quiet and homely to a degree ; mine will feed out of my hand, and frequently pick from the dog's pans. Any fence, moreover, will confine them, so little do they appear desi- rous of straying. But I agree with those who contend that the true test is which breed possesses most advantages combined with fewest demerits ; and here I contend that my Cochin friends have it hollow. Do you want new-laid eggs in winter months, when they are scarce and dear ? I know of no hens so likely to supply you. Are you desirous of rearing chickens ? The Cochins are the best of mothers, and their progeny the easiest to rear of any breed I know. And when the time comes for putting them on the table, is it of no advantage that one should weigh as much as a cou])le of olden times ? These, in a few words, are the results of my experienca of the Cochins, looked at merely as a farm-yard fowl. Some persons will contend that a Dorking Capon is a bet- ter table fowl. It may be that he boil^ whiter, or even shows a plumper breast ; still I doubt if he supplies more of juicy and wholesome meat. But, supposing that for this one quality the Dorking has tlie call in the London markets, when you get him there — does this counterbalance the eggs in winter, the extra number of chickens, and the hardihood of the race ? We are to look at the question as one of kind against kind; and "for all properties." I aver without fear of contradiction, that the farmer who rears good Cochins for their mere produce to sell for food, will make more profit of them than of any other known variety. To the amateur, who rears his poultry partly for use and partly for amusement and ornament, there is nothing, in my opinion, to compare with them. The qualities I have before alluded to will alone gain for them the favor of those whose premises are confined, but who yet wish to have them occupied by such stock as they can support. At first sight, I readily admit that the Cochins, more es- pecially the growing chickens, are not so pleasing to the eye as" some other varieties; but the singularity oi their appearance wears off upon acquaintance, and beajing rather a recommendation than otherwise, from the contrast. I do not mean those gaunt, gawky brutes, sometimes called Cochins, and which were first called Shanghaes ; but the neat, squat, short-legged build of true Cochin fowl, such as Mr. Sturgeon has exhibited, and which have carried home the prizes to Grays from every quarter of the kingdom. I have said nothing of the relative value in the market of this and other kinds at the present day ; but to farmers and amateurs, those poultry-breeders who are not above disposing, after supplying themselves and their friends, of their "surplus stock, "with the view "to reduce the price of corn," there can be no question which is the most profitable of all known races of fowl. I may add that I myself came to the consideration of this question with a strong bias in favor of the Spanish, which I have kept in their purity for many years ; but I have really been compelled to arrive at the conclusion that the Cochins, whether for the farmer or the fancier, are, foi all purposes, the " birds of the day." Cleveland, Ohio, is a reading city. One thonsaiid families take, on an average, ten publications each, in- cluding dailies, weeklies, and monthlies. One thou- sand families average five publications each. One thousand three each, and two thousand on« each. A MAN behind the times should be fed on ketch-vp 26 THE GENESEE FARMER. SOUTHERN ACiRICULTCEAL PROGRESS. Soox after the officers of the Southern Central Ag- ricultural Suciety of Georgia were iuvited to co-ope- rate with those of other State Associations for the proTiiotion of agriculture, in the organization of a National Society, a successful effort was made to form v/hat is called, ^ye believe, "The Southern Agricultu- ral Association." It was the design of the founders of this association to embrace in its operations all the slave-hulding States, and i\o more. Only a part of them however have as yet joined in the movement; although the society appears to be getting on very harmoniously and successfully. It holds its meetings semi-annually; the first was at Macon, in Georgia, the second at Montgomery, in Alabama, the third is now in session at Columbia, South Carolina, and it is ex- pected that the next will be held next spring in Mis- sissippi or Louisiana. We rejoice at this and all oilitr systematic efforts to improve the agriculture and hort'.culture of our common country, and de- velop the s cial, moral and intellectual powers of the masses. Lectures upon many subjects that properly come within the range of rural affairs in the planting States, are delivered before the association and pub- lished. The task of writing an address to the slave- holding States, which should set forth the spirit and aim of the Association, was committed to Dr. "Wil- liam C. Daxiel, of Georgia, a gentleman having the talent, education and comprehensive views, to do jus- tice to so grave a subject. As a part of the history of agriculture in our own time, and especially as in- dicating the advancement of public opinion in the great cotton-growing region of this republic, we put on record the following extract from said Address, stating the objects of the Society: To improve our own agriculture, yielding peculiar pro- ductions tlirough the agency of a normal labor, requiring a distinct economy, and dependent on a climate of its own. To develope the resources, and unite and combine tlie energies of the slave-holding States, so as to increase their \\ ealth, power and dignity, as members of this confederacy. To establish and fortify a public opinion within our bor- ders, in antagonism to that without, in relation to ourselves and our institutions — the emanation of our own intelli- gence, power and energies — a national sentiment — a great truth, established by the exj>erience of the past, founded on a sound morality, a broad humanity, and that Christi- anity which especially inculcates a siucere humility and a boundless charity. To enforce the growing sentiment, that those who are to come after us and inherit our institutions, and the dan- gers which threaten them, shall be reared at home and educated in a full knowledge of rights, duties and respon- sibilities— and to establish fully in the public mind the two- fold value of a liigher standard of education, which will impose such application on the part of the pupils, and de- mand such qualitications on that of the teachers, as will establish industrious habits in the former, and enable the latter to instil and confirm in them a taste in after-life for what has been learned in youth — thus supplying the two most efficient agencies to prompt a career of usefulness and honor — industry and cultivated and refined tastes — and making our seats of learning effulgent centers of piety, science, literature and refinement — illuminating and har- monizing all interests, and blending all classes — the pride and glory of the country. To enlist and foster those scientific pui-suits which reveal to us the elements and character of our soils — instruct us in the presence of those magines of fertilizers which Na- ture has with so bountiful and considerate a hand provided for the uses of the industrious and enterprising — and search out the histories and habits of the insect tribes whieli ae- stroy (it is believed) annually a fifth of our crops, and sup- ply us with a knowledge of them which may enable us to guard against their future ravages. To promote the mechanic arts directly or indirectly aux- illiary to agriculture — and by a generous confidence and liberal patronage, raise those engaged in them to a social position, always the just reward of intelligence, industry and good conduct. To direct, as far as may be done, public sentiment against the barriers which have been artfully raised to cut ott' (nir commercial intercourse with dist;xnt countries, save through Such outlets as are supplied by northern marts, exacting tribute upon what we produce and consume. To e.vert an influence in establishing a system of com- mon school instruction which will make Christians as well as scholars of our children — which, in arming the rising generation with the instruments of knowledge, will in- struct them also in their proper uses — impressing ujKin them, from first to last, that (especially under our form of government) private worth constitutes the aggregate of public good — ind tliat no one can disregard his duties to those around him withnut positive injury to himself. To cultivate tlie ajititudes of the negro race for civiliza- tion, and consequently Christianity, so that, by the time that slavery shall have fulfilled its beneficent mission in these States, a system may be authorized by the social con- dition of that race here, to relieve it from its present ser- vitufle without sinking it to the condition, moral, mental and physical, into which the free negroes of the Northern States and West Indies have been hopelessly precipitated, by imposing upon them the duties and penalties of civili- zation before they have cast off the features of their Afri- can barbarism. It may be safely affirmed, that whenever the African, in the instructive and wholesome pupilage to whicii ho is subjected by his slavery, shall, in the course of many gene- rations, reach a point of civilization rendering that pn)iil- age useless to him, he will cease to be a slave as naturally and certain as the training of a child merges gradually his minority into manhood, and for a like reason. As all the fruit do not ripen on the tree at the same time, no more will our negroes become fitted at once for release from slavery. But as they do become qualified they will be lib- erated, as many already have been. In many slave-liuld- ing communities we see negroes who have become free, because, having acquired the essentials of civilization, by an irresistable law which man cannot, if he would, defeat, they are raised from slavery to freedom, without detriment to the master or man. Such has been the operation of slavery generally throughout Christendom — for there has been a time in which slavery existed in each European countrv, and history scarcely reveals when it terminated in any of them — so natural was its death — expiring of old age — dying out by insensible degrees. Thus is the death to which slavery is doomed in the United States. This is the only termination which it can reach, consistent either with his own rights or with our duties to the African race transplanted here, whose reasonable labors has enriched the land, and whose subjection will have prepared it for civilization, and consequently Cliristianity. In speaking of the natural tern)ination of slavery, we connect it necessa- rily with that civilization, the child and foster-parent of Christianity, which has superseded the barbarisms and idolatries of paganism — the civilization of modern times. Other and inferior civilizations which have worn them- selves out, did not and could not exercise so beneficent an influence, for want of the elements of our lasting and pro- gressive civilization. Inasmuch as our civilization is founded upon Christianity, its essentials will be durable as that faith, however it may become modified and improved in its progress. Christianity is the first faith w hich has inculca- ted, as a first duty, love to our neighbors, and the civiliza- tion which has grown up under illuminating power is the only one that the world ever knew, which has been estab- lished upon a broad humanity. It is that humanity which gives to it a vitality to lift all the races of men up to a higher and higher condition, and to prepare them in tran- sition for their new duties in their recent relations. THE GENESEE FARMER. 21 Progress and Emancipation — the " lifting of all the races of men up to a higher and higher condition" — are the leading ideas advanced in the Address, and deliberately adopted by a large association of wealthy cotton, rice and sugar planters. Common school edu- cation, and above all, the pure, the comprehensive, and the humanizing influences of Christianity, are brought prominently forward as powerful agencies in working out the high aspirations of southern farmera. Had public opinion been as far advanced in Georgia 18 years ago as it now is, her shai-e of the surplus revenue distributed under Mr. Yax Buren's adounis- tration, would not have been squandered, but applied as we applied ours in the State of New Tork, to the support of Common Schools, and to other educational purposes. But Georgia at that time had no agricul- tural papers, as she now has, wholly independent of politics and politicians, to enlighten public opinion, and point out freely and earnestly the true interests of the people. Agricultural journals have become one of the most useful and influential institutions of the rising republic. ATKINS' AUTOMATON, OR SELI -RAKING REAPER AND MOWCR. Axxiors to encourage improvements in farm im- plements and agi'icultural machinery of every kind, we give in connection with this article an illustration of one of the most interesting, but perhaps too com- plex, reapers ever invented. An "Automaton Eeap- er" sounds very much like an automaton farmer — a thing more curious than useful; but it is only by con- stant efforts to attain perfection in mechanism that any really valuable improvements are achieved. Of the precise merits of this self-raking reaper we are not sufficiently informed to express an opinion. It re- ceived a silver medal of the American Institute, and has been honored with several premiums from County and State Agricultural Societies. Mr. Johnson, Sec- retary of the N. Y. State Agi-icultural Society, speaks of it in a letter to a friend in England as an inven- tion which " is destined to effect a great change in the agricultural labor of the world." Mr. J. S. Wright, editor of the Chicago Prairie Farmer, is the proprietor and manufacturer of this reaper. ^i*-*-^ TVe learn that the Central Railroad has over twen- ty-six miles of freight cars, in constant use. Yet even this does not accommodate the vast business that ofTere itself, and new cars ai'e constantly in pro- gress. At the Yirginia State Fair $39,000 were liberally subscribed for the benefit of the State Agricultural Society. Benefit of Gcano on Wheat. — Mr. Cairo soya in the Agriculture Gazette : Last autumn, ii] sowin"' a large iield, exactly one hundred acres, I directed the person who was lajing on the guano to pass over an acre in the center of the field, all the rest of which re- ceived 2 cwt. per acre, at the time the wheat was sown. The produce of this and the adjoining acre were cut and kept separate from each other, and from the rest of the field, and were threshed last week, yielding as follows: One acre, with 2 cwt. guano.. 44 bush., and straw 40 cwt. One acre, without guano ..35 " " 30 " Increase of Wheat... 9 « " 10 " The cost of the guano (Peruvian) on the field was 10s. per cwt., or £1 per acre, so that I have nine bushels of wheat for £\. The acre selected for the experiment was an average of the field, and I have no reason to doubt that for an expenditm-e of £100 in guano on that field last autumn I have now reaped an increased produce of 900 bushels of wheat. This tallies very closely with the experience of Mr. Lawes, in Hertfordshire, where 2 cwt. of guano gives an in- crease of eight bushels of wheat The land on which the above experiment was made is a strong wheat soil of good quality, thoroughly tile-drained, sown in good order after a bare fallow, on the 20th of September, and reaped on the 10th of August. A WORD of kindness. It is a seed which, even when dropped by chance, is sure to spring up a flower. 28 THE GENjESEE FARMER. CONDUCTED BY JOSEPH FROST. DYTAKF COERRT, ONLY TWO YEARS OLD, BEARING FRUIT. NOTES ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE CIIEREY UiON THE M HALEB STOCK. Owing to the greatly increased attention whicli horticultural pursuits have commanded within ihe pa.st few years, many trials and experiments have been made by zealous cultivators ^^^th the different varie- ties of fruits, and testing the various kinds of stocks, by subjecting them to different influences, and apply- ing the same to the wants of the public and to the various sections of the country. It is folly to presume that one variety of fruit, or a tree grown upon a particular kind of stoclv, or in a certain" form, will succeed equally well in the many sections of our land, which embraces so great an ex- panse of territory, such a divei-sity of climates, and an almost endless variety of soils. To make the proper classification or assignment for most fruits, so that one to a certainty can s ly that this will succeed admirably ia this locality and fiiil in that, will require much laljor and patient study for years. The results of some are already known, and it is this fact which has given horticulture such an astonishing impetus, imexamp'ed in any age. Cultivating the Pear upon the Quince in the dwarf, pyi-amidul and half-standard form, is extensively prac- ticed; also t'le Apple and Cherry, though not so laigely; nnd in some degree the Peach and Plum. Dwarf an 1 pyramidal Cherries, which are produced by grafting or "budding the diiFerent varieties of this fruit upon the Mahaleb stock, promise to be invalu- ble, more particularly to the south-west and west. Standard CheiTies, which are grown upon the Maz- zard stock, in our naturally over-rich western soils, produce each a great amount of wood as to bear lit- tle or no fruit; and owing most probably to the very imperfect ripening of the wood, the trunk o.' the treij splits upon the approach of winter and soon perishes. The hot and long-continued dry weather during tlui summer months, in the southern parts of Ohio, Indi- ana and Illinois, prevailing at about the time of tlij ripening of the fruit, is a serious drawback. Those cultivated upon the Mahaleb stock, as ex- perience proves, are much less affected by the ex- tremes of wet and dry weather, thereby insuring a good crop of fruit; the wood, too, is better ripened, so as to withstand most successfully the winters. The liabit of the tree assumes naturally a pyramidal shajic. The lower branches commence to form near iho ground, and the future limbs shoot out at regular distances, as the leader of the plant rises. The tioe l^eing low, is well adapted to withstand the high wind- that prevail upon the prairies, and more or less in a!l level countries; and the trunk or body of the plant is well protected from the destructive influence of tin sun. Its most peculiar and promising characteristic- are its great productiveness, and the early stage al which it bears fruit. Frequently mere bushes, onl\ two or three years old from bud, are literally lad-i with the choicest cheiTies. Upon clayey or very di}- poor, chalkey soils it thrives finely, where the Maz zard would not flourish. Cherries of the Duke and Morello classes wcmh attain the height of ten to twelve feet, if desired. With a little pruning once or twice a year, princi pally by cutting back the extremities of the shoots they can be made to assume a pyramidal shape oi bush form, which, while it detracts nothing from thcii fruitfulness, well adapts them for gardens and pla^ v, aff'ording but little room. The more free and rapid growing sorts, compri> > in the Heart and Bigarreau classes, would grow irnn fourteen to sixteen feet, but they ought to be 1:0] i within less bounds by pruning. They are well adapi ed for gardens and orchards in rather sterile localiiies where a little more space should be allotted tlnn than is requked for the Dukes and Morellos. REMONTANT ROSES. This class of Roses, generally termed Perpetual and Hybrid Perpetual, are fast driving the Gardtjij Roses out of cultivation, which bloom but once, and during the remainder of the season burden the ground. Among the June Roses are some varieties it seems necessary to cultivate, that some colors may be obtained which are not among the Perpetual s, such as Persian Yellow, Madam Hardy and Ma- dam Plantier, Ch6n6dole, Aureti and some others. The beautiful golden yellow of one, the snowy white- ness of Madams Plantier and Hardy, the rich glow- ing crimson of Ch6u6ndole, and the dark velvety appearance of Aureti, make them all desirable. 1 he production of new varieties is now pursued with so much zeal, particulariy by the French, that it will lie but few years before all these colors will be embraced among the Remontants. Now the Perpetuals include all the colors from neariy a pure white, as Blanche and Blanche Vibert, to a brilliant crimson or dark purple, as Giant of Battles and Dembrowskii. They are perfectly hardy, enduruig the ■winters in our northern latitudes unpro- THE GENESEE FARMER. 29 tected. Some are of dwarf habit, thus rendering them fit for grounds affording but little space, otheil ai-e vigorous and strong growers ; all of which bloom at intervals from June to November. ■^e add a description of twenty varieties, which we think best. It was made at different times during the past season, while in bloom, from a collection of more than two hundred and fifty varieties, all of thi^ class. Particular attention is paid to those sorts hav- ing the most distinct colors: Blanche is a nearly snow-white Rose and fragrant; medium size, double. Its habit is dwa.-P. and is a pro- fuse bloomer. Blanche Yibert is yellowish-white; its flowei-s are very double, and of medium size. In the autumn its flowers do not come as perfect, nor are they as pro- fuse as the former. Marquise de Boxclla, is a pale flcBh color; its flower is large and fragrant and blooms very freely; it is of slow growth, but has very stout shOots. Sydouie is a rosy flesh color; large, full and fine rorm; it is quite fragrant and its habit is strong. Oliver de Serres is a large and fine Rose; its color is paJe or light rose; grows vigorously and produces flowers abundantly in autumn. Duchesse de Praslin is a blush Rose, and its petals are very deeply tinted with lilac; its flowers are veiy large, finely shaped, being hi a vase form, before fullv expanded. Its habit is rather dwarf, and blooms freely. Baronne Prevost is one of the best Roses in this class; rosy-crimson color; it is very large, fragrant, and produces flowers freely in autumn. It is of luxu- rious growth and rich large foliage. Madame Lamoriciere is a beautiful pink flower; though not large yet it is quite distinct; its shape is of. the most exquisite form and very double. It blooms freely and is not a rapid gi'ower. La Reine is the largest rose of this class; it is handsomely cupped, globular and very fragrant; it grows very freely but rather slender. Its color is a brilliant glossy rose, lightly tinged vrith hlac, and blooms profusely in autumn. _ Madame Laffay is unequalled in beauty of form and richness of color; it is a beautifully cupped and finely shaped, though not of the largest size. Its profusion of flowers, fragrance, rich crimson color, fine foliage and its good habit, place it among the very highest in this class. _ Madame Trudeaux is a very fine Rose; above me- dnim size, fine form, quite fragrant, beautiful fight cnmson color and its free and very constant bloom- ing habit make it very desirable. Doctor Arnal is a very profuse bloomer and fl.ow- ei-s finely in autumn. Its color is a very brilliant red ; large, quite fragrant, and makes wood freely. Baronne Halley de Claparede is unequalled in the foi-m of its flower; its finely cupped shape, though the Rose is not large is perfect, and it continues tiU ?ts petals drop. Its color is light crimson or bright rose, quite fragi-ant and blooms freely daring the "summer and autumn. Pius the Ninth is a large and beautiful Rose; its color is deep crimson, and its form handsome. The habit of it is very fine and flowei-s abundantly. Louia Bonaparte is very large and fragrant; full and fine form. Its color is very deep rose; flowers very freely in the antumn and grows rapidly. Prince Albert is one of the most beautiful among the Remontants. Its flowei-s are pretty large, welf formed, and very fragi-ant. Its color is deep crimsoa with purple. Its habit is free growth, and it bloom? abundantly through the season. Standard of Marengo is brilliant, glowing crimson, with purple. It is not veiy double or large, but no Rose can be more beautiful. Its petals, stiiT and shell-like, retain their exquisitely cupped form till it decays. It blooms very freely, and is not a rapid grower, which makes a handsome bush. Chai'Ies Boissiere is one of the most glowing scar- let Roses in this class. It is of good size and fint y formed, and blooms profusely. Its habit is very fr.-fe, and the foliage rich and quite glossy — a charactena- tic of the Bourbon family. Giant of Battles is unsurpassed in celoi- and pi-o- fuseness of its bloom during summer and autumn. Its deep briUiant crimson or scarlot color render it veiy distinct and striking, even among a thousand flowers ; the period, too, of its bloom— flowering al- most constantly through the growing season — makes this_ variety of all others the most desirable. Its habit is rather dwarf, maldng a neat, pretty bush, and its foliage is rich and glossy. The flowere are mediuro size, finely shaped, and sometimes quite large an<2 fragrant. Dembrowskii is a deep violet color, which makes i> a veiy distinct variety. Its flowere are cupped, me- dium size, and quite fragrant. Its habit is dwart and produces flowers freely in autumn. CALENDAR OP OPERATIONS FOR JANUARY. Protect newly-planted trees from frost by muleh- ing, or by forming a mound of earth about the stem of the plant, if this business was neglected m October. Halt-hardy trees and plants may still be protected, by tying straw rather loosely about the plants with cord. Attend to bulbs, most of which will emerge from the ground during March next, by applying mats, or make a covering of rather loose straw or leaves. _ Prune Apples, Pears, Plums, Cherries, Gooseber- ries, Currants, and Raspberries, but remit operations during severe weather. Collect composts, earths, and manures, and turn over those yon have got, bo that the frost may thoroughly penetrate them. Examine apples' in cellars; if any are commedfeing to decay, rertiove them at once. NURSERY DEPARTMENT. Cut scions of Apples, Peai-s, and Plums, and place them in a cool cellar ready for gi-aftiag. Prune Quinces, Currante, and Gooseberries, whien can be made into cuttings and laid in by the heels till wanted for planting. This should be done as soon as the frost is out of the ground in the spring. Prepare labels and tallies for trees, sticks, and stakes, for general use. Fruit tree stocks can be pnmed withm doors, ready for planting in the spi-ing. In-door grafting can now be commenced, if sdons are ready 30 THE GENESEE FARMER IMPORTANCE OF WATER IX GAR- DENING. AfcTHOUGH water is not less important in growing all field crops than in the culture of garden products, yet, as the returns realized from a given area are much larger in the latter than in the former, one can often afford to provide water to irrigate a garden, when to irrigate his fields would be too expensive for profit, or his limited means. At Blithewood, on the Hud- son, a Water Tower has been erected which answers an excellent purpose, and is described as follows in the Horticulturist for March, 1853, by the proprietor: At the distance of 2,100 feet from the dwellinjr and gar- dens, there is a hill GO feet high, adjoining one of the cata- racts of the Sawkill — a stream which bounds the orna- mental grounds. Upon this hill, which is level with the site of the house, I have erected a tower in the form of an Italian campanile (see accompanying sketch), which con- taias tlie reservoir, and serves also as a prospect tower. The head of water below the cataract is sufficient for driving hydraulic rams or forcing pumps to fill the reservoir to the top, 100 feet high and 300 feet dis- tant. To avoid interruption by frost m the use of an overshot water wheel and pump, I adopted two hydraulic rams (in case one should stop) for constant use, which are covered up, and ope- rate incessantly. The supply by rams is sufficient for all pur- poses but fountains and jets d'eau, which will require a forc- ing pump to be used in the sum- mer. The water tower is IS feet square and 45 feet high, placed upon a teiTace ior beau- ty and to gain elevation. Within this is a reservoir, 7 feet square and 34 feet high, constructed in the strongest manner, of oak timber, and bolted with 1-inch iron, and planked and lined with lead — resisting at the bottom a pressure of about 85,000 pounds. I was induced to accumulate the Avater in this expensive manner, to obtain great pressure in the pipes to prevent the gafher'mg of sediment and air — to supply baths and water closets in the house, and jets d'eau and foun- tains in the gardens and grounds. From the bottom the water is conducted by 2-inch iron pipes, 3i feet below the sod, and lat- eral pipes of lead, varying in size, to su])ply hydrants tV>r root cul- ture, irrigation, the cattle yard, stable, the garder. rhe house, and fountains. 1 he vv rter tower occupies a conspicuoiK position, and is highly ornam i tal. The results are so ^;atisfac- tory and beneficial tl at I should recommend similar improve- ments wherever they can be made. Mr. Cn.\RLES Calvert, who has a fine estate called •" Riverdale," a few miles fiom ^Vashington, of 3,000 acre^, irrigates an extensive garden from a wooden tower, some forty or fifty feet in height, into which a full supply of water is pumped by horse-power. He is about to erect steam works to irrigate his meadows, pa,stures, and root crops, using cast-iron pipes for di.-*- tributing water to dillerent lijdrants ; from these it will be spread equally o^ver the ground through mova- ble hose made of leather or gutta percha, as in fire engines. ilydraulic rams are used by many to convey water from small streams, having fall enough to work the machines, to dwelhngs, and into yards, fields, and stables, for stock. The benefits of a full supply of running water for irrigation, and all domestic and farmstead purposes, are not generally appreciated. On a large majority of farms there fails in rain and snow about a ton of water upon every square yard in the course of the year. This water, if rightly used, might render twice the service it now does. THE GENESEE FARMER. 31 FRUIT AND FRUIT TREE CULTURE. Thkre is no portion of tlie world wLere climnte and ^oil, in ordinary reasons, are so sure to give a pro- fitable return to tlie cultivator of fruits as in Western New York; and the value is much increased from the fact that the best quahties are becoming more and more plenty with us, as all our nurserj-men find more pleasure in selling trees which they know to be of the better sorts. Hence Rochester has become known to be a center from which good trees can be had. As a proof of the quality of our apples, Mr. Barry, while conductor of the Horticultural Department of this paper, took with him to England specimen JS'orthcni Spy and A''orloiis Melon apples, which Mr. RivicRS pronounced superior to any grown there, lie says: " Your American apples," alluding to the kinds mentioned above, " I can eat, as they are ten- der— almost melting — and easy of digestion." Also, that he grew l)ut two varieties for Covent Garden market — the Slnrmer Pippin and Dumeloios Seed- ling— "and that apples in England were in most seasons so sharp [sour or tart) as to scarcely pay for gathering." What a contrast this to the abundant supply usually had here! Only two varieties! Why, with us a suc- cession of kinds, both early and late, would Ije gTOwn. The same proves true v.-ith French grown apples, for samples recently received here from A.vpre Le Roy were very inferior in appearance and flavor to our American ones. At the risk of reiterating what has before been pubhshed in our columns, we will class what we deem the very best apples, both as standard fruits for mar- ket, and sucli as coimoiseurs would admire : Early Varieties. — Early Harvest, Early Joe, Red Astrachan, Hawley or Douse, Early Straiv- herry, Large Yellow Bough, Sine-qua-7ion, Summer Rose, Alexander — all choice for dessert, and ripe from the 1st of August to the 1.5th of September. Autumn Vari?:ties. — Autumn Straivberry, Dyer, Fail Pippin, Maidens Blush, Porter, St. Lawrence, Graven-stein, Holland Pippin, Bailey Sweeting. Winter Varieties. — Baldwin, Vandervere, Lac- quier, Yellow Bell-flower, Blue Pear main. Peck's Pleasant, Esopus Spitzenburgh, Twenty Ounce, Swaat, Fameuse, Canada Red, Pomme Grise, Rhode Island Greening, A''ortons Melon, JVorthern Spy, Winter or Herefordshire Pearmain, Golden Russet, JVewtown Pippin, Jonathan, Wagener, Cor- nish GiUiflower, Porter, Hubbardston J\''onsuch, Rambo, Domine, Canada Rcinette, Roxbury Russet, Ribston Pippin. Sweet Apples — Green Sweeting, Tolman, Pound, and Bailey Sweeting. Here we have iif ly varieties of choice apples, most of them melting and delicious; and from the fifty we can select twenty-fi\e varieties as good as were ever grown. Xow all that is wanting to perpetuate this choice fruit, and not have it run out, is to take good care of the trees, and give them culture. With proper pruning and enriching of the soil, we venture the as- sertion that the trees may be kept productive for fifty years after bearing. A\''e subjoin a list of twelve kinds for a private garden: - Early Hai^est, Early Joe, Red Astrachan, Haiv- ley or Douse, St. Lawrence, Canada Red, Rambo, JVorton.-i Melon, Herefordshire Pearmain, Fameuse, Bailey Sweeting, Green Sweeting; and to make a plumj) dozen, add A'orthern Spy — never to be ex- celled in its season. Vi. A SELECT LIST OP ORCHARD PEACH TREES. I HAVE made arrangements to set out one thousand Peach trees, on six acres of good land — the soil a deep gravely loam — the trees to be one rod apart in the row each wav. I should like your opinion of what kinds, and how mar/j of a kind, it would be best to set out for market purposes. Also, what the trees would be worth at ten years' growth, well taken care of, to be as good as money at seven per cent, interest. By giving your opinion you will much oblige a subscriber, and one who has every volume of the Farmer from 1831 to the present time, and most of them well bound. I find them an invaluable hook of reference on all matters pertaining to the fiirm, garden, and fruit- culture. Palmer Brown. — East Aurora, N. Y. P. S. — Summer, fall, and early winter fruit only. Expecting soon to plant a Peach orchard on our own farm, we will name the varieties which we pre- fer; premising that a want o^fniitfulness is a serious drawback to some trees otheruise desirable. 1. Crawford's Early is a freestone early peach, distinguished for its size and rich flavor. It is of a yellow color, and the tree is exceedingly vigorous and prolific. Its fruit always sells at the highest price in market, and is the first to come to maturity. Mr. Barry, in his Fruit Garden, page 335, pronounces this "the most valuable single variety, on account of its great size and beauty, and the vigor and pro- ductiveness of the tree." 2. Cole's Early Red is of medium size, mostly clouded and mottled with red ; flesh pale, juicy, rich, and dehcious; tree vigorous and an abundant bearer. In favorable localities, ripens by the middle of August 3. Alberge Yellow (Bernard's Yellotv Rarei'ipe). This is described by Mr. B. as " large, deep yellow, with a dull red cheek; flesh yeUow, juicy, and rich; tree Aigoi'ous, hardy, and productive." 4. Early York is a well-lcuowTi, popular fruit, of medium size; tree a fair gi'ower and prolific, and one of the best early orchard varieties. 5. Haines' Early; C. Jacques' Rareripe; 7. Large Early York, are fine early varieties, and deserve cul- tivation. As white peaches are more saleable for presernng than either yellow or red, some attention should be given to this point by the cultivator. 8. Morris' White is thus described in The Fruit Garden: "Medium size, dull creamy white, tinged mth red in the sun; flesh white to the stone, juicy, and delicious; tree a good bearer; highly prized for preserving, on account of the entire absence of red in the flesh. Ripe middle of September; glands uoi- fomi; flower small." 9. Royal Kensington. — Several varieties of white- fleshed peaches are cultivated in the vicinity of Roch- ester as the Kensington, and used for preserves. 10. Snow Peach is a beautiful white fruit, which sells readily for making preserves. (The manufac- ture, sale, and consumption of sweet-meats are increas- ing rapidly.) 11. Red Cheek Melocoton is an excellent and popu- lar fruit, which is extensively cultivated as an orchard tree, being hardv and a good bearer. ^2 THE GENESEE FARMER The al:)Ove eleven sorts are freestone, and may be •expected to last until the following later variety is ready for market: 12. O-awford's Late sells better in Rochester than any other late variety that we have seen. Mr. Bar- ky thus notices it : " Really a superb yellow peach, vety large, productive, and good, ripening about the close of the peach season — laijt of September." It is difficult to designpie, as requested, the number of each sort that ought to be planted in an orchard of one thousand trees. L. EiPESixG OF > uiTS AND VEGETABLES. — In Com- pliance with your equest to " make rough notes of fruits as they ripen," I send you a list, with dates, taken from my pocket memoranda. These fruits and vegetables grew on my own farm, which is an elevated prairie loam — latitude 40 deg. 40 miu.— ground gently descending to the Mest and south: Peas. — Early, June 10; ^Marrowfat, June 22. Potatoes. — Early, June 26. Strawberries. — Wild, June 10. Cherries. — May, June 12; Eigarreau, July 1 ; Mo- relio, July 1. Currants. — Common Red (green), June 1; do. (ripe), June 18; Black (ripe), June 15. Corn. — Early (green), July 10; Field (green), Au- gust 10. Beans. — String, July 2; Shelled, July 21. Cucumbers — July 15. Grapes.— \^"\\^ of Comiecticut, August 20; Rheu ish, September 8. Plums. — ^Vild, of Illinois, September 1 ; Horse, of Illinois, August 10. I shall continue these "rough notes" for my own satisfaction and reference, and shall take pleasure in 3?>uding a copy occasionally to the Genesee Fanner. The list, though a meagre one now, will be increased as my fruit trees come into bearing. I am anxious to a'e a copious list from " Down East " published in your paper. Amos Stevens. — Peoria Co., III. KEEPING FRUITS AXD VEGETABLES. The most profitalile part of farm iudustiy is that which produces good fruits and vegetables; and to extend this department of rural labor nothing will contribute so much as improvement in the connnon methods of keeping these perishable commodities. At a recent meeting of the New York Farmer's Club the following remarks were made by its members, which are copied from the American Artisan : Dk. UKDEauiLt. — I think that ultimately we shall find diat the disease is due to minute worms or insects. As to tli« subject of the dav — the Keeping of Fruits and Vegetahles — suppose that there could he on sale, for a great length of time, rich, sound, delicious fruits — how vastly the sales would be increased ! The number of con- sumers would be very great and the habit of using fine fruit freely is of the highest importance to the health of mankind — the well-known effect being a purification of the system, a refining of the blood— all that tends to give us pure health ! I speak now as a physician, as well as an agriculturist. I speak for the multiplication of all fine fruits — as the grape, of which I am a grower to some ex- tent. Our peaches rush upon our people in sudden mas- tas. Some dozea years ago, we bad in a day imported ten or twelve thousand baskets of them Into New York alone Now we have got up to fifty thousand baskets in one day If we could contrive to keep peaches a much longer time the market would pay millions of dollars more for them than it now does. It is the same with all the delicate small fruits — the strawberry, raspberry and blackberry, one ol our most delicate and wholesome fruits. Strange as it may seem, we have not an adequate supply. Farmers ought ti; turn their attention to it. I do most sincer'ilv hope that discoveries may be made of the means of keeping and i)n - serving our fruits, so that their use may become — not verv partial, as it now is — but universal. West India fruit i- supj}lied to us in good condition. A sound orange is al- most always to be had, and at a price sometimes cheajier than a fine apple ! This fruit business is a profitable one to the islands. As to keeping fruits in good condilion, I believe that aji even temperature, above frost, seems to be indisjJcnsaLle ; also a store-house, double-sided, filled in with cliarci'al, dust, or saw-dust, or air only — an air-jacket, as it is termed all very bad conductors of heat. The fruits should 1 stored in them perfectly dry, and not too ripe. At tin same time, immature fruit will not answer, No one woulii take the necessary pains to keep any poor fruit. Mr. Lodge. — Air should be excluded from the stme- house, and confcict between the fruits carefully avoiiic.l Sweat apples first in the barn, by covering them over witi straw ; then carefully spread them out to dry ; then put ;i layer of dry sand in the bottom of the barrel ; on that, carefully, one by one, place a layer of apples ; then an other layer of sand — and so on, till the barrel is full. ] have had in England, for apples so put up, /o?o to keep choice fruits as to present them in perfect conditiun in foreign markets as well as our home markets. The knoweledge of the methods of keeping should be every- where extended. It is said here that apples keep well in bags made of linen. An elderly lady on Long Island us.d to keep her best apples in her garret all winter, sound, by merely covering them up close with linen, and when she wanted some of them, »he lifted tiie covering as little and as carefully as possible when taking out some of the ap- ples. They icere tiever frozeii in this metlwd. !Mr. Solon Robinson. — We can grow peaches without limit, and that we can preserve them, I present here the actual proof. Here are good peaches, skins ofi', fine sugar put into the middle of the half peaches, and by moderate heat converted into an article very superior to raisins of THE GENESEE FARMER. 33 figs. (Members tasted them and generally thought them quite superior to raisins or figs.) In the Western States I have often known hogs to be fattened on the rich peaches covering the ground. Gentlemen iind tlie preserved jeai'hes agreeable. The juice which drains from them while they are being preserved, is much better than any honey or any syrup I ever tasted. It has the delicious fla- vor of tlie ripe peach, which is lost chietiy in tlie common modes of cooking to preserve them. This market would ]i;;y twice as much for such peaches as these, than they niiw do for raisins ; but remember, Mr. Chairman, that t lat-an, all tiiis time, rich, ripe peaclies, preserved witli the liL'st su<5-ar and by honest liands ! I do not mean the trash for which the community jiays until disgusted with the whole concern. Sir, few families would be without the true peaches truh' preserved. For tlie purpose of pre- serving peaches in this style, a stove-houso heated by steam to about two hundred and twelve degrees of Farenheit thermometer — that is, to the boiling point of water — should be erected. The peaches should be selected of the best sorts, and in a perfectly sound state. When the syrup flowing from the peaches, in the process, is found to be too much diluted, let it undergo evaporation until the syrup i- surticieutlj dense ; about one-sixth jxirt of sugar is re- quired. As to blackberries — one of our most wholesome small fiuits — our country abounds with them — we eat a few in t!ie few days of their ripeness, and all the rest, an incalcu- laMe amount, go to de^ruction. Why, Sir, standing on tiiji of a stage to get a view, in Indiana, on the river Wa- 1k. sh, I had within view more blackberries than would fill this room, (S5 by 25 feet and 13 high) rich, ripe, long, de- lii-iiius berries. All over that country. Sir, wherever the fcirest is d<;adeiied down, or a road or a clearing, there these rich blackberries crowd in. If farmers would take pains to preserve these blackberries and supply the market, they would make more money than by raising corn — Indian I'orn — at ten cents a bushel, which I have often paid for It — or six-pence, for which it has often been sold. Henkt L. Ellsworth, formerly Commissioner of the Patent Of- fice, has hired men to cultivate three thousand acres of bis land in Indiana, and contracted to give the men three dollars an acre per annum. They raised sixty bush- ■h an acre — thus a bushel of Indian corn costs Mr. Ells- iVORTH Jive cents. The subject for our next meeting, December 6th, is the Frauds in Packing and want of honesty and knowledge in Cutting up Fruits, in connection with the continuation of lie Best Methods of Keeping Fruits and Vegetables, both .(TV highly interesting questions. Nlr. Randtil, from Maryland, said that fine peaches i' I landed there, and it was of great importance that we !;iiuld be able to save those immense masses of peaches o>t for want of suitable means of preservation. Mr. Robinson. — If you can do more than to make sy- up of them, you will do nobly. It is better, I repeat it, iian any honey, and when properly dried, the figs and rai- ins will have to make way for them on every table. Mr. Fleet. — There is a great want of principle in the •onimerce in fruits. Poor, miserable peaches, poorly dried — iirt, insects and all — come to market, only to disgust dis- •reet families, none of whom would ever be without a nil 111 article. Those who trade in them, seem to have no iirt of care for reputation, and in consequence, their ulti- nate profit is wretchedly small. Some few have estab- i-^hed reputations for good articles, honestly done up. These always find a high market in the shortest time, iow long the good reputation of Goshen butter has lasted, scquired by a few makers of excellent butter, many years igo. TuE Chairman remarked upon the constant frauds iractised by placing good apples at each end of the bar- el and poor ones in the middle. Honesty is the best policv n life or death, and any honorable man can Boon establish \ reputation for his fruit, or any thing else, which soon wiU pve him command in the great markets. He must have ome patience at the beginning ; he must endure some dif- iculties at first, but soon reputation will be his, and un- imited sales of his articles at the highest prices. All false- lood in farming or gardening is blacker than in any other :>hing ; and th^t man who makes false statements of the crops of his country, is a curse to it. Mr. Fleet proposed as a subject for the next meeting, the Elevation of the Standard of Honesty in all Agricul- tural and Horticultural Dealings. Judge Livin' noN moved to add the subject of the daj, the Keeping Ci fruits and Ye<^(ita.h\es.—Ado2>ted. EI VERS' REMARKS OX PEAR TREES. The following remarks 'r-q find in Thos. Rivkr.?' Catalogue of Fruits for 1853 and 18.54. Thoii2:h directed mostly to the attention of Engli.sh horticul- turists, -who place the utmost confidence in liis jndg- nient upon these matters, it cannot fail to be of in- terest to American amateurs and fruit growera In regard to the biennial removal of trees, he says: It is the most simple of all methods of root-prunin"- ; it consists in merelv digging a trench around the tree ^arly in November, and lifting it out of the ground carefully with all the earth possible attached to its roots, shortening with the knife any that are straggling. If the soil be rich, so that trees unremoved are inclined to grow too vigorously no fresh comfort will be required, and it will merely be ne- ce.ssary to shovel into the hole some of the earth from the surface around it to two or three inches in depth; this wDl prevent the tree settling down too deeply. If the soil be poor, some rotten dung — at least six months old — and loam or any light earth, equal parts, or moor earth, may be placed at the bottom in the same manner, and some of the same tvampost, say half a wheel-barrowful to each ti-ee, may be thrown over its roots when replanting it. The following materials he has found of great ser- vice in the culture of Pears, whether on the Pear or Quince stock: In low situations near brooks and rivers, a black moor earth is generally found. This, unprepared, is unfit for horticultural purposes, but if dug out and laid in a ridge, and one-eighth part of unslaked lime spread over it, turn- ing it immediately and mixit^g the lirae with it, it will be- come in the course of five or six weeks an excellent com- post for Pear trees. I have in some instances added half a bushel of burnt earth to a barrowful of this moor earth with good eft'ect ; in planting, one wheel-barrowful will be enough. !! The only method to cultivate successfully pyramidal Pears on Pear stocks is by biennial removal ; in this way they become nearly as prolific as those on the Quince stocks ; and what is of great importance in light gravely or chalkey soils, they will to a certainty succeed w here Pears on Quince stocks will as certainly fail. Grape Mildew. — Mr. H. Morgan, gardener, in- forms the public that his vinery of 80 feet by 18 was visited by mildew before the vines were in .bloom the past summer. They were immediately dusted all over with sulphur by throwing handfuls in about the foli- age. The mildew disappeared and he had an excellent crop of well-colored grapes. Great care was taken in thinning, not to shake the sulphur on the grapes. Ho did sp-inge the vines, but kept the house very damp until the grapes began to ripen. Seven pounds of sulphur were used. The Massachusetts Ploughman says: "We are using boiled carrots and meal for car fatting hogs, and think they make good food. They are probably worth more than potatoes for fattening, though actual trials are wanted to determine the question." 34 THE GENESEE FARMER. JSifoi*'^ I^!)le. The Gk_\esek Farjcsr, — Tke Decemhor number of this periodical is on our table. It closes the 14th. volume of tho second series of one of the oldest and most widely known of Rochester periodicals. The Farmer must be (irmly fixed amnns the indispensables of the farmer's fire-side, to stand so long and so strong, while so man_v new agricultural, journals are springing up in all parts of the coua- tcy. When the Parmtr first appeared in the viHage of RochcMter, what is now the \-ery garden of the great west, was comparatively a wilderness ; and while tho transition was taking place, for years th? western husbandman and forester know no other agricultural comi)anioQ. The we.st has became, as it were. !in Empire, and has its farming journals ; but we fancy that our Farmer is still remcm- Iwrsd there, and still finds thousands of patrons among the old set- tlors .lud their descendants. In this section and to the westwani, thf» Genesee Farmer is the pioneer agricultural enterprise. As such, it should be remembered and sustained. — Daily Rochester VniuH. We tliank our contemporary for its friendly notice and interesting reminiscences. The present proprietor of this journal was a citizen of "Western New York before the Erie canal was excavated, and well remembers the opposi- tion made to that great public improvement by represen- tatives from the city of New York, Long Island, and the river counties on the Hudson and Mohawk. At that time the western part of the State contained very few inhabi- tants ; but few as they were, by union, high moral cour- age, matchless perseverance, and incredible labor, they conquered every obstacle, and drove the grand enterprise through to comi)letion in eight years, from 1817 to 1S23. The industry and economy of tliose days contrasted with the idleness and luxury of the present, often make us fear that society is realiy degenerating, and believe that a rapid increase of wealth tends to foster dishonesty and general immorality. There are, however, so many elements to be c^iisidered in this problem that we are not prepared to ex- press a matured opinion as to the demoralizing influence of money made with little labor, or by the unexpected and enormous rise of real or personal estate. Whatever may be the moral iffect of the sudden and almost fabulous ad- vance in the aggregate wealth of Western New York, we feel confident that its agricultural resources are not fully appreciated. To return to the Genesee Farmer, the child of Western New York. The patronage which it received, encouraged Judge BuEL to start some years after the Albany Cultiva- tor, at twenty-five cents a year ; it was soon, however, raised to a dollar a year. The Genesee Farmer enabled Mr. TucKDK to go to Albany with sufficient reputation and funds to run an honorable and successful career as the conductor of the journal above named. The Farmer created such a taste for rural literature in Ohio, as enabled Mr. B.KTEHAM to leave this paper and establish the Ohio Cul- tivator, at Columbus, on a permanent basis — an enterprise which we recommended. The Farmer gave Mr. Moore the cash and the confidence to start his Rural New Yorker. It gave Mr. Vick the means to purchase the Horticulturist, and the experience necessary to conduct it successfully. The Fanner has given to Mr. Barry a position of such pre- eminence among contemporary nurserTOien, as to secure to him and his partner peculiar advantages, and the promise of a princely fortune. An editorial apprenticeship in the Farmer office of a year, has given to Mr. Harris (a young man recently from England) a reputation as an agricultu- ral writer that has secured to him a handsome salary, witli more in expectancy. The premiums in cash and agricultu- ral books given away by the Farmer this year will not fall below one thousand dollars. While it rejoices at the sig- nal prosperity of so many gentlemen identified with its his- tory, it desires to impress the fact on every mind that Vol- 0ME Fifteen, second series, of this stereotyped and stand- ard work, is to contain fifty per cent, more reading matter than any previous volume published in the twenty-five years of its existence. Preserve every number of this volume in a good condition for binding, for before the lapse of ten years, every copy of the work, complete and bound, will sell for a doUar. We will gladly pay two doUars a volume for several of the earlier volumes of the Genesee Farmer, for there is not a whole set in the office. Intelligent farmers and librarians frequently write for the whole work. Our thirty years' study of rural arts and sciences with untiring devotion, is not to be thrown away on any ephemeral pro- duction. Time is always the friend of patient research, and of honest industry. The United States Agricultural Society. — We are indebted to the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder for a copy of what purjjorts to be the first number of the Journal of the United States Agricultural Society ; Published quarterly by Lippincott, GRAiiBO & Co., Boston. It bears date July, 1853, and is altogether a queer affair. On the title page printed on the cover is " No. 1," and at the close of the printed matter are these words, "End of No. 1." The pages begin with 1 and end at 160. These facts prove that the Secretaries of the Society, one of whom we believe re- sides in Boston, have undertaken to repudiate and ignore the history and transactions of the Society during the year 1852, as published in its journal of that year, and to excom- municate its members. As the Society was founded in 1852, the year of its birth and infant struggles witnessed events of some moment to the institution before the present Secre- taries came into office. The record of these events can not be destroyed ; and the deliberate attempt to expunge them from the official journal of the Society, proves beyond con- troversy, the incompetency of one Secretary or both, to fill the places which they occupy. In the May number of the Boston Journal of Agricul- ture, one of the Secretaries says, on page 325 : " The late movement originated with the IMassachusetts Board of Ag- riculture, and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Society, who almost simultaneously, and eiitirely without concert, passed resolutions recommending the convention, which was after- wards called, and which resulted in the formation of the Society." Perhaps some active friend of agriculture prompt- ed both the Massachusetts Board and the Pennsylvania State Society to act simultaneously in this matter, without letting the public know how tliis happy concert was put in motion. Since one or more of the officers of the National Society falsify history for no honorable purpose, we publish the fol- lowing letter from the President of the Society, which will throw some light on this subject, and vindicate the Troth, which is all we contend for : Bosto:t, January 26, 1852. Mt Pear Sir : — I am mnch obliged for your prompt reply, and also for the interesting article enclosed. Your closing remarki carry with them conclusive reasons in favor of some institution, cither founded by the government or individuals, to take charge of the great Interest of agriculture. I am prepared to aid with sodl THE GENESEE FARMER. Z8 ability as I possess, and will second any effort for the accomplisfiment of the object. There is but one opinion witli the foity-lwo mem- bers of tlie M;issacliusetts Board of Airriculrure in relation to the necessity of action. We will work at home ;ind abroad — for our State, aiid for a national institution ; nor will we give up the ship until one such is established. Our Board meets a>j:ain on the first Tuesday of February, when we are to have a full and open discus- sion of the necessity of aid from the commonwealth. We have a eerios of resolutions which will be presented, taking; slronjj ground, and wliich will be the theme of debate. Our efforts are first to es- tablish a State Department to consist of one memljer from each of the County A.roioultural Societies, with the Governor and Lieut. Governor ex-officio members, and tlie Board to choose its own Sec- retary. Tliis bciiig cirried, we think we can see our way clear for procuring aiil in future for a school or cdlege (the latter terra we discarvl for fervr of frigiitening the timid). We are quite aniious to have you lecture liefore us this session; and it is po.-^sible that we may get up a course, say of two or three, wheu if practicable, we shall be glad to avail ourselves of your valu- able service-;. I agree with you as to the propriety of immediate action, " if the attendance be satisfactoiy," but I fear that it would reiiuire months to secure a large meeting in W;\shington, whicli should embrace full delegates from all parts of the country. How would it answer to hold the convention in Philadelphia the same week of the Poraological Congress, which i:; ordered for September 13th ? We should tlien by jiroper preparation and correspondence be sure of a large number of delegates. I have no preference for any coursa, if so be we can command the numbers we >vant to make an impression. lam preparing a circul.ar in conformity with the in- structions of our Board, and will give it as thorough and wide a di'calation as possible. In the meantime I shail be glad to receive ailvice from you ; and when we make a demonstration, let it be such aa one as will not be forgotten — one that will not only act on Con- gress, but react on our own States. I will preserve the slip of newspaper which you sent, and cause it to be published here and send you a copy. I shall reserve your remarks and submit them to the Board at a time when the hall is full. No doubt exists iu my mind as to the success of the Tea plant in scveial portions of the country. What we want is a better sub- dii-ision of labor on the soil, and the introduction of new crops as proHtaLile as any under cultivation. This can be done, and must be ■line before fuming will become as profitable as most other pur- [lurguils. I shall be glad to receive a letter from Mr. Calvkrt. Ex- ■uae the ha,sto with which I write, and believe nie with great per- .on.al respect, Yours truly, Marshall P. Wilder. Dr. Da.\iel Lite. ' P. S. Since writing the above I think that it may be best to take .he whole year to^prepare, so that all the Societies in the Union can lend delegates to meet at the commencement of the next session if Congress at Washington. We want five hundred delegates to v.afce up the n.ation. But I would not wait one moment longer liau shall be deemed exjsedient. Please put me down as a subscri- lor for the Southern Ctdtivator. I ba\-e always had the Genesee Farmer, and it is, without favor or affection, the best paper in the ■Ajuntry. M. P. W. Did we not feel that the foregoing letter reflects the high- 'St honor on the distinguished writer, we should not pub- ish it. We have an hundred such with which to vindicate he truth of history, if the Executive Committee of the United States AgTicultural Society do not malie the proper 'orrections in reference to tliis miscalled " first number" of he Journal of the Society. It contiiins less than two-thirds is much printed matter as the first one, being set in large ypo and leaded. In the Journal for 1852 there are 51 lines n a page and 64 letters in a line, on an average; in that or 185;), there are 39 lines on a page and 47 letters in a ine ; giving in the latter, 1,833 letters to the full page, and ,264 in a full page of the former. These figures show a aJling off of nearly one-half. "We confess our deep morti- ication that a Society which we labored so long to establish hould come so far short of doing the good we anticipated. jooking steadily forw.ird to the cordial union of the sincere riends of agriculture in all parts of the republic, we have vritten several articles for every number of the Southern Cultivator that has been published for more than six years. There is no good reason why every county in the United 5tates shotild not have an Agricultural Society, and every So- iety earnestly co-operate with all the others to promote a ommon interest. Nothing but the intense selfishnpss of narrow minds prevents this consummation. As our friend, the President of the National Society says, we are not dis- posed " to give up the ship ;" what is wrong must be righted, and public confidence secured for the promotion of one of the best causes that ever enlisted the services of man. Ev- ery county in the Union needs a good agricultiiral library ; and County Societies and Farmers' Clubs have only to act in concert, to obtain the best books in the world on rural to- pics, and to cause many better ones to be written for the instruction of the laboring millions. Now in the fecblo in- fancy of agricultural literature and science, we must work with patience and forbearance — planting good seed to bear fruit, not perhaps in otir day, but when the planters shall "be no more. The Philosophy of Advertising. — No class of busi- ness men can use the press more beneficially for themselves and the public than farmers and mechanics, prorided they study and understand the philosophy of advertising. We will illustrate the truth of this statement by calling atten- tion to a few facts: A wool-grower not 100 miles from Rochester, in whose word we place entire confidence, in- formed us a few days since that his fiock of 400 sheep clip- ped last ]May 2,045 pounds of cleanly washed wool, for which he was offered 56 cents a pound. Now if we divide the weight of the wool (2,045 Rs.) by 400 (the number of fleeces), we have five pounds one ounce and over three- fourths of an ounce (320-400ths of an ounce). Within a small fraction, this flock of pt.re blooded Spanish Merino sheep, kept and improved on the same farm some 25 years, yield $2.85 worth of wool per head. This breeder of really superior sheep has been in the habit of altering his ram lambs and seUing them as fat wethers to butchers, at $3.75 or thereabouts, for mutton. Now, had this skillful hu.sband- man informed the farming community of the facts in rela- tion to the purity of the blood, size and other good quali- ties of his rams and ewes, every one he can rear will sell at from $10 to $20 a head when one year old ; giving him a clear profit of $1000 a year on his sheep more than he now obtains. By paying a few dollars to the proprietor of the Genesee Farmer, he could have informed one hundred thou- sand readers where a letter would reach him, and thus sel- ler and buyer would be made acquainted witli each other. We have just counted two columns of advertisements iu tlie Journal of Commerce. In one column there are 85 ; and in the other 164 advertisements. The paper contains 30 columns devoted exclusively to this kind of information. The Journal of Commerce has not one-fourth the circula- tion of the Genesee Farmer; but business men make for- tunes by telling the public through its ample pages, what they wish to purchase, and what they wish to sell. Does any reader wish to buy a farm, for a dollar he can inform tens of thousands of the fact in four or five lines of this rural paper ; does another wish to sell one, for a dollar he can put his property into the great market of the United States. Every day we are asked to inform some one by private letter where he can purchase Berkshire pigs, or Suffolks ; stock of every kind, and machines for cutting cornstalks, turnips, corn and cob grinders, and farm imple- ments of aU descriptions, seeds of every name, agricultural books and others — all going to prove the fact that those who deal with farmers have yet to learn the philosophy of 36 THE GENESEE FARMER advertising. In the December number we put in an ad- reitisement for a New York firm dealing in guano, and the following letter from them tells of its influence on their business : Gkntlkmev : — We hare been run down, both by letter and calls IE person, for Peruvian guano, almost to require tlje assistance of an extra clerk ta answer tke iaiiuiries, both by letter ami verbally. We understand you liavc a journal situated down south. Will you oblige us by having the sjmie advertisement of guano go in the January iuid Febru.iry numbers of that paper? Also, con- titiue the s.t tosetiiev. And again, in what way shall th«y receive the account of what has been done ? The above is all I have to a.-slc of that kind. I would also like to know, if any one would t;ike ti;ue and go throujrh his neighhorhood to solicit members to the Society, and forwaixi their names with the amount, you would allow a per cent- age, and how much ,' I am willing to pend my name (and I wish you to consider me one), and do «-liat I can at home for the good of the CA'i«c ; h'xt there are many who would be of the numlier if thev were called upon pei'sonally, who otherwise would not — who would not know that there was a Society of the kind forming. I had written a letter for you, some days before your No\eu\ber Fanner wa.s published, upon the wants of the farmer, but had not niAtled it; and when I read your call, it seemed as if you were *'jout to accomplish these wants in another way. If you wish it. [ will send you the letter. G. R. Njiin.N'GBR. — i^ifwJcry, Yvrk C«tintg, Pa, We owe our correspondent an apology for not answering by a private letter, as requested ; but we liave so many let- ters to write, beside writing for the press, that some of our esteemed friends are occasionally neglected. Many are fa- vorably disposed toward a Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Science, and naturally desire more information OQ the subject. To aU such we beg to say, that the county in which the Fanner is published conta'ns nearly ninety thousand inhabitants, and within two hours ride by railway from Rochester there are five hundred thousand people. It was mainly to the intelligent citizens of Western New York that our remarks were directed to organize a Society. Once organized, persons in all the States might become members, and receive copies of the Transactions or Jour- nal, containing an account of its scientific researches and practical experiments on the farm. To such a Society many gentlemen of fortune would make liberal donations. Mr. Appleton, of Boston, gave a thousand dollars to the United States Agricultural Society ; but not a dollar of the money has gone for experimental purposes of any kind. Some how, all American Agricultural Societies seem re- Eolved that we shall be forever dependent on Europe for the little agricultural science that we may possess. We have not one experimental farm in our thirty-one States to develop new truths in any branch of husbandry, or any de- partment of agriculture. Indeed, new truths are no where in this country sought after, and, of course, they are no where found. Hence the necessity of at least one Society in this nation of farmers whose object is not to show bulls, rams and boars, but to increase our present knowledge of the true principles of our noble profession. The great de- fect in the Constitution of the National Society is the charge of $2 a year for membership. This we opposed, but was over-ruled by men who had had much less experience in raising funds from the masses for the promotion of agricul- ture than we have had. At a dollar a year, and giving every member the full worth of Iiis money, as we do in the Genesee Farmer (using donations for trying experiments in the laboratory, field, and the feeding of stock), no great dif- ficulty would be experienced in raising all needful funds. A Society formed of men of known high character, so far at least as its officers are concerned, is needed as a starting point. Then, as our correspondent suggests, a fair commis- sion for getting subscribers or members, as in selling any book or periodical, could be allowed agents. A dollar's worth of new facts in rural affairs would be a great rarity in this country. The writer, who devotes his wliole life to the study of every fact developed by the rural literature and science of the civilized world, may be permitted to ox- press an opinion on the yearly contributions of the United States of facts not before known. Quacks manufacture any quantity of what purport to be new truths, from year to year, but none of them stand the test of long experience, because they are either guesses or falsehoods. I SHori.n feel much obliged for a little information respecting feed mills for grinding corn, barky, oats, &c., for .stock, to be worked by horse-power. Can you recommend one that would do the work well, be durable, and come at such a price that sm:iJl farmers could allord to liave it who feed fiom one to two hundred bushels of grain per year ? I think if fai-mers generally would turn their at- tention more to the feeding of stock and grinding the feed, it w ould be much to their advantage, by increiusing the value and quantity of manure made, and consequently the yield of their crops. A SuuscKuiEK. — Venice, Cayuga County, N. Y. The best mill known in this region, or at the Patent Of- fice, for grinding stock feed, is " Ross' Patent Conical Mill,'* made of bm-r stones, and manufactured in this city (Roches- ter). It is sold by J. Rapalje & Co. for $100. This mill grinds rapidly, and makes good flour, as well as corn meal. One will answer for a small neighborhood ; and two or more farmers might advantageously unite in the purchase of one and a good horse-power to drive it. We saw it ope- rate most satisfactorily at the Metropolitan Mechanics' In- stitute, at Washington, where it took, we believe, the liighest premium. There is in use a cast-iron mill, sold by Rapalje & Co. and others at $30, which will grind some tiiree or four bushels an hour, if driven by horse-power. WirEAT Drills. — PIea.se insert in the Farmer the price of yoiu- best wheat drills, and where for .sale. lIooDY Chase. — Williains- Jield, Aslilabala Cuunly, Ohio. We have hundreds of inqniries like the above, which we do our best to ans ver s.'itisfactorily ; but the manufacturers ought to advertise their wares in the Fanner. Rapalje Si Co. sell " Ripton's Grain Drill " at from $60 to $80. This ia a good machine, and plants from seven to nine rows of wheat as it passes ever the ground. HORTICULTURAL. (J. K., of Cavan, C. W.) The Sage grape is offered for sale by Philemon Stewart, New Lebanon, Shaker village, New York, at $1 to $2 per plant. Do not know that it proves as described in J. F. Allen's Treatise on the Grape. ShurtleJJ"'s Seedling grape is not known here. NE\V BOOKS AND VAL.ENTINES BY BIAIIi. D. M. DF.WEY, Bookseller, Rochester, N. Y., WIT^L forward by mail to any p.art of the United States, any New Books that m.ay be seen advertised for sale anywhere. The new postage law allows Books to be sent at 1 cent per ounce; Pamphlets, 1 cent per ounce. The postage on Books is from 10 to 25 cents ; on Pamphlets, 3 to 10 cents. Upon the receipt of the price of the Book, and 12 cents postage, I will mail the work in strong wrapper, so as to go safely. I keep all the new Agricultural ^Yorks, Travels, Histories. Novels, &c. &c. Catalogues of Books will be sent to School Trustees and others gratis. TWENTY AGENTS WANTED TO SELL BOOKS. to whom a large commission will be allowed. Particulars given bj mail. THE VALENTINE CASKET FOR 1854, containing 12 Valentines, with Envelopes, and Valentime Writer, that would cost at retaU $2, will be sent, postage paid, on the re- ceipt of SI, to any address. They are packed in strong paper cases, and may be ordered any time previous to St. Valentines Day, 14th of Februarv. Address I>- M. DEWEY, January 1, 1854.— It Arcade Hall, Rochester. THE GENESEE FARMER. (S^onttnts of t|)is NumJur. Our Agrictiltural Prospect*, 9 Sttnntl and Unsound Potatoes, ..- -. .^.. 11 Guile, 13 Agricultural Changes at the West, 14 Superphosphate of Lime, 15 American Inventors in EnglanJ, , 16 On the Choice of Brood-Marcs, , , IG Soda Bread and Biscuit,... IS AarriculturaJ Education, 18 Items from the Patent Olliee Report for 185:2-3, 20 How to Keep Smoked Hams, - 21 Domestic Recipes, ~. 22 Rules in Breeding Stock, 22 Introduction of Domestic Animals 23 The Breeding and Retiring of Poultry, 25 Sonthern Acjricultural Prop;ress, 26 Atkins' Automaton, or Self-raking Reaper and Mower, 27 Benefit of Guano on "Wheat, 27 HORTICTLTURAL DKPAKTME:rr, Notes on the Cultivation of the Cherry upon the Mahaleb Stock, 28 P.eraontant Roses, 2S Calendar of Operations for January, 29 Importance of Water in Gardening, 39 Fruit and Fruit Tree Culture, 31 A Select List of Orchard Peach Trees, 31 Ripening of Fruits and Vegetables, 32 Keeping Fruits and Vegetal)les, 32 Rivera" Remarks on Poar Trees, 33 Grape Mildew, 33 zditok's table. The Genesee Farmer, 34 The United Sfcites Agricultural Society, 34 The Philosophy of Advertising, 35 Premiums for Volume XV., Second Series, 36 Shall Congress do anv thing for Agriculture ': 36 Shelter for Fire Wood, 36 Honey a Profitable Crop, 36 Growing Wheat on Old Lands,.. 37 Lightning Conductors, 37 Inquiries and Answers, 37 ILLUSTRATIO.VS. Cochin China Fowls (Buffs), 24 Atkins' Automaton, or Self-raking Re.aper and Mower, 27 Dwarf Chen-yTree, only Two Years Old, bearing Fruit, 2S View of a Water Tower, at Blithewood, on the Hudson, 30 THE HOKTIcrLTUKIST, AND JOURNAL of RURAL ART AND RURAL TASTE. THE HORTICULTURIST is a Montlily Journal, devoted to Hor- ticulture and its kindred ails. Rural .Ux-hitecture and Land- scape Gardening. It is edited by P. BARRY, late Horticultural Editor of the Genesee Farmer, and autlior of th:it popular work, « The Fruit Garden." To those who cultivate FRUIT or FLOW- ERS, this work is indispensable, as it contiins full directions for cultivation, as well as every thing new on the subject, either in this countrv or in Europe. The HORTICULTURIST is beautifully printed on the best paper, with costly illustrations on wood ami stone. It contains 48 papes, without advertisements, and each number has a full page engraving, on stone, of some rare fruit or flower, drawn from nature, by the best living artist in this line. Terms.— TWO DOLLARS PER ANNUM, in advance. A dis- count of twenty-five per cent, allowed to agents. Postma-sters and others are invited to act as agents, to whom specimen numbers will be sent, free of postage, on application to JA.ME3 VICK, Jr., Publisher, Rochester, N. Y. P. S. — A new volume commences on the first of January. January 1, 1854. PERUVIAN GUANO. WE are receiving our supply of Peruvian Guano, per ships "Blanchard," "Senator," and "Gray Feather," from the Chincha Islands, and aro now prepared to make contracts for the r spring supply. As the demand is large, we would advise all who may be in want of this excellent manure to make early application. Price, $45 per ton of 2000 pounds. Ba particular to observe that every bag is branded — No. 1. ■WARRANTED PERtrVIAJr GIJANO. rStPORTBD IXTO THE U.VITED 8TATK8 BT F. BARREDA BROTHERS, FOB THE PERUVIAN GOVERNMENT. LONGETT & GRIFFINO, State Agricnltnral Warehouse, 25 Cliff street, New York, itnuary 1, 1S54.— St. THE OSL.Y liADY'S BOOK IN AMERICA I So pronounced by the entire Press of the United States. GODEY'S LADY'S BOOK FOR 1854. TWENTY-FOURTH YEAH. ONE HUNDRED PAGES OF RE.iDINO each month, by the best Am. ricin authors. A NEW AND THRILLING STORY, cerliiinly the most intensely interesting one ever written, entitled THE TRIALS OF A NEEDLEWOMAN, BY T. S. ARTHUR, will be commenced in t}7e January number. THE ONLY COLORED FASHIONS upon which any reliance can be placed, received direct from P.\EI5, and adapted to the taste of American ladies by oar own " Fashion Editor," with full rjirectians. DRESS M.-iKING. — Our monthly description of Press Making, with pUns to cut by. None- but the latest fp.shions are given. Tlie directions are so plain that even- lady can be her own dress maker, EMBROIDERY. — .\n infinite variety in every number. DRESS PATTERNS.— Infmts' and children's dresse-i, with (de- scriptions how to make thoni. All kinds of CROCHET and NET- TING work. New p.afterns for CLOAKS, -MANTELETS, TALMAS, COLLARS, CIIEMISETTE.S, and UNDERSLEEVES— with full di- rections. Every new pattern of any portion of a lady's dress, ap- pears first in the Lady's Book, as we receive consignments from PARIS every two weeks. THE NURSERY.— This subject is treated upon frequently. GODEY'S INVALUABLE RECEIPTS UPON EVERT SUBJECT, indispensable to every family, worth more than the whole cost of the Book. MUSIC. — ^Three dollars worth is given every year. DR.\WING. — This art can be taught to any child, by a series of drawings in every number for 1854, MODEL COTTAGES.— Cottage plans and cottage furniture wJll bo continued as usu.al. SPLENDID STEEL LINE AND MEZZOTINT ENGRAVINGS in every number. They are always to be found in GODEY. GODEY'S LADY'S BOOK contains precisely that for which yoa would have to take at least three other magazines to get the same amount of information. TERMS. 1 Copy, 1 year, $3 2 Copies, 1 " 5 5 " 1 " and extra Copy to the person sendibg the club, 10 8 " 1 " " " « 15 11 « 1 « " « « 20 a-^ GODEY'S LADY'S BOOK and ARTHUR'S HOilE MAGA ZINE will both be sent one year on receipt of §3.50. L. A. GODEY, January 1, 1854.— 2t 113 Chestnut street, Philadelphia. UNIVERSITY OF AliBANY. DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY. E. S. CARR, M. D., Profes.sor of Chemistry and its application to Agriculture and the Useful Arts. P. E. D.VKIN, Instructor in Analytical Chemistry. THIS Department of the University having been permanently established, a spacious Laboratorv ^viU be opened for the re- ception of student.s, on TUESDAY, THE TENTH DAY OF J.-VNTT- ARY, 1854. There \vill be a Course of Instruction in Practical and Analytical Chemistry, and a Course of Lectures on the applications of Chemistry to Agriculture and the Manufacturing Art-s, continu- ing during a" term of three months. The Laboratory will be open from 9 A. M. to 5 P. M. The Lectures will be delivered in the evening, and will be free of charge. For Laboratory Instruction, $20 per term, or SIO per month, for a shorter period. Students will bo charged with the breakage and the Chemicals they consume. Students will also have access to the State Agricultural and Geological Collections. Analysis of Soils, Ores, Mineral Waters, &c., made on reasonable terms. Address Prof. E. S. CARR, of Albanv, or either of the following gentlemen: LUTHER TUCKER, office Albany Cultivator; Hon. B. P.JOHNSON, State Agricultural Rooms; Dr. J. H. ARMSBY, 669 Broadwav. January l,'l854.— 2t STBREOTTPBD BT J. W. BROWN, EOCaSSTER. 40 THE GENESEE FARMER. THE PREMIUMS FOR 1854. The Proprietor of the GENESEE FARMER, encouraged by the liberal support long extended to this journal by its friends and patrons, announces that the Fifteenth Volume of the second series, commencing January, 1854, will eon- tain a third more reading matter than any of its predecessors, and be otherwise much improved, without any increase of price. To enlarge tlie usefulness by extending the circulation of the GENESEE FARMER, the undersigned will pay the following PREMIUMS on subscriptions to Volume XV., second series : FIFTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the person who shall procure the LARGEST NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS in any County or Dis- trict in the United States or Canadas, at the club prices. FORTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one who shall procure the SECOND LARGEST LIST, as abore. THIRTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one procuring the THIRD LARGEST LIST. TWENTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one procuring the FOURTH LARGEST LIST. TEN DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one procuring the FIFTH LARGEST LIST. In order to reward every one of the friends of the GENESEE FARMER for his exertions in its behalf, we wiH give to those not entitled to either of the above premiums, the following BOOKS, free of postage, or EXTRA PAPERS, as may be preferred : 1. To every person who sends SIXTEEN subscribers, at the club terms of thirty-seven cents each, ONE EXTRA COPY OF THE FARMER. i | 2 To every person sending for TWENTY-FOUR copies, as above, any AGRICULTURAL BOOK valued at FIFTY CENTS, or TWO EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER. 3 To every person ordering THIRTY-TWO copies, any AGRICULTURAL BOOK worth SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS, or THREE EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER 4 To every person ordering FORTY copies, any AGRICULTURAL BOOK valued at ONE DOLLAR, or FOUR EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER. 5 To every person ordering FORTY-EIGHT copies, any ARGRICULTURAL BOOK worth ONE DOLLAR AND TWENTY-FIVE CENTS, or FIVE EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARjNIER. For lart^er numbers, books or papers given in the same proportion. To save cost to our friends, we pre-pay postage on all books sent as premiums. Persons entitled wiU please state whether they wish books or extra papers, and make their selection when they send orders, if they desire books ; or if they have not obtained as many subscribers as they intend to, we will delay sending until the club is fuU, if so requested. We do not require that all the papers of a club should be sent to one post-office. If necessary for the convenience of subscribers, we are wiUing to send to as many different offices as there are members of the club. We write the names on each paper, when a number are sent to the same office, if desired ; but when convenient, Postmasters would confer a favor by having the whole number ordered at their own office, sent to their own address. j^* As aU subscriptions commence anew with the year, places where the FARMER was never before taken will stand an equal chance in the competition for premiums. 1^^ BACK VOLUMES of the FARMER will be furnished, if desired, and counted the same as new subscribers. We shall keep a correct account of the subscribers sent by each person, and in the MAY NUMBER WE SHALL ANNOUNCE THE PREMIUMS. ^^ Specimen numbers, show-bills, &c., sent to all post-paying applicants. All letters must be post-paid or free. Subscription money, if properly enclosed, may be mailed at our risk. THE VOLUME FOR 1854 IS PRINTED ON GOOD PAPER, WITH NEW TYPE, BOUGHT EXPRESSLY FOR Yl A gentleman, graduate of the University of Vienna, who is familiar with the languages of those nations in which the , science of aoriculture is most cultivated, will aid us in translating for the FARMER whatever can instruct or interest its readers. This gentleman is by profession a Civil Engineer and Architect — branches of knowledare intimately con- nected with the prosxess of rural arts and sciences. The general character of our paper is thus pithily stated by the Hon. Marshall P. Wilber, President of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, and of the United States Horticul-' tnrai and Agricultural Societies, in a letter now on our table, which closes as follows : " I have always had the Genesee Fakmer. It is, without favor or affection, the best paper in the country. Marshall P. Wilder." As our club price to each subscriber is only thirty-seven cents a year, no matter how many agricultural journals one may take, to patronize the FARMER can not impoverish him. DANIEL liEE, Pnblisher and Proprietor. Vol. XV., Second Series. ROCHESTER, K Y., FEBRUARY, 1854. THE GENESEE FARMER, A MONTHLY JOURNAL OP AGRICULTURE & HORTICULTURE. VOIiUaiE XV., SKCOND SBRIBS. 1854r. EACH NUXnJER CONT.ilNS 32 ROYAL OCTAVO PAGES, IN DOUBLE COLUMNS, AND TWELVE NUMBERS FORM A VOLUME OF 3S4 PAGES IN A YEAR. Terms. Single Copy, $0.50 Five Copies, 2.00 Eight Copies, 3.00 And at the same rate for any larger number. SlTf'" Remittances properly mailed, and postage paid, at the risk of the Publisher. 53^ Fostmaeters are respectfully requested to act as Agents. D.WIEIi L.EE, Publisher and Proprietor, Rochester, N. Y. >0R PROSrECTUS AND PREMIUMS, SEE LAST PAGE. AGRICULTURAL METEOROLOGY. In the Patent OfiBce Report for 1849, we called the attention of those interested in the agricultural literature of the United States to the importance of cultivating the science of meteorology in its relations to agi'iculture and horticulture. Since that time the subject has gradually attracted the regards of the earnest promoters of science in this country; and we now have before us a most instructive and interesting- pamphlet, emanating from the Smithsonian Institu- tion, entitled " Chmate of the Summer of 1853 in its Relations to the Agricultural Interests of the United States. By Lorin Blodget, Assistant in Charge of Meteorology." A moment's reflection will satisfy any well-informed mind that temperature and rain are two of the most important elements of agricultural production. The record of these furnishes data of much value to prac- tical farmers, as we will now attempt to demonstrate. In the climate of Great Britain the mean summer temperature is barely sufficient to ripen wheat, rye, oats,_ barley, and a few other cereals, but not maize or rice — two important staples among American cereals. This meteorological fact suggests the idea, fully sustained by experience, that whenever the ther- mometer indicates a general reduction in the tem- perature of the months of April, May, June and July, a short crop of wheat in England and Scotland is inevitable. Had every wheat-grower in this coun try known the mean heat for an average of summers in Great Britain, and the fact that the spring and summer months for the year 1853 were considerably colder than usual, a short crop in the British Islands might have been inferred with great certainty. A few cultivators, who study agricultural meterology aa a part of their profession, took note of this deficiency of solar heat in Western Europe, and predicted a material rise in breadstuffs. Some of these scientific observers held on to their crops, and now obtain from fifty to seventy-five per cent, advance for the products of their farms. The summer of 1853 was colder in AVestern Europe than it has been in the present cen- tury, save in the year 1816. In the year last named, the summer was unusually cold in the LTnited States^ as many of our older readers will bear witness. The summer of 1853 in this country was the reverse of that in Europe, it being uncommonly warm, and the aggregate yield of crops unusually large. Hence, we have a large surplus to export to England and France, and are reaping a golden harvest. Deeply sensible of the value of trust-worthy me- teorological statistics to all that produce grain, meat, butter, cheese, cotton, sugar, rice and fruits, and to all that deal in these great staples, we have done what we could to induce the intelligent and patriotic gen- tlemen connected with the Smithsonian Institution to give their admirable and extensive meteorological records an agricultural direction. That Institution deserves great credit for having obtained so many reliable meteorological instrument^ at no inconsiderable expense, for gratuitous distribu- tion protty equally over this vast empire, to be used by competent observers in collecting all needfd facta bearing on this useful science. There is much force in the following remarks of Mr. Blodget, as well aa some reason to hope that these researches into the climatic variations in the several States and territo- ries in connection with the agiiculturaJ interests of the republic, may be extended in fature: The system of Meteorological Observation from which this imperfect summary of the conditions of the climate for the year just passed has been prepared, is capable of much greater definiteness of statement. The illustration of each condition might be much more full and detailed, and the discrimination of particular districts might be made more clear. The number of those who contribute valuable in- strumental observations for some part of the year, and in form permitting comparisons of means for sonic months, is near five hundred — an amount of definite climatic observ^v tion without a paralleL This too is furnished for the mr" 42 THE GENESEE FARMER. [inrt without other compensation than that afforded by the mutual exchange of results. 'I'o render this mass of valuable matter promptly availa- ble in current deduction and comparison, and applicable in tiie measure of its full value to all the interests embraced b\ it, a force sufficient to prepare all of it for this prompt discussion is indispensable. With this adequate organiza- tion the whole research may be vitalized in a manner wholly impossible in other nations on a scale so commanding, and at an expense too small to deserve consideration ; the greatest and most expensive service being already gratui- tously performed by the unequaled energy of the scientitic mind" of the country. AVe have reason to kuow that the distinguished Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution would gladly do far more for the advancement of rural arts and sciences than he now does, if there were funds at his disposal which could be applied to that purpose. Prof. Henry is a worldng man, and not less practical and utihtarian than scientific in his views ; but he, like the rest of mankind, is governed by circumstances which are often any thing than agreeable. Congress should give to the Institution the funds required to develop the true relations that subsist between the temperature of the atmosphere and that of different soils at several depths, and the growth of all agricul- tural plants. The annual fall of rain and snow, their distribution through the several months of the year, then" bearing on the general fruitfulness of seasons, the humidity of the atmosphere connected with the absorptive power of common clay, of vegetable mold, of loam, sand, and a fair mixture of these, are facts in meteorological researches yet to be verified in this countiy. In our " Study of Soils," this sulyect is discussed at considerable length; and the data furnished in the "Summer Climate of 1853," by the Smithsonian In- stitution, will enable us to extend our deductions over large sections of the Union from which we have heretofore received only the most meager meteoro- logical statistics. By studying these statistics we shall reaUze a profit of thirty per cent, on our corn crop grown the past season, after it was ripe. A personal friend, who usually plants about 800 acres to this grain, exhibited to us a few days since on his farm well-matured ears of corn, the seed of which was put into the ground on the 16th of July — two montlis after wheat was harvested in his neighborhood. Ifis com, planted after the short crop in England was known to wise meteorologists, now sells at eighty cents a bushel. We shall have more to say on the critical study of climate hereafter. WHAT IS THE VALUE OF DISTILLERY SLOPS ? In the December number of the Farmer, an esteemed correspondent, " S. W.," of Waterloo, in this State, made the following remarks : It is susceptible of proof that the cooked slop of the dis- tillery will fatten as many animals as the raw corn would have done before it was ground and passed through the still -, and if the manure is saved and applied to the soil, nothing is lost — and I trust it will be admitted that the alco- hol conveiled into a burning fluid, and for medicinal pur- poses, is something gained. For many chemical and manufacturing purposes, aa well as for medical uses and burning, alcohol is a valuable article of commerce. All our water-proof hats (which are M'ater-proof) are made so by first dissolving gum shellac in alcohol, and then working the gum (which is uisoluble in water) into the sub- .stance of hat bodies. When we wish to determine the quantity of sugar in any given amount of milk, it is first evaporated, then treated with hot sulphuric ether to dissolve and take up the butter, when alco- hol \i'ill dissolve and remove the sugar of milk, leaving the curd or cheese pure. But om- object is not to enumerate the economical u#3 of alcohol, whether in the arts or sciences, or to discuss the chem- istry of whisky-making, although it is mainly an agricultural question, but simply to inquire into the value of distiileiy slops for the production of pork and beef. If " cooked slop will fatten as many animals as the raw corn would have done before it was ground and 2)assod through the still," as many distillers as well aj our friend " S. W." think it will, how does it happer that where corn is worth fifty cents a bushel to feet to hogs, no one will pay over ten cents a bushel for tht corn used to fonn " the cooked slop " of a distilleiy ' We have seen not a little of this kind of feed foi stock bought and sold; and the writer Avas, he believes the first in Western New York to point out a proces! by which the essential oil that imparts to whisky it; peculiar odor and flavor may be wholly removed, s( that the pure spirit might be added to brandy, run or gin, without impairing sensibly the peculiar flavo: or strength of either, and at a time when these im ' ported liquors v.'cre very expensive so far from sea ports. We have seen good whisky sold in Westen New York at twelve cents a gallon. AVhen fourteei quarts of good whisky are extracted from fifty-sb pounds of meal, what does onr friend " S. W." sup pose the grain has lost in the operation ? Not : particle of alcohol existed, as such, in the meal. Fer mentation is decomposition quite as much as combug tion. In the common process of making raised bread five per cent, of the flour is entirely consumed ir forming the gas called carbonic acid, and alcohol. Ii making beer for distillation, fermentation is carriec much further than in the manufacture of bread Nearly all of the starch and sugar (glucose) in thf grain is decomposed to generate so much spirit anc gas; and were it not for the oil in corn, which maj be seen floating on beer in still-tubs, and remains ir the slop, as well as most of the protien compounds ir the seed, no refuse from the still would be worth 07ie- fifth the value of the grain for the production of meat. When com is worth thirty cents for making beef and pork, the slop from such corn is worth about six cents to the bushel for a similar purpose. AVhy does com meal, whether cooked or raw, pro- duce comparatively solid lard and pork, while the still- slop from the same meal yields very oily lard and pork ? The fact alluded to is of some importance in the chemistry of nutrition — in animal and vegetable physiology. Seeds and plants that contain much starch and sugar, and comparatively little oil, produce solid fat, so called ; while seeds (including all forest nuts eaten by swme, and called " mast ") and plants rich in oil, yield soft and oily fat, tallow and butter. Add to still-slops as much starch as fermentation and distillation remove from the grain from which the slop THE GENESEE FARMER. 43 is dcriveil, aud it will make the same kiiul of pork that whole corn does. If hard dry corn makes harder pork than boiled corn, or than cooked meal (as it may), the reason is the defective digestion of dry corn, so that its oil is not converted into an emul- sion, or soap, and goes not through the walls of the digestive organs, like oil converted into soap and the soap dissolved in water, to form a part of the blood, but passes on out of the system. A pound of starch is much easier of digestion than a pound of oil, es- pecially if the starch be cooked, as in boiled potatoes. To cook oil in potatoes avails nothing ; for oil can neither be boiled nor baked into solubiHty in water. If our Agricultural Societies were a little more en- ightened, they would investigate the economical value 3f all slops, distilled and nndistilled, and of all the irgauized elements in seeds, roots, tubers, apples, and )ther fruits — of grasses, clovers, peas, and other egumes — so that the best proportions of starch, su- ;ar, oil, and protien compounds for feeding, would be mown to every farmer. We have waited patiently hirty years to see the time come when the sciences >f digestion, nutrition, fermentation, and manure- aaking, would receive that public attention which heir iniportance demands. - ' Probably one or two hundred million bnsliels of orn have been fed to fatting animals in the United tates in the last six months; and we have no doubt liat full twenty-five per cent, of the nutritive sub- tances in this grain have passed out of the bowels ith the dung when these substances ought to have een digested, and passed directly into the blood ves- !ls to form flesh aud fat in the vital economy. In le last four years we have sent out about forty lousand circular letters from the Patent Office, which ave gone into every county and parish in the nation ; id in every letter there was an inquiry designed to certain, if possible, from practical farmers, what is le relation that subsists between the daily food of re stock and their growth, or gain in meat, and live eight All the facts elicited were not so valuable ! might be obtained by the judicious expenditure of 100. Suppose a distiller grinds, ferments and distills )00 pounds of corn, and then dries all the slop which le corn produces, what will the latter weigh ? Can ly man in the United States answer this simple r{ues- an correctly? We doubt it; because the line of search has been after more alcohol — the " fire wa- r " — not after the elements required to produce good ilk, butter, cheese, fat and lean meat. Although a iend to temperance, we have no prejudices against cohol. In kitchen slops, and in beer formed from ain, alcohol doubtless aids in the fattening of pigs fed 1 such food, it being burnt like starch and sugar from hich it is formed, to keep their bodies warm. Alco- )l can not form fat or muscle, but it can be burnt the system. Before vegetable substances form negar, they always go through with what is termed e vinous fermentation — that is, they form alcohol — id it is an inquiry of some moment whether a mash better for cattle and swine with no fermentation, esl itii the vinous, or with the acetous changes ha^'ing Dt iken place in the bruised grain, leaving the .spirit in e one case, or the vmegar in the other, in the slop ? mi jme will say that alcohol is an injury — others that is a benefit ; and similar opinions prevail in re- fi*ronce to the value of all slops. Why sour milk and sour feed are sometimes better than sweet milk and unfermented grain, we will endeavor to explain hereafter. EXPERIMENTS IX FEEDING SHEEP, AND WITH MANURE. At a recent meeting of the Fettercairn Farmers' Club in Scotland, Major McIxroy read a paper giving an account of experiments made by him in feeding slieop in sheds; and in making manure under cover. The results of these experiments were most satisfac- tory, agreeing with and confirming conclusions arrived at in England as to the value of good shelter and dry bedding for sheep, when put up to fatten. They had all the turnips they would eat, and a quarter of a pound of crushed oats, and an eighth of a pound of oil cake, a day. On this feed they gained finely, aud the wool and mutton sold for enough to pay all expenses and leave about a dollar per head profit, beside a good deal of rich manure. As the prices of lambs, grass and hay, turnips, oil cake, oat meal, and mutton, differ so much in Scotland from their value in this country, the details of Major McInroy's experiments are hardly worth to om* readers the space they would occupy in our columns. One fact, however, stated by him is of great importance in farm economy: which is, that the dung of the same ani- mals kept in a covered condition to prevent the es- cape of fertiUzing gases, and under shelter to avoid the washing of rains, is worth about twenty-seven per cent, more than it would be if made in the usual way in an open yard. In the latter case, the farmer has to haul into his fields a great deal of rain water, and spread it in a laborious way over the ground. Valuable as rain water is to cultivated land, it will not pay to carry three tons of it to one ton of genuine manure out into the fields on wagons, carts, or sleds, in the usual way. From four-fifths so nine-tenths of common barn-yard manure hauled out in the spring consists of tvater, and nothing better. Nor is this all the defect inherent in such manure. Its exposure to rains for months dissolves out much of its best ingredients, which either run off on the surface of the ground, or soak into it. AVhat remains is like old tea-leaves, that have been twice or thrice steeped; they, like washed manure, contain the insoluble woody fiber and a Httle coloring matter. There is a good deal of wood in the stems of grasses, which may be seen in the solid excrements of domestic animals. This is the poorest part of dung, and being insoluble, it constitutes the fine wood saturated mth water which by courtesy is called manure, and often used aa such, after the essential elements of fertiUty have de- parted. It is far cheaper in the long run to grow rich food for all kinds of stock, and thereby produce fat ani- mals and rich manure, than to raise very lean feed, and consequently have lean cattle, lean sheep, lean horses, and nearly worthless manure to put on lean land. Poor farmers make poor land, poor land yields poor crops, and poor crops make a community and a nation also poor. Hence, agricultural knowledge is of all things the most valuable to the public, yet of all things it is the most neglected by Congress 44 THE GENESEE FARMER. and by our State Legislatures. When or where did any American Legislature ever encourage the scien- tilic investigation of either stable or barn-yard ma- nure ? ^Vhy should a Nation of Farmers, whose votes control all legislation, be forever dependent on Ivarope for experimental farming, seeing that the i!un«- of their six hundred million dollars' ■worth of live stock is vv'orth more than all their foreign com- merce ? Can any man give a good reason why pro- jjorty to the amount of hvmdreds of millions in the food of plants is not as worthy of governmental care, as deserving of legislative assistance, a3 a smaller amount of property in ships and trade ? We never complain of the aid extended to American commerce and manufactures; and we rejoice at the pains taken by government to advance and foster these important interests. But why stop short when the duty of legislation is less than half performed ? A httle as- sistance from Congress would put one hundred million dollars a year into the pockets of farmers, by putting a little more knowledge into their professional Uterature. The able and experienced Scotch farmer whose ex- periments we have examined with pleasure and instruc- tion, says that if barn-yards were covered with tile in the most durable manner, the shelter afforded to etock and manure would be equal to a high interest on the cost of the structure. Of this fact we have no doubt; but it ought to be demonstrated in the plainest manner by actual experiments, in every State lu the Union, so that all husbandmen might see and fully appreciate the desirable improvement. We now send abroad many millions of dollars for wool and woolen fabrics eveiy year, which ought to be produced in our own country. THE POINTS FOR JUDGING FAT CATTLE. Agreeably to our promise to devote more atten- tion to stock in this volume of the Genesee Farmer Uian we had done in previous ones, we give below a ieiitJ-thened and highly interesting article from the Mark Lane Express, on "The Points for Judging Fat Cattle." It will well repay the most careful perusal: " The form of the carcass is the chief point in the *ihape of an ox. It is found, the nearer the section of the carcass of a fat ox, taken longitudinally verti- cal, transversely vertical, and horizontally, approaches to the figure of a parallelogram, the greater quantity of flesh will it carry within the same measurement. That the carcass may fill up the parallelogram, as well as its rounded figure is capable of filling up a right- nnjled figure, it should possess the following couflgu- ration: the back should be straight from the top of the shoulder to the tail, and better if the straight line extends over the shoulder to the root of the horns; Ihe tail should fall perpendicularly from the line of the back; the buttocks and twist should be well filled out; the brisket should project to a line dropped from the middle of the neck; the belly should be straight longitudinally and round laterally, and filled at the flanks; the ribs should be round, and should project homontally and at right-angles to the back; the hooks should be wide and flat, and the rump from the tail to the. hooks should also be fat and well filled ; the quarter from the aitch-bone to the hock should be long: the loin-bones should belong, broad, flat, and well filled, but the space between the hooks and tnc ehort-ribs should oe rather short, and well arched over with a thickness of beef between the hooks: a long hollow from the hooks to the short- ribs indicates a weak constitution and an indifiereut thrivcr; from the loia to the shoulder-blade should be nearly of one breadth, and from thence it should taper a little to the front of the shoulder; the neck vein should be well filled forward, to complete the line from the neck to the brisket ; the covering of the shoulder blade should be as full out aa at the but- tocks; the middle-ribs should be well filled, to com- plete the fine from the shoidders to the buttocks along the projection of the outside of the ribs. " These are the chief points of the form of a fat tened ox. The examination by the touch follows the appearance of the eye. " The position of the flesh on the carcass is a great consideration in judging of the ox, as the flesh on the different parts is of various quahties. The finest meat hes on the loins and on the rump, and on the fore and middle ribs; consequently the ox that car- ries the largest quantity of beef on these ' points ' is the most valuable. Flesh of fine quality is of finer texture in the fiber than coarse flesh, and it contains more fat in the tissue between the fibers. It is this arrangement between the fat and the lean that gives the richness and delicacy to the flesh. The other parts, of various qualities, and used for soups and salting, do not fetch the high price of the parts de- scribed. " The point or top of the rump is the first pai't of a feeding ox that shows the fat, and in a well-bred animal it becomes a very prominent point. Some- times, by protruding too much M'hen the quantity of fat is out of proportion to the lean, it misleads an inexperienced judge in the true fatness of the ox, as fat may be felt on that point, and be veiy de- ficient on the other parts which constitute a valuable frame. " A full twist, lining the division between the hams with a thick layer of fat, a thick flank, and a full neck vein, are generally indicative of prime fattening, and also of the secretion of internal fat; but it frequently happens that these signs wholly fail, and it is observed that a fine exterior does not warrant a similar inside of the ox; and thin-made beasts, with flat ribs and large bellies, very often produce a large quantity of internal fat The Alderny cattle furnish an example of this case. Their outward gaunt appearance seema deficient in every fattening point, and yet few animals afibrd so much inside fat in proportion to the quan- tity of carcass fat. " The parts that are the last in being covered with flesh are the top of the shoulder and the point of the shoulder joint. AVhen these points are felt to be well covered, the other and better parts may be considered to be in perfection, and a prime condition may be expected. But the, general handling must estabUsh the real condition, for there is a wide difl'erence be- tween the apparent and real fatness of an ox. The> flesh may feel loose and flabby of an ox that has ap- peared very fat to the eye, and a truly fattened ani- mal always feels 'hand fat' Such handlers never THE GENESEE FARMER. 45 deceive the butcher, while loose fatteiiings never kill well. " A judge looks at the fattened animnl in the full broadside, in front, and from beliind. If the exami- nation is commenced in the middle of the body, the points of the tingei-s touch the whole side of the ril)s from the shoulder to the hook-bone in various places, and satisfies the inquiry if the flesh be delicate and firm, and imposed in a regular manner. I'he right hand can be stretched to the hook-lmne, examine the short-ribs, and if the bone of junction be covered with flesh, to show the fitting roundness of the for- mation, and if the vacancy between it and the short- ribs is well arched over with firm flesh. The flank is at the same time examined by being grasped in the hand, and felt to be bulky and firm with flesh, and at the same time mellow and pliant. A good flank should be protuberant rather than depending, in order to contribute to the cylindrical shape of the carcass by fining up the hollow that happens at the junction of the body with the thigh. A step of the body of the judge backward will enable the hand to reach the rump, or root of the tail, which is the extreme part of the body, and the first to show the condition of fat That part must be well examined, both by touch of the fingers and grasp of the hand, and the flesh must feel delicate and soft, firm and compact. The quantity must be moderate, and not form bunches and protuberances. The same hand touches the Ahigh in several places down to the hock-bone, and settles the quality of the flesh of each part; the length of the *ump from the hock-bone to the extremity below the :ail is much attended to, and also the depth of the ;high to the point of contraction. The posterior ividth of the animal over the thighs is minutely ob- lerved, and the interior ■nidth, or ' twist,' and also he lining of it with fat; and if the purse be large, oUd, and well furnished with a fatty secretion. A )erpendicular thigh will be exj^ected which will plumb I line; a protul^erant thigh is a great deformity. " The left hand of the judge resumes the examina- ion on the middle-ribs, and moves forward, touching he fore-ribs in several places, and not omitting the loint and top of the shoulder, and ending with the eck vein. The right hand follows behind, repeats he touches, and verifies or contradicts the conclusions f the left, and may discover places to be touched hat the left had passed over. The girth is to be arefully examined, if the joining of the ribs with the houlder be not widely discernable, or filled up beyond iscovery, as it should be. The depth is to be marked, hat it descend to the level of the lower part of the ■elly, and measure in a straight line from the fore to tie hind legs. For this purpose, the flank of the fore irth must fill the cavities of junction of the body ath the fore and hind quarters. The neck and bris- et are examined, and must be full and fleshy, and ttach the shoulder backward in a swelling junction, nd slope to the head in a gentle and very graduated iper. " If the judge approaches the animal on the pos- mor parts, the rump is first touched and grasped by ae right hand, and the flank by the left. The right and is then removed to the hook-bone and short- bg, while the left hand grasps the middle-ribs, and regresses to the fore blade, the right following along the back of the animal till it meets the left on the top of the shoulder. " In passing round the head, the neck and brisket are examined, the width of the latter being carefully remarked, and the former seen to be full and fleshy. The other side of the beast is examined by the touch of the hands, and the termination is made at the twist and purse, where the inspection began on the left side. " The cylindrical body of an ox should approach the form of a square as near as possible, and the origi- nal structure is the chief conducement to this purpose being effected; and the full fattening fills up the cavi- ties that may be impossible to prevent. The back is perfectly straight from the top of the shoulder, or root of the horns, to the rump or set-on of the tail, whence a line hangs plumb to the under part of the thigh, and squaring the buttock. From this point a line is straight to the lower shoulder along the flank, the end of the ribs, and the fore girth, requiring a protuberant flank, an arched swelling of the ribs and a fullness of fore girth, and a flattened shoulder, without an outward extension or irregular projection of the bones. " A straight line levels the belly from the center of the fore legs to the position of the purse in the middle twist of the hams. The upper and lower straightness of the square are not very difficultly at- tained ; the side-lines are the great objection, and con stitute the chief deficiency of the animal frame. Not one breed of cattle that is yet seen in Britain possesses all the necessary qualities. A single property is marred by one or more deficiency, and very often a number of the latter combine to overthrow an indi- \idual pre-eminence. The Short-horn breed immea- surably excels all others in the ample development of the hind quarter. The length of the rump, width and depth of the thigh, are unequalled; and every part is excellent from the extreme posterior to the middle-ribs. From this point forward the same ex- cellence does not prevail; the fore girth is often de- ficient, the shoulder is projecting sideways and the top often bare of flesh; the neck is thick and shaggy, with loose leather, and the whole fore-quarter of the animal exhibits a heavy coarseness in bones and skin which the breed may have inherited from the female progenitor in the Galloway cow. The very best breeders have not been able to banish this property from their herds. The width of the hind quarter very well extends the line of straightness along the side of the carcass; the flank is not deficient, and the cur- vature of the ribs is convenient; the quantity of offal makes no outward mtrusion, but the fore girth often shows a cavity; the shoulder projects too far, destroys the longitudinal squareness, and approaches the form of a trapezium. In the fore quarters, both the Hereford and Devon breeds excel the Short-horns: the fore girth is more full, and the shoulder more flat, sloping very beautifully both to the ribs and neck, and is consequently better covered with flesh on every part, the very late parts included, and on the fore point and extreme top. But then all animals of these breeds lose the width behmd the hook-bones, and slope to the posterior buttock^ narrowing the twist and lessening the quantity of the most vuluabh part of the carcass. The superiority ©f the Short 46 'THE GENESEE FARMER. horn breed on this point outbalances the objectionable fore quarter; and the animal, of all bca-sts that arc fattened, a{)proaches nearest to the square form, and is very justly taken as a criterion, or rule of estima- tion and judgment. " The eye is able to form an opinion of the exterior conformation of an animal, and when aided by the touch, a judgment may be made of the quantity and quality of the flesh and fat which are iirovidcd on the parts fattened. But the inside furniture, or the fat that is secreted among the intestines, is placed beyond the reach either of the eye or the touch, and the esti- mation can only be formed by analogy. The nature of the individual constitution altogether rules the dis- position to provide an internal furniture; for it has been often seen and sufficiently estabhshed, that ani- mals of all breeds that exhibit great fattening points on the exterior do not prove so well as others that waut these points, and that the most seemly outsides very often aflbrd the best inside furniture, both in quantity and quality. But it is a general assumption that a well fattened exterior will aflbrd an inside of similar provisions, though no fLxed rule can be laid down or established. A ratio somewhat inverse may be borne to each other by the outside and interior accomplishments of the fattened condition, as the fat- tening and milking propensities are found to diverge, as one or the other predommates. Nature seems to be unable or unwilling to support both properties in the superlative degree. " A fattened carcass having been ascertained to be in prime condition, curiosity is incited to know if pos- sible the dead weight of the beast while it yet hves, tad to calculate the probable value from the current price of the saleable meat. Two mechanical methods have been adopted to attain this object — by weighing the animal, making allowance for the offal, and by measm-ement. Though mathematical exactness never can attend either of these methods, yet with due es- timation of the influential circumstances, a means of assistance is afforded of arriving at the carcass weight, and consequently at the value of the animal, witli sufficient accuracy for practical purposes. The most .approved conclusion states the live and dead weight So be as 9 to 5, or multiply the live weight by the 'Secimal .60.5, and the result is the weight of the four •quarters. The allowance for offal is very largely and variedly influenced by the breed of the animal, sex, age, and accidental circumstances. The above rule forms an average, and the annexed table exhibits the medium of offals in fat cattle: In general. Hide and horns, Tallow, Head and tongue, Kidneys, BUuicoUop, , Heart, - Liver, langs, and windpipe, .. •^'nooachand entrails, ;;.. ad, 56 to 9S lbs. 42 to 140 lbs. 28 to 49 tt)S. 2 to 4 lt)S. 2 to 4 lbs. 6 to 9 lbs. 21 to 28 lbs. 140 to 190 His. 42 to 56 lbs. 112 to 126 ft)9. nearly to 280 lbs. " The animals of Britain may be classed in three divisions — Short-horn, Hereford, Sussex, and Devon; Long-horn, Galloway, Northern Scotch, Suflblk, and "Welch; West Highland cattle, Shetland and Orkney Islands. The per centage of beef to live weight may be thus ffiven: Half fat, Moderately fat, I'rime to very fat, Extraordinarily fut, Per cent, of beef in live weight. 55 to 59 60 to 62 63 to 66 67 to 70 Class 2. 60 to 65 56 to 60 61 to 63 64 to 66 48 to 50 51 to 65 56 to 60 61 to 66 " These figures apply to the ordinary fattened ani- mals, in heifers and oxen. " The most opproved formula of ascertaining the weisfht by measurement, multiplies the square of the girth by the length, and that product by the decimals .24 or .25, for the weight of the four quarters in im- perial stones. [Assuming the carcass to be a true cylinder, the area is found by multipljing the length by a sectional part of the figure, and here is the square of the girth multiplied by .07958 (the area of a circle whose circumference is unity) for the area of section, which multiplied by the length, gives the solid contents of the cylinder. The difficulty remains in giving a certain weight to any given quantity of the cylinder. It has been assumed, prooably from experiment, that every cubic foot of the cylinder will weigh about 3 imperial stones. Now, .07958 multi- plied by 3)-gives .238 or .24 as being more convenient for practice. Experiment has had a very large share in fixing such rules for practice. " The following table of multipliers has been care- fully compiled: Condition. First Class. Second Class Third Class. Fair beef, Moderately fat, Prime fat, .23 .24 .25 .26 .27 .22 !23 .24 .25 .26 .22 !23 .24 Very fat, Extraordinarily fat, .24 .25 " The decimals .26 and .25 may apply to the beasts of the Christmas exhibition in London.] * " The live weighing is quite preferable to the measuring process, in ascertaining the weight gained in any certain time. The tape line can be used at any time when the weighing machine is beyond reach, and for computing the quantity of beef, is preferable to the weighing alive, though it is unable to deter- mine the fattening that is gained within certain periods of time. " Arljitrary assumption must not be allowed to have produced the rules that have been now given for judging live stock; they constitute the natural means that exist to enable some satisfactory conclusions on the subjects that have been treated. Much observa- tion and practice are required in order to understand and apply the means of judging the different circum- stances of the animal existence. All persons can not perceive the tendency of these rules to lead to a cor- rect judgment; long and careful observation being requisite to convince the mind of their value in that • In the above paragraph the stone weight is used. A stone is equal to 14 pounds. The above rule may be stated more simply, as follows : Multiply the girth (in feet) by itself, and multiply the product by the length. The number thus obtained, if multipli^ by 3>i, will give the weight of the carcass in pounda. THE GENESEE FARMEIL 47 respect. Tuition cau not do it, without practical experience; the study of nature has furnished these rules for guidance, and as the laws of nature are general, these rules must be of universal application. The acquirement is generally sought of judging accu- rately of the quuhty and weight of live stock; every farmer is desirous to possess it, and eveiy pupil in agriculture mostly appreciates it iu the most enticing form. No breeder of animals can possess a higher accomplishment, and the highest perfection of breed- ing is maintained by it. An extensive experience is essential to its acquirement ; and even with that enjoyment, some persons never become good judges. An acute observation must cull from the lessons of experience, and with much judgment and discrimina- tion. These natural faculties are not gifted away with profusion, nor aro the requisite trouble and perse- verance bestowed to supply the M'auta Most persons must be judges intuitively or not at all; hence the many exj)edients that have been adopted to acquire the knowledge and experience, the many tables from measurement, and rules from Hve weight Good judges veiy rightly contemn these rules and tables, as they cau ascertain the real weight of marketable flesh on any animal much more nearly by the eye than by any superficial rule, and the true quality of it by the touch — a property which these tables can in no way convey. No surprise need be raised by the comparative superiority of the senses for this purpose, the depreciating and enhancing points of the carcass can not be determined by artificial rules, and the tape and the steel-yard can not be substituted for the eye and the hand. If the bodies were true cylin- ders, and if the offiils always bore a definite and inva^ riable ratio to the four quarters of flesh, then the measurement might tell accurately; but the various proportioas that exist require the judgment to com- pare the value of the several disprojaortionate parts. It is nevertheless true, that the priraest condition of animals, which approach the nearest to the mathe- matical, are approximated by rules, which are still inferior to a practically matured judgment. The rules, however excellent, require a correct application; the girth and length are to be nicely taken, as one inch will blunder more than the eye of the judge. The live weight depends on the fulness or emptiness of the carcass with food; and neither weighing nor measurement give any idea of the quality of the flesh, which rests on the eye and the hand to judge in this most essential particular." DRYING POTATOES FOR SEED. A. N. C. BoLLMAN, Counsellor of State and Pro- fessor in the Russian Agricultural Institution at Gorigoretsky, says that " thoroughly dried potatoes will always produce a crop free from disease." In an interesting pamphlet, it is asserted as an unques- tionable fact, that mere drying, if conducted at a sufficiently high temperature, and continued long enough, is a complete antidote to the malady. The account given by Professor Bollmax of the accident which led to this discovery is as follows : He had contrived a potato-setter, which had the bad quality of destroying any sprouts that might be on the sets, and even of tearing away the rind. To harden the potatoes, so as to protect them against this accident, he resolved to dry them. In the spring of 18.50, he placed a lot in a very hot room, and at the end of three weeks they were dry enough to plant. The potatoes came up well, and produced as good a crop as that of the neighboring farmers, with this difl'orence only, that they had no disease, and the crop was therefore, upon the whole, more abundant. Pro- fessor BoLLMAN tells us that he regarded this as a mere accident; he, however, again dried his seed po- tatoes iu 1851, and again his crop was abundant and free from disease, while everywhere on the surround- ing land they were much afi'ected. This was too re- markable a circumstance not to excite attention, and iu 1852 a third trial took place. All Mr. Bollman's own stock of potatoes being exhausted, he was obliged to purchase his seed, which bore unmistakeable marks of having formed part of a crop that had been se- verely diseased ; some, in fact, were quite rotten. After keeping them for about a mouth in a hot room, as before, he cut the largest potatoes into quarters, and the smaller into halves, and left them to dry for another week. Accidentally the diying was carried so far that apprehensions were entertained of a very bad crop, if any. Contrary to expectation, however, the sets pushed promptly, and grew so fast that excel- lent young potatoes were dug three weeks earher than usual. Eventually nine times the quantity planted was produced, and, although the neighboring fields were attacked, no trace of disease could be found on either the herbage or the potatoes themselves. This singular result, obtained in three successive years, led to inquiry as to whether any similar cases were on record. In the course of the investigation two other facts were elicited. It was discovered that Mr. LosovsKY (Uving in the government of Witebsk, in the district of Sebege), had for four years adopted the plan of drying his seed potatoes, and that during that time there had been no disease on his estate. It was again an accident which led to the practice of this gentlemen. Five years ago, while his potatoes were digging, he put one in his pocket, and on return- ing home threw it on his stove (poele), where it re- mained forgotten till the spring. Having then chanced to observe it, he had the curiosity to plant it, all dried up as it was, and obtained an abundant healthy crop; since that time the practice of drjdng has been continued, and always with great success. Professor Bollman remarks that it is usual in Russia, in many places, to smoke-dry flax, wheat and rye; and in the west of Russia, experienced proprietors prefer for seed onions that have been kept over the winter in cottages without a chunney; such onions are called dymka, which may be interpreted smoke-dried. The second fact is this: Mr. Wasileffskt, a gen- tleman residing in the government of MohileflJ is in the habit of keeping potatoes aU the year round by storing them in the place where his hams are smoked. It happened that in the spring of 1852 his seed pota*-- toes, kept in the usual manner, were insufficient, aadi he made up the requisite quantity with some of these? which had been for a month in the smoking place.\ These potatoes produced a capital crop, very littla diseased, while at the same time the crop from; the sets which were not smoke-dried was extensiyeij 48 THE GENESEE FARMER. attacked by disease, rrufessor Boixman is of opinion that there would have been no disease at all, if the sets had been better dried. The temperature required to produce the desired result is not vei-y clearly made out. Jlr. Bollman'.s room in -which his first potatoes were dried was heated to about 72°, and much higher. By way of experiment ho placed others in the chamber of the Btove itself, where the thermometer stood at 13G°, and more. He also ascertained that the vitahty of the potato is not atlected, even if the rind is charred. In connection with this subject, we would remark that we have several articles of general interest, trans- lated expressly for the Genesee Farmer, from the Journal of the Royal Agronomical Society of St. Pe- tersburgh, which we receive through the kindness of the Russian Minister, M. Bowsco, at Washington. Our arrangements are complete for obtaining eveiy thing of value to our readers in agricultiu'e and horticul- ture that transpires in Prussia, Austria, Italy, France, ajid Great Britain. AN AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT ASSO- CIATION. Col. Cartwbight, of Northampton, England, has started a plan for supplying that county with the most improved implements of tillage, husbandry, and agricultural machines of every description needed, which is worthy of consideration in this country. His proposal was to form a company for hiring out im- proved agricultural implements throughout the county. To affect this, there must be depots all over the county, depending upon money raised by the com- pany. The capital to be possessed by the company, to be useful, must not be less that £12,000, which would be best raised, as he had been advised, in 600 Bhares of £20 each. As to the arrangement, he put £1000 for each depot. Now, at each depot they must have two threshing machines, costing £400. They must also have machines, which, from the im- provements made and making, he believed would yet be found to act profitably — i. e., reaping machines. Ten of them would be necessary at each depot, and he put them at a cost of £200. There would then be £400 left for providing drills and other machinery necessary for the neighborliood. Now, then, let them Bee what they would get for the £1000 ; in other words, how the company would stand as a commer- cial speculation. A threshing machine would cost £200. rWe suppose that this means threshing ma- chine and portable steam engine.] It ought to be in use 100 days in the year; at 9d. per quarter it would bring in, supposing it threshed 40 quarters a day, 30s. per day, or £150 in the year, lie should take it, however, at only 50 per cent., which he believed might be safely calculated upon for all the machinery. A reaping niacliine, including the latest improvements, would cost £25. Supposing it to be used 20 days only, it was calculated to pay more than 50 per cent. i:. would cut 8 acres a day, which, at 2a an acre, v.ould in 20 days produce £16 for the £25 laid out. And so they would find it with the drills and all the other implements. Well, then, taking 50 per cent. as the raaxinmm, there would be an annual return of £500 at each depot. Then came the question, what were they to do with it? He had roughly calculated that they must appropriate £50 for their storehouse, £100 for their engineer and two laborers (exclusive of the money paid to them when eni])]oyed out), a* dividend of 5 per cent, to shareholders would be £50 more, making £200; which would leave them £100 at each depot to work the company. Another point was, that these things would not only be let out to hire, but that occupiers would have the opportunity of buying implements of the company at a reduced price, after they had seen their etiicieut M'orking, as the discount allowed by the mukei-s would be divided between the company and the retail purchasers. Then came the question of stations. Northampton, he had thought, should be a double station — a kind of central depot, to which £2000 should be apj)io- priated. The remaining stations, at each of which £1000 should be invested, he proposed to make at 'WeUingborough, Thrapston, Oundle, Weston-by-Wee- don, Kettering, Towcester, Paventry, Guilsborough (or Hazlebecch), Old Stratford, and Brackley; thui they would be enabled to throw over the whole countj a lai'ge number of implements. He had heard i objected that such a company would fail, becaus* every one would want the same implement on tht '. same day. Tlie answer to that was, that when ai i applicant desired to have an implement, he could b» | su])plied if the implement were at the time disengagec or he could have it in his turn. But, even should h not obtain the implement when he wanted it, its era ployment elsewhere would have the effect of easin; the market, so that he might obtain labor to harves his corn before it was shed. This, then, was th i scheme, though imperfectly sketched; and the Colone proceeded to say that, through having interested hiir self in this business, he had received various commuj uications from talented and practical people. HM was perfectly satisfied that the princijjlc of establisbi ing a company was right, and he v.auted to know wk4| else held the same opinion. He would not ask thew to decide that day. They had now, howevei-, liearf* his statement, and he had caused circulars to be prt || pared, directed to himself, which would be distributei li at the close of the meeting; and if a sufficient nuir i ber of them were returned to him taking a favorabl view of the question, he should have the greates pleasure in calling another meeting to carry out thi ]iroject He believed that all the budgets of all Ih Chancellors jiut together would not help the farmer half so much as good machinery. Unfermented Bread. — A patent has recently bee granted in England for a compound mixture desiune to render bread light, without the trouble and los that attend the raising of bread by yeiist, or "salt risings." The following are the ingredients used b; the patentee: Tartaric acid, 120 jtarts, by weight bicarbonate of potiush (saleratus), 144 parts : !oa sugar, pounded, 30 parts; rice, gi'ound fine, 116 pai-ts and East India arrow-i'oot, 30 part'^. The above i a good preparation, but the otlier ingredients thai the tartaric acid and bicarbonate of potash, or sodf may be dispensed with. Mix the acid with the flow and the saleratus or supercarbonate of soda with tb wetting, for making bread. THE GENESEE FARMER. 49 FLAN FOR MAKING A MANURE CELLAR. Winter, with its storms and snows, necessarily brings to the fanner a season of compafative relaxa^ tion from his hardest toiL His crops being all gar- nered and secured, the ground frozen against his plow, and his most active labors almost brought to a stand still, by causes far beyond his conti'ol, he is in a measure compelled into leisure hours. During the past summer his manure heap has been exposed to the wasting efi'ects of the rain and sun, until Httle of its goodness remains ; and all his ferti- lizing stock, which is to accumulate so rapidly during the winter, will, unless something is done to prevent, be in the same valueless condition when spring, with its genial influences, comes aromiA It is for the farmer to examine in his leisure hours, that we have engi'aved the accompanying sketcL It illusti-atcs a and here the undermining operations were commenced. During the leisure rainy days of fall, before the ground had frozen, a pit was dug to the depth of ten feet, and a substantial but rough wall was built up, form- mg one of the four sides of the cellar. After this, operations were extended beneath the floor, and the digguig soon pai^sed the reach of frost. Here in the stormiest days, when it was a pleasure than otherwise to work, the excavation and walling up were c arried on until, in a short time, the cellar was completed and ready for use. Temporary stancheons were used to support the bam during the process of excavation, untu the walls were done. The pigs were then turned down, and by their continual roofings and turnings of the manure, which fell through a trap in the floor, the whole mass was by spring in an excellent con- dition. This plan saved aU the urine, as well as solid matters, so that its value, compared with exposed PLAN OF A M.4.NURE CELLAR. very simple mode whereby a manure cellar may be constructed beneath any barn, the whole expense, probably, not exceeding the loss which falls to the farmer in one winter, by the practice of exposing his manure heap in the open barn yard.* Our engi'aving shows an elevation of a barn, beneath which a cellar has lately been excavated. The barn stands on a dead level. There was no accommodating hill which required but the throwing out of the earth on one side to form a convenient cellar. Like too many a farmer's out buildings, it had evidently been erected without the least thought of convenience or economy of location. It will be noticed that on the left side the cellar projects out beyond the buildingi At this end a temporary shed was erected to carry off the rains, • The present annual loss to American farmers, by the practice of exposing tlieir manures to the action of the weather, is estinaated at twenty uiiUioae of dollars. manure, was as ten to one. Doors were hung on the side of the bam where tlie cellar projected, which, when closed, prevent the ram from entering. When open, ample space is afforded to throw out the manure, as seen in the sketch. The dotted lines show the position of the doors when closed. This sketch is not presented as a model, to be fol- lowed in building a barn. It is merely to exhibit the manner in which a cellar was made, in one par- ticular instance, the bam being already built; and it may be useful to hundreds of others who could adopt something of the kmd to great advantage. — People's Journal. ^»«-^ ■ Great Yield. — A correspondent of the JS'eio Ha- ven Palladium, at Roxbury, Litchfield county, say.<^ that Dr. A, W. Fenn, of that town, has raised this Eeaaon from one kemal of corn, sixteen ears, the pro- duct from which was 4209 kemals. 60 THE GENESEE FARMER. BURNING GREEN WOOD. We have in earlier volnnies of this journal so often called public attention to the losses incurred by burn- ing green firewood, that, did we not know the value of repetitions to many new subscribers, the subject might be considered as exhausted. The following remarks of the J\''eiv England Farmer present the matter in a new light, as disturbing the good temper and harmony of the family circle, and therefore worthy of consideration: It is to be hoped that there are not many New Enu^land farmers who are in the practice of using green wood for their cooking stoves, or for warming tlieir rooms. The wood-house is generally as important an appendage to a New England home as a barn, and is usually filled with seasoned wood suffident for a year's supply. But there are 5ome, we observe, who still use wood in its green state for fuel, hauling a load now and then, when the demand be- comes imperative, and chopping just enough to appease the clamor in the kitchen. There are several objections to such a course ; just the moral effect is decidedly bad, as it is a requisition upon the women much like that imposed on the Israelites of old ; they were required to make bricks without straw, and you require the women to cook and warm the children without Fuel, or at least with wood that contains in every KM) lbs. Soj D5s. of cold water. Now it requires time and patience, ind a great stock of good humor, to putf and encourage into steam and vapor 35^ lbs. of cold water, in a frosty morning, when the children are to be got to school in sea- son, and the men are to be started for the woods. If this trial occurred only once a week, it might be supported with some degree of complacency ; but it comes every day, and nany times in the day, and often when care and over-labor have fatigued the body and weakened the will. The mind 8 thus brought into an easily excited state, and gives way "/O words and actions unnatural to itself when not thus un- justly tried. Green firewood should be rejected as the lemon of discord in the family ; while it smokes, and steams, ind sputters, and refuses to toast or roast, or bake or boil, t makes the children sulky and tart, the husband gloomy md severe, and the poor wife anxious and disheartened. \Iany a scene of domestic felicity has been smoked and izzled out of existence by the use of green firewood! In the next place it is bad ecoiiomy to burn green fire- vood, and to show this conclusively, we give below a state- oent made by Dr. Lee, in the Genesee Farmer, several -ears ago (184G). He says : " We have been burning, for the last month, green Black ,nd White Oak wood, cut from small trees. Our students ind on analysis that 100 lbs. of wood contain 35.^ lbs. of vatcr, and less than 1 lb. of ash. We demonstrated in an irticle published in the last Farmer, that 1000 degrees of leat are taken up in converting water into steam, which jccupies a space 1G9G times larger than that filled by wa- er. Although the quantity of latent heat contained in a >ord of green wood is not increased by seasoning, and lence the latter can evolve no more sensible heat than the brmer ; still, in burning green wood, or wet wood, it is ilmost impossible to avoid the loss of one-fourth of the leat generated, in combination with water, in steam and >apor. Most of the heat rendered latent in these gaseous jodies passes up chimney, where they are condensed, and ji^e out their heat to warm all out doors. " We are anxious to give the most unscientific reader a jlear idea of this subject, for it is really one of great prac- dcal importance. Look at it then, in this light : You have ilivided your 100 lbs. of green Oak, Beech or Maple wood nto 65 Bis. of dry combustible matter, and 35 fi>s. of cold jvater. Every pound of this water you evaporate in green ft-ood, and throw the heat away by the consumption of a jart of your 65 Rs. of fuel, and then take the heat evolved )y the balance of your fuel to warm your room. How nany ounces of perfectly dry wood are required to trans- brm a pound of water into steam, we can not at this mo- neat say j nor can we determine what portion of the heat taken up by steam in the combustion of green wood in again evolved by condensing in the room where the fire is made. We believe, however, that the usual loss is about equal to one-third of all the heat contained in C5 ftis. of kiln-dried wood ; and that the gain in seasoning wood under cover is at least 25 per cent." AVheat-Culture IX Massachusetts. — We are pleased to see the farmers of the old Bay State turn- ing their attention to the culture of wheat. At the last United States census their entire crop was Icj^s than half the product of single towns in Western New York. That the production of this important staple may be advantageously practiced by the agri- culturists of Massachusetts, the following letter, writ- ten to the editor of the JVew England Farmer, abundantly proves : Friend Brown: — The question has been asked, " Why do not the farmers of New England raise their own wheat V" A\'e answer, because they do not try. We believe that the farmers of New England can raise their own wlieat as well as their corn, rye and potatoes. We are not disposed to tax the readers of the Farmer with a long fine spun theorv, and ground our belief and assertion upon that, but simjilv to stiite a few plain facts comprising our own experieiicf and that of some of our neighbors in raising wheat tin past season. The 10th of 9th month, 1852, we sowed tv. o bushels of White Flint wheat on two acres of warm, loamy land, from which a crop of grass had been cut. We gave it a common dressing of stable and compost manure before plowing, and sowed on the furrows. About the middle of 7th month we harvested the crop, which yielded ("5 bushels, or 32j bushels to the acre, weighing 63 lbs. to the bushel. James Comstock, of our town, harvested the past sum- mer from IJ acres, 61 bushels, or 3-t bushels to the acre. Henry Wheelock, of Mendon, purchased of us last fall 3 peckSrof wheat, which he sowed on three-quarters of an acre, from which he obtained 23 bushels. Another, in oiu" town, by way of experiment, sowed 4 quarts on an eighth of an acre, which yielded 4J bushels. Another, in Sutton, from 2 quarts, sowed on a sixteenth of an acre, obtained nearly 2 bushels. Although some of these experiments are on a small scale, yet they are all attended with the same satisfactory results, and go to prove that the farmers of New England can raise good crops of whiter wheat, if they can be niduced to try. We have sowed 4 acres this fall, which look finely at present ; the result next year. Several of our neighbors have sowed wheat this fall, an account of which will also be forwarded. We hope other farmers of Massachusetts will give publicity to their experiments in raising winter wheat. Battey & Aldrich. Mr. Editor: — Tour correspondent on page 371 of the last volume of the Farmer, over the signature of "y. W.," asserts: "It is susceptible of proof, that the cooked slop of the distillery will fatten aa many animals as the new corn would have done be- fore it was ground and passed through the still." The fact is not readily credited by the farmers in this section, and \nll not be, unless accompanied by com- parative statements, and figures, showing the precise quantity of nutriment in the grain, and the quantity of animal flesh it will produce if fed in the raw state, or in meal properly prepared, with the same quantity of grain after it has " passed through the still." And while he is making out his statements, he will confer a favor on some farmers by giving an analysis of corn and rye, and showing the parts that pass by dis- tillation into alcohol. I expect your correspondent will, through the Farmer, clear up this matter, and not leave it in the dark. — M. W. — Somers, Conn. THE GENESEE FARMEE. 61 FLAX CULTURE. •■' I NOTICED an article iu the December number of • the Farmer, from Mr. R. T. Brown, of Indiana, on the Cultivation of Flax, by the Hon. H. L. Ells- worth. His calculations are altogether too high. I visited Ireland last summer for the express purpose of knowing how they manage their flax after it is pulled. I have three brothers in the North of Ire- land, all extensive flax-growers, who have been in that business for many years. I remained there from the time flax was iu Ijlossom until it was scutched. I was also in a number of the most extensive linen factories. I found but one opinion among the manu- facturers, which was that any chemical process for separating shove from the lint, that had yet been tried, was very injurious to the lint. The whole pro- cess adopted there can be used here, with one excep- tion only, and that is pnlUng, which is the most costly part of the labor. For that, I intend to cut with a reaping machine, having the ground well roUed when the seed is sovrn, making a smooth surface. The ma- chine will cut within two and a half inches of the surface. In Irelaud, three-fourths of all the lint is dressed by steam power. The shove is quite suffi- cient for fuel for the engine, and a boy can attend it; it performs the breaking and scutching very perfectly. Flax can be steeped, spread upon the grass a few days, and gathered and bound in bundles and taken to the flax mill, at as little cost as any other way, and perhaps less. The manufacturer cuts all the lint before carding, from three to five inches in length; it is then roped and spun, the same as cotton. I bought some yarn spun in one of these factories so fine as to bave twenty-two dozen in one pound, spun by ma- chinery. If you wish, I will send you a little flax, which will pay to export when dressed. It is worth iJ2.50 per stone of 16 lbs. — the break and sutch, 21 ^nts per stone. It is not dried before breaking. I owed a little of the white flax seed last year; it ,TOws about eight inches taller than the brown seed, nd I think will be adopted by those who intend ,aving the lint Hugh McEleoy. — Sidney, Shelby ■ ounty, Ohio. [We thank Mr. McElroy for his instructive letter, : nu should be pleased to receive a specimen of the ax which he says he will send to the editor. If his important plant can be profitably grown in this jountry for its luit as well as seed, it will give another staple to American agriculture.] POULTRY ECONOMY. Mb. Editor : — The excitement and rage about poultry have no precedent; and the fabulous price paid for imported breeds speaks well for their quaUty, if the cost of a thing is evidence of value. Of the imported kinds I know nothing from experience ; but in keeping the Domenigues I am well acquainted, my stock ranging from twenty to forty. I give them what they require to eat the year round, principally com. The consequence is, there has not been a day in two years which has not given me new-laid e^o-s. In the summer of 1852 my fowls were cooped up five mouths; in 1853, for three months. In the De- cember number of the Genesee Farmer, 1851, there is an article credited to the Agricultural Gazette, stating that poultry kept in coops beyond fourteen days, will grow leaner, and ultimately die. Now I have no doubt they would die, if fed on grain and water only. They require more than this, and obtain more when at It^. --e. Forty fowls will eat one bushel of weeds or gi'a&s in twenty-four hours, when placed within their reach in the coops. The want of this green feed may be the cause of their dying; at least, my poultry did not want it, and they did well. Can this be a secret to poultry-raisers ? It must have been so to the Jlgi-ic-ullural Gazette, if not to others. It may have been thought of too little importance to notice. I can not regard it thus Hghtly, since it may affect the poor more than the rich. The poultry kept by the poor is often an objection to their occupying a tenement near by a field designed for raising grain Poultry kept in coops avoMa this objection. I would not recommend keeping fowls ia coops as a mattei of economy, but for convenienco. They will pay ii coops with proper feeding. All mast know that thej require hme in some shape. I give mine shells broker to a proper size, the year round. Poultry will nol pay without enough to eat; and as i matter of econo my, I would suggest that their focroper breed. Ours is the Short-hort Calves get milk three or four months; and after the; are a month old, we add a httle hay, cut turnips, o oil cake, which they very soon learn to eat; of cours we put them on grass as soon as it is ready. It i very necessary to keep them always advancing i' condition. The first winter we give them turnips an straw, or hay ; gi-aze them well the foUowing snmmei and next winter feed them off on turnips. We hav different kinds of turnips; the first two months w give them Globe or common turnips ; next tw months. Yellow or Green-top ; and then finish of M'ith Swedish, along with a httle oil cake or bruise corn (grain). Many have this year realized from £1 to £20 ($90 to $100) a head for two-year-olds; bv prices this year have been unusually high. Our ave • age price for two-year-olds is from £14 to £16 head (that is, from $70 to $80)." 52 THE GENESEE FARMER. Mr. Meikle does not mention the price at which he soUI his himbs; but I see it stated in a newspaper that he oljtained for them £1 4s. a head, which is equal to $5.75. Neither does he state the number of cattle that he fattened. If, however, the propor- tion of cattle to sheep is kept up that was observed when I left Scotland, the numl^er would be about 35. His sales, therefore, would be as follows: 507 lambs, at So .75, $2,915.25 290 fleeces of wool, at $2, 680.00 Produce of 290 ewes for one year, ..$3,495.25 85 two-year-old cattle, at $85, 2,975.00 • Produce of cattle and Bhecp for one year, 6,470.25 The above is not an isolated instance of extreme fecundity of sheep, but one that may be considered a fciir represeatatiou of what occurs in every flock qI Blakewell ewes, that is judiciously managed. countries; and as to the expenditure upon the cattle in Scotland, it is not much more than that incun-ed upon the cattle of this countiy. The former, from the time they are calved to the time they are seut to the butcher, which embraces a period of two years, do not consume more than an acre and a quarter of turnips each, while the latter would, for the same period, to be worth $25 a head at the termination of it, require an acre of corn, estimating the produce at 35 busliels. The contrast cannot be ascribed to a difference in the price of meat, for that is nearly the same in both places; uor can it be imputed to the soil of Scotland being better, nor the climate more propitious lor raising and fattening stock, for in none of these respects is Montgomery county inferior to that country. It must be chiefly owing to a want of a proper breed, which Mr. Meikle says it is of gi-eat importance to V^?^- SOUTH DOWN SHEEP. The same result might be obtained in this country with the same breed, and with the exercise of the same management and care. The early fitness of the cattle for the shambles is the effect of good keeping, joined with a strong ten- dency in the breed (Durham) to early maturity. I may, as a contrast to these sales, give the sums that a farmer in Montgomery county (Md.) would realize for the same quantity of stock of the same ages, but of the breed now existing in that county: From 290 ewes 270 lambs might be raised, which, at $3 a head, wouldamount to $810.00 290 fleeces of wool, at .$1.62^, 471.24 85 two-year-old cattle, at $25, 875.00 $2,156.25 Amount of Mr. MeUde's sales, 6,470.25 ■ Difference, $4,314.00 The difference of actual profit would not be far short of that amount, for the expense of keeping the sheep throagh iha winter ia about the same in both possess; and in so far as the cattle are concerned, to a want of turnips, a root which Mr. Ch.irles B. Calvert has clearly demonstrated can be cultivated as successfully in Maryland as in Great Britain. — J. Bell, in the Amencan Farmer. SOUTH DOWN SHEEP. •The South Down breed is derived from the chalky hills of Sussex on the British Channel. It is to be classed amongst the Down and Forest breeds, but it has been made to surpass them all by the effects of breeding and careful culture. It has been widely spread over all the south-eastern counties of England, and has passed into districts beyond the countries of the Chalk, taking the place of the preexisting breeds of the downs and commons. The sheep of this breed are destitute of horns, have dark colored faces and limbs, and produce a short felting wool fitted for pre- THE GENESEE FARMER. 53 f)aration by the card. Their size varies with the ocality, and the taste and opinions of the brcedere; but they are of greater weight and bear heavier fleeces than the older sheep of the Sussex Downs. They are adapted to a lower range of pastures than the Black-faced sheep and Cheviot breeds, and are better fitted for a dry and temperate dinaate than for a cold and moist one. For mutton, and wool for home consumption, we regard the South Downs as about the best breed of sheep a farmer can keep; and this is becoming the opinion of all, or nearly all, who have tried them in the Middle and Southern States. They yield weighty fleeces of fair wool, adapted to the manufacture of every-day cloth for laboring men, and the article so largely consumed in the planting States, in the form of blankets for both sexes of their negroes. We know several small flocks of South Downs at the losses that accrue to the owners of sheep from the attacks of dogs, in all cases where the keeper of the offending dog or dogs is not laiown, or is unable to respond in damagea In this way, dogs, as a whole, are made to guarantee the good behavior of all their race. If they kill no sheep, no tiLx is assessed upon them; but if they do destroy this kind of property, let the loss fall not on the owner of the sheep alone, but on all the ownei-s of dogs in the county or Stata So far as our observations have extended, South Downs are distinguished for their quiet habits, docility, and disposition to keep in good condition on a mod- erate allowance of food. Perhaps these commend- able qualities constitute their strongest claims to popular favor. Be that as it may, were we about to breed sheep to sell (as we should do, were it not for the vast number of dogs that infest the Distinct of Columbia), the South Downs would be our choice SOUTH DOWN sm:EP. South; and while their flesh is all that can be desired in the way of lamb and mutton, and the ewes are the best of nurses, the return in wool is most satisfactory. Where one desires to keep large flocks of sheep for their wool, as a staple to be sent to market, the Merino is perhaps better than any other variety, for general breeding and use. Some, however, find the Saxons more profitable, if we are to credit their statements in the matter. Sheep husbandly and wool growing are sadly neg- lected in this country, and mainly because the people think more of the luxury of keeping worthless dogs, than of the benefits and advantages of sheep. Thou- sands would embark in the breeding of these valua^ ble ammals at the South and West, where sheep walks abound, if legislatures would only enact laws that should eSectually indemnify their owners from all losses by the depredations of vicious dogs. A tax ought to be imposed on the canine species in eveiy State and Territory, just sufiicient to cover all over all others, for Maryland and Virginia marketa They are not so large as the Leicester or New Of- fordshire sheep, some of which, kept in Virginia, have weighed 400 pounds; but they are large enough for aU useful purposea No better mutton can be found in the world than that brought to Washington and Baltimore markets, fi'om the mountain ranges which di\nde the waters that fall into the Ohio river from such as flow into the Atlantic. The wild herbage of that elevated region imparts to the flesh of sheep a flavor not unlike that of the best venison; while the lil-ieral amount of travel and rambling about of small flocks, develops a great deal of fiiuscle as com- pared with the quantity of fat. Sheep overladen with tallow, may do for fat-eating Englishmen and would-be Aldermen, but they are not adapted to plain, unsophisticated tastes. To produce first rate mutton, sheep need a reasonable amount of exercise in the open air, and a considerable variety of food. Beside grass and legumes, they cat the leaves of 54 THE GENESEE FARMER briars, evergreens (those of the laurel will kill them), aud of more than a huudi-ed different plants, if within their reach. REPORT OF THE TRANSACTIONS AT THE VETERINARY SCHOOL OF ALFOKT. During the last sessional year, students at this val- uable institution have had rare opportunities for acquiring a knowledge of various branches, in veteri- nary science; from their annual report, we learn that the number of animals admitted for treatment, and returnable defects, or as subjects of surgical aud therapeutic experiment, are as follows: Of the horse tribe 1041 Of the bovine tribe '22 Of smaller species 883 1446 Animals submitted to consultation were, — Horses G510 Cows 33 Asses and mules 80 Dogs " 397 Goats _ 17 Cats '.'...'.'.'.'. 4 Pigs 3 7044 Making in the aggregate 8490 animals over which the students have extended their observations. " If we add to this the number returned the pre- vious scholastic year, 7994, it will be seen that the pupils receiving their diplomas, after having spent two years at school, have had opportunities of in- struction in veterinary medicines and surgery from the considerable number of 16,484 subjects of difier- eut species." We sincerely hope that ere the year 1853 has passed, to be able to report on the transactions of an American veterinary school! Such an institution is surely needed; for the people of this country are now in the same condition regarding veterinary matters, as existed among those of the mother country previ- ous to the endowment of her veterinaiy university. And if ever we should be visited by those fearful epidemics, or epizootics, that have to such an alarm- uig extent prevailed throughout the British dominions, the pestilential sword wfll be no less keen, nor de- structive here, than it was in the former country. But we have enough at the fresent time to arouse our agriculturists from their long slumber of indiffer- ence to united action for the advancement of a science which has, and is still calculated to sow broadcast the germs of usefulness. It is well known that there are constantly occurring among various descriptions of live stock, thousands of premature deaths, and a like number of unnecessary cases of disease, every year, which might be prevented by the aid of veterinary science. Many of our farmere have, to their sorrow and mortification, discovered that the offspring of many fine and costly animals rapidly degenerate, and they know not the why nor the wherefore. Then, again, observe the countless number of malformed, and otherwise defective horses that are to be met with in all parts of the Union; inheriting through ancestral descent a broken down constitution, a wedv, porous, bony structure, which sends out its morbid growths, in the form of spavin, riagboue, spleut and other osseous deformities, to the utter ruin of the subjects reputation, and his owner's anticipations. Does the farmer seek a remedy? If so, he should read the Book of JVatwre, as it is written by Omsii- potcnce on the face of universal creation, and recog- nize there through the intelligence of man, in germi- nation, growth and maturity of both animate and inanimate matter. Let the I'arnier who is thireting for knowledge, knock at the door of veterinary 3 plied) last week, when worked by eight horses, and with the relay requiring sixteen a day, the threshing cost Is. 6d. a quarter. In fact, we may close our ac- count of the trial by stating that, with the exception of the points alluded to, the jury of practical farmers returned a verdict of " perfectly successful" — Essex Herald, Oct. 29, 1853. The Purifying Fffect of Steam. — The purifymg effect of steam on moldy or decayed substances may not be generally known; and as there are at the present time so many haystacks that seem more fit for litter than fodder, it may be of service to some of your readers if I state from my own experience how this property of steam may be applied so as to render such apparently worthless stuff palatable, and I believe nutritious, to stock. I had last year a stack of oats, which were carried in wet weather. They became moldy, and were found, on opening the stack, to be so white and matted together with the mold that it would V.e useless to attempt to thresh them out, and the very pigs turned up their nohcs at them. I therefore determined to try the effect of steam; so cutting up grain and straw together, I put the chaff into a pan (belonging to a Stanley's steaming appar ratus), and p;used the steam through it. The steam that issued w v? at first very fusty and unpleasant, but in five minuted this became very sweet and fragrant, and on the pan being emptied the chaff had lost all traces of the mold, and had a deUcious scent, equal to that of the sweetest hay. I followed up this experiment by cutting up the whole of the oat stack into chafi' and stea'ming it. The horses were remarka- bly fond of it, and throve well upon it. I tried a similar process this year with equal success upon flooded hay. The grass was cut after the flood (which had lam upon it for ten days, and had swept away that portion of the crop which had been cut pre- viously) had subsided, and was dried, more for the purpose of putting on the top of a stack than for being used as hay. A few days ago this stack was cut into, and I had some of the muddy hay, which smelled more like river weed than any thing else, cut into chafi' and steamed, having previously had the silt knocked out of it. In this case, also, I found that the muddy smell entirely disappeared, and the chaff was rendered as sweet and palatable as the best gotten hay could be, the smell emitted durmg the steaming being very similar to that produced by brewing. When the chaff is cool and dry, it retains for some days this peculiar fragrance. How far such food is nutritious I have not yet fully ascertained; hitherto I have found horses and stock do veiy well upon it, and prefer it to either good hay or clover unsteamed. It would almost seem as if that good old proverb,'. "Make hay while the sun shines," must, hke many other good old-fashioned things, yield to the encroach- ing power of steam, or else must consent to appear ui this homely guise, " Make hay while the pot boils." At the lisk of my credit, I must further confess to having a stack of clover which the heavy rain in July got to before it was thatched; it is in consequence moldy from top to bottom ; but instead of turning this directly into manure, for which it seems only fit, I am, with the aid of steam, looking forward to making Christmas beef of it, by the way. How far docs mold, if not in too advanced a stage of growth, destroy the nutritious qualities of clover? Fermen- tation, which presents to us the food in which it oc- curs, in a state better adapted for digestion, is sup- posed by some chemists to be attributable to the growth of fungi or infusoria; may not mold, by a similarly dialytical process, leave the clover in a more digestible state, and therefore in a more nntritioua condition, if not suffered to extract from it too much of its goodness? — G. P. S., in the London Gardeners' Chronicle. Colic in Horses. — A Tennessee correspondent of the Pa. Farm Journal says: The best remedy that I have tried for colic in horses is, one pint of whiskey and two-thu-ds of a tea-cup of gunpowder. Mix well and drench the horse. In ordinary cases the horse will be well in half an hour. 56 THE GENESEE FARMER. THE BREEDING AND HORSES. BEARING OF Where a farmer lias the capital and local advan- tages required to stock his farm -with good brood mares, no ather domestic animal pays better than the hoi-se, if bred by a skillful and intelligent man. business of growing horses for market should receive more attention in tliis country; and to turn public at- tention m that direction, we give on this page a truth- ful engraving of a celebrated Cleveland Eay Stallion —a race combinrng action, strength, and symmetry of form, in an uncommon degree. For all work, we doubt whetlier England contains better horses than can be found m the United States; although some of our best families appeal- to be losing their reputa- tion, if not their good quahties. It is a pretty expen- sive matter to keep up a considerable stock of males and females of this costly animal; and but few Americans are willing to incur the risk and trouble of such an establishment. In France, the govern- The j ment is at the expense of keeping hundreds of the best stallions in different de- ^ partments, for the use of breed- ^ ers, without charge. In this ^ way, the best blood in the world ly- is infused into the horses of the J empire, and the cavah-y of the ;^ French army is said to be une- ^ qualed. Our government is iu- ■S nocent of doing any thing what- J ever to improve the horses kept

preserved under the ground for ages. The deep burial of seeds, therefore, w,^ repeat is the true and probably the only means t)r preserving their vitality for any indefinite leiigih of time. AVe should have been happy, at this time, if our ancestors of some centuries ago had thought of keeping in re- serve for us, in this manner, some seeds on wiiieh we could experiment. They did not do it, nor could they, because the minds of that day were not turned towards that kind of observations. But why do not we, whom scientific questions interest to so high a degree, prepare this exjieriment for our ddscendanta? This will be an act of foresight for which they will thank us, and who knows? perhaps which will be a means of transmitting our names to the most distant generations. But the age is so selfish, so strongly ' preoccupied with the enjoyment of the present, that we scarcely hope to see it seize upon our idea to pat in execution. Naudin. Choice Fruits. — The editor of the Horticultural Department of this paper would be obliged to the 6ul}scribers of the Farmer who may have fine speci- mens of the different varieties of apples grown in our country, if they will send him a few from time to time, for comparison. If they should be accompa- nied with accounts of the kind of soil in ivhich they were grown, and the manner of culture, many inter- esting facta would thus be brought out of importance. Let them be left at the Genesee Farmer office. J. . Chaeitt begins at home, but should not end there. ' THE GENESEE FARAfER. 63 JDifoi*'3 lijbie. AciEXCT i-v New York. — C. M. Saxton, Agricultural Book Pub- li-^her, No. 152 Fulton street. New York, is agent for the Ge.vesek Fasmkr, and subscribers iu that city who apply to liim can have their papers delivered regularly at their houses. OuFi contemporaries, the American Agriculturist and Country Gentleman, have commented on our remarks on " the Genesee Farmer, the child of Western New York," in the January number ; and between them blunders have been committed, which our friend Mr. Tucker wrongly ascribes to "Dr. Lee." Mr. T. says: "The Americmi Agriculturist copies from the Genesee Farmer the claim of the latter paper to the paternity of several of our best rural periodicals, and among the rest, that of the Albany Cultivator itself." The Farmer made no " claim to paternity," whatever. This is what it said : " The patronage which it received, encouraged Judge Buel to start, some years after, the Albany Cultivator, at twenty-five cents a year." There is no " claim of paternity" in the above statement, while its truth is not denied. Again we said : " The Gen- esee Farmer enabled Mr. Tucker to go to Albany with sufficient reputation and funds to run an honorable and successful career as the conductor of the Cultivator." Nor is the truth of this statement questioned. On the contrary. j\Ir. Tucker says truly that he originated and published the Farmer nine years before going to Albany ; "and afterward, upon the death of Judge Buel, merged it in the Cultivator, started at a later day." Now, the " merging" referred to, consisted simply in discontinuing the Farmer, and asking its patrons to take the Cultivator in place of it. As the Farmer was the property of Mr. Tucker, he had a right to suppress it ; but he could not prevent the farmers of Western New York from having a local agricultural journal, as a medium through which they could profitably " teach one another." Tlie friends and supporters of the pioneer work, unwilling to adopt the Albany Cultivator as a substitute for their favorite, the old Genesee Farmer, called the New Genesee Farmer into existence. The same intelligent community that gave vitality and strength ,to the Farmer, as con- ducted by Mr. Tucker, resuscitated the paper after he left, and still make the Genesee Farmer what it is. It is their work. So warmly did the present conductor sym- pathise with the farmers of Western New York in this matter, that he wrote a whole year for this journal for four dollars — a sum barely sufficient to pay postage on the correspondence. No matter how many other weekly and monthly agricultural papers Western New Yorkers and others may read, there is not one of them that does or can fill the place of this old, standard work. What paper in the United States gave from official and other reliable sources, the quantity of wheat and rye grown in tioenty- eight of the principal nations of Europe, in 18.51 ? The January number of the Farmer for 1852, contained this important information ; and no other journal in the Re- public furnished these valuable statistics. The same num- ber of the Genesee Farmer gave the number of horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, goats, asses and mules in seventeen of the largest or most populous countries in Europe ; and no other paper in the United States has given the informa- tion. No other paper has given more than a third of the agricultural returns of the last U. S. Census, that have been published in the Farmer. ^\ ho but the Fakmeb has studied the rural industry of the country so closely as to know and proclaim the fact, that Jlonroe county (in which it has been published a quarter of a century), now produces a half million bushels of wheat more than any other in the whole Union ? Not one reader in a thousand appreciates the amount of severe labor bestowed to arrive at the truths contained in this cheap periodical. We de- livered at least one hundred free lectures on the subject, before the farmers and the Legislature of this State conid be persuaded to count all the cows actually milked in 1845, in the commonwealth, which was done, and the basis laid for the most instructive comparisons iu 1850, and hereafter. Next year another State census is to be taken ; and New York farmers appear to be fast asleep. It is the purpose of the Farmer to wake them up, by dealing largely in the great facts of tillage and husbandry, whose importance cannot diminish so long as the earth is cultivated. A Hint for Evert Reader. — An esteemed corres- pondent, of Somerset county, Pa., says : " After receiving the five copies of your Genesee Farmer which I had ordered for myself, on showing them to several men, they became so eager to have them, that thej' took them all from me ; so I have none for myself. You will please send me three copies more for this month, if you stiU have them in reserve," &e. What Mr. Josiah Snyder has done to promote the reading of the oldest, and we believe the most reliable, agricultural journal in the State of New York, at least ten thousand other subscribers may each easily accomplish. We pay fifty per cent, more for setting up the type on this volume than any one before has cost, because it contains fifty per cent, more " ems," or compo- sition. The paper on which it is printed costs a quarter more than that of any previous volume. Add to these large expenses that of stitching and trimming every num- ber of the work, and the reader wiU see that our profits are next to nothing, on the Genesee Farmer. In noticing it, our friend Bateham, of the Ohio Cultivator, says : " The Genesee Farmer promises to continue at the too low price of fifty cents a year, under the able management of Dr. Lee, whose talents ought to command a larger sum in these prosperous times, or at least secure for the paper an immense circulation." The latter is what we desire to see — not as a matter of personal gain, for we shall expend the profits in premiums, chemical apparatus, and other means needful to advance the rural knowledge of the United States. With one-fourth the circulation that our paper now has, if sold at the same price of most monthlies, our net profits would be ten times larger than at present. The Farmer ought to have a mil- lion of subscribers, and five millions of readers, in a nation that contains a population of twenty-six millions, three- fourths of whom look to the farm and the garden for their support. A volume of the Farmer will cost club subscri- u THE GENESEE FARMER. bers but thirtT-seven cents, — a sum so small that it cannot possibly interfere with the reading of other agricultural journals. Ours is emphatically a pioneer paper, designed to cultivate a taste for agricultural literature and science among the largest number of citizens. Since it was started, iixty papers of like character have been called into exist- ence ; and if properly patronized, it will soon create a market for sixty more, and better rural journals. This country now supports about three thousand political papers, and one thousand only of all others. Our thirty years' ex- perience in writing for the press, teaches this fact : Farm- ers will, by force of long habit and education, pay one five times more for a political article, which we can write in thirty minutes, than for an agricultural essay involving years of patient research, and elaborated by thirty hours' severe toil. "NVe do not complain of this, for political papers are two centuries old, while those devoted exclu- sivelv to agriculture and horticulture are, comparatively, the creations of to-day. The latter must soon undergo great changes ; for the owners and cultivators of the soil will see their utility, and the necessity for their improve- ment. \Vith an addition to our subscription list, we can make the Farmer t«ice as valuable at its present price. Premiums foe Volume XV., Second Series. — The liberal premiums offered for subscribers to volume fifteen, second series, of the Genesee Farmer, commencing on the first of the present year, have attracted deserved attention. When the names of tbe successful competitors are an- nounced in May, some that might easily have won prizes worth having, will regret their neglect to do so ; and we respectfully give such a hint, that it is not now too late to take the field and achieve the most satisfactory results. We are profoundly thankful to our numerous friends for giving this old pioneer work, which caine into being with tlie first log-cabins of the West, a hearty welcome to their firesides. Long and faithfully has it labored to pro- mote the great farming interest of North America, without once turning to the right hand or the left, to advance any personal or private interest whatever. Seven years ago, we wrote and published in the January number of the Farmer, 1S47, the following paragraph : " The farmers in the vicinity of Edinburgh, give Prof. JonxSTOX five hundred pounds a year (some $2,500), to keep up a laboratory for the benefit of their sons, for the analysis of soils, fertilizers, &c. Permit us to state a few facts by way of contrast. While we have, written nights, when farmers were asleep, for political papers, that our davs mi?ht be devoted to the advancement of American Agriculture, we have actuatly expended two dollars for every one that we have ever received from the agricultu- ral community, in the purchase of chemicals, ajjparatus, geological maps, specimens, &c." Oar subsistence is derived from other resources than the Farmer ; and therefore we are wUiing and able to expend the income from the paper in the way which it is believed will do most good to the public. No man can carry prop- erty with him from this world to the next, and a very little food and raiment will suffice during the few years tliat he lingers on this side of the grave. Conducted on so broad a principle, and designed to elevate tlie standard of rural literature, science and prac- tice, the Genesee Farmer has peculiar claims to the con- fidence and support of its readers. It carefully avoids all the humbugs of the age, so prolific of quackery and upstart pretension in every department of human knowledge. In exposing these, it unavoidably makes some bitter enemies ; and therefore it needs the active assistance of all honest persons. If such will show this number to their friends, many new names may be added to the present list, and we can go on improving the work with equal pleasure to the writer and profit to the reader. Farmers' College in Ohio. — In Hamilton county, near Cincinnati, there is a flourishing educational institu- tion, which was commenced in 1833 by Mr. F. G. Cart, as a private enterprise, under the name of " Pleasant Hill Academy." In process of time, this academy became a literary college, with a board of directors, and its annual catalogue now numbers 321 pupils, over 200 of whom are in attendance. Hitherto it has been a " farmers' college" only in name, for the simple reason, as we understand, that the officers of the institution had not the funds required to purchase and put in proper oi'der a farm, and endow pro- fessorships of rural sciences. The founder of Pleasant Hill Academy, and President of the College, has recently resigned, that he may devote his whole time and talents to the commendable labor of procuring the funds necessary to establish a first class institution for the professienal edu- cation of young farmers. In the circular issued by the board, we find the following remarks : " The old doctrine has been repudiated, that a man can not be a respectable scholar and worthy the honors of a college, unless he has devoted tlie greater part -if six years to the study of the ancient classics. Ani'ile fiu ilities have always been furnished to such as desired to i rosecute a strictly classical course; but such 'i'ufler.'s 1. ve not re- ceived honors in this institution, to the exclusion of tho-e who have acquired an equivalent amount of kiK.vvlv.dge ki the scientific department." This middle course is equally safe and wise. .Vs a life- long friend of industrial education, and schools -if applied sciences, we protest against the fanatical folly or' proscri- bing the ancient classics, while opposing their preiiosterous claim to parainount consideration in the last half of the nineteenth century. Ohio is now in a fair way to call into existence the first agricultural college in the United States — an honor that will in future years redound more to her glory than any which any member of the confederacy has yet achieved, not ex- cepting our own " grand canal." It gives us great pleas- ure to see the Ohio Cultivator lend a helping hand in tliis noble enterprise. That print truly says : " The losses that our State annually sustains by the impoverishment of her soil, by deficient crops and misapplied labors, arising from ignorance of the principles of agricultural science, we have no doubt are greater than would be the cost of establish- ing a first rate agricultural school and experimental farm in every county, and of educating all the sons and daught- ers of our farming population." For thirty years we have preached this doctrine, and might appeal to official reports made to our State Legis- lature and to Congress, as vouchers, if they were needed. OuB own distrust justifies the deceit of others. THE GENESEE FARMER- 'S Transactions of the North Western FKrir Growers' Associ- ation, at their Annual Meeting at Chicago, October, 1S53. We have received and perused with unusual interest, a copy of the Transactions of the Association above named. The Address of Mr. J. A. Wright deals freely in flowers and fruits, and is calculated to kindle in the reader a love for the beauties of Flora and the healthful sweets of Pomona. We have marked some pas-'^^es for our pages, •when they are less crowded than at present. Mr. Knowles and Mr. Stetson have kept curculios from iniuring their plums, by winding cotton batting about the bodies of their trees. Mr. K. applies the cotton near the ground ; Mr. S. prefers to use it about the trunk, high up, near the limbs. Mr. Edwards, of Bureau, has tried the plan recommended by Mr. Brewster last year : put- ting soap-suds, refuse whitewash, and urine, about the roots of the tree frequently in the curculio season. This • ■ practice he found entirely successful, and regards it as a * perfect protection. Mr. Brewster being present, stated tliat the tree he spoke of as bearing so profusely last year, had done the same this season. He would recommend to apply the wash frequently and profusely on the ground, as ■far as the limbs over it extended. Mr. Handford kept - hens and chickens in coops under his plum trees, when ■ the curculios propagate their kind, and thereby destroyed ' the insects, and had an abundance of plums. 5Ir. Bel- LAXGEE had been equally successful with poultry in his fruit yard. The discussions of the Convention were eminently prac- tical, pertinent, and in the main, instructive. The Presi- dent of the Association, Dr. Kexnicott, and others, de- serve commendation for getting up and sustaining so use- ful and prosperous a Society. The Letter of Mr. Kirt- LAND, on tlie Pear, contains facts and suggestions of suf- ficient value to be recorded and stereotyped in the Gene- esee Farmer. It will appear in our next, with some comments by the editor. h New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States : By TnoMAS Baldwi.v, and J.Thomas, M. D. Philiidelphia : Lippen- OOtt, Grambo & Co., 1S54. 136i pages, 8vo. This is unquestionably the best Gazetteer of the United States, by far, that has ever been placed before the Amer- ican public ; and its value is increased by the fact that it is brought down as far as practicable, to the year 1853. Some idea of the accuracy of the work, and the amount of labor which has been expended upon it, may be ob- tained, when we state that the author procured the services of some two thousand correspondents in all parts of the country, and accounts of all the cities and other places of importance, were derived from actual residents. It con- tains about 10,000 names in addition to those of any other Gazetteer of our country, yet published ; and unlike most others, contains an accurate review of the present state of a rapidly improving country. The full and comprehensive Statistics which are furnished, up to the latest date, are of the most satisfactory character. Tbb Second Annual Meeting of the U. S. Agricultural Society will be held at Washington, D. C, Feb. 22, 1854. Tempest Issuraxce Compasy. — A Stock Insurancw Company, with a capital of $250,000, has gone into opera- tion in Cayuga county, in this State, designed to insure the dwellings and other buildings of farmers, or isolated build- ings, and no other, against loss and damage by fire and lightning. By refusing to take risks on city and village property, which is many times more exposed to conflagra- tion than isolated farm buildings, the responsibility of the Company is substantially insvred, while it is able to insure houses in rural districts on much better terms than could be done were its business less restricted. The principle of insurance has gradually risen in the public confidence, in all civilized nations, during the present century. Like other useful inventions, it is liable to abuse ; but from all we know and believe, the Company, whose advertisement may be found in tliis number of the Fasmek, is entitled to confidence. Noluts to C^orrtsponiitnts. Mb. D. B. Stuart, of Laurel Point, (Ta.,) gives us a favorable account of the railroads in progress in that State, and awards censure and commendation to such as are de- serving, with apparent impartiality. The Merino sheep are not liked so well as the Cotswolds, as mutton and com- mon wool are more saleable than fine wool in that district. Their " meat cattle are wofully defective," though Eastern Virginia is thought to be worse ofl'. Hogs are their best domestic animals. WUl not Mr. Stuart gi\e our readers some account of the value of farms and wild lands in that region? What are your principal crops ; and how much corn, wheat, and oats do you raise per acre ? Mk. Joseph Harris has sent us a letter, with a request that it be published, complaining that in our brief notice of several gentlemen who have been successfully connected with this journal during the last twenty -five years, sufiicient prominence and minuteness of detail were not accorded to his services. We were under no obligation to name Mr. H. or his prosperity at all ; and we regret that he should constrain us to believe it almost impossible to extend kind- ness and consideration to a young Englishman, and not induce him to take on airs as unbecoming as they are char- acteristic. Mb. Thomas Habpeb, of Berrysburg, writes that the farmers in that neighborhood are improving their lands very much, by the application of lime, at the rate of from 50 to 100 bushels per acre, during wmter and spring. Their system is to plant first with com, then sow oats, manure, and seed with wheat and clover ; soil, red shale. Lime costs six cents at the kiln, and is hauled from five to six miles. Mr. H. has our ttianks for the interest he haa taken to extend the circulation of the Farmer. Mr. R. Thorp, of Taylor, Ulinois, writes that the Genesee Farmer induced him, Mr. Arnold and Mr. Eakl, the past year to experiment in growing each an acre of com. The results were, that Mr. T. raised 139i bushel* of shelled corn on an acre ; Mr. A. 122.^ bushels ; and Mr. E. 93J bushels. We wish that alt our subscribers did as well. 66 THE GEXESEE FAR:MER. A FEiEXD in Canada calls our attention to the fact that plowing generally in the State of New Tork, is inferior in workmanship to that done bx Scotch farmers there, " whose pride it is to excel in the rural art of guiding the plow.' All we can say is, that we have some Scotch farmers in Caledonia, Wheatland, and other towns in 'Westem New York, and others innocent of any connection with the " land o' cakes," who excel the mass of cultivators in the Provinces, in breaking and turning " the stubborn glebe." Mr. Hebvet Johnson, of Holland, in this State, who has taken the Geiieste Farmer stventem years, and is seventy-eight years old. is entitled to our best thanks for the interest he still takes in " the noble cause of agricul- ture." If New York had one hundred thousand such men, its forming lands would soon be worth four times their present value ; for tillage and husbandry would then be studied and practiced in the most successful manner. Mb. a. Chapin, of Carroll, has sent us a very satisfac- tory answer to the common objections to subscribing for and reading agricultural papers ; but our patrons stand in small need of such arguments, however meritorious, and our friend will excuse the omission of his remarks. How to make people read and Improve, who have no taste for knowledge, and no desire to improve themselves and fami- lies, is a difficult problem to solve. Mr. N. Pa*ik, of Beaver (Pa.), says that he lives on a lot only 50 feet by ISO, and that hints derived from our paper, have enabled him to make a highly productive garden, and to have the promise of a very profitable fruit vard. Thousands of house-keepers in a small way, find recipes worth to them many times the cost of this monthly visitor. of South Carolina, informed us whUe going over his exten- sive plantation, that he had applied over 200,000 bushels of such marl ; and we have visited a score of farms in dif- ferent States on which it has been tried for many years with beneficial results. Six years ago we analyzed the marl at 1 Shell BluflP, on the Savannah, in Georgia, and found it to contain from 60 to 93 per cent, of carbonate of lime. If our correspondent wUl get up a good club of subscribers , to the Farmer, and send us fair samples of two of his j largest beds of marl, we will analyze sufficiently to indicate its agricultural value, and charge him nothing for our trouble. Send some two ounces in each package, by mail, and pay postage. It is now nearly forty years since Mr. Edmcnd Kuffin, of Virginia, began to use and commend shell marl for the improvement of poor lands. We have heard intelligent Virginians say that his experiments and suggestions in this matter had been worth several million dollars to that part of the State where marl abounds. Its effects are not always immediate, but seldom fail to be seen in two or three years. It is customary to apply from 100 to 200 bushels per acre, spread broadcast, before plowing. As a top dressing on meadows and pastures it is highly beneficial, for rains dissolve the lime and convey it into the sou that needs it. We are hauling oyster shells several miles, to burn and apply to our experimental farm in the District of Columbia. The Postmaster at Colden. Erie county, N. Y., who en- quires if the Genesee Farmer is published in the German language, is respectfully informed that it is not. We are, however, translating from the best German authors, valu- able articles into English for the readers of this journal. Inpfiits anb SlnsSntrs. Shell Marl. — I desire some information in relation to the value of shell marl as a fertilizer, as there has? been a large quantity of it discovered in this town the pa.st summer. There are a number of suV'Scribers to the Farmer that would be glad to hear your opinion about shell mavl, and some directions in regard to applying it^ and how much to the acre. There has been a number of beds of marl discovered in this county quite recently, and you will con- fer a srreat /aror on the farmers here by givijig your opinion in relation to it through the pages of the Farmer. J. H. Dye.— BalUton Spa, Saratoga county, N. T. Shell marl, when pure, is a valuable fertilizer in all cases where the soil lacks lime ; and when the marl is impure, it b useful in the same degree that it partakes of the cal- careous element. In Saratoga county and the counties adjoining it, the soil generally contains no more lime than exists in the drift formation of New England and Eastern New York, which is only about one-tenth of the quantity found by us in the best soOs of Westem New York. In Eastern and Southern Virginia, in parts of Maryland, North : an! South Carolina, and in Georgia, shell marl has been used with the most satisfactorv results. Gov, Hammond, Frou one-half to three-fourths of nearly every village garden within my knowledge is planted year after year with potatoes, and it is generally found convenient to plant them in the same part of the garden every year, rather than disturb the arrangement of beds of flowers, and other vegetables. In this manner it must be that the soil has become quite deficient in some of the ingredients neces- sary to produce potatoes, and it is not convenient to renovate it by rotation of crops. What would be the most appropriate manure to use on a strong clay soil, to supply such a continual demand for one set of ingredients ? Has guano generally proved beneficial to potatoes ? H. K. ^.—Clay, N. Y. Wood ashes liberally applied wUl supply all the earthy elements taken out of the ground by the culture of potatoes. If the soil is poor in organic matter, add well-rotted stable manure. Forest leaves yield rich manure for potatoes, as do decaying turf. On soils that naturally lack Ume, this mineral should be mixed with ashes. If I clear off five acres of good timbered land in the "green," and grass the .same five years, and " deaden" a like quantity of the same kind of land at the same time, then in five years clear it off and burn all the wood on the ground, which would produce the best crops for the longest time, without artificial means (the wood of the first all being removed off the ground) ? — A, B, — Leeeville, Indiana. The above is an interesting inquiry, and we hope that some of our intelligent readers wiU take up the subject, and give us for publication their experience and views on clearing land of its native forests. It would be interesting, and a matter of much importance to many readers of the Farmer, to know whether the assertion that " water under ground can be found by means of a crotched stick," is truth or fiction. I see it is put down for a fact in the Patent Office Report for 1851, but I always thought it a consummate humbug. N. H, Y.— Auburn, Pa. Our opinion of the art of telling where water may be found by any " divining rod," differs not much from that of our correspondent ; yet we allowed the writer in the Patent Office Report referred to, to have his say in the matter. In former years the subject attracted a good deal of attention. A sharp lancet will point as unerringly to THE GENESEE FARMER. 67 where blood may be fonnd in the human body, as a forked stick or willow twig to where a stream of water exists under the surface of the earth. I TAKE the liberty of troubling you with a few questions on what I consider an important subject, — the relation of the ascending sap of a plant to the substances that should be applied as fei tilizers. Whether those elements of plants that are dissipated by burning, are found in the ascending s;ip, and consefiuently are absorbed by tlie roots ? since if this is the case, the ash is no guide to the de- termination of what elements should be applied as manure, but lather the sap. There are many experiments on record in which plants and shrubs have been grown in boxes, and the earth weighed on first planting, and asrain when its soil arrived at maturity, without any apparent loss, from which it has been argued that plants derive their whole support from air and water, with the inorganic moths cont.ained in tlie latter. A careful analysis of the ascending sap of a plant would show whether these elements are absorbed b^' the roots, and in what quantities. Can you tell whether they are thus absorbed at all, or how much_? The sap of a luxuriant plant in different stages of growth, would, I think, show correctly what fertilizers should be applieii, as we have here all the elements consumed by the plant, botli those ap- plied to growth by aggeration, and those used to support the vital functions of the plants. It may be that plants derive benefit from aK'iorption through their leave.s, of gases eliminated by fertilizers applied to the roots. Please give us whatever you may consider worthy of the subject, in the pages of the Farmer. — G. Will.ikd. — Portland. Oxygen and hydrogen, which form about half the weight of the combustible part of all plants, enter the roots as water — the surplus of which evaporates from their leaves and other surfaces. The ascending sap of plants is water that contains a little carbon, nitrogen, and earthv salts in solution. These all exist in the soU, and some of them in the atmosphere. We will discuss this subject at length, soon. Is your July number, Mr. J. M. BRADBrRT, of Sparta, 0^ in- quires if any one can inform him how to exterminate rats. Gold- smith, in iiis Natural History, states that nnxvomica, or the ^Juaker's button, as it is called here, was the best known poison at that time, and :is it was harmless to cattle and horses, it should be ground and mixed with meal. I have tried Ltox's pUls, of New York, with some success, but they did not exterminate them. Has the inquirer, or any of your numerous subscribers, tried the English rat-cat<;her's recipe, published in David You.vg's Almanac 'or 1850 ? I have not tested it myself, but I have known them to oe attracted by hundreds. This seems to have been known only bv "cw ; but David Yocxg stated in his almanac that that was'the genuine recipe. I saw the almanac at a neighbor" s, but did not copy t at the time, and when I inquired for it in order to do so, it was :om up. I have said this much in order to induce some of our arming friends who have got this recipe, to pubUsh it to the wide iforld, so that whoever is troubled with these vermin can prepare t for themselves, and not depend upon impostei-s. This fall mv ■on bought a small tin box of rat exterminating compound, of jreat and fulminating power, to be put on bread, with melted but- £V and sugar ; this would not poison them, but burst or bljic them tp. They would not eat of it but very sparingly, so I think thev ;scaped unhurt ; thus we are humbugged. 'I remember three of iie ingredients wliich I have tried with arsenic, put on roasted pork jr beef, and a little of the mixtures on the same, wliich are, oil of rodium, oil of annis, and asafoetida. I should feel grateful to any 3f your numerous subscribers, if they would inform me through the medium of the Farmer, what is the best remedy for pigs that ire troubled with (its. I have known several, and have heard of many others, some of which died in a few days, and others got over them. — James Robi-vso-V. — LehanoiL, Jan. 5, 1854. JIeadow 'Willow. — I have a piece of dry, rich bottom land, that is Bet in creek or meadow Willow, which I wish to clear up. Canst thou or any of thy numerous readers inform me how to extirpate ihem? I have tried grubbing them, but the roots that are left in the ground will sprout again. The land is too subject to over- flowing, or too low to plow. N. B. — By giving an answer to the above query through thy columns, thou wilt obUge a subscriber. i. M. W. Me. D. McMillan, Jr., of Oak Hill, Ohio, says : " My time is principally devoted to the feeding of cattle, and I am much in need of convenient and comfortable cattle (talis for winter, so arranged as to save both the liquid and solid manure. If you can, without inconvenience, give draft or description of a cattle shed, you will confer a great favor." The latest improvement in cattle sheds, as dis- tinguished from closed stables, consists in making a large shelter over a yard, in which stock may either be turned and kept loose, or tied up, according to their quiet habits and manners. Their food is placed in stout bo.xes, to keep it from under their feet ; whUe all their droppings being under cover, are not leached by rains and melted snow, as in open yards. If one has straw, com stalks, forest leaves, or swamp muck to scatter over the covered vard, and absorb all liquid and semi-liquid manure, the amount made in winter, and ready for use in the spring, may be increased fifty per cent. In mild climates, cattle stalls under open sheds answer an excellent purpose. Mr. a. B. FtTLLEH, of Berea (O.), makes the following interesting inquiry : " Whether there is any possibUitv of injuring cattle by giving them cut com stalks ? In some parts of this State, cattle have died apparently from no other cause. Report says their intestines were literally cut to pieces. I had thought of purchasing a cutter, but my stalks are large, many of them twelve feet long, and consequently thick and hard at the blltiS. I would like you to express an opinion thrODgh the Farmer, in reference to feeding Ohio corn stalks." We should not feed the main stalk cut. unless steeped soft in boiling water. We once fed fifty cows on cut com stalk (cut by horse power) which were steeped several hours in boiling water, and then mixed with wheat bran and shorts, or corn meal. We liave at this time 25 acres of corn stalks lying on the ground in heaps, to rot for manure — the leaves and husks, or " shucks," being saved for forage. Our friend Elihu Hess, asks too many questions about the wind-mill described by Prof. Kietla>.-d, the pump it will operate, fish ponds, the analysis of clover, silica, (Sec, to be likely to receive satisfactory answers. Water mav be raised more than 2S feet by a wind-wheel sufficient to work either a force pump, or one that lifts the column of water above the valve in the piston rod. A fish pond should have a more uniform supply of water than any wind power would furnish. Mr. H. wishes to learn the size of the saUs on the wheel described by Jlr. Kirtlaxp ; and if any reader can give the information, we will gladly publish it. " Silica" is the scientific name for pure flint sand, an ele- ment that rarely needs to be applied to any soil, and if attempted in this country would be likely to cost too much for any profit. We cannot inform our correspondent in Washington county, whether his " Grape Frame" is patentable or not. That question can only be decided at the Patent Office. We have uniformly declined being interested a patent rights, that our writings may at all times be L-ee from any taint of personal and private objects. Me. Charles White, of New Larmony, raises the question as to the fact whether pumpkins tend to dry up the milk of cows, when fed to them ? Some say they do ; others, that they do not. Who can throw any light on this matter ? * 68 inji liil,rsll,«Jli£i i^AKMJliK. Our friend W. T., of Clifford (Pa.), is informed that to mix sulijhur w ith salt, is perhaps the easiest and best way to drive Jiee off cattle. One-third sulphur and two-thirds salt eatea bj neat stock, will so medicate the blood and excretions from tlie skin, as to either kill all lice and ticks, or cause them to drop off. He wishes to know where Chase's Patent Ox Yokes can be bought, and the price per dozen. Who can give the information ? Such articles should be advertised. Mk. Caleb R, Hobbie wishes to learn through the medium of this journal, whether he is to expect smutty •wheat at his harvest, if smut is mixed with his seed when sown in autumn. What say the wheat growers who read tlie Genesee Farmer ? Bee Moth. — I have purposely delayed answering the inquiry of Mr. Mishleb, of Ohio {Genesee Farmer, July, 1853), unlU. the season of ojieratious has arrived. Now, when the bees are inactive, raise the hive gently, cut away the comb two inches, cleanse the lower edges of the liive, and hew or scrape away all filth from the bench. Early in March renew the operation of cleansing and destroying worms, which continue until the warmth brings the bees down to cover the comb, and the danger is usually over till fell. With a lighted candle visit the hives during the warm evenings of summer and destroy the millers, which are busily employed in depositing eggs in every crevice about the hive. Nearly all the swarms that have been destroyed by worms have been occasioned by the want of an oppor- tunity for a bfguini.ig in the lower part of the comb, when the bees are crowded to the upper part of the hive during cold weather. The propriety of keeping the comb shortened will be obcious. When the moths have formed a nest in the comb, the ©nly safe remedy is to take them out. Raise gently one side of »in3 from 150,000 to 200,000 fVnit, ornamental and evergreen trees, of 1 to 6 years' growth, with stock and seed beds. §2000 worth of trees were wdd from it last year. If four times the above number were propagated, it would not be too much for the demand. The above Farm and Nursery will be sold at a great bargain, aa the owner, who lives on it, is in a delicate state of health, aiid wishes to retire from business. Po.ssession given in 80 days. 10 acres of wheat in the gi ound, S2000 insurauce for 'i},i years to come, with .$100 of turnpike, will all go in. S.-jid property is situatftd 4>^ miles west of the city of Pittsburgh, on the turnpike to Washington. TERMS. — One-third in hand ; balance in ten years, with interest. Apply to or address B. McCLAlN, Agt., February 1, 1854.— It* No. 21 Fifth st., Pittsburgh, Pa. Farm for Sale. SAID Farm is pleasantly situated in the town of Leicester, Liv- ingston county, N. Y., on the road leading from the Pine Tavern to Gibsonv-ille, anil half a mile from tlie latter place. It contains 140 acres of land, 115 of wliich are under good improvement, and well adapted to raising wheat and spring crops; the balance is tim- bered. It is well watered with durable springs of soft water, and has convenient buildings and a good young orchard of choice fruit. There are 3S acres of wheat on the ground. The above will be sold cheap, and terms made ea.sy. Also, can be had with the fann, if de.sired, at a fair price, 1 span of horses, 23 head of cattle, and 30 sheep, with a good set of fann- ing tools. Any further information can be had by calling on or addressing CHARLES HOLMES, February 1, 1854. — 3t • Gibsonville, Li\ ingston Co., N. T. Canoga Spring Farm for Sair, CONTAINING 260 ACRES OF LAND, 45 acres of v.iluable tim- ber, chiefly White Oak, the remainder cleared and most of it in a good state of cultivation, and well adapted to all kinds of grains. It has on it a never-failing spring, which waters one hun- dred acres of the improved land, at all times, which makes it nv.e of the very best tirms for the rearing of stock in Western New York. The sjiid premises are situated in and adj.acent to the village of Canoga Lake, in the county of Seneca, N. Y. There is an ex- cellent Grist Mill and two good Saw Slills within a few rods of tlie s.aid farm ; also, District Schools and Churches. Upon the srj'd premises there are an elegant and commodious brick edifice, a ten.Tnt house, a carriage house, three barns, sheds and other necessary out-buildings — three young orchards, containing all kinds of the very best fruit. In short, it is a valuable and desirable propezty, and will be sold by the subscriber at a great bargain. Direct to SAMUEL McINTOSH, February 1, 1854. — It* Canoga, Seneca county, N. Y. THE HOltTICULTTJRIST, AND JOITRNAL of RURAL ART AND RURAL TASTE. THE HORTICULTURIST is a Monthly Journal, devoted to Hor- ticulture and its kindred arts, Rural Architecture and Land- scape Gardening. It is edited by P. B.\RRY, late HorficuUiiral Editor of the Genesee F.armer, and author of that popular work, " The Fruit Garden." To Uiose who cultiviite FRUIT or FLOW- ERS, this work is indlspen.s.ible, as it contains full directions for cultivation, as well as every thing new on the subject, either ia this countrv or in Europe. The HORTICULTURIST is beautifully printed on the best paper, with costly illustrations on wood and stone. It contains 48 papes, without advertisements, and each number has a full page engraving, on stone, of some rare fruit or flower, di-awn from nature, by the best living .artist in this line. Terms.- TWO DOLL.VRS PER ANNUM, in advance. A dis- count of twenty-five per cent, allowed to agents. Postma-sters and others are invited to act as agents, to whom specimen numbers will be sent, free of postage, on application to JAMES VICK, Jr., Publisher, Rochester, N. Y. P. S. — A new volume commences on the first of January. January 1, 1854. Cuttings of the best Varieties of Basket VVUIott, WITH directions for planting, for sale by WM. H. DENNING, Feb. 1, 1854.— It* Fishkill Landing, Dutchess Co., N. Y. ^0 THE GENESEE FARMER. JOHN SAUl., %Vitshlngtor» City, D. C, HAS to offt-r to his patrons and tiie pulilic tlie subjoined list of Xuisery Stocks. The wliole is of tlie finest description, in Uie best oi-'kr, and 'will lie sold i-easonable : 200 Cedrus Africana, 6 to 9, and 12 to 18 inches. 1,000 do Deodara, 1 year seedlings. 500 do do 6 t<) 9 and 12 to 18 inches. ■2ii. MODEL COTTAGES.— Cottag a plans and cottage furniture will be continued as usual. SPLENDID STEEL LiNE AND MEZZOTINT ENGRAVINGS in every number. They are ahviiys to be found iu GODEY GODEY'S LADY'S BOOK contains precisely that for whicn you weuld have to take at least throe other magazines to get the same amount of information. TkRilS. 1 Copy, 1 year, $3 2 Copies, 1 " 5 5 " 1 " and extra Copy to the person sending the club, 10 8 ' 1 " " « " 1.5 11 « 1 « « « « 20 JC^ GODEY'S LADY'S BOOK and ARTHUR'S HOME lUGA- ZINK will both be sent one year on receipt of $3. .50. L. A. GODEY, January 1, 1854.— 2t 113 Chestnut street, Philadelphia. Conknts of tfiis Nuraiu. Agricultural Meteorologj-, 4. What is the Value of Distillery Slops? ^ [ 42 Experiments in Feeding Sheep, and with Manure, "']' 4? The Points for Judging Fat Cattle, 4; drying Potatoes for See-d, ' 4, An Agricultuial Implement Association, [ ig Unfermented Bre.ad, jj. Plan for Making a Manure Cellar, 49 Burning Green Wood, jq ATlieat Culture in Massachusetts, 5Q Flux Culture, . . ,, Poultry Economy, g. Sheep and Cattle in Scotland, ___ r,j South Down Sheep, _ ,, Report of the Transactions at the Veterinary School at All-ii f M The American Threshing Machine at Mr. Mechi's, 54 The Purifying Effect of Steam,. ]\ 55 The Breeding and Rearing of Horses, 55 A Silcsian Farm, _ _ a. Working Oxen, ,» -, . HORTICCXTtTRAI, DEPARTMENT. Foreign Fruits, g- Culture of Celery, _ -^ King Apple (Tompkins County), jj Window Gardening, ,,, Valuable Hints -- Cottage in the Rural Pointed Sty le, .. gj UNIVERSITY OP AXBANV. DEPARTMENT ..)F CHEMISTRY. E. S. CARR, M. D., Professor of Chemistr)- and its application to Agriculture and the Useful Arts. P. E. DAKIN, Instructor in Analytical Chemistry. THIS Department of the University having been permanently established, a spacious Laboratorv will be opened for the re- ception of students, on TUESDAY, THE TENTH DAY OF JANU- ARY, 18-54. There will be a Course of Instruction in Practical and Analytical Chemi.stry, and a Course of Lectures on the applications of Chemistrj- to Agriculture and the Manufacturing Arts, continu- ing during a term of three months. The Laboratory will be open from 9 A. M. to 5 P. M. The Lectures wUl be delivered in the evening, and will be free of charge. For Laboratory Instruction, $20 per term, or $10 per month, for a shorter period. Students will be charged with the breakage and the Chemicals they consume. Students will also have access to the State Agricultural and Geological Collections. An.alysis of Soils, Ores, Mineral Waters, &c., made on reasonable terms. Address Prof. E. S. CARR, of Albany, or either of the following gentlemen: LUTHER TUCKER, office Albany Cultivator; Hon. B. P. JOHNSON, State Agricultural Rooms ; Dr. J. H. ARMSB Y, 869 Broadway. January 1, 1854.— 2t A. Few Words on the Vitality of Seeds,. Choice Fruits, STEREOTYPED BY J. W. BP.OWN, ROCHESTER. EDITOR'S TABLE. The Ftrrner and its Contemporaries, ©3 A Hint lor Every Reader, „ gg PremiuiQs for Volume XV, Second Series, 64 FaJTu-si-s' College in Ohio, 54 Tramactions of the North American Fruit Growing A^ociation, 65 A Nf H and Complete Gazetteer of the United States, 65 Temi tit Insurance Company, g^ Noti•^e3 to Corre.spondents, gg Inquiries and Answers, «» ILLrSTRATTOjrS. Pla.) «i a Manure Cellar, _ 40 Souta Down Sheep, 52 53 A Cleveland Stallion, gg King Apple, _ 55 Cottage in the Rural Pointed Style, _ gj Home Protection. TEMPEST INSUEANCE COMPANY. capital, $250,000. Organized December 24, 1852— Chartered March 1, 1853.T HOMES ONLY INSURED BY THIS COMPANY, No one Risk taken for more than $3000. Home Office, Meridms, N. Y. Many distingui.shed persons have insured their homes to the amount of $.3000 each in this Companv, among whom are Fx- PresidentVAN BUREN, Kinderhook; E.x-Governor SEWARD Au- burn ; DANIEL S. DICKINSON, Ex U. S. Senator, Binghampton. To whom it may concern : Anr.UR.v, May 16th, 185,^. We are personally acquainted with many of the Officers and Di- rectors of the Tempest Insurance Company, located at Meridian, Cayuga county, N. Y. In our opinion they are among the mont wealthy and substantial class of farmers in this county. J. N. STARIN, ELAIORE P. BOSS, THOMAS Y. HOWE, Jr. The above gentlemen will be recognized as the Cashier of Cayngi County Bank, Auburn; Postmaster, Auburn; and E.x-Member of Congress, Auburn, Cayuga county, N. Y. February 1, 18.54 — ly 72 THE GENESEE FARMER. THE PREMIUMS FOR 1854. The Proprietor of the GENESEE FARMER, encouraged by the liberal support long extended to this journal by its friends and patrons, announces that the Fifteenth Volume of the second series, commencing January, ls54, will con- tain a third more reading matter than any of its predecessors, and be otherwise much improved, without any increase of price. To enlarge the usefulness by extending the circulation of the GENESEE FARMER, the undersigned will pay the following PREMIUMS on subscrijjtions to Volume XV., second series; FliTY DOLLARS, m CASH, to the person who shaH procure the LARGEST NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS in any County or Di»- trict in the United States or Canadas, at the club prices. FORTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one who shaU procure the SECOND LARGEST LIST, as above. THIRTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one procuring the THIRD LARGEST LIST. TWENTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one procuring the FOURTH LARGEST LIST. TEN DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one procuring the FIFTH LARGEST LIST. In order to reward every one of the friends of the GENESEE FARMER for his exertions in its behalf, we wiB give to those not entitled to either of the above premiums, the following BOOKS, free of postage, or EXTRA PAPERS, as may be preferred : 1. To every person who sends SIXTEEN subscribers, at the club terms of thirty-seven cents each, ONE EXTRA COPY OF THE FARMER. 2 To every person sending for TWENTY-FOUR copies, as above, any AGRICULTURAL BOOK valued at FIFTY CENTS, or TWO EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARjMER. 3 To every person ordering THIRTY-TWO copies, any AGRICULTURAL BOOK worth SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS, or THREE EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARJIEK. 4 To every person ordering FORTY copies, any AGRICULTURAL BOOK valued at ONE DOLLAR, or FOUR EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER. 5 To every person ordering FORTY-EIGHT copies, any ARGRICULTURAL BOOK worth ONE DOLLAR AND TWENTY-FIVE CENTS, or FIVE EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER. For larger numbers, books or papers given in the same proportion. To save cost to our friends, we pre-pay post.a^-e on aU books sent as premiums. Persons entitled wiU please state whether they wish books or extra papers, and make their selection when they send orders, if they desire books ; or if they have not obtained as many subscribers as they intend to, we \vill delay sending until the club is full, if so requested. We do not require that all the papers of a rlnh should be sent to one" post-office. If necessary for the convenience of subscribers, we are willing to send to as many different offices as there are members of the club. We write the names on each paper, when a number are sent to tlie same office, if desired ; but when convenient. Postmasters would confer a favor by having the whole number ordered at their own office, sent to their own address. ^^ As all subscriptions commence anew with the year, places where the FARMER was never before taken will stand an equal chance in the competition for premiums. j^r- BACK VOLUJIES of the FARMER will be furnished, if desired, and counted the same as new subseribers. ■^e shall keep a correct account of the subscribers sent by each person, and in the MAY NUMBER WE SHALL ANNOUNCE THE PREMIUMS. j^* Specimen numbers, show-biUs, &c., sent to all post-paying applicants. AU letters must be post-paid or frev. Subscription money, if properly enclosed, may be mailed at our risk. THE VOLUME FOR 1854 IS PRINTED ON GOOD PAPER, WITH NEW TYPE, BOUGHT EXPRESSLY FOR IT A gentleman, graduate of the University of Vienna, who is familiar with the lans-uages of those nations in which the science of agriculture is most cultivated, will aid us in translating for the FARMER whatever can instruct or interest its readers. ^This gentleman is by profession a Civil Engineer and Architect — branches of knowledsje intimately con- nected with the pro2Tess of rural arts and sciences. Tlie general character of our paper is thus pithily stated by the Hon. Marshall P. Wtlber. President of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, and of the United States Horticul- tural and Agricultural Societies, in a letter now on our table, which closes as follows : " I have always had the Genesee Farmer. It is, without favor or affection, the best paper in the eountry. Marshall P. Wilder." As OUT club price to each subscriber is only thirty-seven cents a year, no matter how many agricultural journals one may take, to patronize the FARMER can not impoverish him. DANIEL LEE, Publisher and Proprietor. / ^rBTnfl^ .^^ ^.A- *■ _ — — ~r '^ -VtC-s* *" ©) V 1 Vol. XV., Second SERrsa ROCHESTER, K Y., MARCH, 1854. No. 3. THE GENESEE FARMER, A MONTHLY JOCRXAL OP AGRICULTURE & HORTICULTURE. VOLUME XV., SECO\D SERIES. 1854. EACH XUMBER COXTAIXS 32 ROYAL OCTAYO P\CxF^ IN DOUBLE COLU>[XS, AND TWELVE xVUMBERS FOe\i A VOLUME OF 384 PAGES IN A YE.AR. Terms. Single Copy, ,50.50 Five Copies, 2 OO Eight Copies, g'^Q And at the same rate for any larger number." Sj:^° Remittances properly mailed, and postage paid, at the ri«k of the Publisher. o i- -, £^° Postmasters are respectfully requested to act as Agents. DAXIEL, t,EE, Publisher and Proprietor, Rochester, If. Y. FOE PROSPECTCS AXB PREMIUMS, SEE LAST PAGE. DAIRY HUSBAXDRY. Several correspondeiits have requested us to give an article^ on Dairy Husbandry ; and one in Oregon, Mr. T. W. A., has sent us two dollars "for a work that treats particularly on the dairy business, and the nature and properties of milk." We regret the ne- cessity of informing our Oregon friend that there is no standard work on this important branch of rural economy in this countrj-, although one is "-reatly needed, and would doubtless yield a fair profit to both author and publisher. The twelve volumes most of them of large size, of the Transactions of the A*e»- York Slate Agricultural Society, contain much valuable information on this subject, for this has ever been the great dairy State of the Union ; but no one volume, journal, or book of any kind, is devoted to the elaliorate discussion of the proper wav to breed, feed, milk, and othermse treat dairv cows and the right handling of milk intended to produce butter or cheese. This rural art is uniformly learnt by experience and oral teaching, not from books Hence, up to this time there has been no demand for works especially illustrative of the best wavs and means to render the six millions of cows in the United States more profitable to their owners and more use- ful to the public. In the production of excellent and loncr-keeping butter, the dairv women of Holland are justly celebrated ; and we have frequentlv seen their butter advertised in the Xew Orleans market at forty cen s a pound when American butter, made m Ohio, Indiana and Ilhnois, was selling there at a thi 3 or a fourth 0 the sum named. In London and Luerpool Holland butter also commands the hicxhest pnce. A\,th_ these and many other evidences of gx?neral superiority, it becomes us to study closelv the Dutch s.^em of keeping cows and ma^nufacturiii' butter. ^\e have just procured from Germany I ^aluable work, published in 1853, illustrated ^^th seventy-one beautiful wood engranngs, that gi^•e a fiill and minute account of the " Holland Dairy Lconomj^ as now practiced. Some of the most valuable facts contained in this treatise M-ill be dven as hints to our readers. ^ Cows are kept much of the time in stables, and fed on green gra^s, clover, vetches and other pulse, cab- bages, turmps,_ carrots, beets, brewers' grains and .lops. All their -manure, M-hether sohd or hquid is carefully saved in large tanks ; while the floor of the stab e,_wnether made of cement, tile, paving stone or plaiik, IS washed and scrubbed twice a day, and sanded just before the cows are milked. To prevent their tails getting soiled when they lie down, a smaU cord tied to a cross bar above descends behind each cow and IS made fast to the brush of her tail, so that it is upheld from the floor and dung when she lies down. Before milking, the bag and teats of each cow are not only washed, but wiped dry with a cloth AU authorities concur in saying that a first class Holland cow-stable, at milking time, is as neat as a parlor Ao other nation approaches the Dutch in the care and kindness extended to milch kine, and the scru- pulous neatness with which milk and butter are handled. In the making of cheese, the low lands of A\ extern Europe are not distinguished ; and there is in the volume from which our facts are mainly drawn a wood cut, showing a man with his pants rofled up above his knees treading and breaking up cheese curd m a tub with his bare feet. It is said that his feet and legs are first washed clean; and perhaps they an- swer a better purpose than the hands, which are often used for a similar purpose. One had better visit the best cheese districts of New York or England than Holland to learn the mysteries of cheese makino- un- less it be the little round cm-ds formed mostly'^from butter-milk. "^ The best butter dairies in this State yield about 20p_ pounds per cow in a year; and the best cheese dairies as high as 600 pounds a cow per annum Y4 THE GENESEE FARMER These figures are, hoMrever, much above the average in our best dairy districts. In about one-half ol' tlie States, milk-maids and other sLM-vants do not know how to milk a cow as the operaliiin ought to bt.^ performed. They draw the milk with their tliumbs and Fore-lingers — not with the whole hand. Tiiere is some excuse for this where the teats are short and small. To uiide.-Htiind the art of milking, one needs a correct knowle !ge of the anatomy of the lacteal gland in which milk is separated from the blood. This gland is a very important or'Tan, and has a peculiar anatomical structure to fit it for a particular function. The whole weight of the milk, as it passes from the capillary tubes anci colls which intervene between the extremities of the arteries and veins in the gland, does not rest on the circular muscles that close the end of the teats. If such were the case, these ring-like muscles would be over-burdened and soon relax, so as to permit all the milk to iall out and be lost on the ground. If the muscles were strong enough to bear up the whole weight of several gallons of milk, the teats would be so firmly contracted that no calf would be able to obtain any food by sucking. The Author of Nature has given to this curious gland, in all mammalia, an arrangement which every owner of a cow and every milker ought to understand. We purposely avoid technical terms (too common in the medical profes- sion), and ask. When a cow's bag cakes before she gives birth to her calf or afterward, what takes place within this gland? Milk is coagulated and becomes solid curd, but not generally in the main milk-ducts that extend from the teats into the gland. These ducts must be open, or not a dop of milk could be drawn — a condition that sometimes exists. Every where in the gland or bag, numerous little milk-bot- tles (cul de sacs) are attached to the milk-ducts, and hang down like pears, and serve at once as reser- voirs to hold some gallons of milk, and to relieve the teats of the great pressure that would otherwise fall upon them. When the milk in these bottles becomes curdled and caked, the capacity of the gland is sadly diminished, and the cow should be milked oftener than u>ual. Cows full-fed, which have a copious secretion of milk, and withal an inflammatory action in the svs- tem, a;-e most likely to suffer from this disorder. AYe h.ave had cows that had to be milked several weeks before calving ; and this precaution is too often neg- lected by dairymen. Whenever milking is necessary foi- the relief of the bag. it never injures the unborn offspring, as some have supposed. It is difficult, if not impossible, to milk a cow dry bv using only the thumbs and fore-fingers for the pur- pose. In this operation the cul de sacs are not emptieil; the milk is liable to coagulate, become ab- sorbed, and the secretion of milk, slowly but surely, lessened. Many a man loses neariy or quite all the profits, of his cows by bad milking. In six years' pretty close observation at the South, we never saw but one first rate milker, and she was the servant of a ladv who was born in Pennsylvania. Instinct teaches the calf and lamb to knock their heads upward against the lacteal gland to empty the milk-bottles wdiifh we have described ; pigs and colts rub their no->es against the gland for a similar purpose. A child accomplishes the same end by passing its hand continually over the breast of its mother while draw- ing tlienco its natural food. No thura!) and finger milking will attain this object, unless the hmid is up- raised against the bag to upset and compress the s ick-llke re-;ervoir3. After a good milker has drawn the li(|uid from the ducts, he (or she) uniformly lifts the hand against the gland as it grasps th ; teat, com- pressing it nearest the bag first, and gradually con- traciing the fingers from the fore one to thu little finger. If the teat is long, the hand has to be drawn down toward the extremity of it to expel all the milk. These particulars are entered into, becau.se it is im- portant that cows be gently, speedily, and cleanly milked. This done, the next question in order is how to turn the milk to the best possible account. If used for making butter, considerable butter-milk, and often skim-milk, remains ; and if cheese be manufactured, then a good deal of whey is left. Now, it may inter- est some of our readers to know that the residum after making cheese is worth about a third or a fourtli as much as that left in the production of butter. AVliey consists essentially of milk-sugar largely diluted in water. The butler in milk ought to be retained in the curd that forms cheese; but sometimes we find not a little of it in whey. To prevent the creamy part of millv, or its buttery particles, from being ex- pressed in pressing cheese, is one of the most difficult points in the dairy business. Too high a temperature favors this loss of butter in cheese. The skillful management of new curd, rennet, pressing, &c., will be discussed in another article. Very few underetand making first rate cheese, that will keep in warm weather, or in hot climates. There is less difficulty in making prime butter, provided the cows are sup- plied with the right sort of feed. Rich, finely fla- vored butter, can only be made from green forage, roots, or some thing that will impart the proper aroma and color. The sweet-scented Vernal Grass is be- lieved to have given fame to the best butter made in the vicinity of Philadelphia. Leeks, gariic, and even turnips, often impart a very offensive taste to butter. Indeed, we regard food as every thing in butter dairies. Have that right, and one must be a sorry husbandman who can not turn out excellent butter. Of coui-se some cows yield much more butter from a given quantity of gra.^s, hay, roots, or other feed, than othei-s, but this fact does not cause any one to pro- duce bad butter. To avoid this, the extreme neat- ness of the Holland system deserves the closest at- tention. Dutch dairy women obtain two prices for their butter simply because they really deserve such a premium. The amount of bitter, frowy, or rancid butter in American markets, exceeds all belief. Jefferson county contains some of the best dairies in this State, as well as one of the most spirited and useful Agricultural Societies. We commend the fol- lowing remarks, made by one of its " Viewing Com- mittees," to the attention of all butter makers: " In examming the butter dairies, we did not find that excellence and uniformity in color, flavor and sallins^ that would have resulted from a more fixed rule of proceeding than appears to have been adopted. "There appears to be too much of a hap-hazard system, or toanl of system, in the business of butter making; or too much departure from necessary rulea THE GENESEE FARMER. 15 " Vv'c would therefore recommend a strict adhe- rence to the following regulations: " 1. Provide a conveuiut room, if possible a cellar, from 7^ to 8 feet high, so situated that the air can frec^ly circulate through it when necessary. Let the walls be plastered, the ceiling whitewashed, and the floor flagged or cemented, and allow nothing to be stored in the room but the pans, milk, and appurte- nances used in the manufacture. The room should be kept scrujiulously clean and cool " 2. Provide a good supply of pang — from ten to a dozen to each cow is necessary — in order to vary the quantity of milk on hand according to the weather. " 3. J3e regular in the time of examining the milk, which should be done twice in twenty-four hours, that the cream liuiy be taken oil" as soon as the milk is soured or clouded in the bottom of the pan, and stored in stone jars. " 4. Churning should be performed every day, when a sufficient quantity of cream can be obtained ; and this operation should take place in the morning, when the air is pure and cool " 5. The butter should be cleared from milk by the rinsing process,* continued until it is jwrfectly clear, as it is necessary that all the milk should be out be- fore it is salted. The grain is formed after salting, consequently the butter should be worked no more than is necessary to bring it to an even shade or color, after the salt is added. " G. One ounce of good rock salt to the pound is sufp.cient to produce a good flavor and to preserve the butter. '■ 7. Every package should be soaked in strong brine at least two days before using. " 8. Cover the butter vrith a cloth tucked in around the edge of the package, and spread damp salt over the top. " 9. If all these precautions do not produce good palatable butter, rightly salted, of fine flavor, and fit for any market, you may lay the fault to your cows and piisture. " In deciding upon the classification of premiums on butter, we were not entirely guided by the samples examined, but allowed our opinion to be somewhat swayed by the taste, neatness and cleanliness exhibited in the maimfacture. " We found no butter not salted enough, but some BO highly impregnated as to be gritty to the touch, and unpleasant to the taste. " We are also satisfied that there is abundant margin for improvement in the butter dairies of this county. The competition was so slight that the most we had to do was to classify the applicants." TRANSACTIONS OF THE N. Y. STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY FOR 1852. The Secretary of the New Tork State Agi'icul- tural Society, B. P. Johnson, Esq., has our thanks for a copy of the above-named work. It is a hand- some volume of 890 pages, octavo, and improved by being smaller than its immediate predecessors. It contains a good deal of valuable matter, which ought • Where well or spring water contains much lime, iron, alum or magnesia, it should never be used to rinse or wash butter. Pure toft water is alone adapted to this purpose. — Ed. Gen. Farmkk. to have been given to the farmers of the State in the early part of last year instead of the present. As the Legislature is at the expense of the publication, it would cost the Treasury no more to print the Transactions for 18.52 in a month or so after the close of the year, than to wait until the information the volume communicates has become stale, and much like the reading of an old almanac. Probably the officers of the Society are not to blame for this un- reasonable and injurious delay; and we bear willing testimony in favor of the matter furnished by Presi- dent IIk.vry Wager, Secretary Joiixsox, and in the Agricultural Survey of Essex County, by W. C. Watsox, Esq. — not to name other valuable papers in the volume before us. It would not detract from the use of any of these, if the writers had studied and practiced condensation more. The twelve volumes published under the auspices of the State Society would have conferred far gi-eater honor upon the in- stitution, and the rural literature of New York, if their facts, and the legitimate deductions therefrom, were compressed into one-third the space, and with the same expenditure, give to the public three times as many copies. To say nothing of sending the Transactions into other States and to foreign coun- tries in exchange, only one farmer in a hundred in New York is now able to have a copy, because so few are printed. It has always appeared to us that the State and County Societies of this old and wealthy State, with the constant assistance of the Legislature, ought to produce an annual volume that would be sought after and placed in every common school library in this great commonwealth, and in al- most every farmer's professional library in the United States. The whole number printed, if we are rightly informed, would barely supply one-third of the com- mon schools in this State alone with a copy. Ah edition of four or five thousand is expected to meet the wants of a half million farmers and their families! Better expend fen times more in procuring original and really useful information to print, and thereby produce a work that the public will purchase at a fair price. Because public documents are given away in this country, very httle pains are taken to exclude ii-icvelant or worthless matter from them, apparently under the common notion that " no body looks a gift horse in the mouth." While Congress was willing to print, and did print, five hundred and forty thousand volumes of the agricultural books prepared by the writer, it was unwilling to expend $200 asked to ob- tain important truths, and add intrinsic value to these public documents. Party favorites, in the shape of public printers, at AVasliington and Albany, care not a straw whether a Patent OtHce Eeport, or the Trans- actions of the New York State Agricultural Society, contain useful or useless information. Their toll for grinding a party grist is the same in either case ; while members of Congress, and of the Legislature, take good care of their pet printers and do nothing more. These things disgrace the farmers of the republic, whose votes control their public servants. Nothing can be easier than to reform this shameful neglect of duty, if the agi-icultural interest would wag its tongue in defense of its own well-being. It may be said that the public really has nothing at stake in the V6 THE GENESEE FARMER. improvement of tillaj^e, husl)andry, gardening, and fruit culture, and that all etiui'ts in that behalf are unworthy of patronage or countenance. There is a great deal of this feeling in the community, and there- fore agricultural reform is hardly to be looked for either at Albany or W'adliinglon. This fact t^hall not betray us into any unkind criticism of the labors of the State Society, or of our successor in the Agricul- tural Department of the Patent Office. We have seen enough of the manifold difficulties and conten- tio,us of political capitals not to envy any honest man who labors there faithfully to .serve the public. He is too often treated like poor Tray that was found in bad company. At another time we will review some of the best articles in the 900 pages of the twelfth volume issued by our State Society. CORN-CULTURE. The high price of grain, and the strong probability that the crops grown in Europe in 18.54 will not fully make up for the extensive failure of 1853, can hardly fail to cause an unusual amount of corn to be planted in this country the coming spring. It is always our most reliable and valuable staple, and one that de- serves the best attention of every farmer. The fol- lowing remarks, made by a nuuiber of the most intelligent and successful cultivators in Massachusetts, at a recent agricultural meeting in the State House, are at once instructive and suggestive. We copy from the Ploughman: " S. SPR.A.GUE, Esq., of Duxbury, was called to pre- side for the evening. The topic was aimouuced last week: ' Is the increased culture of Indian corn worthy the attention of the farmei-s of this commonwealth ?' " Mr. Sprague spoke of corn as one of the original crops of this country. The Indians cultivated it to a considerable extent at the time of the disco'^Gry of the country. It has been thought by some of the best farmers that com is a remuuerating crop at 60 cents per bushel " His father formerly raised twenty bushels to the acre, and followed with i-ye the next season, of which he would raise 8 or 10 bushels to the acre. The crop has been doubled on the ' South Shore,' com- par.'d with what it was forty years ago. There are many questions as to the mode of culture. " Probably no grain would give animals so much heart for work, or make them take on so much flesh, as Indian corn. It was a very desirable crop to raise. •• Dr. Rayxolds, of Concord, had taken pains to ar- rive at some facts by examining tables to find the comparative amount of nutritive matter in corn. Counting 50 bushels to the acre, at 60 pounds each, it would give 3000 pounds. Prof. Joiinstox's tables assigned 14^ ounces of nutritive matter to the pound. This would give 2,7 185 pounds for an acre of corn. Compare this with wheat, 2.5 bushels on the acre, at 60 pounds, gives 1500 pounds. The ta))le3 assign 11 1-5 ounces of nutritive matter to the pound. This would give 1050 pounds nutritive matter from the aci'e of wheat. Thus the corn crop is more than doul>le in value com|)ared with the wheat crop. After comparing m the same way oats, hay, turnips, &c., he concludes that corn is the best crop to raise. It affords more nutritive matter than any other crop. "Turnijis are perhaps suited to the .'i nH 36 Difference in favor of guano, 40 fts. " I attended the picking and weighing myself, and am sure that the above is correct. "The rows are 178 yards long, and you will see by calculation that 28 will make an acre, and 76fts. multiplied by 28 make 2.128 lbs. 36 " " " 1,008 Difference per acre, 1,120 lbs." The above statement is interesting, as showing that 250 pounds of guano may add 1,120 pounds of seed cotton to the product of a single acre. Study this manure in whatever climate, or on whatever soil or crop we may, and it presents facts that challenge our admiration. Old fogies in the production and carting of manure, which is dear at a dollar a load, or ton, are startled, and almost forget their hereditary preju- dices, when overwhelmed with the evidence that any natural dung of animals can be worth fifty dollars a ton for common farming purposes. Manure so in- tensified is a quintessence quite beyond the most cherished records of their e.xperience, and fables of paternal tradition. How can one pound of bird- droppings operate to produce tlu'ee or four pounds of seed cotton, to say nothing of the increased growth of the roots, stems, branches and leaves of the plant? On corn this manure operates with equal power. Let the inquisitive reader call to mind the fact that full 1)5 parts in 100 of corn and cotton plants, are the elements of water and carbon — ingredients' that the atmosphere supplies to the imbibing leaves and roots of plants without cost to the cultivator. The ammonia, phosphates and alkalies consumed in the organization of the seeds of maize and the seeds and lint o; cotton, are not over three per cent, of their solid substance ; and as guano contains many times ^8 THE GENESEE FARMER. more of these most costly constituents of crops, it is not dillicult to see how a manure that contains 20 pounds of phosphate of Hme, magnesia, potash and soda in 100, may enable 500 poimds of corn to grow that really needs and contains no more than 5 pounds of the elements supplied by guano. A barrel of am- monia, and of the incombustible elements found in grain, cotton seed, flax seed and others, may so far fertilize a soil as to increase its crops five fold; that is, produce 25 bushels where only 5 would grow before. GUANO ON POTATOES AND CORN. Several correspondents have 'asked for informa- tion as to the value of guano on potatoes and corn. We experimented one year on poor sandy land, but, owing to protracted dry weather, the potato crop failed equally where the manure was and was not ap- plied. On corn the gain was satisfactory. AVe have, however, seen guano operate well on potatoes. _ Mr. Levi Bartlett, of the Granite Farmer and Visitor, says: " But the greatest profit we have derived from the use of guano, was on potatoes. AVe planted pota- toes on about one and a half acres of sandy or loamy soil, that had long been pastured. A tea-spoonful of guano was dropped in each hill of ten rows, then a few rows left without guano, so alternately over the whole field. As soon as the plants came up, the guanoed ones exhibited a richer and darker color than those that received none. The difierence increased through the season. When dug, it was found that the guano just doubled the crop; and it took no longer time to dig a bushel from the guanoed rows than it did half a bushel from the unmanured ones. As we sold a portion of the crop at 55 cents per bushol, it pro\cd ratiier profitalde in using the guano. " The poorer the soil, the greater the apparent effect of guano when applied — at least that has been our experience. Mr. Fisher, already quoted, says: 'The poorer the land the greater is the increase per 100 pounds of guano ; that is to say, if you apply 300 pounds to an acre of worn-out soil, which, without help, would not Ijring 5 bushels of corn, it will, with this dressing, give you 20 bushels or more. But if you will take an acre just beside the first, that has been manured from year to year until it is capable of vielding 30 bushels, and then apply 300 pounds ot o-uano on it, you need not expect at most more than 40 bushels; while on land which, without guano, would bring 50 bushels per acre, the increase from 300 pounds would scarcely be 5 bushels.' From the foregoing, the farmer who manures his land so as to raise 50 bushels per acre, would not find it a profita- ble investment of his money to purchase 300 pounds of guano to apply with his manure, if it would only add about 5 bushels to his crop of corn. Mr. Fisher says: ' There can be no doubt that even at the present extravagant prices of guano, the farmer who culti- vates his own land — if that land is poor — is hand- somely paid back his outlay for all his guano judi- ciously appUed, and has a margin left for profit.' " Our own distrust justifies tho deceit of others. GUANO ON CORN. Several subscribers have written for information in reference to the use and value of guano on corn. We have taken considerable pains to procure reliable facts bearing on the suliject, but have not obtained so many as we wish. Twenty thousand copies of questions relating to the appHcation of guano to corn land, were sent out from the agricultural department of the Patent Office by the writer to practical farm- ers, and their answers carefully read and compared. Whether it is on the whole better to sow guano broadcast over corn ground, or use it in the hill, ia still an ofjcn question. We have applied it in the hill with a good result ; and we shall next spring sow it Ijroadcast, as an experiment. This manure is now worth fifty dollars a ton in New York, Baltimore and Washington, and we shall not apply over 200 jiountls per acre on corn land. Moisten with water, and crush the lumps with the back of a hoe, or something l)et- ter, before sowing guano, or applying it in the hill. Do not let it come in contact with any seeds, as it may kill them. A trifle taken up between the thumb and fingers is a dose for a hill of corn. Our ground was mellow, and some was stuck into each hill, much like sticking out pumpkin seeds; and in other experi- ments, a dust of the manure was dropped into the mark for corn before the seed, and a little earth drawn over it. In moist ground, its caustic elements soon dissol\e, dili'ase themselves through the earth, and so rc'.nain diluted and in a condition to enter the roots of needy plants to nourish them. With fair tillage and seasons, guano and wood ashes mixed with the the soil in an available condition, will give a large re- turn in corn on quite poor land. Such is our expe- rience. UNDER-DRAINING. An old and valued friend of this journal, and an excellent farmer, in Ripley, Chautauque county, writes as follows: " I have been a farmer for forty years in this county ; and a part of my farm still needs under-draining. During the last fifteen years I have made under-draius with stone, but crawfish or moles have got into them and stopped the flow of water. To obviate this dif- ficulty, I sent to Albany and purchased sole tile ; but the cost of transportation is so great that it amounts to a prohibition. I paid $12.50 per thousand, and $26 for transportation. My old drains are stopped, and I would be glad to purchase tile if they could be had at a moderate cost. Can you iuform me where they can be olitained in your vicinity? Under- draining is indispensable in much of our laud. Johs B. DiNSilORE." A company with a capital, we believe, of .^100,000, has gone into operation in this city, to manufacture brick and draining tile; but as yet they have made none of the latter for sale. As a good n'achine for the manulacture of both pipes, horse-shoe and sole tile costs but some $250, our Chautauque friends, and especially such as own wet lands in the towns of of Ripley, Wcstficld, Portland, Ponifurt, Sheriden and Hanover, all of which are bounded on the north THE GENESEE FARMER. 79 by Lake Erie, will find it good economy to make tile near the places where they are to be used. Tile are now made at I'almyra, tiencca Falls, and we doubt not at several other places in Western Xew York ; and, so far as we are iuroniied, they are giving entire satisfaction. The lake towns of Cliautauque county, with whose topography we are quite familiar (having practiced medicine at Westfield and Forestville ten years), con- tain thousands of acres of wet lands that now yield no crops, or very poor ones, that possess natural ca- pabilities sufficient to render them cheap at .$200 per acre, if properly drained; and nothing would give us more pleasure than to aid the owners of these lands in any way in our power to obtain cheap tile, that they may perfectly reclaim these fertile and extensive basins. They are sufficiently elevated above the lake and its small tributaries in the towns named, to be thoroughly drained. As Kipley, Westfield, Portland, Pomfort, Sheriden and Hanover contain a goodly number of excellent reading farmers, they have already done considerable in the way of constructing both open ditches and covered drains ; nevertheless, like our friend Dinsmore, they need a better system, based on the most en- lightened and economical engineering. In all our trav- els over the Western, Southern, Middle, Eastern and Northern States, we have never seen a district where the happy union of rural sciences with rural arts promised so obvious and so important advantages as may be realized in Chautauque county. Earths that yield a good deal of alum, as we know that some in Ripley do, and abound in salts of soda, magnesia, potash and lime, possess latent agricultural resources of great value. Chautauque county, whether along lake Erie or on and south of the dividing Ridge, is comparatively deficient in lime. A thorough agri- cultural survey of that county, by a competent per- son, would be equally instructive to the general reader and useful to its landed interest. Much of the water leached from its soil and collected in under-drains would be exceedingly valuable for irrigation, after it had been treated with a little burnt brae to convert the sulphate of iron ^copperas) and the sulphate of alumina and potash (alum) into gypsum, and still fur- ther to transform the phosphates of iron and alumina into bone earth, or the phosphate of lime. Why the lake towns in Chautauque county are so well adapted to corn-culture, and how it happened that they sup- pHed maize to the needy citizens of Oneida, Madison, and we Ijelieve Chenango, in 1816, whose corn crops were entirely cut ofii are thonghts called to mind by the brief note of Mr. Dixsmore on under-tlraining land on the south shore of Lake Erie. Both the soil and climate there have peculiar and interesting fea- tures. Peruvian Guano. — The government of Peru lately appointed a committee to investigate and report the amount of guano still remaining on the Chincha Islands, who estimate the stock at 25,000,000 tons. If this be so, it would take 500 cargoes annuallj^, of 600 tons each, three quarters of a century to clear these islands ! Hypooricy is the homage that vice pays to virtue. EXPERIMENTS IN POTATO-CULTURE. Mr. Editor : — Being a subscriber to your paper, and a reader of the same, I have taken some interest in perusing the remarks made upon the subject of potato-raising, the "rot," as it is called, its causes, Ac- While reading for two years I have been experiment- ing, and thus practically testing many of the sugges- tions of your numerous readers and correspondents. In reference to the arguments upon the cause or causes of the potato rot, whether by Americans or Europeans, they prove by practice to be just as con- clusive as the old woman's test for indigo : she could tell whether the indigo was good or not by putting it in water — it would sink or swim, and she did not know which. It is nevertheless true that th(!se argu- ments are of great value. But to practice, we turn and find that the soil is productive of no better or no more positive proof ; for what one of your corres- pondents succeeds in, others entirely fail in. Now, sir, permit me to make a few inquiries to all practical farmers (and every man who tills four acres of land may be called one) : "Why are your Pink Eyes rotten and gone to manure, and the Flesh Colors sound, in the same hill; and the next hill vice versa — Pink Eyes sound and the Flesh Colors rotten? The next hill is all gone of both kinds — and the next has both kinds perfectly sound — with soil, seed and atmosphere alike to each hill. Further continue your examina- tion, and presently you come to a hill all of one kind of seed (called Western Reds with us), and you find one stalk with sound roots and sound potatoes, while the rest of the roots of the stalks have the ajjpear- ance of mildew from the surface of the ground down, and in nearly all cases the worst appearance is nearest the surface. You say, perhaps, you never saw the like. Well, I have, and can prove it, and that, too, on good clay soil, clay and loam soil, and gravel and loam soil. A portion of the land was manured with a compost of forest leaves; manure from cattle and horses, house ashes and lime, were added to the heap of compost, all well mixed and prepared; and a good supply of ashes was spread upon the land two years l>efore breaking up; a part of the land had not been plowed in thirty years before; and I have obtained a like re- sult from evei7 part of the field that I planted pota- toes on. It is a field of two acres, from which I gathered two hundred and forty bushels of ears of corn, beside interspersing potatoes to the amount of about four bushels of small seed — the largest spot of potatoes by themselves being about three rods square. Now, if my land lacked alkali, you would say thai that was the cause of it. A part of it I know doej not, having been well suppUed. Some may say the manure was the cause. My reply is, the most of the field had no manure applied to it. Well, you say land that will produce such a crop of corn as that without manure, will be too strong, any way, for potatoes. Veiy well, I know some of my neighbors say pick you poorest soil for potatoes (and they need not pick a great deal, at least on some of their hundred and fifty acre forms, to find acres upon whii'h nothing can be grown but pennyroyal), so I plowed up about a quarter of an acre through which a plow probably m THE GENESEE FARMER. uever ruu, and I found it a dry gravelly loam. Here I had a fair growth, but seven-eighths rotted. Now, on these two acres there are-all kinds of soil (but a clean sandy soil), from a stiff clay to a light loam, and in potatoe-raising the result, so far as the rot is concerned, hiis been the same, with this this ex- ception : I planted about two bushels of small seed (which, by the by, I always use) in my corn field where my neighbors' hens had dug up the corn, and from this planting the potatoes were more aifected than tliose I planted earlier in the same year. Now for another: in May, 1850, I broke up about half an acre that had lain as a common for thirty years, upon which many ashes had been thrown, and all kinds of stock had lain; being near the village, it was quite well oc- eupied. After plowing and well preparing, it was planted to potatoes. They bid fair for an extra crop up to the 25th of August; but in ten days from that time the whole crop lay in ruins by the rot. The spring following I plowed it again, and upon one- quarter of the piece I sowed ten bushels of unleached ashes, and then planted. The result was a good gi'owth of sound potatoes. The rest of the lot has also been well supplied with ashes, but in a different form, and I lose my potatoes on that part of the lot every year. I have used plaster and salt, as described by one of your correspondents, but to no effect. Now, sir, permit me to say, that if the soil produces a good crop of sound potatoes, that will keep through the winter, and the second crop should fail and the third be again perfect, the fault can not be in the soil. The like I have had on land that has no lack of potash. The fault is neither in the soil nor in the seed. Having already written more than I intended, I now close by saying that you, and all investigators, will be under the necessity of admitting that all (I say all) of this wonderful loss is the work of an in- sect. Top dress often with ashes, and your potatoes are quite safe. This depredator may choose darkness rather than Ught, for his deeds are certainly evil. • A SUBSCKIBER. PROLIFIC CORN Mr. Editor: — In looking over my old memoranda I find the following account of large Indian corn, which perhaps will be interesting to some of your readers : In 1851 I selected 13 stalks from my field, which produced 28 ears and shelled 14 fos. ; the cobs weighed 3 lbs. One of the stalks bore 4 cars, the grain of which weighed 1\ tbs., equal to 1,843 fold (rather ahead of the Scriptures, 100 fold). I also collected 13 stalks of the Yellow Dent, which bore 1 ear each and weighed 11 J fts.; cobs, 2i lbs. The largest one was 12 inches long; cob, 2^ inches in di- ameter; 22 rows of corn; weight of corn, 1 lb. 1 oz. (997 fold) ; cob, 3 oz. All of the above stalks were obtained from hills containing 2 or more stalks, ex- cepting the one containing 4 ears, which grew by itself. Suppose an acre to contain 4,840 hills, and each hill 1 stalk tliat woidd average IJ lbs.; then multiplv 4,840 by 1 J, which will give 7,260; then divide 7,260 by 56 (the weight of a bushel of corn), and we have the enormous yield of 129 bushels 46 lbs. to the acre. Here we see an acre of land funowed 3 feet apart, with only 1 stalk in a place, yielding over 129 bushels. Again, suppose there should be 3 stalks in a hill, cor- responding with the next higliest number, and we would have 261 bushels 2 lt>s. 12 oz. to the acre. At 3 tbs. to a hill, the yield would be 250 bushels 20 lbs. to the acre. When I \woiQ the above, I thought those speci- mens as large as corn generally gets to be ; but I have since that time produced some larger ones. I took several stalks to our county fair in 1852, some of which were from 12 to 16 feet high, with 2 ears on a stalk, ranging from 1,270 to 1,738 fold. At our last fair (1853) I entered for competition some stalks with 2 ears on each, varying from 1,032 to 1,750 fold. There wei'e also 2 hills which I dug up wlicre an old horse was burned, in a log heap, to get rid of the an- noyance while j)lowing. One had 2 stalks, 3 ears, and 2,500 grains; the other had 4 stalks, 4 eai-s, and 3,500 grains (850 fold). The corn which I exhibited was soaked in a diluted solution of ammonia — 1 ounce to 2 gallons of water — then rolled in plaster; but the latter was of no more account than so much yellow clay. There are some kinds of plaster, however, better than that which I used, the good effects of which I have seen at a great distance. If farmers who own valley or prairie land were to subsoil their ground as deep as possible, say 12 to 18 inches, or even more (the deeper tut better, as that gives the fibrous roots a better chance to penetrate deep in search of food), they would, in my opinion, raise much larger crops. I have no doubt that if the richest lands could be loosened up 4 feet deep, and a compost of a suitable kind (after the seed had been soaked in a solution of ammonia) put on or in each hill of corn, and the ground well slin-ed with the cultivator or shovel plow once a week all the season, the crop woidd reach my highest figure per acre. The thought of this to farmers who have been getting only 40 or 50 bushels per acre, on land that might be made to double that in a year or so with a little expense, is almost enough to scare them into fits. I agree with the editor, that " tiying to farm without capital, is like trying to run a loco- motive without fuel." S. A. Ellis. — Roscoe, O. SMOKE-CONSUMING STOVE. Our engraving (see next page) represents a vertical longitudinal section of Exxis & Fexwick's Atmos- pheric Reversing Draft Furnace, for which a patent was granted to the inventor, Mr. Exxis, of the firm of Keyser & Co., furnace manufacturers in New York, on the 29th of March, 1853. 'i'he fire is shown in the furnace, I. The grate is sup]>licd witli fresh air through a back tube or channel, F, above the ash-pit or pan, E. A pipe or passage, J, connects the fire chamber or stove, I, with the radiator cham- ber, B, in which is placed an inverted hollow cone of cast-iron. A, to deflect the fine solid particles of coal that are sometimes carried off from the fire when fresh coals are put on, and also to absorb and retain a great amount of heat, and give it out by rsr diation, so as to economise it; also to make a portion of air return and feed the fire along with any carbonic THE GENESEE FARMER. 81 PATENT SMOKE-CONSUMING STOVE. oxide that may escape, and thus economise fuel. The pipe, F, can be closed to reirnlate tlie feed of fresh air. The atmosphere is admitted thronf;-h the hollow cone at K, and passes up as shown by the arrows, then out by pipe, M. The laroe part of the cone being placed near the pipe, J, it compresses the smoke into a smaller space before it reaches the top, where it expands and creates a partial vacuum, thus combininor the element of an artificial draft without the employment of any mechanical force to do so. This furnace, therefore, must always draw well. If applied to burn bituminous coal, from which much volatile matter escapes, the supply of fresh air by the hollow cone, if any flame passes up, will saturate the gas with air so as \o render it combustible, and burn, and thus this stove will be a smoke-consuming one, well adapted for all places where they burn bitumi- nous coal. The arrows show the reversing draft of heated air to support combustion when F is closed ; a good arrangement. We feel confident that this ingenious apparatus will burn not only wood-coal, but dry hard wood, in a very profitable manner. TTow to make the most of all heat contained in a latent state in any fuel, is a question of great importance in household economy. Millions would be saved in this country, and yet have rooms far more comfortable than they now are, if the wise use of fuel generally prevailed. The annual cost of fuel is one of the largest items of house-keeping, and the expense in this line is steadily on the increase. 82 THE GENESEE FARMER. HOW TO CUOOSE A GOOD MILCH COW. We copv the following reraurks ou the points indi- cative of a' good milch cow, from the supplement to a recent English edition of Prof. Magxe's Treatise on .Milch Coics, by John Haxtox. They are stated with great clearness and judgment, although, perhaps. in a very few ca.s."s, undue prommence may be given to some particulars : " The points to be attended to in judging a good milch cow. are, by universal consent, considered to be shape and size of the animal, both as a vrhole and in detail; texture of the skin and hair; deveolpraeut of the lactiferous parts ; temperament or habit of body and disposition ; and finally, strength or endu- rance of constitution. A maximum development of these points marks out a first cUvss cow of the breed to which she belongs ; but the milking properties diflfer in endless variety, not merely as these poiuts are prominent or the reverse, but also in proportion to the circumstances of climate, soil and treatment. The ccusson test of M. Guenox is a new element in the question ; and when fully established, and better understood, will probably occupy the th-st rank among the external signs which indicate the natural milking properties of cows; but as yet it is rarely recognized in Britain. How far ^L Gcexox's observations have been borne out, will be discussed hereafter; meantime, we shall direct the reader's attention to those points which experience has proved to possess a marked in- fluence ou the milking properties of cov,-s. " Shape. — Whatever may be the breed to which a cow belongs, there are certain points of configuration which are considered essential as regards her milking properties. There may be, and are frequently, gi-eat discrepancies between the one and the other ; but still, generally speaking, the rule holds good that, aO things being ahke, the cow which approaches nearest to a certain standard will be the best milker. The head must be rather lengthy, especially from the eye to the point of the nose; the nose and muzzle should be cleanly cut, and free from thick skin or fleshy lumps; the cheek bones thin, and in like manner de- void of thick skin or flesh (not thick chapped) ; eye prominent, of a placid and benignant expression, with Uttle of the white exposed to dew. If horned, the horns should taper gradually to a point, and have a clean surface, free from rugosities; the breed wUl de- termine the shape and set of the horns. " The neck should be long, thin, and free from loose skin. A good milk cow may be deer or ewe-necked, but never bull-necked. The chest and breast should be deep, rather than broad, and the brisket should project downward and forward; and, whether large or othenvise, should be round, well shaped, and without loose folds of skin depending from it. The girth be- hind the shoulders moderate, and arising more from depth than breadth of chest; shouldei-s rather narrow at top ; back-bone on a line with the shoulder-top ; ribs arched, and well home to the haunch-bones, which should be wide apart, and forai a straight line across, neither depressed in the center, at the lumbar verta- brae. nor drooping at the extremities ; hind-quarters lengthy, and the rump or tail-top nearly on a line with the back-bone ; thighs rather thin, but broad, well spread, and givmg plenty of room for the udder; belly projecting outward rather than downward, with plenty of room for food ; the udder shonld be larger in a lineal direction — that is, well back- ward as well as upward — between the hind legs and forward on the belly; also broad in fi'ont, filling up the space between the lower flanks, but rather short vertically — a deep hanging udder, from its swinging motion, being always the cause of great fa- tigue to the animal when walking ; the teats should be moderately long, straight, and equal in thickness from the udder to the point, and also at considerable and equal distances from each other ; the two front teats especially should be well apart, and the direction of all four should be outward. When full of milk, the udder should be greatly enlarged in size, and,, when newly emptied, shrink in a corresponding degree, and the sldn gather into soft creases. The mammary veins running on each side of the belly, large througliout their whole course, and swelling into large pufls at or near their junction with the udder ; thigh veins also large and easily felt by the baud. " Of all these .shapes, the more important are the long, finely formed head ; long, thin neck ; rump nearly on a line with the back-bone; broad quartei-s; long uddei-s from back to front ; and large veins un- derneath the bellv, and downward, from the loins and thigh, to the udder. When seen in front, the body of a good milk cow should present the appearance of a blunted wetlge, the apex of which is the breast and shoulder. Seen fi-oni behind, she should present a square, well spread shape. Seen sideways, she should be lengthy, but not lanky. " Skill. Hair and Color. — The skin is ever a true index of the milking properties of the cow. It should l)e 8 )rt and flexible on every part of the body, ea- pecitilly ou the back-ribs, and also on the rump-bones, situated on each side of the insertion of the tail The latter is a point much prized by dair^-men ; so much so that a very successful farmer in Cheshire, Mr. Jabez Wright, told the writer that, in buving a cow, if the skin on the rump wai 275M 8?< 1,162 9H 9,067 937 733^ 164'4' 949>^ 6Vi fts. Eape-cake, 1,176 Bean meal, 336 Shells of oats, 1,260 Swede turnips, 10,080 Meadow hay, inferior qual- ity,.... _. 1,176 Water alone, & with shells of oats, 846 14,874 10,205^^ 4,325 355}^ Excrement, 9,600 8,152 1,163>^ 284>i Deficiency, 5,274 2,053 3,161J^ 5VA Kitrogen computed to each description — Rape-cake, 61 '^ Bean meal, 16% Shells of oats, 8 Turnips, 18 Hay, 12 116 equal to 130 ammonia. Nitrogen. The 9,fiOO ft)S. of excrement are found by analysis to contain __ 77>a Gain in weight of eight heifers 338 fbs. of beef, fat and offal, which may be estimated to contain 88)^ 116 On comparing the result of this with the former experiment there is a difference in the diminution of the dry matei'ial. Vicing in the one two-thirds, in the other one-half. This may be owing to the greater proportion of woody fiber in the bulky food, which in the first experiment was wholly straw, while in the latter a considerable portion consisted of turnijis, which have comparatively little woody fiber, and hay; in the diminution of water there is scarcely any dif- ference in the two experiments. During the six weeks from December 20th to the close of January, when the 3 tbs. per day of rape-cake were given to each in addition, no perceptible difference was found in the gain of weight. From this analysis it will be seen that it had a marked effect on the excremement or manure : Atialysis of Manure from Food supplied in January, 1853. Moisture, 84.92 Organic matter, with salts of ammonia, 12.12 Sand, 93 Phosphate of lime, .72 Alkalies, sulphates, muriates, and loss, 1.31 100.00 Nitrogen .79, eiinal to ammonia .96 (Signed) J. Thomas Wat. The jield of excrement is aljout 9 J tons from each animal per year. Its value in nitrogen is lis. 3d. per ton, in phosphate of lime say Is. 3d. — total, 12s. 6d., being at the rate of 2s. 3d. per week for each ani- mal, and omitting the other components; reckoning the manure as dry material, without moisture, the value will be £4 5s. per ton — nearly one-half that of guano. The next eight cattle for experiment were tied up in Frebruary; their bulky food consisted of chopped straw, shells of oats and steamed bean straw, in about equal proportions, together with 30 lbs. of Swedes per day, and with as much water as they would drink. As extra food they were supplied with 4 lbs. of rape- cake, 1 ft), of beau meal, | lb. of hnseed and J lb. of wheat, ground together. On this food two of the heifers had gained in the month's weighing in March 9 lbs. a week each, the other six 16 lbs. to 18 ft)s. each, weighing the average gain somewhat more than 14 lbs. per week each. A sample of the excrement was sent on the 26 of March for analysis, the result of which I give: Moisture, 83.81 Organic matter and salts of ammonia, 13.44 Sand, &c., 93 Phosphate of lime, .64 Common salt, .18 Sulphate of potash and soda, .95 100.00 Nitrogen .51, equal to ammonia .62 per cent. (Signed) J. THOMAS Way. The yield of excrement is about 9 J tons per year for each; the value in ammonia, 7s. 6d., and in phos- phate of hme, Is., making together 8s. 6d. per ton — about Is. 7d. per week for each animal. Taking the excrement as dry, free from moisture, its value is about 53s. per ton. My turnips being exhausted with March, an addi- tional quantity of steamed bean straw (a very palata- ble and nutritious food, to which I may at some time more especially draw attention) was substituted for the Swede turnips; with this, the same allowance of 4 ftjs. of rape-cake, 1 ftj. of bean meal, J ft), of linseed ground with J lb. of wheat, was continued till near the close of May. On this the cattle throve satisfac- torily, their gain in weight throughout being fully 14 lbs. each per week on the average. On the 24th of. May a portion of meadow grass was mixed with their straw ; this was by degrees increased till the whole of their bulky food consisted of grass, with the Hke allowance of extra food — i fts. rape, 1 lb. bean meal, J ft. linseed and J ft), wheat, ground together. At the close of June tlie lot was of prime quality, and sold at 6jd. per ft., the then top price of the mar- ket. Their gain during June was scarcely equal to the average, being something under 14 fts. each per 86 THE GENESEE FARMER. week A sample of the excrement sent to Professor Way on June 29, was found to consist of — Moisture, - 84.90 Organic matter, with salts of ammonia, 11.94 Sand 86 Phosphate of lime, 1.-33 Common salt, 24 Sulphate of soda and potash, .73 100.00 Nitrogen .94, equal to 1.14 ammonia. The yield of excrement being at the rate of nearly 9 J tons from each animal per year, the value of am- monia may be computed at 13s. per ton, and tlie phosphate of lime at nearly 2s., making together l.'is. per ton, being at the rate of 2s. lOd. per week in these two ingredients only; reckoned free from mois- ture, £5 per ton, to which the sulphate of pota«h and other mineral ingredients will be an appreciable ad- dition. It will be observed that the bulky food supplied. when this sample of excrement was sent for analy.sis. was rich meadow grass, at the season it is found to contain the greatest per centage of nitrogen, and tliat this would materially affect the proportion of nitro- gen in the excrement. It would have aflbrded a more satisfactory test of the correctness of my views as to the disposition of the animals to use or assirnilate more nitrogen in the early, and more fat in the later, stage of feeding, if the same bulky food had been continued throughout. My ordinary practice being to feed off two sets of cattle during the year — one beginning with grass and finishing \^ ith turnips (for sale in December and January) ; the other with tur- nips, or other winter food, and finishing ^\^th grass (for sale in July and August) — does not afford me an opportunity of trying this; still, when I find from the analysis of the excrement in the two instances of ad- vanced stage of feeding doubly rich in nitrogen with- out any perceptible increavse in its weight, these experiments tend to confim this impression. When it is considered that nitrogen or ammonia costs in food (take, for example, beans, at the moder- ate price price of £7 per ton, or 3Ls. 6d. per quarter) more than Is. per ft., while its value as manure is usually computed at only 6d. per ft., the desirableness of limiting the supply to what is requisite for assimi- lation in the maintenance and increase of the animal will be evident. The feeder may calculate that if he go beyond this, his 20s. for such extra supply will diminish to less than 10s., even vaih beans at the moderate price I have quoted, 31s. 6d. per quarter ; at the present high rates, the 203. so used would di- minish to one-third, or Gs. 8d. My cattle are on boarded floors. The whole of the excrement, solid and liqnid, passes into a tank, under the tails of the animals. When filled, the con- tents are emptied into a mud cart, and during the experiment each load is weighed on a machine. On sending a sample for analysis, the excrement, solid and liquid, shed during 24 hours, is carefully stiiTcd about and blended for some time, to insure an average sample.— y., hi the London Agricultural Gazette. ScotTBS m horses. — Put one pint of good gin and one ounce of indigo into a bottle, and shake them well together, and administer in one dose. A Most VALCAni.E Grass. — I have just read a letter of Mr. Damel Zollickoffkr's, publi.>hed in the Xovember nmnljer of your truly interesting and valuable work. The American Funnel, upon the subject of '• Meadow Oat Gra>s." I am veiy anxious to tell him that I have a winter grass Avhich, if he could see, would so satisfy him that he would never think of Meadow Oat grass again. I have now a field of 100 acres (as level as a floor) ir. my grass, from 8 to 10 inches high, the seeds of which were sown late in Ipeptember la,st, and which more than 100 head of cattle, with horses, mules, .sheep and hogs, can not keep down from this time to June next, what think you of that ? This grass will keep them all fat throughout the winter and spring, thereby saving corn and fodder for work time. It makes the milch cows give the greatest abundance of the richest milk, rich cream, and the sweetest and yellowest but- ter. It enables a man to have fat beef, mutton, kid, pork, turkey and chicken for his table, and will then (the stock being removed) go to seed, and yield from 4 to 6 tons of nutritious hay per acre. 'J'his grass no frost, however severe, ever hurts; no insect troubles it ; no overflow of water retards it ; no ordinary drouth affects it. This grass reproduces itself, through its seeds, on the same ground (without re-sowing) for ages, enriching a field, beside grazing the stock and yielding its hay. It does not spread, but is easily gotten rid of by plowing under; and above all, tnis grass, with our great Southern pea to follow it (which it does exactly), gives to planters the cheapest, the earliest, the simplest, and the mo.st paying plan to restore worn-out fields, and re-fertilize those not yet exhausted, which the ingenuity of man can demise. These two will restore the most worn and exhausted field, and richly pay us £r" NEW LEICESTER SHEEP. and they contain in their carcass a gi'eater amount of dead weight m proportion to the amount of live weight than any other breed — the flesh and fat being accumulated more externally, and in the greatest de- gree in the most profitable parts, and in the least degi'ce in the coarse points. Some of the chief dis- advantages of the breed, as compared with the charac- ters and properties of other good breeds, are inferior prolificity, feeble nursing powers, deficiency in bulk of fleece, comparative weakness of constitution, pre- disposition to inflammatory diseases, and inability to bear exposure to a churlish climate or to inclement weather. These, defects, however, are less now than in the days of Bakewell ; and whenever purity of breed is not an object, they can be much reduced or entirely overcome by crossing with such breeds as the Cotswold and the Bampton Notts. " Bake- well was compelled, in a sense, to confine himself to his own stock, and to the blood of one family, in order to preserve that standard of form which he" had a successful rivalship with it over a large extent of country ; the lowland Gloucestershire, the Devon- shire, and many of the Lincolnshire agi-iculturists, are propagating a larger race than is approved of by the Leicester breeders; and even in the north of England, where the Leicester breed was early established, a heavier race is preferred to the purest of the Dishley stock." New Mexico has the extraordinary number of 377,271 sheep — more than six to each inhabitant — proving the soil and climate of that territory to be well adapted to this description of stock, and giving promise of a large addition from that quarter to the supply of wool. The importance of fostering this great branch of national production is shown by the fact, as assumed by an intelligent writer on the subject, that our population annually consumes an amount of wool equal to seven pounds for each person. 90 THE GENESEE FAEMER. COXDUCTED BY JOSEPH FROST. THE OSAGE ORANGE HEDGE PLANT. A FKW d'.iys ago we received from Messrs. Bryam, Pitkin & Co., seedsmen, &c., u\ Louisville, Ky., an excellent treatise upon the cultiviition of this plant. It commences with the manner of sowin and thought it took al)out the course for an agricul- tural journal ; yet there is one thing which I notice in the present volume that I hardly like, and about which my sister — M'ho is no less assiduous in perusing the Farmer than myself — complains a gi'cat deal, and that is, the absence of the ^Ladies' Department.' Although it may be notliing that concerns me, yet I venture to suggest that you again devote a portion Df each number of the Farmer to the interests of the adies ; for verily, is it not as essential that woman je instructed in all that appertains to the home, and he management of a house, &.C., &$ it is that man should know how to improve the products of the arm and the orchard ? Surely, when I think of the rupganic Nature. Filtered Rain Water. — 'Sir. John Kedzie, of this ity, has advertised his filters in this number of the Farmer. Ve have used one of Mr. K.'s filters for some time, and it ■nswers every desirable purpose. Pure, soft, filtered rain rater is much better for drinking, making tea and cofifee, nd cooking meat and vegetables, than hard limestone rater. " An Upward Tendency in Land." — A correspondent who has a soul as large as Noble county, in Ohio, writes : " It is surprising that the most outrageously poor farmers in this country are the ones to cry down every thing lik« improvement, and say it is of no use to buy books or pa- pers, for they can farm without them better than with them. There is a great need of more agricultural knowl- edge in this county ; and if your journal takes with this community, we hope to see an upward tendency in land as well as in crops. The whole business of the farmer here seems to be to run his land to death, and then sell out to an Eastern man, for he alone can bring it into fertility again." There is no mistake in reference to the fact that the true way to double the value of farms in any county is to circulate the Genesee Farmer — the oldest agxicultural journal in the State of Nev/ York. Our friend has turned his agricultural reading to a prac- tical account; for he writes that he "has doubled and almost trebled the value of his farm in the last four years." So much for wisely profiting by the vast aggregate expe- rience of thousands of the best farmers in the civilized world. It is with the careful and successful practice of such men that our readers are made acquainted. Such acquaintance costs a farmer but fifty cents a year — the price of twelve or fifteen good cigars. Osier Willow. — Mr. James Brittan, of Newaygo, Mich., very properly calls our attention to the importance of cultivating the Osier Willow for hedges and shelter, as well as for cuttings and market. He savs : " My object in writing to you is to ask why Willow is not used for live fences in tliis country? In England it is reckoned fully equal to wire ; and beside, on the deep bot- toms, it gives a valuable crop in its clippings for osiers. As it grows with certainty from cuttings, and with aston- ishing vigor, it is also considered very useful for sheltering screens ; and the difference between the produce of a field of corn (wheat) exposed to the blasting influence of the unbroken sweeps of the wind, and a crop in the lee of a belt of Willow, is inconceivable. Mr. Barry, in his arti- cle in the Horticulturist, is beginning to have right notions on that subject. His article is valuable. Bu^ to fences again : in every respect Willow has greatly the advantage over every other kind of live fence — it is cheaper (cuttings being used instead of rooted plants) — it is far more beau- tiful— perfectly hardy — and at all times impervious to cat- tle, which no other hedge is. Will you give us an article on that subject for the West ?" Our intelligent correspondent is himself the man to give the readers of the Farmer an instructive and interesting " article " on the subject. The one he sends in the type of the Farmers' Compaiiion is not sufficiently condensed to be compatible with the many other claims on our journal. Edge Tools. — Mr. D. R. Barton, of this city, has ac- quired such a world-wide reputation as the manufacturer of superior Edge Tools, that some of his chisels and augers have been counterfeited in England and sent to American markets. His axes are almost without rivals in the chop- ping line. ■■!» I mt Hay, Stalk and Corn Cutter. — One of the best ma- chines for cutting forage that we have ever seen operate is that advertised in this number of the Farmer by J. Jones «& A. Lyle. THE GENESEE FARMER. New York State Agricultural Society. — At the annual meeting, held at Albany in the second week in Feb- ruary, the following named gentlemen were elected officers for the ensuing year : President — William Kelly, Rhinebeck, Dutchess Co. \'ice Presidents — J. C. Jacrson, New York ; A. B. CoNGKR, Rockland; Geo. Vail, Rensselaer; Le Roy MowiiY, ^Vashillgton ; J. C.Woodruff, Onondaga; J. Barber, Cortland ; D. H. Abell, Livingston ; S. M. Burroughs, Orleans. Correspondinr Secretary — B. B. JoHNSON, Albany. Recording Secretary — E. CoRNiNG, Jr., Albany. Treasurer — B. B. Kirtland, Rensselaer. Executive Committee — EuGAR C. Dibble, Genesee; Elon Comstock, Oneida ; Chas. Morkell, Tompkins ; T. B. Arden, Putnam ; Ambrose Stevens, New York. The Society have resolved to hold their next annual fair in the city of New York. Transactions of the Essex Agricultural Society. — We have space left in this number barely to acknowledge the receipt of the Transactions of this old and most useful Society in Massachusetts, from the Hon. John W. Proc- tor, who will please accept our thanks for the same. Owing to the crowded state of our columns, we are coniijelled to forego the publication of a large number of "Answers to Inquiries," and several editorial articles, which we had prepared for this number of the Farmer, until our next issue. ADVERTISEMENTS, To secure insertion in the Farmer, must be received as early as the 10th of the previous month, and be of such a character as to be of interest to fanners. Terms — Two Dollars for every hundred words, each insertion, paid in advance. OSAGE OaANGE SEEB, RECEIVED direct from Texa.s, and warranted good. Price, $20 per bushel — same rate jier peck — and a reduction to dealers. Directions for culture, and management of the hedge, furnished to all customers. (It is now a.sceiUiineil, by five years' experiment, that this most excellent hedge plant will endure the winters as far n^rth as Western New York, and wherever it has become known it is rapidly finding favor.) M. B. BATEHAM, llarch 1, 1854. — it. Columbus, Ohio. w PEAS, SPRING WHEAT, &c. E have now in store, and offer to our customers, 100 bushels Spring Wheat, 400 " Peas, various kinds, 50 " Vetches, 100 " Barley, 100 " Seed Com. March 1, 1854.— tf J. RAPALJE & CO. CLOVER AND TIMOTHY SEED. E have now on hand, and for sale at the lowest cash prices, 200 bushels Clover Seed, 4U0 " Tuuothy Seed, 60 " KeJ Top Seed, March 1, 1854.— tf J. RAPALJE & CO. w Field and Garden Seeda. SPRING WHEAT, Barley, O.its, Grass Seed, Clover. Fresh P^ay (ini.S PATENT OFFICE. THIS well-known establishment is still carried on under the per- son.al superintendence of its founder, ALFRED E. BEACH, by whom all the necessary diawings, specifications, and documenta, for Patents, Caveats, &c., are prepared with the utmost fidelity and dispatch. Persons wishing for information or advice relative to Patents or Inventions, may at all times consult the undersigned withmt charge, cither personally at his office, or by letter. To tlinse living at a distance he would stnte, that all the steps necessary to secure a Patent, can he arranged by letter just as well as if the party were present, and the expense of a journey be thus saved. All consul- tations strictly private and confidential. When parties wish to be informed aa to the probability of being enabled to obliiin Patents, it will be necessary for them to forward by mail a rough outline sketch and description of the invention. No fee or charge is made for such examinations. The first step, alw.ays, in securing a Patent in this country, is to prepare a model, from which the necessary drawings are made. If the undersigned is engaged to prosecute the apjilication and pre- pare the various papers, the model must first be sent to the PEO- PLE'S PATENT OFFICE, 86 Nassau street. New York, after which it will be forwarded to Washington. Models from a distance may be sent by express or otherwise. For further information apply to or address, post-paid, ALFRED E BEACH, Solicitor of American and Foreign Patents. People's Patent Oiiice, 8G Nassau street. New York. March 1, 1854.— It Atkins' SeLf-rakIng Reaper. i f\ OF these machines were used the last harvest in grass or ^yj grain, or both, with almost uniformly good success, in nine different States and Canada. TWENTY-SIX PREMIUMS, including too at the Crystal Palace (silver and bronze medals), were awarded it at the autumn exhibitions. I am building only 800, which are being rapidly ordered. Mr. .Joseph Hall, Rochester, N. Y., will also build a few. [u^ Early orders necessary to insure a Reaper. Price at Chicago §175 — $75 cash with order, note for $50, payable when Reaper works successfully, and another for $50, payable first December next, with interest ; or $160 cash in advance. War- ranted to be a good Self-raking Reaper. ^^ Agents, properly recommended, wanted throughout the country. Experienced Agents preferred. It is important this year to have the machines widely scattered. Descriptive circulars, with cuts, and giving impartially the diffi- culties as well as successes of the Reaper, mailed to post-paid appli- cations. .1. S. WRIGHT, March 1, 1854. — 3t "Prairie Farmer" Warehouse, Chicago. Garden Implements. HEDGE, Long Handle, and Sliding Pruning Shears ; Budding and Edging Knives; Pruning Hatchets, Saws and Knives; Pruning, Vine and Flower Scissors; Bill and Milton Hookf ; Lt.wn and Garden P^akes; Garden Scufllers, Iloes of great variety. Shovels and Spades; Hand Engines which throw water forty feet or more. Syringes and Water Pots; Grafting Chisels, Tree Scr.ipers, and Caterpillar Brushes; Transplanting Trowels, Reels; ILand Plow and Cultivator, very useful to work between rows of vegetables; together with a large assortment of other implements too numer- ous to mention. R. L. ALLEN, March 1, 1854.— 3t 189 and 191 Water street. New York. Plo^vs ! Plows I PROUTY & MEARS' Improved Center Draught Plows, of all the various sizes. Michig.an Sod and Subsoil Plow. Rich's Iron Beam, of all the different patterns. Massachusett.s Eagle. Mapes' Improved Subsoil Plows. For sale at the State Agricultural Warehouse. LONGETT & GRIFFIXO, March 1, 1854.— 2t No. 25 Cliff-st., New York. NeW and Improved Plo^ws, INCLUDING the Deep Tiller, Flat Furrow, Self Sharpener, Cen- ter Draught, Side Hill, SubsoU, Double Mold Board, Potato, and Cultivation Plows. Harrows, Rollers, Seed Sowers, Cultivators, and a large assort- ment of all other Agricultural Implements. R. L. ALLEN, March 1, 1854.— 3t 189 and 191 Water street. New York. __ CORN SHEL.EERS. WE have now on hand, at the Genesee Seed Store, a large stock of the various kinds of Corn Shcllers of the most approved patterns now in use, all of which we offer for s.ale at the manufac- tureis' prices, and warrant them to give satisfaction, or to )« re- turned and the money refunded. J. RAPALJE & CO. March 1, 1854.—* THE GENESEE FARMER. 99 PEKUVIAIV GUANO. WE are receiving our supply of Peruvian Guano, per ships " Bluncliartl," " Senator," and " Gray Feather," from the Chinclia l.sl.iiitls, .lud are now prepared to make contracts for the sprinf; supply. -Vs the demand is large, we would advise all who may be in want of tbis excellent^ manure to make early application. Price, $60 per ton of 2000 pountls. Be particular to observe that every bag is branded — No. 1. WARRANTED PKRUVIAN G U A N 0 . IMl'OSTKO INTO THK UN'ITKD STATES BY F. liAKKEUA BKUTIIEKS, FOR TUK HKUCVIAX GOVEKN'MEN'T. LONGETT k GRIFFING, .■?fato .^fcncultural Warehouse, 2j ClilT street, New York, rfbnuarj- 1, 18.54.— 3t. Kentish's Prepared or Artificial Guano, TWENTY DOLLARS PER TON. POTATO ROT. I HAVE used " Kentish's Prepared Guano " this season on po- tatoes. My crop was large and all sound. Where I did not use It, the potatoes were all rotten and worthless. Jly neighbors, also, who have not used this fertilizer, have not raised a saleable potato this year. I consider it a preventive of rot. G. PREAUT. Westchester Co., N. Y., Sept. 29, 1850. Extract of a Letter from E. B. Addison. Alexandria Co., Va., April 23, 1851. Dr. John H. Bayne, President of Prince George's County Agri- cultural Society, Slaryland, has desired me to inform you tliat last spring he used African Guano, Poudrette, Peruvian Guano, and your Prepared Gu.ano, on potatoes. The first two were distanced, but the result from the Peruvian and yours was about equal. He pronounces your Prepared Guano to be a very excellent article, and =!steem3 it liighly. Richmond Co., N. Y., July 27, 1849. I have made use of Kentish's Prepared Guano on potatoes, cab- mges, cauliUowers, corn and grapes. I found the result much more latisfactory, and the produce much larger, than where I used im- ported Guano or any other kind of manure. EDWARD JENNINGS, Gardener. ltl#'~ It is equally fertilizing on all crops. See the numerous ^ertidoates on this subject in the printed circular, to be obtained at CENTISH & CO.'S Depot, No. 159 West street, city of New York. March 1, 1854.— 3t Wm. Paterson's Improved Superphosphate of Lime, rXTlIICH has been fully tested in various States last season, and V> f(uiud the Iiest in the market. Put up in bags of 1.50, 100, nd 50 lbs. e:u-li, and sold by the manufacturer at DIVISION ST. VHARF, NEWARK. N. J., or by his Agents— LOX(;i:rT & GRIFFING, State Agricultural Warehouse, 25 Cliff tree*. New York. EMERY >t CO., Albany, N. Y. P. JLVLCOLM & CO.. Rowley's Wharf, Baltimore, Md. JOSEPH RADCLIFF & SON, Washington, D. C. ROBERT BUIST, PhUadelphia. March 1, 1S54.— 3t. Supei-pliospliatc. VTO expense has been spared in the combination of this mo.st .,1 fertilizing manure, which contuns .all the nutritive properties f all plants. It is superior to mo.st of the articles offered for sale ntler the same name, and is inferior to none, although sold at a lucli lower price. Put up in liags at .'540 per ton of 2000 tbs., cash. Office of the New York Superphosphate Manufacturing Com- anv. No. 159 West street. New York. March 1, 18.54.— 3t VUn'OR R. KNOWLES, Agent. Fertilizers*. PERUVIAN GUANO, Pulverized Charcoal, Superphosphate of Lime, Ground Land Plaster, Bone Du<;t, Sulphuric Acid, For sale at the State Agricultural Warchoase, No. 25 Cliff'street, few York. LONGETT & GRIFFING. February 1, 1854.— 3t Fertilizers. SUPERPHOSPHATE OF LIME, No. 1, of the best manufacture. 5 Peruvian Guano, best No. 1. Poudrette, Plaster of Paris, &c. R. L. ALLEN, Marifh 1, 1854.— 3t 189 and 191 Water street, New York. Cutter Rights for Sale. [TTE will test our Hay, Stalk and Straw Ciitter, patented Novem- VV ber Sth. 18.5.3, for speed, ease and durabilitv, az-.ainst any ther in the United States. J. JONES & A." LYLE. E^ For further information, address JONES & LYLE, Roch- 5t«r, N. Y. February 1, 1854.— tf Fanh fur Sale. S.VID Farm is pleasantly situated in the town of Leicester, Liv- ingston county, N. Y., on the road leading from the Pine Tavern to Gibsonville, and half a mile from the latter place. It contains 140 acres of land, 115 of whicli are under good improvement, and well adapted to raising wheat and spring crops ; the balance is tim- bered. It is well watered with durable springs of soft water, and h;is convenient buildings and a good young orchard of choice fruit. There are 36 acres of wheat on the ground. The above will be sold cheap, and terms made easy. Also, can be had with the farm, if desired, at a fair price, 1 span of horses, 25 head of cattle, and 30 sheep, with a good set of farm- ing tools. Any further information can be had by calling on or addressing CILARLES HOLMES, February 1, 1854.— 3t GibsonviUe, Livingston Co., N. Y. VIRGINIA LAND FOK SAL,K. A VALUABLE tract of land for sale in Richmond and West- moreland counties, V'irgiuia, containing 2700 acres — well tim- bered with ship and stave timber, well watered, and with vast beda of rich shell marl, enough to lime many such estates. The tr.act is about thi-ce miles from navigation, in a healthy location, and in a good neighborhood. It can be bought for the low sum of |10 per acre. The so^l is good, and easily improved, with the means on it to put it in a high state of cultivation ; about 1500 acres cleared ; buildings small. It will make six or eight farms. I wiU make a deduciion if sold without division. My address is 45 Broadway, Baltimore, Md. Persons wishing to purchase wUl call on or address me, and I will give any further information. H. BEST. March 1, 1854.— 3t Two Valuable atock Horses for Sale. THE MORSAN TALLIO, beautiful bay color, of pure Wood on the part of sire and dam, \a% hands high, and weighs about 1000 lbs. Lengtlr of shoulder, 34 inches; hip, 30 inches ; andfiom a line drawn from the point of one hip to that of the otlier, to the setting in of his withers, is only about 13 inches. I purcha.sed him in Warren, Vt., one year ago. He is a sure foal getter, and hia stock is as fine as can be shown. He drew the first premium at our County Agricultural Fair last fall. Also, young BLACK HAWK MORGAN, obtained at the same place. He is six years old, a splendid moving horse, and vei-y fast. He is one of the finest to be found in Western New York. Call and see. I will sell one or both on time, or exchange for land. Address WM. CARDELL, March 1, 1854. — It Baldwinsville, Onondaga Co., N. Y. Short-Uorn Bulls and Sufiblk figs for Sale. IH.VVE three one-year-old Hulls, got by mv imported Bull VAXE TEMPEST. Color— liel and roan. Also, a few choice pairs of Suff.ilk Pigs, bred from my imported stock. Auburn, N. Y., Feb. 1, 1854.— 2t. ; J. M. SHERWOOD. POULTRY. To the Poultry Dealers and Fanciers at the South and West. THE subscriber is now prepared to fill orders to any extent for any known variety of choice imported and domestic Fowls, Geese, Ducks, Turkeys, Swans, and Pea and Guinea Fowls, and will sell stock by the pair, trio, or lot, at very reasonable prices. Those who bu}' to sell again supplied on favorable terms. I will warrant all Birds sold by me to be equal in all respects to any in the country. Stock can be safely sent to any part of the United Stales. No charge made for cages. J. W. PLATT, February 1, 1854.— 2t Rhinebeck, N. Y. Bralima Pootra Fowls and Eggs for Sale. THE subscriber offers for sale the most beautiful Brahnia Pootra fowls that can be found in the country. Also, eirgs from the .s,ame fowls next spring and summer. Price of fowls, SiO to .^^50 per pair; eggs, $6 per dozen. Also, BnfT-colored Shapsrh.aos and Eggs. Fowls cooped, and eggs carefully paclced in spviiig boxes and sent to all parts of the countrv, Viy addressing, post-n.aid, E. GH.E.S, Februivry 1, 18.54.- 2t* Sanquoit, Oneida Co., N. Y. Bralinia Pootra Fowls for Sale. THE subscriber has fiffv pairs of the abovf fowls for sale, of pure blooil. He .also offers for s.ale the comin? spring eggs for linlch- ing, from fowIs»which he selected to breed from. Also. Black Spanish eira-s, from imported fowls. THOS. WRIGHT. Utica, February 1, lSo4.— ."Jt. Brahma Fo ! . THE celebrated Bi-ahma Fowls, purely bred, also Canton and Marsh Shanghae or Imperial Fowls, for sale- at rea.sonable >g bv VTM. N. ANDREWS, prices by March 1, 1854.— 2t Dover, N. H. 100 THE GENESEE FARMER New and Cliotce Fruits. HOVET & 00 , No 7 Merchants' Row, Boston, HAVE the pleasure of oll'erini to aninteur cultivators and the trade geueraU>', the I'ollowiivi; suiierior new fruits, of which Uiey possera the entire stock, and are now first offered for sale : BOSTON PEAR. A new native summer variety, ripening from the middle to the la«t of Au2u>-t, just Ix'fore tlie Bartlett, of large size, with a beau- tiful waxen yellow skin, ani a red cheek, superior to any variety of it.s seiusoie. This line pear was first exhibited by Messrs. Horey & Co. before the MaiS. Hoit, Soc. in 1S49, and repeatedly since "that time, ob- t;iiaing the hi°rlK'st commendation of the Fruit Committee, who have spoken of it as follows : " From Hovcy k Co. a new native pear, of good size, fair and handsome, of a "brisk vinous flavor, fully equal to an Urbaniste in its best condition, and one of tlie finest early pears." — Report of August, 18.50. " A new pe:ir, presented by Messrs. II. & Co. It is a fruit of me- dium size, round oblong shape, yellow color, with a fine blush in the sun, and russet at the stem ; "skin smooth ; flesh melting, juicy, of a very rich ple;isint flavor, resembling in general appearance the Colden "Bourre of B'dhoi."— Report for ISol. "The Messrs. H. .t Co. have also presented this season a native varietv of great beauty and of fine quality, wliich promises to rank among the best of our early pears."— ^ore. M. P. Wilder, in the Hirrticalturiat, 1851. Many other commendatory notices have also appeared of this fine pear. In 1850, the Mass. Hort. Soc. awarded Messrs. H. & Co. the pre- mium to this variety, as the best summer pear. In 1853, the Mass. Hort. Soc. awarded Messrs. H. & Co. a. gratuity of $-0 for the introduction of this variety. Fine trees of large size, 5 feet high will be ready for sale on the 1st of April next, at $5 each— or $40 per dozen. A few trees of very large size, full of flower-buds, $10 each. HOVEY CHERRY. This new and superb cherry was raised from seed by Messrs. H. & Co., and is one of the largest and most beautiful cherries known. It measures more than an inch in diameter, and is produced in clusters of twenty or thirty cherries each. The color is amber, beautifully shaded with deep coral red. Flesh linn, sweet and rich, ripening the la.st of July and beginning of August. It is beautifully figured in tire Fruits of America. It first fruited in 1848, and has obtained the following commendatory notices : '•The Fruit Committee had the opportunity of tasting a seedling fi-om Messrs. Ilovey, that was of the largest size, firm liesh, amber color, mottled, with a ro'i cheek, sweet, high flavored and fine." — Report hy Hun. J. S. Cabot, August 12, 1850. " One of the best, if not tlie very liest new cherries tasted the past season, 1851, was a seedling of Messrs. Hovey. It was of the largest s'ze, sweet, high llavoi'ed, and very fine. The present indi- cations are that it will take a high i-ank, and become an established favorite." — Mr. Cabot's Report, ISSl. '• On the 17th July, Messrs. H. & Co. produced their seedling cherry, mentioned in the preceding report. This, notwithstanding the unfavorable season, fully maintained the high character then awarded to it." — Report of Fruit Committee, 1852. "Fully 8ust;iins its former reputation." — Report for 1853. The Committee also awarded Messi-s. Ilovey & Co. the Appleton Gold .Med.vl for this variety, it having proved, for five consecutive years, a new and superior cherry. Young and handsome trees of this superior cherry will be ready for sale the 1st cf April next, at $3 each — and $25 per dozen. THE CONCORD GRAPE. MR. BULL'S NEW AND SUPERIOR SEEDLING, The stock of which has been placed in their hands for sale. This remarkably fine American variety is the greatest acquisition which ha,s ever yet been made to our hardy grapes, and supplies the desideratum so long wanted, of a superior table grape, sul!i- ciently hardy to withstand the coldest clim.ate, and earlv enough to ripen its fruit in any part of the Northern or New" England Sta',es. It is foi/r weeks earlier than the Isabella, and two weeks earlier than the Diana. It was fully ripe the last season (1853) on the 3d of September, when Messrs. Hovey k Co. exhibited speci- mens from Mr. Bull's original vine I)efore the Mass. Hort. Soc. It is a most vigorous growing vine, perfectly hardy, with bunches of large size, handsomely shouldered, often weighing a pound, and with Large roundish ov.al berries, frequently measuring an inch in diameter; color very dark, covered with a thick blue bloom ; flesh free from all pulp; tl.ivor very rich .and luscio i-, with a fine sprightly aroma. The foliage is large, broad, and tliiek, and the berries have never been known to mildeu), ret, or drop off, under .anv circumstances, (iiiring the five years since it h:is borne fruit. All good jud'^es u-lm h;ive tasted it pronounce it far superior to the Isabella In its lipest condition. Opinion qf the Fruit Commiltet of the Mass. Hort. Soc. 1852, Sept. " Seedling grape from E. W. Bull; large, handsome and excellent." 1853, Sept. " Fully equal to specimens last year, and proves to be a remarkably early, handsome and very superior grape." Fine strong one-year-old vines will be rea species, and the following of extra large size : Nor\vay Spruce European Silver Fir, Balsam Fir, Scotch Fir, Swedish and Irish Ju nipers, Cedrus Deodara, Cedar of I>ebanon, Austrian Pire, Whit Pine, Pineaster, Californian Pines, Pj-ramidal C3'press, English an< Irish Yew, Pyramidal Cedar, Chinese, -American and Siberian Arbo VitK, Taxodiiim sempervirens, Cryptomeria Japonica, Green am Variegated Hollies, Mahonia, sever.al species, Photinia serrulata Aucuba Japonica, Arbutus Unedo, Rhododendrons of all kinds Scotch Broom, .and Green and Variegated Tree Box. 20,000 large Silver and Norway Maple, and European Sycamore. 2,000 double Althe.as, 8 varieties, 4 to 63-2 feet high, .and bushy. 800 Swedish and Irish Junipers, 6 to 10 feet, and 2,000 of less size« 200 Funebral Cypress; 100 Virgilia lutea, 4 to 6 feet. 300 Saha buria adiantifolia, 3 to 6 feet. 300 Tilia macrophylla and argetitea I 100 White Fringe tree, 6 to 9 feet. 30,000 cheap Arbor Vita for hedges, Osage Orange, Privet, anc Box edging. 20,000 European Linden and Red-twigged do., 8 to 16 feet, foi sale low. 6,000 large Horse Chestnuts, and 5,000 large Mountain Ash. Extra large JLagnoli.as — macrophylla, tripetala, acuminata, con- spicu.a, gracilis, obovat.o, glauca, maxim.a, &c. American Cypress and Drooping Larch, of all sizes. Roses. — A select and .splendid collection, covering 3 acres, in- cluding 100 varieties of Climbing Roses, 0 to 8 feet high, and all the new Perpetual and Moss Roses. Chinese Tree and Herbaceous Paionies — 150 splendid varieties, the latter very low for 25 to 100, a-ssorte-d. Dahlias — the finest European prize varieties. Weigela amabilis and splendens, Deutzia sanguinea, gracilis, and 6 others, Spira;a callosa and 25 others, Pyrus umbicillata rosea and atio.';an- guinea. Bulbous flowers of every variety, including all the sjilen- did Japan Lilies, 30 new Gladiolus, 4 of "Tiger flower, 20 of Ama ryllis, Tuberose.s, Oxalis Deppei and others. Chrysanthemums — IOC c'hoicest new lai'ge flowering Porapone and Liliputian varieties Rhubarb of the largest kinds, and large German Asparagus. .Select assortments of the most beautiful varieties of Phloxes, Iris, Daises, Verlionas, Poleanthus, Cowslips, Primroses, Hibiscus, Hollyhocks, Heraerocallis, Carnations, Picotees, Double Ro.se Campion, Double Rockets, Campanubus, Violets, and other Herbaceous Plants. In this collection tliere are a great many r.are and beautiful Trees, Slirubs .and Plants, not to be found elsewhere, including the new Chinese and Japan Shrubs just introduced. N. B. — We will supply Nurseries at one or two yeans' credit to anv .amount, if secured by mortgage or safe notes. ^"^ Persons desiring Large quantities will please send their list* to Ijo priced at reduced rates. JIarch 1, 18.54. — 2t. For Sale, BLACK MAZZ.IRD CHERRY STOCKS, one vear old. JAMES C. CAMPBELL, Rocheister, N. t. March 1, 1854.— 2t. THE GENESEE FARMER. 101 Highland Nurseries, Newburgti, S. Y. A SAUL & CO., in inviting the attention of their patrons and • the public in general to their very extensive collection of I'RUIT AND ORXA.MEXTAL TKEES, SHKCBS, &c., would re- epectfully inform them that the stock they oU'er for sale the coming spring is unusually fine, both as regards quality of trees, variety of kinds, &o. &c. The soil" and climate of the Hudson Highlands have rendered proverbial the success of the trees sent from here to all parts of the Union ; and the accuracy and precision so indispensable in the propagation of fruit trees for which this esfciblishmeut has long been celebrated, render errors in nomenclature of rare occurrence. They have propagated in large quantities all the leading standard vaiietics which are proved best adapted for general cultivation, es- pecially those recommended by the Americ;in I'omological Society, as well as all novelties both of native and foreign origin. To particularize within the limits of an advertisement would be impossible ; they refer to their General Catalogue, a copy of which will be sent to all post-paid applicants, on enclosing a post office stamp. The following comprises a portion of their stock, and are all of fine growth, viz : Pkars in over 400 varieties, both standards on their own stocks for orchard cvilture, and on the Quince for dwarfs, pyramids and quenoueile, for garden culture. ■ Apples in o^er 000 varieties, both standards and dwarfs. Cherries, both standards and dwarfs. Plum, Apricot, Peacu, Nectauixe and Quince trees, in every variety. Grape Vines, both native and foreign, for vineries. Also, Gooseberries (50 best Lancashire varieties), Currants, Rasp- berry and Stkawherrt plants, of all leading and known kinds ; together with Sea Kale, Asparagus and Rhubarb roots. Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, and Vines, both deciduous and evergreen, suitable for street and lawn planting, embracing all the new and rare conifers, weeping trees, and shrubs of recent intro- duction. Roses in every variety, including Hybrid Perpetual, Hybrid Bourbon, Hybrid China, Hybrid Damask, Prairie, Boursault, Ayr- shire, and other hardy climbing and garden varieties, as well as the more tender Tea, China, Bengal, Bourbon and Noisette varieties. Herbaceous Plants. — A large collection of Paonies, Phloxes, Campanula, Penstemon, CEnothera, &c. Q plainly written. Address, postage paid ALrKhU H'. iyVjAXjii, No. 86 Nassau Street, New York City, Editor of the People's Journal. A liberal discount to post masters AND AGENTS. Single copies n% cents. Specimens sent on receipt of foui postage stamps. March 1, 1854.— 4t ±nj!i V]rJCii>IJ3ii3JiJ!i Jer, President of the Mas.sachuseitts Board of Agriculture, and of the United States Horticul- tural and Agricultural Societies, in a letter now on our table, which closes as follows : " I have always had the Genesee Farmer. It is, without favor or affection, the best paper in the country. Marshall P. Wilder." As our dull price to each subscriber is only thirty-seven cents a year, no matter how many agricultural journals one may take, to i^atronize the FARMER can not impoverish him. DANIEL LEE, Publisher and Proprietor. ^mmn^-^ifi'jA]nr^t^ Vol. XV., Second Series. EOCHESTER, N. Y., APRIL, 1854 THE GENESEE FAEMER, A MOXTULY J0rR.VA7, OF AGRICULTURE & HORTICULTURE. VOLUME XV., SECOIVD SEIRES. 1854:. EACH NUMBER CONTAINS 32 ROYAL OCTAYO PAGF9 TV DOUBLE COLUMNS, AND TWELVE NUMBERS FORM A VOLUME OF 384 PAGES IN A YEAR Terms. Single Copy,.... __ g„ . Five Copies, ... -*"-^" Eight Copies, ------i.-'-i":::::::: 300 And at the same rate for any larger number. of^I^ibUsher*"" P'"°P®'''^ '"^*'^' ^'^'^ postage paid, at the risk Jty" Postmasters are respectfully requested to act as Agents. DANIEL LEE, J'ublig/ier and Proprietor, Rochester, If. Y, HINTS FOR APRIL. April is an important month to the farmer In large sections of our extended countiT the plantin<^ ot corn and cotton will be completed this month and m eveiy part plowing and seeding will be )3er- tormed. On thousands of farms, some fields will be troubled with an excess of water in the soil, and need at least surfoce draining. We can not too earnestlv urge attention to this subject; for to sow or plant or even to plow, land that is too wet, involves a pro- digious loss which ought to be avoided. Earth satu- rated with stagnant water can never devolop fertilitv or the healthful growth of agricultural plants. It is in vain that the farmer cultivates a soil from which the air is nearly excluded, l^ecause the earth does not break up into an open, friable, pulverized mass. It is true that sandy and gravelly soils are sometimes too porous— present too large spaces between the parti- cles of solid matter. To such, the application of good clay as a top dreasing, especially where land is valua- ble and crops most remunerative, pavs well, as it o-jves body and strength to the arated ground "^ The difference between tilled and untilled gi-ound is not sufBciently studied. Men plow, harrow, roll and hoe the earth's surface, without asking themselves whv they do so. A physical change in the soil is souo-ht and accomplished ; but what constitutes the perfec- tion of that desirable change ? Who has mastered the deep philosophy of tillage, whether shallow or otherwise? Of all the books and journals that have treated on this subject, it is difficult to find one the . writer of which appears to comprehend the condensing power of a first rate soil after it has been wisely tiUed A heap of finely pulverized charcoal has been known so to condense atmospheric air within its pores as to be set on fire by the evolution of latent heat in the before rarefied air, rendered sensible and active by mechanical compression within the innumerable pores of the coal. The extreme porosity which distin- guishes the best loams, perfectly comminuted by the implements of tiUage, compels the oxygen, carbonic acid and nitrogen of the atmosphere, to fecundate the earth m a remarkable degree. But if the plow, cul- tivator, harrow, hoe and roller do their work badly in the spring, either from carelessness or wetness of soil the latent resources of nature are not reached by the farmer's crops for that year. He will lose full twenty- five per cent, of his labor, and of the fan- return for the use of his land. One can improve a soil which is defective from an excess of open gravel, or porous sand, much easier by the addition of clay, than he can remove the com- pactness and imperviousness of hard clay by the ap- plication of sand. To get air into clay land, and make it break up kindly when plowed, there is nothin<^ better, if so good, as undev-draining. Wherever water passes through the surface and subsoil into a Howmg outlet, atmospheric air follows it, and areates the earth. This important fact is too httle considered by farmers; hence the eye of science sees a great deal ot laiid plowed in the spring before it is fit to plow. Earth saturated with unmoving water excludes air about as effectively as would a solid cannon ball made 01 iron or lead. From these hints on drainage, tillage and areation we pass to the consideration of manure— the food of plants. Many feed their horses, cattle, sheep and hogs in a wasteful, slovenly manner; but the loss from this carelessness is small in comparison with that at- tending the wasteful application of manure. A promi- meut defect arises from the assumption that one knows the relative value of fresh and rotten manure and also the real virtue of different fertilizers, no m'atter whether formed exclusively of wheat, rye, oat or buckwheat straw, of corn stalks, leaves and husk.s, timothy or clover hay, pea vines, grain or roots. We hope not to give ofieuce when it is intimated that the exact nutritive properties of the various kinds of ali- ment consumed by agi-icultural plants have not been investigated as they ought to be. We have often 106 THE GENESEE FARMER. seen industrious farmers hauling street dirt, and other worthless trash gathered up in cities, sLx or seven miles into the country for manure, that was not worth ten cents a load; for what was not clay and sand, was substantially wood and water. Such men never sit down of an c\ euiug, take a volume of the Genesee Farmer in hand. ;uid study out the true reason why a ton of guano is worth fifty dollars for feeding to one's growing L-rups, while a ton of comuuin barn- yard manure is worth only one-fiftieth part of that sum. It is not enough to know that the bird-dung contains fifty times more ammonia or nitrogen than the dung of straw-fed cattle, altliough a clear vmder- standing of this fact is certainly worth not a httle to the practical husbajidraan. It suggests to him at once the propriety of cultivating pretty largely such plants as ^^ ill \-ield manure rich in nitrogen or am- monia. A thousand pounds of wheat or rye straw contains not to ex:;ecd four pounds of nitrogen, while the same weight of clover Lay contains twenty-four or five pounds. Peas, beans and cabbages are still richer in the most valuable elements in guano. The wise and economical production and consumption of manure constitute the back-bone of scientific agricul- ture. We h.n.\Q on hand several lettei's of inquiry in reference to manure-cellars under stables and barns. A barn or stable with this appendage can be cheap- est made where one has a side-hill, or slight elevation into one side of which he can dig, plovr and scrape out the earth to forar a capacious storage room for manure. This basement should, in all northern lati- tudes, be wailed up on three sides at least; and a part of it may be used for stables, for thestorage of roots, or both. Manure made without exposure to the weather is as much better to nourish plants as good hay, made without rain or de\v, is better than that which has been washed and whitened a month for feeding cattle. The practice of feeding agricultural plants on bad food is discreditable to the rural knowledge of the country. If one is unable to pro- cure but little manure, by all means have that little of the very best quality. The woody stems of grass, the insoluble part of cow-dung, is about as rich in nutritive properties as pine saw-dust. It is better calculated for heating stoves and ovens than to fee 1 and fatten growing corn plants. These tolerate no SJiw-dust diet; they demand aliment rich in phosphates of potash, lime, magne.-ia and soda, and rich in am- monia and carbonic acid diluted in water. Large crops \dl\ bring a heap of money next au- tuum and winter, and now is the time to provide moans for their grovdli. On our farm we e.^timate a bushel of hard wood ashes, unlea':-hed, as worth twenty cents for aiding in the growth of corn and potatoes. A bushel of salt and one of gj'psum to five of a;;hos, make the latter far more effective. If salt and plaster t.-ere as cheap in Washington as they are in Rochester, we should use at least fifty of plas- ter and one hundred and fifty of salt this spring as food for growing corn,^ in addition to other manure. By planting corn too thick — havhig the rows too near to each other, and too many plants in a hill — you may gain in forage, but you will lose in gram, es- pecially if the soil be not first rate. ■ m * m Cabbage grows wild in Sicily and Naples. HINTS FOR PRACTICAL MEN. In reading the twelfth volume of the TransaclUms of the JVcw York Slate ./igricultural Society, the following remarks, which may be found on page ,")97, made by Henry Yoiwg, of Owcgo, we characterize as valuable hints for practical men : " Barley or oats, being sown on land well pre})ared by tillage and ma- manure, will come up and grow well without r^in, when the same grain sown on another part of the same land, and not thus manured and tilled, will scarce come up at all without rain, and if they do, will vvait wholly for rain for their growth and increase. The hoe also, particularly the horse-hoe (for the other does not go deep enough), pi-oduces moisture for the roots from dews, which fall most in dry weather." Deep and perfect tillage increases the supply of moisture to the roots of plants, not by the collection of dew below tlie surface of the gTOund, as Mr. Youxc ap- pears to believe, but by a different law than that wliiclj precipitates dew on falling bodies. A leaf of corn, oats or grass becomes wet with dew on a clear night because it radiates heat rapidly, and thereby becomes, like the sm-face of a pitcher filled with cold water in July, colder than the suiTounding atmos- phere. The pitcher is soon covered with a genuine dew, like the cool grass in early morning. "i Finely tilled earth is calculated to imbibe heat rather than radiate it; and the moisture it acquires aliout the roots of thirsty plants in dry weather is not " dew," but water from another source than precijii- tatioH. Before explaining the phenomenon to the unscientific reader, we will copy all that Mr. Yol'X(; has to soy on the subject: "'I'hese dews seem to b.e the most enriching of all moisture, as they contain a fine black earth, which Mill subside on standing, and which seems fine enough for the proper i)abulum or food for plants. As a demonstration that tilled earth receives an advantage from these dews, dig a hole in any jjiece of land of such depth as the plow goes to, till it witli powdered earth, and after a day or two examine the place, and the bottom jiart of this earth and the bottom of the hole will l^e moist, while all the re.st of the ground at the same depth is diy ; or if a field be tilled in lauds, and one laud be made liir' by frequent deep plo wings, while another is left rough by insutlicieut tillage, and the whole field be then plowed across in the dryest weather which has long continued, every fine land will turn up moi.-t, taid every rough land as dry as powder, from top to bottom." 'I'he remarks last made call attention to facts of great importance; and we are prei)aved to iu(juire how it hiij)j)ens that so nmch more moisture is found in thoi-oughly tilled earth than in badly tilled earth, in dry weather. To understand this phenomciion, it should be remembered that most of the dew that falls 6n the leaves of plants evaporates again after tli'^ sun rises, and very little if any water enters the pores of leaves, and descends to the roots of plants through their stems. The water that keeps plants green and growing in dry weather is derived mainly from the subsoil, and invited to ascend by bringing the earth above it into the best pos>i!de condition ibr the fice circulation of water, by a law called capillary attrac- tion. Direct experiments v.ith finely j)ulverized earth THE GENESEE FARMER. ^,e glass vessels, have demonstrated the of cajsillaiy attraction to raise water over J feet ; and under favorable circumstances, we . discover no hmit to the ascent of water in o-ood am. Clay or chalk. Plants standin- on an in^per- ious stratum of hard-pan, or upon a rock that un- derJies the surface soil, sutler most from drouth because (he supply of water from below is cut oft' JJews do not, ni such cases, supply growinL^ crops with th3 ncedtul moisture. _ Sous are not wholly dependent on capillary attrac- tion lor their moisture in dry weather, drawino- damp- ness from belo^ upward. The porositv of finelv comminuted earth enables it to condense the ex- tremely diffiised particles of water as they exist in the dryest common atmosphere. Soils dried artificialiv, tirst m a stove and then under an exhausted bell pass, on bemo- again exposed to the atmosphere take train It from ten to twenty per cent, of their weight Of water, according to their qualitv. How much of this atmospheric water the thirsty I'ootlets of ao-ricul- tural plants can absorb, and literallv ixmip o°it by tlie direct rays of the sun acting upon their curlino- leaves, neither agricultural meteorologv nor chemistrv informs us. We suspect, however, ihnt no soil can draw trom the atmosphere in drv weather, either hv condensation from dews or otherwise, water enouo-h to meet the wants of any cereal, legume or oth°er common plant. By showers, the watering pot or other irrigation, water must be conveyed into the soil; and the subsoil, which looks in the direction of all our wells and spings, will yield water, if one makes XVI '?^?r arrangement to draw it up from below. VV hat Mr. Young says about dews yielding " a black earth fine enough for the pabulum or food of plants " IS an obviotis error into which he has thllen by fol- lowmg some writer who was incompetent to do jus- tice to the subject. Dew is the purest distilled "wa- ter that na ure any where forms. It does not fall hke ram and snow, some distance through the atmos- phere, but IS formed at the point of contact where invisible vapor touches a cold body, like a glass filled with ice-water, the outer lea^-es on a forest tree, or those of _grass in a meadow where dews are most abundant ^ ery little dew falls on a summer fallo^v a diw road, or on sand, which cool very slowly after WHEAT AFTER CORN. . ?f ?• Tri-'^iax Pattixgill, of Wales, Erie countv m this btate, raised fifty-two bushels of wheat on an' acre, sown on the 16th of Septeml^er, 1851, on ground hat had produced a good crop of corn that year, it having been well manured for the purpose, 'it ha« long appeared to us like sound farming to sow wheat ■ J !i?7T'' '^ i""'!- ''"'' f '''•^'^ *« "^^"•^'•e l"s corn land ^ell before planting; for the immediate return in corn and corn fodder, wheat and wheat straw, gives one a handsome snm of money without cultivating a lar-e area. Uood manure, and a pjentv of it, enables^ farmer to shine in his profession; but wheat and corn- giwers often find it next to impossible to enrich all their grain fields. As in the case of Mr Pattex- GiLL, a single acre, by receiving forty loads of stable manure, may be made to yield a' premium crop This IS howevel^ an imperfect system of tillage; for these forty loads of manure deplete two oi" three other acres from which the manure was di-awn, in order to grow the extra corn and ^^■heat harvested on he single acre. It is at best only robbing one field 0 enrich another. So much manure ought to be obtained from the crops of corn and wheat, and ciop of 18.)3 after the wheat, equal to that of 1851; and the wueat crop of 1S54 equal to that of 1852, or htty-two bushels per acre. With a fair supply of manure for tne com crop, why may not a largi vield be obtained every alternate year, and that be fol- lowed by crops of wheat equally remunerative? With_ wheat at a dollar a bushel, corn fiftv cents and and m a first rate condition, farming is a capital business I he most common failure is in the ele- inens of crops in the soil; and this arises not so much from the natural sterility of the earth as the almost universal practice of taking va.stly more out of the soil in agricultural plants than is restored to it f"\p.!'^ f \^'' ^'"'^ ''^^^0^1 '''^V so few acres pro- duce fifty bushels of wheat, or one hundred of corn m this country. AH classes unite their labors to consume and waste the raw material indispensable to the cheap production of grain, vegetables and pro- visions These extract the elements of crops Lm all arated fields, pastures and meadows, which ele- ments being sent to distant cities for consumption are here cast into such rivers as the Thames, Seine, _±luclson and Mississippi. Such national folly desolates islands and continents, without benefitting one hu- man being; for all alike need their daily bread, and the raiment manufactured from the farmers wool tlax, cotton and hides. ' As a cultivator of corn and wheat on a worn-out farm, the writer feels deeply tlie need of more ma- nure, and is willing to say or do almost any thing that shall serve to arouse the great agricultural interest to take some ^action in behalf of our American soil, ^very year s delay involves the needless loss of hun- dreds of millions of dollars. 'The agricultural sta. tistics of the State of iNew York foi" 1845, havino- been taken in a more searching manner than any ever before or since, in accordance with schedules prepared by the editor of this journal, we are now able to say that the farmers of Erie county, in Western New 1 ork, report their average crops of wheat at only twelve bushels per acre. Their corn crops averaged twenty-two and a half bushels per acre only. Next year, we are to have another State census"; and we sincerely hope that a little closer investigation into the soil will not be denied the friends of improve- ment The Erie Canal enlargement is soon to he completed ; and every atom within two feet of the surface of our so-called improved lands that will form wheat, corn, beef, pork, cheese, apples and potatoes, will be converted into these and other staples and sent to market. The deeper we plow, and the laro-er our annual harvests, the greater is the lasting inhvy which we inflict on the natural resources of our virdn earth. Our grand canal conveys a million tons of- The elements of fertility taken from the soil to tide water where it brings back one ton of these elements to restore the great balance of organic nature. How- ever other agricultural papers may bhnk this question 108 THE GENESEE FARMER of kiUins our soo^ because she lays e^s of gold, that ^ve "may set all she has at once, the Gexesee Fapjmee, which was the fet to condemn this suicidal p:.UcT in the Empire State- will never cease to hold it up' to public reprobation. In 1^4.5. the farmers of Erie county planted in com 10.530 acres, and harvested of wheat 20.433 ^ acres, with the vield per acre which we have akeady Etated. Mr. ]\^ttengiix and others have demon- strated that fair tillage and a plenty of manure are alone needed in that county to bring the average of wheat from twelve bushels per acre up to thirty-five or fortv: and the average of com, from twenty-two and a "half bushels up to seventy or eighty per acre. The faraiers there do not lack either skill or radustiT to grow 2-ood crops, provided they have within then- reach th.i)^ essential constituents of grain which least abound in cultivated land The city of Buffdo m that countv contains between seventy and eighty thousand ii^abitants: and it possesses every facility for supplvin? abundant manure for ten thousand acres to be planted in com this spring, and sown to ■wheat next autumn. Well dressed with • night-soil and the dun? of erain-fed city horses, the com and wheat lands "of Erie would produce three times more than thev now do : and the farmers who do so much to enrich Buffalo, would in turn be made wealthy by the doubhng and trebling of the market value of their farms. Is it not time that the denizens of ciries. and the owners and cultivators of the soil in their vi- cinity, co-operate for the advancement of their mutual interests in the production of com and wheat ? We should rejoice to meet the farmers of Erie county, and talk this matter over face to face. ITie agricultural capabilities of that county are large in- deed. We have studied its Rocks, its Drift, and its Alluvium, to find out what its soil has, and what it has not. in sufficient quantity to yield large crops of wheat and com. According to the official returns which we had made nine years ago, the farmers of Erie ^wed 1.580 ac^ in wheat more in 1545 than thev did in 1644. In 1845 they reported 224,196 acres of improved land: in 1850 they returned 270,874: increase in five yea^, 46,678 acres. Erie county still contains a good deal of wild land, although the above figur^ m'licate the interesting fact that from 1845 to 1850 nearly ten thousand acres of native forest were felled and cleared every year within its limits. The la?t United States census was very de- fective, therefore we can not say hoV many acres were harvested to obtain the 242.221 bushels of wheat returned in that county. The crop of the previous State ceasus v.-as 251,781 bushels; decrease, 9.560 bashels, notwithstanding there were 46,678 acr^ more under improvement in 1850 than in 1845. Oar old friends in Erie county ought to wake up, and study their wheat and com crops a little closer than thev now do. ADDEESS Delivered before the Frasklis Covntt Agbicux.- TCBAL Society (,Mass.), Oct. 7, 1S53.* BY DAMEL LEE, M. D. Reasons why Coffee is xot well >L\de.— -Ist. Toe berries are frequently too rapidly roasted, their proj^er color being that of cinnamon. 2d. The coffee is ground too fine. 3d. Not enough coffee is u-setl it is us-uallv over-boiled, by which the bitter princi- ple is extracted from the berries. Is studyins the soils it is important to bear in mind that while" common stable manure is rarely worth over a dollar a toa eood guano is worth fifty times that sum for the same weight. There are thousands of farmers who are now making three barrels of wheat, or five of com. from one of manure : and when the cream of the best soils shall become an article of commerce, as I hope it soon will, you may look for a revolution in New England agriculture. Yon can hasten a material chancre for the better by encouragmg careful and reliable eSperi™«^°t^ in the feeding of all plants and animals grown in Massachusetts : or you mav prevent such change by apposing the establish- ment of an experimental farm in the State. Beyond all question, tillage and husbandry embrace many ex- perimental arts- and manv experimental sciences: and I believe that it is just a^ easy in a long ran to draw the food of annual crops from ten to twenty feet be- low the surface of the ground, as from ten to twenty inches. The earthv matter that enriches your creek and river flats came from deep ravines, hill-side gul- li^ and mountain gorges, and not mostly from the surface of uplands. Clay washed from 100 feet be- low the surface, and distributed as mud and sediment over meadows and pastures, rarely fails to enrich them. Witnesing the good effects of such deposits, I am expectino- to rejuvenate a farm that was worn out by tobacco-culture before the Revolution, mainly by briny, mIio are innocent of any close study of the true principles of rural economy founded on the laws of nature. These principles are as enduring as man on this planet, as imjiortant as his necessities arising from hunger and nakedness, and as universal as the blest sunshine of heaven. It is an unfortunate misnomer to call any system of farming an improvement that fails to make full and perfect restitution to the land for the elements of crops removed, so far as air and water do not supply them. Restitution to the soil is the first and highest duty of every cultivator, and of all others who eat of its fruits. Not until the inhabitants of cities are far more civilized and humanized than they are now, will they begin to ajjpreciate their duty to the land that yields them food and raiment. Until they wisely co-operate with the cultivators of the soil in giving back to it all fecal matters and other fertilizers ex- tracted therefrom, the deterioration of cultivated land will be unavoidable over the whole repul)lic. An in- telligent "writer in the London Farmers Magazine, for October, estimates the annual waste of manure by the people of Great Bi'itain at fifty million pounds steriing, or $250,000,000; while they need to import this year 18,000,000 quarters of grain, or 141,000,000 bushels. As England grows no tobacco, cotton or maize, and has a climate by no means so severe on tilled laud as ours, it would be easy to prove, did time permit, that we waste vastly more of the ele- ments of crops in a year than is wasted in Great Britain. But so long as the people who speak the English language refuse to consider this Food and Raiment cjuestion, it would seem to be an idle em- ployment to press it upon their attention. Time will do what no man can accomjilish in advance of the ri2:)cness of human folly. THE COTTON GIN. In the year 1793, the genius of Eli WmrxEY did for the planters of the South, what Akkwright, CROMrioN and Watt had already done for the manu- facturers of England. He invented a machine by which the seeds and impurities were separated from the cotton with the utmost facility, and thus gave to American planters the practical monopoly of cotton- growing. There is nothing to be compared with the increase in its cultivation subsequent to WniTXEv's invention, except the corresponding extension of its manufacture in England. The absolute dependence of the cotton trade upon this single cause is shown by the fact that the States which in 1785 exported five bags, and in 1793 three hundred and seven bags, were able in 1894, the year when the Cotton Gin came intd general use, to produce a crop of seventeen thousand \ seven hundred and seventy-seven }>ales, of v.hich oveV three thousand bales were exported. In THE GENESEE FARMER. Ill /- ,i \>^ /fSj^^ ' KAGLE COTTOX GIN. 18-49 the e.\i)ort rose to one niillion five hundred t'lonsand bales, which amunnt was increased in 18o2 and 1853, the Mhole croj) in tlie L'nited States being about three nulliou five hundred thousand bales. AmoniT the curiosities at the C'rysta! I'alace in New York, is one of the machines made \n- the late Ki.1 AViiiT.\f;Y liimself, at New Haven, under a con- tract with the State of South Carolina. This gin is in the possession of Messrs. ■ 13 atk.s, IIvdk &: Co., of liridgewater, Mass, l)y whom it is exhilited. They aie extensive i.ianufacturers of the Eaiile ("otton (Jin, represented in our engravinir. which, although modi- fied by improvement of various details and woiicman- ship, still remains sulxstantially the same as in the original invention. In the year 171)2, while re:flding in Oeorgia, INIr. WiUTNKv iiad often exiiibiied his pe^'idiar talents, Ity various inventions, to gnstify the lady in whose hou.-e he was a guest, liy her he v,a.. inlrotluced to joveral plaiiters as a fit penson io give value to tlieir cottcjii crops, by inventln'r an exjseditions method of cleaning it. He saw luiw desirable it wa^. and Iclt that he c.:)uld accompU>it it. Having provided liim.-elf with a fjuantily of cotton in the seed, v.liich until then he had never seen, and making his own tooly, lie shut himself up, until, aftei- several nuMilhs of seclusion, he emerged v.ilh "the Cotton Gin to testify to the success of his prulons^ed exertions. Most gins have about sixty circular saws, not un- like those used for sawing v.-ood, in one maehir.o, which, being driven with peat s])eed by hurs( -power, cut the lint ofT the seed, atid separa'e the U\v — the cotton being thrown out, as in jiiik'r.g cotton or wool, and the seed falling under thu n acliine. Gre; t improvements have been made on tlie gins iiiveiiled by WuiTXKY since his tine. There is nearly as nmch land planted in cotton in the. United States as there is sown in wheat ; and these great stajilcs are of al)out cciua! value, talce one vear with aiiotlier. A'EGKTABId: VITALITY. OxR oT the disputed points in vegetable vitality is the al'eged deterioration of j)lants jiropagated by liuds and bulbs. Our ow n views on this subject have Ijcen often givcii to the jjublic. They aie strongly « orroliorated hi the following arlicle copieiVfiom the London Gardeners' Chronicle, and understood to be from tlie pen of its learned editor, Profe^isor Lindlky. AVe commend its facts and arguments to our friend T)r. Bkixkxie, of I'hilauelphia, and Major Townley, of Wisconsin : y ■Tie species of p'an'.s, like tho.'^e of animals, ap- pear to be eternal, so far as anything n.undanc can 112 THE GJeNESEE farmer. deserve that name. There is not the smallest reason to suppose that the Olive of our days is different from that of Noah; the Asa dulcis stamped upon the coins of Cyrene still flourishes around the site of that ancient city; and acorns figured among the sculptures of Nimroud seem to show that the same Oak now grows on the mountains of Kurdistan as was known there in the days of Sardaxapalus. There is not the slightest evidence to show tliat any species of plant has become extinct during the present order of things. All species have continued to propagate themselves by seeds, without losing their specific peculiarities ; some appointed law has rendered them and their several natures eternal. " It would seem moreover that, with the exception of annuals and others of limited existence, the lives of the individual plants born from such seed would be eternal also, if it were not for the many accidents to which they are exposed, and which eventually de- stroy them. Trees and other plants of a perennial nature are renovated annually ; annually receding from the point which was originally formed, and which in the natm-e of things must perish in time. The condition of their existence is a perpetual renewal of youth. In the proper sense of the word, decrepitude can not overtake them. The Iris creeps along the mud, ever receding from the starting point, renews itself as it advances, and leaves its original stem to die as its new shoots gain vigor; in the course of cen- turies a single Iris might creep around the world itself, if it could only find mud in which to root. The Oak annually forms new li^ing matter over that which was previously formed, the seat of life incessantly re- treating from the seat of death. When such a tree decays no injury is felt, because the center which perishes is made good at the circumference, over which new life is perennially distriliuted. In the ab- sence of accidents such a tree might have lived from the creation to this hour; travelers have even believed that they had found in the forests of Brazil living trees that must have been born in the days of Homer. But here again inevitable accidents interfere, and the trees are prevented from being immortal. " Species, then, are eternal ; and so would be the •individuals sprung from their seeds, if it were not for accidental circumstances. " But plants are multiplied otherwise than by seeds. The Hyacinth and the Garlic propagate naturally, not only by seeds, but also by the perpetual separation of their own limbs, known under the name of bulbs, their bulbs undergoing a similar natural process of dis- memberment; and so on forever. The Potato plant belongs to the same class. Another plant bends its branches to the ground; the branches put forth roots, and as soon as these roots are established the connec- tion between parent and offspring is broken, and a new plant springs into independent existence. Of this we find familiar examples in the Strawberry and the Willow. Man turns this property to account by ar- tificial processes of multiplication ; one tree he propa- gates by layers, another by cuttings planted in the ground. Going a step further he inserts a cutting of one individual upon the stem of some other individual of the same species, under the name of a bud or a dcion, and thus obtains a vegetable t\vin. " It is not coi^tended, for there is nothing to show. that these artificial productions are more short-lived than either parent, provided the constitution of the two individuals is in perfect accordance. There is not the smallest evidence — it has not been even con- jectured— that if a seedling Apple tree is cut into two parts, and these parts are reunited by grafting, the duration of the tree will be shorter than it would have been in the absence of the operation. " It is nevertheless beheved by many that the races of some cultivated plants have but a ))rief duration, pro^^ded they are multiplied otherv/ise than by seeds. No one indeed pretends that the Garlic of Ascalon has only a short life, although it has been thus propa- gated from the time when it bore the name of Shum- min, and fed the laborers at the Pyramids ; nor do we know that the bulb-bearing Lily has been sup- posed to have less inherent vigor than if it were mul- tiplied by seeds instead of bulbs. It is only among certain kinds of plants that exceptions to the great natural law of vegetation are supposed to exist. It is thought that although the wild Potato possesses indefinite vitality, yet that the varieties of it which are brought into cultivation pass their lives circum- scribed within very narrow limits; and the same doc- trine has been held concerning fruit trees. The great advocate of this view, the late Mr. Andrew KInight, rested his case upon the disappearance of certain kinds of Apples and Pears, once to be found in the orchards of Herefordshire, but now no longer to be met with. This he ascribed to cultivated varieties being naturally short-li\-ed, and to an impossibiUty of arresting their gradual decay by any process of dis- memberment ; and following out this theory, he strongly urged the necessity of renewing vitality by continually raising fresh varieties from seed. It is difficult to comprehend what train of reasoning led to this speculation. We know that wild plants may be propagated liy dismemberment for an indefinite period; we know that when such wild plants spring up from seed the dismembering process still goes on, and still without exhibiting symptoms of exhausted vitalit}^; and yet if a plant grows in a garden, and is brought under the direct control of man, the power is thought to be lost, or so much impaired that in- definite multiplication no longer becomes possible. Can this be true? Most assuredly the cases adduced in support of the doctrine are susceptible of another explanation, perfectly consistent with the general laws of vegetation. '•That renewal by seed will not restore what is called exhausted vitality, was sufficiently proved by the experiments with Potatoes after the blight made its appearance: ^Ve were assured by an ingenious writer in one of the daily papers that the constitu- tional power of the Potato was on the decline; in other words, that the lives of individuals were ap- proaching their end ; that the bhght arose in conse- quence, and that a certain remedy would be the renewal of the existing races by sowing seeds. Hun- dreds joined eagerly in what j^roved to be the vain ])ursuit. A worthy armorer at Solingen even pub- lished an elaborate pamphlet in support of the idea. ' No more Famine ' was his audacious motto — a pre- diction wofully falsified by the result, for the seedling Potatoes were, if possible, more diseased than their parents." THE GENESEE FARMER. 113 DISTILLERY SLOPS. Mr. Editor: — It is pleasant to see at this time of excitement and fanatical attempts at sumptiiarv coercion, a practically temperate man and a philoso- pher hke Dr. Lee, not afraid to proclaim in the Genesee Farmer the medicinal and mechanical uses of alcohol, rum, gin and brandy, and also the com- parative value of still slops made from Indian corn, and the corn itself It may be difficult for me to show to the satisfac- tion of othens, that the slop from a bushel of dry sound corn, when ground and passed through the process of distillation, is worth as much for fattening hogs as a bushel of green raw corn, fed as it generally is in the ear, from corn harvest to killing time in early winter. But as Dr. Lee has admitted that there is full twenty-five per cent, loss in the ordinary jirocess of feeding raw corn, this waste is certainly obviated by feeding the fresh warm slop at the distilleiy. One reason why still slop is generally considered of so much less value than its cereal basis, by those who feed it at a distance I'rom the distiller}', is that the acetous fermentation had made the slop sour and unpalataljle; whereas, if fed warm and fresh at the distillery, it is not only much more nutritious, but more palatable to the animal, consequently it eats more of it and takes on flesh faster. It is true that in the process of distillation the starch of the corn is decomposed, and its sugar is nearly all converted into alcohol ; still, the slop has all the nitrogenous compounds, and the oil is left in the slop, which, according to Payex and Boussixgault, comprises by far the most nutritious and fattening part of the cereals. It is well known how much more valuable gluten is to bread than starch. Boiled po- tatoes, rich in starch, when added to wheat flour add little to the weight or nutriment of the bread. South- ern flour, made of best Virginia wheat, is worth fifty to seventy-five cents a barrel more to New York bakers, solely because it contains more gluten and less starch, than Northern flour, and will make twelve to fifteen pounds more bread to the barrel. The same may be said of rice — a cereal rich only in starch. I once heard a negro complain bitterly when his ration was changed from corn meal to rice, averring that he could not stand it to hoe corn on rice. Why is it that pork and beans are the best aliment to work on, if it is not from the predominance of nitrogen and and carbon, or oil, contained in this food? The loss of the sugar converted into alcohol doubtless takes something from the nutriment of the stiU slop, but no one will pretend that much sugar is of vital im- portance to the fattening process. I hope Dr. Lee will continue the discussion of distillery slops, if it only l^e to show up the fallacy uttered by some of the New York physicians, that the " milk of cows fed on distiller}- slop is poisonous," although their pen and ink analysis of such milk fails entirely to sui)j)ort the truth of the assertion. Waterloo, N. Y. S. W. The only way to decide accurately the relative value of a bushel of corn, and the still slop made from a like weight of corn, for feeding, is by direct experiments tor that purpose. So far as we are in- formed, no one has carefully investigated this question so as to be able to say how much dried slop one hundred pounds of corn meal will produce after fer- mentation and distillation have been completed. In the simple fermentation of raising dough in bread- making. Dr. TuoMPSox (who was employed by the Britisli government to investigate the matter) foimd that flour loses six per cent, of its weight. We think that good distillers use up in the production of whisljy, and the carbonic acid gas that fills a mash-tub where fermentation is in progress, full two-thirds of the meal. Whatever may be the ])ortion left, it is healthy food for cows giving milk, and for fatting animals, notwithstanding certain medical gentlemen in New York have condemned the u,se of still slop as food for milch kine. If cows become diseased in the filthy, crowded stables of the extensive distilleries near the great metropolis, the fault is not in any thing extracted from corn, rye or barley, by fermentation or distillar tion, but is due to bad management. Give to the cows in tliese stables clean bedding and pure air, by proper ventilation, and the prompt removal of all dung and urine, in addition to a jDroper proportion of solid feed with their slops, and they will j-ield as pure milk as can be formed from any corn meal, hay, corn fodder and straw. Corn contains more oil than any other cereal; and nearly all of this fat-forming element remains in the slop after the starch and sugar of the grain have been transformed into alcohol and carbonic acid. Most of the muscle-forming elements in the grain (its protein compounds) also remains in the slop. Cows, hogs and cattle can never give a profitable return for the slops consumed, unless kept in sound health- Distillers too often overlook this important point, and allow their stables to become foul and pestilent. Against such nuisances every neighborhood ought to protest until they are abated. One of the best uses that alcohol and whisky can be put to is to transform the spirit into vinegar for pickling cucuml:)ers, beets and other vegetables, and some fruits. Our reading and many years of pretty close observation of the habits and diseases of the American people, lead to the conclusion that they need more vegetable acids to prevent accumulations of bile in the system, and ought to consume less of fat pork, beef and mutton, and perhaps butter. The general prevalence of bilious maladies, arises more from unwise dietetics than bad climates. No vinegar can be formed from apples, grapes or sugar, without first forming alcohol; and our notion is not to stop at this point and consume the spirit in cider, wine, whisky, rum, gin or brandy, but to change all these into vinegar and take it into the system in moderate doses. The physiological value of sour milk, and other acid food,\vill be discussed hereafter. — Ed. FARMING IN CALIFORNIA. Mr. Editor: — When California is mentioned, the first thought is of gold ; and too closely indeed are those terrns associated for the benefit of our young and growing State. New comers are generally anxious to make their way to the mines with as little delay as possible, cx])ccting to find fortunes without an effort: but a majority are doomed to meet with disappoint- lU THE GENESEE FAKMEll. mciit. and are compelloJ to abaniloii tlicir liopes of a fortune in a Jay. They soon discover that our moun- tains are not all gold, and look around them for other means of obtaining a livelihood. Agriculture is beginning to receive attention, and already are we realizing Agricultural Fairs, and we have a paper devoted to the interests of the farmer. Vie are ni)\v in the midst of pIo^ving and sowing, which will continue until the dry vreather of sunnner commences. December and January are the best months for sowing wheat, but February will do well, and even when sown in INtarch a fair crop may be expected, though more teed is required. Barley and oats will bear later sowing than wheat. Cora and vegetables need to be planted in March and April. Seed time hero varies with the weather, and must be governed entirely by it. As soon as sulKcient rain has fallen to soften the ground, plowing and sowing commence, which usually occur about the first of December. Sometimes the rainy season closes in February, and again it continues till May. The no- tion pre\ails here that every third winter we may look for an excess of rain, followed by one of a medium quantity, and then with a dry winter ; and such has been our experience thus far. The past winter was the one of excessive rains, and we confidently expect a medium amount tliis winter. We have had unu- sually cold weather this season. The thermometer has been sufficiently below " freezing point " to make ice an inch or more in thickness in the valleys, while in some of the mountain towns it ha^ been down to 16 degrees, with sufficient snow for good sleighing. The coast range of mountains have been covered with snow, but we have had none here. The " oldest in- habitant" has not seen it so cold here before, and the " natives " blame the Yankees for it. That vegetables grow very large he)-e, and that yields of grain are gi-eat, caa not be doubted ; but I will refrain from giving figures, for fear I should be accused of exaggeration. Suffice it to say, that I have never seen the like in the "Geno;ee Yalley." The high prices of teams, labor and tools, operate hard agaijist persons commencing a new farm here. Another item of great magnitude here is fencing. Ditches are resorted to, and soine wire fences are made. Often several farms are embraced in one en- closure. There are many persoijs tui'ning their atten- tion to cultivating Osage Orange, and I hope they may succeed. There is no scarcity of timber here, but it is generally at too great a distance from the best farming regions to be ma^le available, at present prices of lumber and transportation. In many of our best fanning regions but little attention is paid to fruit, on account of the uncertainty that yet exists concerning land titles. No action is regarded as final until dei-ided by the United States Supreme Court. More anon. Yours, &c., * Bkxi(;ia, Cal, Jan. 28, 1854 The writer of the above letter will please acce])t our thanks, and continue his communications for the pages of the Farmkr. California is destined to be more famous for its agriculture and horticulture in a few years than for its gold mines. To commence farming in a country where labor is high, fencing tim- ber scarce, and irrigation often necessary, requires considerable capital ; but the soil, climate and mar- kets of the Pacific State offer such ad\antages as will soon conmiand the funds necessary to render Cali^oi-nia the best cultivated district in America. Its natural ran<';es for stock have no equals on the Atlantic silau. I prefer close planting, as it protects the land from the scorching rays qf the sun. If the seed corn is good, it is veiy rare if there is any replanting to be done. The failure of corn to come up well is oftener caused by the failure to prepare the ground riglit than any thing else. In cultivating corn, I prefer the douhle shovel to anything I have seen j-et. By passing between the rows twice, the ground is all thoroughly stirred, and the weeds and grass destroyed. As the shovels are small, they leave the rows nicely p'alverized and level. Pour times going over is all sulficient, -which is easily and soon performed, compared with the tediou^ hilling and hoeing system, which should be abandoned. It is obvious that this plan economizes both time and labor, which are two important items. But this is not all : there lieing but little earth thrown around the plants, the sun has double the power to warm the roots of the corn, enabling it to send out its roots long and strong; the corn having a good yoTfnrfrti'/o/i, shoots lip vigorously, and will be well supported by spnr roots, and will stand a gale much better than when cultivated under the old plan. Jamks II. Arxett. EcoxoMY, AYavne Co., Ind. I GOOD TILLAGE A PEEYEXTIVE OF DllOUTll. Much Esteemed Fkiexd, Daniel Lee: — Last summer was an exceedingly dry one; no rain fell from about tlie 18th of ]May till the last of July that wet the earth half an inch deep. But this drouth verified an idea held forth by scientiflc agriculturists M'hich I doubted much, namely: that when the earth possesses the requisite elements necessary for a good crop, and being in proper culture, a quite small quantity of rain was needed; or, in other words, when the farmer had done his part, he need iiot dread drouth. 1 his I did not believe — 1 thought it impossible — but I am now perfectly satisfied. Part of my little corn-field laid below a manure yard, and part had been covered for years with manure, and another spot had tor years a smith's shop, garden and yard on it. On the latter spot the corn grew luxuriantly, and when coming into tas>;el and silk much of it on the other parts of the field was but six or eight inches high, and through the day was shrunk. It was so remarlvalile that I called my wili; to see the wonderful diiference. It seemed to me almost u miracle to see Avith what vigor it grew on the enriched ground, Ijidding defiance to drouth. Here large, excellent corn grew, while on the impoverished part diminutive nubbins only were found. Now, I know that we need only to suppiv the elements which make a ))lentiful crop — pulverize the soil deep — and we shall be well rewarded, although drouths prevail. I am perfectly satisfied of this, as the corn on the ditrercnt localities had exactly the same advantages of culture, rain and dews — the only diiference was in fertility. The su])erior advantages of deep plowing v.-ere also more tuUy developed during the drouth than 1 had witnessed before. I jilowcd the ground, with the ex- ception of one acre, in Decemt^er, as deep as possible fur two horses — from six to eight inches; and plowed again before planting, and pulverized tlie soil as well as I could. The result was that the soil contained an incredible amount of moisture; it really seemed to draw water out of the air. I have long liecn of the opinion that plowing ground in the i'all for corn has a good effect on the coming crop ; but I found no advantage from jjlowing last tail, as the acre I plowed only in the s])ring did rather better than that plowed in the fall. It may be that it was ])lowed too late, as all vegetation had ceased (about the 10th of Decem- ber) ; I think it should be done before vegetation ceases — say the last of Octolier or first of November. The white clover and blue grass had vegetated con- siderably when the gromid was plowed the second time, just previous to planting; but the land being pretty stiff clay, and l^eaten by rain, it became too solid for the germs of the grass to penetrate. AVhen turned up it looked as if a shght snow had fallen — all white. But the dry weather which followed killed it, and I had no trouble. I still believe corn and garden ground should be plowed in autunm. By plowing before vegetation ceases entirely, the germs of the grasses will be smothered. I have seen a corn-field part of which was so ]3lowed and a part in the spring just before planting, that afforded the most conclusive evidence in favor of fall plowing. The corn on the fall plowed ground stood regularly, while that plowed in spring had not over a tenth part left by the grub worm. Let me say to our brother farmers: enrich the soil — plow deep — pulverize well — keej) the corn clear of grass and weeds — stir the ground with the cultivator or corn harrow (the drier the weather the oftener, it nmtters hllle how dry) — sow that which is in a good condition at planting — and you will have a good crop. A most indolent and pernicious practice prevails with f.u'mers over a great extent of the wheat section of -our country. I mean to stack in the field, Mherc, after threshing, the straw is left in piles to decay as it can, instead of building barns for its reception, where it should serve as litter for the animals, and be con- A-ertcd into manure to feed the starving plants on the robbed, impoverished soil. Here and there in spots, burs, docks, Spanish needles, and other noxious weeds grow ; it is a nursery from which the whole fields are made foul, and the result is from five to ten bushels to the acre, with flocks of dark sheep carrying loads of the noxious seeds, performing the ojice of sowers. Yet the slovenly owner of the abused soil reflects, and often heaps anathemas, on the ilaker of the soil! But as long as there is fresh soil West out of wliich to swindle Uic helpless Indian, our farmers will neglect the soil at home and encroach on the cliildreu of the wilderness. ■ Somewhere in one of the volumes of the Farmer I read a mode by which any one could analyze soil ; Ijut I do not know where to find the article describing the mode. Perhaps you could give the process iu _a future number. I am aware that such an analysis would not be perfect, but it would perhaps subserve a good purpose. I have put up two specimens of soi! — the one on which good corn was grown, and the other whereon not a tenth as much grew — and should 116 THE GENESEE FARMER. be glad to have them analyzed, but I am too limited in means to forward them wliere it could be done scientifically. Should tiie association to promote agriculture — of which you said somethhig in the November number, and again in the January number in reply to i'riend NEnixoEP. — go on, set ray name down as one of the thousand. I have often thought of giving you a cure for the distemper in horses, which proved very beneficial a numlier of years since. I now give it. I had a mare which -was so far gone that I gave her up, but it oc- curred to me that lime water might do some good. Accordingly we drenched her with one quart of lime water ; in a few seconds the mucus so flew from her nostrils and the excrescence from behind against the wall, that we burst into a laugh. The mare recovered perfectly. She had a colt which had not yet been weaned, and which was so far gone it could just walk. I told my little boys to lead it to the woods and shoot it, to save the trouble of hauling it away. But my boys asked whether it should be theirs if they cured it ? to which I quite readily assented. They gave it nearly a quart of lime water, and it recovered and became quite a hardy animal. Since that time I have had no case of that disorder, or I should have tried the same remedy. Most respectfully your sincere friend, Abraham Baer. West Carlisle, Coshocton Co., 0. POTATO INSECT. Mr. Editor: — Having a few names to send for your valuable journal, I thought I would inform you of a discovery I made, that I Ijclieve to be the cause of what is generally called the " potato mildew." In 1852 I had a patch of potatoes that looked very fine, and grew luxuriantly. Sometime in August I ob- served that they were turning yellow, and some of the vines quite dry. I examined the dead vines, and found that they were all hulled out. I then examined some of the sickly vines ; in them I found a small white worm, from five-eighths to three-fourths of an inch long, which had bored a hole not larger than a fine knitting needle from the root to near the toj) of the vine; it then went downward again and hulled out the vine, and then worked a net around itself like a silk-worm. Some that I examined were white, and the shape of a small bug. I put one in a vial, and in a few days it escaped from its shell like a locust, and became a small brown bug. My potatoes were all afflicted the same way, yet the yield was good, although the vines had all wilted and died a month before we raised them. Last year they were attacked the same way with the bug, but the yield was not over one-half as good as in 1852. If I am not mis- taken, it is the same bug that congregates by thou- sands in the months of September and October on horse droppings, &c. I wish some of your scientific subscribers would investigate the matter more closely, and give us their opinion on the subject. Very respectfully, yours, Thos. Harper. Berrysburgh, Daujjhin Co., Pa. We first discovered the larvm of this insect at work in potato ^^nes in July, 1845 ; and we gave some account of their ravages in the August number of the Genesee Parmer of that yeai'. Since then several gentlemen have seen and parlially described this depredator, and some have supposed that it is the sole cause of the premature rotting of potatoes. Such, however, is not the opinion of Dr. Harris, of Carabrido^e. — Ed. CHIMNEY SWALLOWS. Mr. Editor : — Among the " Items from the Patent Office Report for 1852-3," published in the January number of the Farmer, I discovered a recommendar tion for the propagation of swallows, jjarticularly chimney swallows, with the view of securing wheat crops from the ravages of weevils and Hessian flies. Says the writer: "Now, if these birds can be multi- plied to any desirable extent on every farm, I submit whether their being so multiplied would not insure our wheat crops against the ravages of all insects?" After speaking of the care and favor shown them, the writer further adds: "My colony of swallows has become quite respectable in numbers, amounting to something like one hundred in October last. I have been but little, if any, troubled with the fly, and with such an effective corps of champions I feel quite secure from the ravages of the vandal insect." Now, for the last two or three years I have been much annoyed with the chimney swallows, having a much more formidable colony than is boasted of by the writer in ((uestion — numbering, as I supposed, near three hundred, the two past years — still my wheat crop was nmch injured by the fly the past summer, and I doubt not it would have shared a similar fate with ten times the number spoken of by him. That the swallows are busy birds all must admit, yet at the same time I can not harbor the thought for a mo- ment that they alone have been instrumental in bringing about the general good luck spoken of by the writer, so far as wheat raising is concerned. Yours, respectfully, John P. Brady. Whitcomb, Franklin Co., Ind. Mr. Editor: — Having at a former period been en- gaged somewhat extensively in distilling, I am enabled to say to " M. W." and to all others whom it may concern, that the slop from the distillery will make seven pounds of pork for every bushel of grain used. I worked one bushel of rye to two of corn. After twelve years' experience on a farm, I estimate one bushel of corn to make eight and one-third poimds of pork, when fed in its raw state. To obtain good results in every case, your hogs must be kept com- fortable and healthy, and not allowed to M'aste their feed. The inquiry of " A. B." in the February number of your paper, is one of interest, and not very easy to answer. Much, however, I think avouUI depend on the kind of timber occupying the land. An acre of Maple and Elm timber would contain more than a ton of potash, which left on the ground could not fail to be of great and lasting benefit to the soil ; while an acre of Hemlock timber contains very little, if any thing, that would benefit the soil, and much that is THE GENESEE FARMER. 117 positively injurious. Again, wliile hard timbered land is not benefitted by burning the surface, land timbered with Hemlock is worth very little for a number of years unless the surface gets a good scorching. It is known also that old logs and decaying timber favor the accumulation of nitre in the soU. Waterford, Erie Co., Pa. J. R. Taylor. SUPERPHOSPHATE OF LIME. Now that crops of all kinds are unusually valuable to the producer, how to prepare bones for immediate use and consumption by growing plants is a matter of interest to thousands. We know of no better way, where one can obtain oil of vitriol, than that described below by TnoMAs Sim, of Libertytown, Md., iij the Farm Journal: "In the preparation of the soluble phosphate of lime, a state in which it always exists in nature, these facts seem clearly as estabhshed: The first is, that one-third of sulphuric acid, known as the oil of vitriol, of proper specific gravity, is needed. The second fact is, that this acid should be diluted with three times its bulk of water, other^\•ise it will char and not dissolve the bone. The third is, that the finer bones are ground or crushed, the more readily and per- fectly will the compound be found. These facts being- settled, the lamented Nortox, Dr. Higgixs, our own State Chemist, and some others, direct that acid, as above diluted, should be added to the bones by de- grees, agitating the mass frequently from ten days to two weeks, at the expiration of which time the com- pound would be ready for use. As tliis is a tedious and laborious process, I have sought to supply its place by another and less objectionable one, and have succeeded in a manner which I shall now give, and which, as you will see, is so simple as to be accessible to aU. " I procure tubs of a capacity and number to suit the amount of superphosphate I wish to prepare, common meat tubs answering the purpose perfectly well. Into these I place my bones, carefully moistening them with water as I fill up the tulis, in which condi- tion I permit them to remain twenty-four hours, at the expiration of which time I find them heated to a high degree, which facilitates the action of the acid upon them. I now dilute the acid in a separate ves- sel; and after the heat evolved by the unison of the acid and water has subsided, I pour it, in small quan- tities at a time, upon the bones, carefully stirring the mass so as completely to mix the acid with the bones, and continue to do so until all the acid is mixed with the bones; after which I cover the tubs carefully, so as to retain the heat. A thorough stirring and mix- ing of the mass will be needed three or four times for twenty-four or thirty-six hours, at the end of which time the process is completed, and a better article furnished than can be obtained by the method of Professor Norton after full two weeks of care and toil " At this stage of the process the superphosphate is a pulpy mass of the consistence of soft soap, and of course unfit 'to sow broadcast, or to be regularly applied to the soil. To prepare it for this purpose, I strew upon my barn floor saw-dust, diy mold, or well leached wood ashes, from two to three inches thick ; upon this I spread the compound as evenly as I can, then cover it with more of the same article used to dry it, and proceed with fork and rake to mix up the whole mass until it is intimately incorporated, when it is fit at once to be put upon the land. " The superphosphate of lime is held by intelligent and judicious farmers, both in Europe and America, to be one of the most valualjle fertilizers, and when suitably applied is capable of producing the most as- tounding results. To the American farmer it is easily accessible, and perfectly available, at comparatively low cost. From my own experience in its use, I am warranted in saying that it will repay its cost more than three fold when judiciously used."' ARTIFICIAL BREEDING OF FISH. At a recent meeting of the Farmers' Club in New York, the subject of the artificial breeding of, fish was discussed, and facts of some interest were elicited. It would seem that Mr. Jacobi, of Hanover, bred fish forty years ago in vast quantities, particularly of sal- mon, trout, and other fresh water fish. The connnon carp was introduced into England in 1514. Its fa- vorite residence is in slow and stagnant water; and it unites rapidity of growth with longevity, and is very fruitful. A single carp has been known to produce 342,144 eggs at one time. It is a hardy fish, and may be imported alive, or its spawn may be put up and transported in jars, as is practiced in similar cases by the Chinese. We make the following extracts from a letter from J. Gr. Adams, M. D., of Paris, on the artificial method of breeding fish in France. He says: " The eggs selected have been those of trout and salmon. They are brought in boxes from different points, the eggs being laid in layers between the fresh leaves. The boxes may be tight, and if kept in a moderate temperature may in this way be transported an immense distance, as some have Iteen from fifteen to twenty days on the journey. There seems to be nothing to jjrevent a system of international exchanges of fish eggs, which shall be equally successful with that established by that most excellent and distin- guished man, Mr. Vattermare. '• The eggs after forty days are hatched, and the young trout and salmon are seen swimming .about in one part of the trough, while in a different part of it the eggs are seen in diffferent stages of incubation. Fishes of the size of eight and twelve inches in length are exhibited in the laboratory at Paris. The pre- liminary process consists in taking the female fish at the proper season, and squeezing out with the hands the ova at certain intervals into a glass basin. The male fish is afterward treated in the same way, the two fluids being mixed with a glass rod in the basin until they acquire the consistence of skim-milk. In breeding fish in lakes or ponds, a tin box perforated with small holes is used to protect the eggs from being devoured by other fishes." After the Secretary had finished, Mr. R. L. Pell, of Pelham Farm, was called upon to speak on the subject. He said: "Last summer I tried a very interesting experi- 118 THE GENESEE FARMER. \nn\t with the ova of flsh, which gave me infinite patis- I'action, and proved conckisively to my mind the pos- t^ibihty of importino- from any part of the world jirepared spawn, of ahno.st any variety of fish, and hatchinfic the sam?, without much posssibihty of fail- ure. The expeiiment was thus : Two men were ordered to draw their net in the Hudson River late in the shad season, and the femali\s cautiht were g'entlv stripped from the gills down, and their ova permitted to fall easily in a tin \m\ one-third full of water ; tlie mules M'ere then served in the same maimer, and their milt alloAved to come in contact with the ova of the lemales; the mass was gently stin\Hl, antem, knows its tendency to produce an absorption of the manimu3. Dr. R. Coats, of Phila- delphia, reports a case iu the Medical Examiner, of the complete absorption of the female breast from iodine; but the mammcic recovered their original de- velopments after the lapse of a year. Iodine is prin- cipally employed in diseases of the alisorbents and glandular systems. [See U. S. Dispensatory.] Plydiiolate of potash can be jirocured of any apothecary, and dissolved so as to allow 10 gi-ains to each spoonful of water, increasing the do.-es till it gives effect on testing the urine. — jGie/i JVright, in the Boston CuUivator. OCTAGON BARNS. For daily purposes, and fattening neat cattle, oc- tagon barns present advantages over all othors, as one can have the feed for all at the center of the barn. Mr. Cal^-ert, near AVashington, D. C, has a barn of this kind over 100 feet in diameter, with two rows of stalls for cows on the eight sides. Mr. C. has an estate of three thousand acres, and few farmers * Hydrioilafe of pota.'sh passes quickly into ihe secretions, es- pecially the urine. It may be detected in the latter by first adding to tlie cold secretion a portion of starch, .and then a few drops of nitric acid, when a blue color wiU be proiluced. _„,^ 120 THE GENESEE FARMER. IMPROVED OCTAGON BARN. need a barn as large as his. We give in this cou- nectiou drawings and a description of one much smaller, which is a comparatively cheap and very neat afi'air. The barn is 32 feet in diameter ; each side is 12 feet long. Our engraving shows a side ele- vation. In the ground plan A are large doors by which the space B, allotted for wagons or carriages, is entered. C, doors leading to the stables. D, passage way, with door, E, at one end. F, grain and root room, (i, barn- yard door. II is the feeding room, in shape half octagon. Here the cutting boxes, &c., can be arranged. Aper- tures into the various mangers are indicated by little openings; thro' these all the hay and other food for the stock is put. Hay from the loft above is thrown down by means of a trap in the floor over H. The stalls being ..all an*anged in a some- what circular manner. CHEESES WEIGHING OVER FIVE HUN- DRED POUNDS EACH. Your Committtee also with pleasure report, that two very superior cheeses, both in quality and ap- pearance, weighing to- gether over a thousand pounds, were exhibited by Jesse Williams, of Rome, Oneida county. The samples, weigh- ing over 500 lbs., each stood erect and in as perfect shape and con- dition as a cheese not weighing over 50 lbs., and upon examination proved of most excel- lent quality, having cured as thoroughly as those of smaller size and same age. A spe- cial premium of $25 is recommended to Jesse Williams, of Rome, Oneida county, for this fine production of the dairy, which was an or- nament to the show and very creditable to him as a dairyman. Method (if Manu- GKOUXD PLAN the feeding is quickly accomplished, and the animals \facturing the two large Cheese, by Jesse Jf illiams. — easily secured. In "tlie hay-loft above, there being i These samples of two large cheese, offered for exhi- but one small space retjuired in the center for the j bition by the subscriber, were made on the 13th and fodder to be thrown down, a much larger quantity of hay can be stowed than in barns where there are racks at the sides, which prevent full stowage. 17th of July, from the milk of about 200 cows ; two milkings, without the addition of cream. The i)ro- cess as follows : The nights milk was strained uito THE GENESEE FARMER. 121 two tin vats, placed mthin two wooden ones, with a cavity oi' one and a quarter inches between, into which coUl water was introduced at one end and dis- charged at the otlier, at an elevation sufficient to float the tin vats, and kept runnin. Mr. EniTOR : — About two years since I observed the bark decaying and gettting loose on some of my Apple trees, some five or six inches from the ground. On examination, I discovered a worm about three- fourths of an inch long, of a reddish color, and rather slender, just between the dead and living bark. Last spring, thinking it would be bensficial to the trees, I plowed the orchard up (it having lain in grass for several years). A part I planted in potatoes on the sward; the remainder I planted in turnips and man- gels. The turuijjs, owing to the dryness of the season and the ravages of the flea, turned out almost a total failure. On digging the potatoes, I found them al- most eaten up by, I think, the same worm spoken of above. In many instances I found the rascals had eaten through the tul>er.^, and were sticking in the ground Any information througn the Farmku with regard to this pcst^ with a remedy, wouhl be thank- fidly received. Knchjsed I send you a few scions from an Aj^ple tree that originated in my orchard, which is considered a valuable fruit. Size, large; color, dark green, tinged with red; season, from middle of October to middle of November. 'J'he tree is of singular growth: the twigs are long and slender, and hang down, with the fruit on the ends of the branches. On that account I called it the Pendent apple. Yours, Saj.e.m, Mercer Co., Pa. John M. Dumas. The HoRTiorLTURAL Review and Botaxical Mag- azine, Piblished at Cixci.nnati. — This journal, the union of the well known Western Hurlicultural Re- view, comes to us in a very neat style, and presents ai haiulsome appearance. It is very ably conducted by Jno. a. W^\RnER, M. D., and Jas. W. Ward, Esq. The former gentleman was sole editor of the original journal. It represents that extensive section of our country which is destined to take a foremost rank in horticultural pursuits of every kind. Its terms are $^i per year, w hich can be sent to H. W. Derby, pub- lisher, Cincinnati. Mi5. I'^niTOR: — For two years past I have had fine plums, which I think is by reason of the following exjH-riment : One quart cheapest lamp oil, mi.ved with one ounce of creosote; in this I dipped strings the size of a man's thumb, loosely twisted, and pretty closely .squeezed, and tied them around the trees. No in.sects a.scended the trees afterward, that I could dis- cover. I intend trnng it again if alive, though I have seen more than seventy winters. Yours, truly, E. Hall. Mo0NT Cle.mexs, Mich. American Fruit-growers' Gl'ide, by F. R. El- liott, of Clevelaxd, 0. — This new work has just l)een puldished by C. M. Saxton, New York. It is written l)y a gentleman of exten,sive horticultural i reputation. It is quite a large book, containing de- 1 sci'iptions of all valuable fruits introduced up to the ! present time, and is beautifully illustrated with nu- merous cuts. Every person who is desirous to kccj) up with the times should have a copy, and particu- larly those living at the West, as it is the best expo- nent of horticulture yet published for that section. Its price is $1.25, and can be had of D. M. Dewey, Rochester, N« Y. Seedless Apples. — The following is published ii' the Memphis Eagle, as the method to procure apjile^ without seeds or cores: "Take the encls of the limli- of an Apple tree, where they hang low, so as to read the ground; dig a small hole for each end under lli tree; bend it down and bury it in the hole, confiuii:_ it down so that it will remain. Do this in the v.in ter, or the beginning of spring. The end of the lin'.! thus buried will take root and put up sprouts oi scions, which, when they become sufficiently large t( ' set out,' dig up at the proper season, and transplan; them in the orchard where you wish them to remain When they get large enough to bear, they will lieai apples without seeds or cores." TuE Hoi-se Chestnut tree came from Thibet The Maxetti Rose Stock. — It is asked if Rosei worked upon this stock die off after three or Ibu: years' growth ? I have now used the Manetti stocl lor at least seven years; and after I had once begui to set out plants upon it, my customers (or at leas> those of them Avho had a samiile) would never takft plants upon the Briar. I have now fine large bashes on the Manetti a' least five or six years old, which are as healthy anc vigorous as they were the first season, and which forn a fine contrast (on a border of specimens) with th( majority which are on Briars, and some of which an annually dying, and othei-s monthly choked witl suckers. One of the best projierties of the Manetti stock fc the freedom with whjch it swells annually with the growth of the bud. As a pot stock it is iuvaluabifi — it nu^kes such fine, fibrous roots, and is so clear of suckers; and in pots it may be "worked" ten months out of the twelve. I have formerly said a good deaa in favor of this stock, and now, after seven years' ex iwrience, I think more highly of it than ever. — T Appleby, in the London Gardeners' Chroniele. THE GENESEE FARMER. 125 J^Sie^' Sep^Hhje^f. USEFUL HINTS. RURAL LIFE. The following article, which we find in the JVew England Cultivator, over the signature of "A Farm- er's Wife," Ave commend to the perusal of the lady readers of the Farmer, as the evil it complains of is becommg too common to be passed by unnoticed : "It may by many be deemed irrelevant for ladies to write and speak on the subject of agriculture ; but when we consider that the happiness of a laro-e share of American ladies depends ujjon the progress of agricultural knowledge, and the comforts of rural homes, all should be willing to concede them a voice m diffusing a healthy sentiment on the subject. "We, who have passed the meridian of human hfe, know that the mothers, wi\-es and daughters of the rural population were formerly healthier, and more capaljle of enduring faligue and toil, than the present generation. The cause of this deterioration ot heiiltli and physical vigor must be attributed to the ettorts of the rural class to copv the manners and customs of the city. " I do not wish to lose sight of the fact that the present age furnishes more facilities for improvement than any preceding. What is to be lamented, is that the facilities of the present time, instead of bein"- unpro\ed for the practical and useful, are made sub''- servient to the ornamental and fashionable. "It is to be deplored that so many mothers are mere slaves to hard labor, allowing their daughters to imitate the fanciful and fashionable, and discard the practical purposes of hfe. When we see the mother a slave to the kitchen, and the daughters pridino- themselves on their lily-white hands, their graceful iancmg, and other mere accomplishments, and dis- lajiung to refer to the practical of rural life, either in >r out of doors, we think they are slaves to a false education and a vitiated taste, which are pavino- the way for future regrets." Asparagus Seed for Coffee.— Liebig says that isparagus contains, in common with tea and coffee a mnciple which he calls "taurine," and which he con- aders essential to the health of those who do not take trong exercise. Taking the hint from Baron Liebio I writer in the London Gardeners Chronicle was led 0 test asparagus as a substitute for coffee. He says- The young shoots I first prepared were not agree- sble, having an alkaline taste. I then tried the ripe eeds; these roasted and ground make a full flavored otfee, not easily distinguishable from fine Mocha _he seeds are easily freed from the berries by dryinrr hem m a cool oven, and then rubbing them on a leve. In good soils, asparagus yields seeds abundantly nd if they are chai-ged with " taurine," and identical ath the seeds of the coffee plant, asparao-us coffee lay be grown in the United States at less than half 16 cost per pound of the article now so larg-ely im- orted. ° "^ If a small boy is a lad, will a large boy make a ladder? Thunder Storms.— The safest situation duriu"- a thunder storm is in the cellar; for when a ])erson is below the surface of the earth, the lightning must strike it before it can reach him, and will probably be expended upon it. Dr. Fra.nklix advises persons apprehensive of lightning to sit in the middle of a room, not under a metal lustre, or aiiv other conductor, and to place their feet upon auother'chair. It will be still safer, he adds, to lay two or three beds or mat- tresses in the middle of the room, and to place the chau-s upon them. A hammock suspended with silk cords would be an improvement on this apparatus. Persons out of doors should avoid trees, &c. The distance of a thunder storm and its consequent danger can easily be estimated. As light travels at the rate of 192,000 miles in a second of time, its effects may be considered as instantaneous within any moderate distance. Sound is transmitted at the rate of 1,142 feet in a second. By observing, therefore, the time which mtervenes between the flash of light- ning and the thunder which accompanies it, a veiy near calculation may be made of its distance. Fires in Chimneys.— A V hen a chimney or flue is on fire, throw into the fire-place haudfuls of flour of sulphur, which mil destroy the flame. Or apply a wet blanket, or old carpet, to the throat of the chim- ney, or over the front of the fire-place. A chimney- board, or reg-ister-flap, will answer the same purpose by stopping the draught of air from below. Beware of lights near combustibles ; of children near fires and lights ; and do not trust them with candles. Do not leave clothes to dry by the fire uu- watched, either day or night; do not leave the poker in the fire; see that all be safe before you retire to rest. EcoNoirsr in Expenditure. — Economy should be the first point in all families, whatever be their cir cumstances. A prudent housekeeper will regulate the ordinary expenses of a family, according t^o the annual sum allowed for housekeepnig. By thfs means, the provision will be uniformly good, and it will not be requesite to practice meanness on many occasions, for the sake of meeting extra expense on one. The best check upon outrunning an income is to pay bills weekly, for you may then retrench in time. This practice is likewise a salutary check upon the correct- ness of the accounts themselves. Cheerfulness. — Does it not seem singular that cheerfulness is placed among the requisites' for good house-keeping? But it is of far more importance than_ you -would, at first view, imagine. What mat- ters it to a brother or husband, if the house be ever so neat, or the meals punctually or well prepared, if the mistress of it is fretful and fault-finding— ever dis- contented and complaining. The ovlside of ^uch a house is ever the most attractive to him, and any and every excuse will be made for absenting himself; an(^ the plea of business or engagements will be made to her who is doomed to pass her hours needlessly in solitude. The valuable communication from Mrs. C. P. T. of Oakland, Rice Lake, 0. W., was received too late for this number, but will appear in our next. 126 THE GENESEE FARMER. Aa^scY IN New York.— C. M. Sastox, Agricultural Bonk Pub- lisher, Xo. 152 Fulton street, New York, is agent for the Oexksek Farmer, and subscribers in that city who apply to him can have their papers delivorcJ regulaily at their houses. Agexct in Cixcix.vati.— R. Post, Xo.lO 'SVpst Tliird street, Cin- cinnati, is ajrent for the Gexksee Farmer, and subscribers in that city who apply to him can have their papers delivered regularly at their houses. Premiums for 1854. — At the earne-t request of many friends, and competitors for the liberal premiums to be paid by the proprietor for the largest list of subscribers to tlie Genesee Farmer for ISoi, the time of closing the com- petition is extended to the 15th of June next. "We desire to give all an equnl chance, and are profoundly grateful for the deep interest taken by our friends in the circulation of this journal. The paper on which the Farmer is printed is manufac- tured in Cleveland, Ohio, and we have had some unpileasant delays at Erie in getting it by railway so early as we in- tended to publish every number. Hereafter, we hope to escape every impediment, and mail every copy some days before the first of the month. April. — Now is the time to prepare ground well for all kinds of seeds to be committed to its bosom. Several im- portant crops wiU be highly remunerative to the cultiva- tor, or otherwise, as he shall till the earth in the month of April, and gather up for timely use, and save from waste, every particle of manure about his barns, sheds and stables. Whsu the good Imsbandman has carefully collected the concentrated food of plants in heaps ready for use, he is often at a loss to decide how much per acre he ought to apply to ground where he intends sowing spring wheat, barley or oats, and where he expects to plant corn and po- tatoes. The best possilde distribution of manure, so as to obtain the maximum benefit from it, is a matter not suf- ficiently studied. It generally pays a little better on corn than any other crop ; for corn plants are gross feeders, and on a rich soil yield abundantly in grain and forage. • Great care should be taken in spreading manure, that it be not left in large lumps. Give every squai-e foot of land its equal share of the fertilizer, whatever it may be. In plowing it in, cover manure on light sandy soils deeper than on clay land, or clay loams, for in tlie former the roots of all ]>lauts descend dee])er than in the latter. All seeds require to be planted deeper on porous soils than on anv other. The r< Her is of essential .service in t bringing cultivated earth to the right condition to absorb and condense fertilizing gases. The smaller the pores in a soil the better, jirovided they are sutticieutly numerous. A compact mass of clay, or earth of any kind, yields little or no food to growing crops. Hence the value of crushing hard lumps, and the wisdom of not plowing ground in too wet a condition, whereby such lumps are greatly mul- tiplied. Adajjt seed wheat, oats, barley and corn, as to quantity. to the strength of the land — poor land needs much h -.- seed tlian rich. Millions of acres will be planted in vmii this spring in the Southern States having only one i)lant in a liill and the hills five feet apart each way. A peck ( f wheat is seed enough for very poor land. iMouxT Vernon for an AcRicuLTriiAL Colleoe. — An esteemed correspondent, Mr. E. A. Smith, of Whitley C. H., Indiana, suggests the propriety ol petitioning Con- gress, and making a general effort in that behalf, to pur- chase the Mount Vernon Estate of the family of Wash- ington, with the view to establish thereon an Agi'icultural College and an Experimental Faim. First and last, some half a dozen spirited gentlemen have attempted to carry this idea into effect, but public opinion was not rijie for it, nor is it likely to be for one or two generations to come. Public opinion now appropriates a million dollars or more for heajjing up a huge pile of stone in the federal metropo- lis, in the name of AVasiiington, to illustrate its heathen idolatry ; but it wiU not expend a single cent to carry into effect the wisest and best recommendations of the " Father of his Country," for tlie promotion of agriculture. Cau.se and Cure of the Potato Rot. — Mr. Andrew Smith, of Clarksburg, Erie county, N. Y., has written us a letter in which he says that the rotting of potatoes 2)lanted for seed causes the crop growing therefrom to decay pre- maturely. To cure or prevent the malady, he removes the seed potatoes before the young tubers are formed ; by which he supposes that no infection is permitted to pass from the rotting old potato to the new one. Tliis plan was first tried by Mr. S. in 1851 ; and if we understand him aright, it has since been tried with equal success. Where the parent tuber does not rot, Mr. S. says that its offsjiring are sound. His theory is ingenious, and deser«ng of the attention of Agricultural Societies. Importation of Cattee into England. — A friend in Woodstock, Canada West, has called our attention to an article in our last number, on page 87, "copied from the St. Louis Evening News, where it is alleged that " Eng lish stock-growers get cattle from abroad to cross with their fine breeds, knowing that in this way alone the supe- riority of stock may be preserved."' The article was copied as a matter of agricultural news, to indicate the interest taken in the State of Missouri for the improvement of neat cattle, and not to endorse any statements it miglit contain. Our own -views coincide with those of our correspondent and his letter will appear in our next issue, v\ ith editorial remarks. m ■«-^»- Wheat was introduced into the Valley of the Mississipp by the "Western Company" in 1718, where, from th( careless mode of cultivating it by the early settlere, an* tlio sudden alterations of temperature, it would only yielc from five to eight fold, running to straw and blade withou the ear. In 17-lG, however, the cidture had so far ex tended that six hundred barrels of flour were received a Ne\v Orloans/rom the Wabash. So says the Patent Offici Keport. THE GENESEE FARMER. 127 Transactions op the Wisconstn State AoBicrLTU- BAL Society.— A. C. Inoiiam, Esq., Secretary of the "Wis- consin State Agricultural Society, has our thanlis for the second volume of th Transactions of said Sociaty, -nhich contains much valuable information on rural affairs. Mr. Latham's paper on the Fauna and Flora of Wisconsin renders the volume unusually attractive to naturalists and all well-informed readers; while its strictly agricultural and horticultui-iil mattf^r will compare favorably with that of other State Agricultural Societies. On page 1.35, the annlysi.s of a soil in Sheboygan county is niaye to' misinform and misle id the unscientific reader, by a misprint. The' word "alumina" is placed where those of "silicious sand*' ought to be, and the latter stand in the place of "alu- mina," by transposition. As the" figures and words now stand, the soil in question is rciiresented as containing 70 per cent.^of alumina, and only 1-3 per cent, of silicious sar.d. There are other errors whicli might be pointed out, hut they arc of less consecjuence. Wj; SS3 by the Court Records, that the two covuiterfeiters, Wiirr?:, of IJutfalo, and Lawrenx'k, of Epping, X. 11., have been pl.ii-od undsr ten thousand dollar bonds eacli, for making- and selling imitations of Ayee's Cherry Pec- toral. This is right. If the law should protect men from imposition at all, it should certainly protect them from being imposed upon by a worthless counterfeit of such a medicine as Ayei'.'s Cherry Pectoral. We can only com- plain that the punishment is not half enough. The villain ^vl.o w ould for paltry gain deliberately triHe with the health of his fellow men, by taking fi'oni their lips the cup of hope when they are sinking, and substituting a falsehood — :in utter delusion — should be punished at least as severely as he wiio counterfeits the coin of tiie country. — Greta Co- Banner, CarrolloH, III. Vv'oOL-auoviTNG IN AfSxaALiA. — ifany have thought that the discovery of gold in great abundance in ^iLustralia would lead to the abandonment of woolrgrowing oa that continent. Such, however, aj)pears not to be the case ; for the official returns to Parliamsnt.fi^r IS53 show that Aus- itralia sent to Great Britain la?t year over fifty million pouuds uf wool. We have many statistics bearing on this subject, procured at considerable expense, that will be given hereafter. The whole auiouut of wool grown in the United States iu l^oO was but .52,.518,1 t-O pounds — equal only to the export of Australia iu a single year ! This new British continent is the greatest marvel of the age. Godky's Lady's Book. — It is enough to say of this well- known periodical that it has reached its forty-eightli volume and lias .steadily iiicreased in interest with its increase of years. Published mont'.ily by Louis A. Godey, Philadel- phia, at ;>:> a year. Two copies at §5 ; six copies at j^lO. TuE Xew Yokk Jouunai,. — This is a monthly illus- trated literary periodical, which we have not read ; but ju'lgiug from its appearance, it is cheap at 12^ cents a number. P. D. Ouvis, 75 Nassau street, New York, pub- lisher. Br.ACRWOOD's Magazixe. — Nothing that we can say will aikr, on thi? aiiplication of gumo to w.ieat, tLou siycst "His best not to mix gypsum with jrurino, as it, when we.t, lilciatcs the aninioiila." What is best as a ili\ isor of guano, tod guano ; and a mixture of pure potash and gypsum might do the same, for the potash taking the oil of vitriol from the lime, the latter might decompose a salt of ammonia, and set its volatile base free. jrA.NCKixc. KOK C'OKX. — I li.i\ fc a mcauow sward tliid I design bif:ikiiis aii'l su~bsoilhi;^, and ihcssing with a coat of maiiiue, for tho pui-iiosc of raising corn the coming summer. Would you ud- viso the mrinuTp to bo applied and tttrned under at thf firfrt plowing, or to be .'uiTEWASn FOU OuT-JiUILDINGS? — A friend in St. Thomas, U. C, wishes to learn how to make and apply the best substitute for oil paint for the preservation of barns, slieds and other out-buikiiiigs, fences, &c. We have published a great many recipes in back volumes of the Farmek; but perhaps some one of our numerous readers may have discovered a cheap and durable paint adapted to tlie purposes indicated. (S. C. v., Allisonville.) We do not know where the California bald barley can be had. And since recent im- provements have been made in different reapers, we really do not know which to recommend. Our impression is that Ketciium's is the best mowing machine in the country. Your success with ashes onl^' confirms what the Fabmbb has taught for twenty-five years. jMr. Editor : — Mr. Caleb R. Hobbie wishes to be in- formed through the medium of the Genesee Farmer, whetlier smutty seed wheat, if sown, would produce smut. I have been growing wheat for the last fourteen years in succession, in a rich wheat country, a;.d I have made ex- periments to warrant an answer in the affirmative. When- ever I sowed smut I was always sure to reap smut. See Genesee Faemek, Vol. XII., pp. 10, 44. P. B. Stein- METZ. — Stockertown, Northampton. Co., Pa. Mr. Editor: — "J. M. W.," in the February number of the Farmer, wishes to know something about killing or getting rid of Marsh Willow. I have had a little expc' rience during the last five years in this matter, having cleared and improved not less than one hundred acres ol marsh land during that time, and am now clearing abou< seventy-five acres more. My method is simply this : — When there is sufficient marsh grass, I burn it over earlj in the spring ; then folloAV with the brush scythe, hook, oi axe, as circumstances require, piling the brush to be burneo at some future day ; sow on Red Top where needed, anc mow same season, cutting off all the young sprouts tha^ come up, and which are just as good for sheep as the gri I have but little trouble in getting rid of my bushes, and bringing the land immediately into mowing or pasture' When there is not sufficient grass to burn, as above, and the brush is thick, I cut it during the wii ter and spring] and burn as soon as dry enough ; sow on Red Top (and Timothy, if it is not too wet) ; then pasture ; and if sproatil come up, I run them over the latter part of the season witl a brush scythe. Clip them off a few times in this way and I think they will soon run out. Perhaps " J. ]M. W.'s' Willows are different from ours. We have a variety ; tli< Red and Yellow are the worst. If our friend can't gei rid of them, he must set up a basket factory. - I am also ditching the same — cutting" ditches along the roads, eight feet wide and three feet deep, which generallj THE GENESEE FARMER. 129 not only drain, but serve as a fence. I also cut the same for line fences, calculating that what 1 throw out will pay for the ditching for manure; and then the land, much of it, is worth more than upland. D. Beebe. — Hillsdale, Hillsdale Co., Mich. HORTICULTURAL. Our Apple trees in this county have been attacked with a disease similar to the Pear tree blight. I have had nice and thrifty grafts of three years' growth die down to the very stocks in a few days ; likewise some of the natural shoots of the current year. The soil is sand and clay, mixed; water soft in some places. Docs our soil lack lime, or what is it ? Let us know. C. W. — Brimfield, Ohio. It is much easier to ask hard questions than to answer them. Try lime and ashes, as recommended by Professor KiRTLAND and others. The remedy can do no harm, and may prove all-snfficient. If an insect does the mischief, cut off all affected limbs as soon as discovered and burn them. We have had Apple trees affected with this pecu- liar blight, and after much doubt were inclined to believe, in that ease, insects did the business. I HAVE Doitninir's Fruits and Fruit Trees of America, Thomas' Fruit Ciilturisl, Barri/s Fruit Garden, the Coutitry Gentleman, and four volumes of the Genesee Farmer, but they do not tell me about the small hopping green bug that last season settled on the buds of mj' grape vines early in the spring, from three to seven on each bud. They remained there about three weeks, and almost de- stroyed the vines. They were the worst on what is called the Con- nectiait grape ; the Isabella and Sweet Water were not hurt so bad. Now, su', if you can give the cure L shall be thankful. I wish to know what whale oil soap is, how made, or where obtained. Wm. H. Sherwood. — Portland, C. W. Whale oil soap is made by uniting the oil named with potash or soda lye. This soap, dissolved in water, is thought to be peculiarly offensive to insects, when thrown with a syringe over the foliage and fruit of plants. iREiGATiOJf ANT) IxsECTS. — It is said that irrigation destroys grasshoppers and all such vermin in meadows. Would it not de- stroy the cui-culio, think j'ou ? has it ever been tried ? or would it injure the Plum trees to flood the roots with water? I would like to have your opinion as to the experiment, and the best time to try it. Thomas Stewart. — Home, Indiana Cu., Pa. No irrigation will destroy grasshoppers, unless they are showered down upon or otherwise wetted by impure water. The ground under Plum trees is frequently " flooded " by heavy and protracted rains, which do not probably destroy the young of the curculio. If one were situated so as to try the experiment fairly, we thinlv it highly probable that a weak brine of common salt might kill all insects in the earth and near the surface of the ground under Plum trees, without injuring the latter. Too much salt will kill any fruit tree, and all brine should be used cautiously. Cultivation of the Cranbeuut. (J. H., Dowing-ton, Pa.) On upland soils, select a piece of cold, wet land, that will keep moist during the year, and remove an inch or two of the top soil, which will prevent weeds or grass from growing. After making your land level by dragging, procure jour roots in bunthes about as large as is con- venient to remove with a shovel ; dig the holes about as large as the bunches of roots, two to three feet apart each way. If properly done, they will require no fiu'ther cul- tivation. " Northern Spy Apple. (L. C. F., Springfield, 111.) Here tfie Northern Spy is one of the most popular sorts, and is thought by many to be the very best in its season. It grows rapidly and upright. The tree is remarkably productive, tliough not an early bearer ; therefore it attains a large size before much fruit can be expected. 3Iany who were not acquainted with the habits of this tree have been disappointed, thinking it to be a poor bearer, as it did not produce much while young. Its flavor is of the finest quality, which it retains till June and July, if properly kept. If in good soil, and the branches are judiciously thinned by pruning, one can not fail to get good fruit from it. Grafting Grapes, Plums, &c. (J. C. R., Monroeton, Pa.) Grapes can be grafted while in a dormant state with success by either stock or cleft grafting, if upon large trees an inch in diameter or more ; or by ichip grafting, if upon smaller branches. [For method of performing the above operations, see any one of the different treatises published upon the cultivation of fruit, «fcc.] Plums may be grafted in March and April, or budded in July or August. Either method succeeds well, if the stocks are in good condition. Evergreen and Deciduous Trees from Seed, Hardy Climbing Roses, &c. (E. B. E. D., Rochester.) Seeds of the Holly and Thorn do not vegetate the first season, but generally remain in the ground dormant till the second year, though sometimes a very few will grow the first year, if sown in the autumn as soon as gathered. The seeds of White Pine are ripe in October, the Hemlock in Novem- ber, the Scarlet and Soft Maple in September, and the Elm in June. As soon as ripe they should be gathered and placed in a cool cellar, mixed with dry sand, where they will keep well till the ground is fit for sowing in the spring. The seeds will thrive in any good soil, but it should not be heavy or stiff. They might be sown in long beds, if the quantity was not large, as one would onion seeds, in drills, say six inches apart, excepting the evergreen seeds, which make but little growth the first year ; if the drills for these were two inches apart it would be ample. Seeds of the deciduous trees noted above, when about to vegetate, should be protected wholly from the sun, which is quite eliectually done by procuring branches of evergreen trees and covering the beds with them. This protection is all important to evergreen seeds of all kinds just beginning to shoot, for if neglected it is very doubtful if one succeeds in raising a single plant. Where large quantities are grown, experience has proved that it is as economical and as well to obtain a cheap kind of sheeting, which, sewed at the edges, can be made the desired width (boards about a foot wide and an inch thick having pre- viously been placed upon their edges on each side of the bed, and at its ends, forming a complete box around it) ; the cloth can then be stretched over the bed, tacking one edge of the cloth to the edge of the boards forming one side of it ; narrow strips can be fastened at intervals, con- necting the boards at the sides, to support the sheet. Duri ig cloudy weather and warm showers the sheeting may be rolled up, thus exposing the plants to the weather, which would be at such times of much benefit to them. 130 THE GENESEE FARMER. and it. can be unrolled at jileasure wlien the weather changes. Thii attention is necessaiy only for tile first two or three months. The Angimta Rose is not hardy, consequently Morthlews as a hardy climber. The best hardy Climbing Eoses are— Beauty, or Queen of (lie Prairies, Baltimore Belle, Mrs. Hovey, President, I'elicite Perpetuelle, Laura Dacotut. Can the Bittf.h Kot ix Ai'I'lks be Prevented? — J. Y., of Port Ilciiublic, Va., wishes to learn if the bitter rot in a])ples can be prevented. The malady is quite troublesome in that region. Without having any special knowledge on the sulnect, we suspect that detects in the soil have much to do in producing the premature decay called bitter rot, although parasitic fungi may participate in working mischief. Trees duly pruned, and not allowed to boar more than a moderate number of ap[)Ies, ainl projierly manured, will be likely to yield sound IViiit. AVe shall be glad to hear from any gentleman v>ho has had experience in the disorder referred to. ADVERTISEMENTS. To sociU'e insertion in tlic Fa:::.!!;!!, iiiiist be receivtd as early as the lOUi of the prl'^■ious luoutli, aud be of suoli a character as to be of interest to fanners. Tkkms — Two Dollars for every hundred words, each iusortioa, paid i\ advance. EAKLY EXCELSIOS POTATOES. THIS is a no'.v and %ery superior sort. They are as early r^s the June potato, irrow aijove tlio average size, are mealy and jalata- hJe, aad liave ki-pt better tluiu any other variet}- planted in this vi,;initv. The rot has never been known amons them. R. I,. ALT.KX, AprU 1, 1S54.— 2t 189 and 191 Water street, New York. TO AGEICULTUEISTS. W.VKTED, by a TnOlJOrCilll.Y PRACTICAI, JIIDDLE-AGED jr.^N, a situation as Farmer or Manager, on a spirited agri- cultural cstablLslnnent. Tlie advertiser is a married man ; his wife is an experienced Dairy. Keferenees will be given. C;^ Address (post-paid) 0. P. Q., Drawer 39, PostofBce, Roches- ter, N. Y. e April 1, 1S54.— It FARMER AND GARDEZSTER WANTED. W.ANTKD, on a farm in I'lster county, about 05 miles from New- York, a young married man, cayiable of doing general farm wo V, and willing to make himself generally useful. Also, wanted a young married man, capaljle of cultivating a plain ga; i'jn, taking care of horses, &c., and occasionally to assist with far-i work. ]' ivilcges allowed are house and garden spot, keeping of a cow and pig, and fuel for the year. Persons answeiing above descrip- tio'i, and able to furnish good recommendations as to capacitv and iuU'i^ritv, may address, stating terms in adrse.s, 2-5 head of cattle, and 30 sheep, with a good set of farm- in ■ tools. .\,iy further information can be ha"l In' callins on or addressing CIIAKLKS HOI,Mi;S, February 1, 18.54.— 3t Gibsonville, Livingston Co., N; T. GENESEE VALLEY NURSERIES. A. FROST & OO., ROCHESTER, N. Y., OFFER this .sjiring jus usual choice BKldd.Vc; PLANTS of e^e^y description, select GUFEN-HOUSE PLANTS, NEW ROSES, >Vc. &c. As desirable additions are made to our extensive stock every sin-irig, by importations from the most reliable sources in Eurojie, it couipi'ises a large collection of the most select varieli' ■ of Dahlias, Verbenas, Petunias, Fuchsias, Scarlet Geraniums, Ile'i* - tro)>i's. Dwaif Gbry.santhomums, Roses, &r. &c. C^^ Priced nescnidivc Catalogues of them can be had upon a;- plicarion. Wlien sent by mail, a one cent postage stamp required to preiray postage. April!, 1854.— 2 1 FOE SALE. ' . ! THE subscriber has 2, TOO YOUNG HORSE CHESTNUT TREES for sale, three to tcnfrrt high, straight thrifty trcfs. goodtopii For sale on the pToiind, si:;i'l.v or by the dozen, at 4<. each for th^ largest size, and by the 100 or more, for 2s. each. The, smaller trees I win sell to Nuisoiyineii at a very low rate, according to the numr ber taken. BURR RITLER, March 1, iS54.— 21* Palipyrai Wayne Co., N. T. A^iLa.TIC; FOWLS. I7OR S.\T,E, at auction jrics, a choice lot of Asiatic Fowls,'con- sisting of till- Pi-.ibnia I'ootra, Chittagong, Gray Sh.anghai, and (.'ocl\in Cliina. vat ieties, :iU yocng fowls, and wai-ranted to be of pure blood, and of the largi' bn"eils. Per pair, $10. Two pullets .and a cock, $15. Cooped and sc-iit by cxjiress to any part of the United Stiites, prom]dly, on receipt of th^ money. The above prices are extremelv low, "the ordinary cliarge for the same birds being $20 to $30 per pair. - ALFRED E. BEACH, 8(3 Nassau street, New York. ■ Reference— P. T. Barnum, Esii., President of the National Poultry Society. . ■ ' ' April 1, 1854.— It. ; BRAHMA P09TSA I'OWLS FOR SALE. THE subscriber has fifty jtairs of the above fowls for sale, of pure blood. He also offei-s for sale the coming spring eggs for hatch- ing, from fowls which ho selected to breed from. Also, Black Spanish eggs, from imported fowls. 'ill'"-. >V':'i,HT. Utica, F'cbruary 1, 1854.— .3t. EEAHKA FO¥.T.S. '■■pHE celebrated Brahma 'Fowls, purely heel, also Canton .and J. Marsh Shanghao or Impenal Fowls, for s-ole at "reasonable prices by WJVI..N. ANDKKV.'S, _March 1, 1854.— 2t Dover, N. H. FIELD AND GAP.DEN SEEDS. SPRING WHEAT, Barley, O.ats, Grass Seed, CUa'.-: . Fresh Ray Grass, Lucera, White Clover, jusi iii.; iti.d. Excvlsior Potatoes, a new and improved vauety. Belgian Carrot, Sugar Beet, &c. Garden Seeds of all kinds, including Flower Seeds. B. L. ALLEN, March 1, 1S54.— 3t 1S9 and 191 Water street. New I'ork. FARMERS AND GARDEITERS, TAKE NOilCS. WE have now in store, and oBTor for sale at the following prices : 500 bush. Early Field Peas,.... © $1.50 .WO " Common Field do.'. 1.3S 100 " Pure Creeper ilo., 1.50 200 " White Marrowf ;,t do., 2.00 1 100 " Irisll .Marrowfat do., 200 " Early Kent ilo 300 " Earlv Washington do., 2.50 100 " Early Warwick do., 2.50 .50 " Dwarf Blue Imperial i!o., 50 " Assorted kinds do., :__• _ 2-'i0 " Fife Soring Wheat, _ _ '-.'0 3 60 ." CUilJ Spring AYhcat, 2.50 100 " Spiing Rve,..:-— .• 3-50 300 "- Seed Corn, 1.50 60 *' Blu'eGrSss, ._... : 3.00 50 « Red Top, ..: -■ 3.00 .50 " Orchard Grass, 3.00 300 " TimothvSesd, ...$S.O0 to .50' 100 " CloverSecd, -..j ^ %,-■■. 10 " Stowell's Evergreen Sweot Corn, / b.OO ' 1000 tbs. Long White aiid Lonl Guano" this season on po- l;itoc'S. Jly crop was large ami all souii'l. Where I ilid not use it, llie |iotatocs were all rotten and worlliless. My neighbors, also, who have not used this.fertiliz'.r, have not raised a saleable potato this vear. I consider it a preventive of rot. G. PUEAUT. Westchester Co., X. Y., Sept. 29, 1850. Erlracl nf a Letter from E. B. Addison. Alcxandiia Co., Va., April 2.3, 1851. |r Dr. John TT. Bayne, President of Prince George's County Agri- cultural Society, Maryland, has dcsire^ cents. Specimens sent on receipt of four postage stamps. .March 1, 18o4.-4t F wh' ri Pkople'.s Patext Office, ) So Xassau-st., Xew York. 3 'OSF/IGN PATENTS.— The undersigned still continues to act .SMl-.i'itor and Agent for securing Patents in all countries hv'y are granted. He is represented in Europe b3' honorable and reliable nien, of long tried experience, through whom he is enalded to secure Patents in England, Scotland, W.ales, Ireland, i'rauce, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Russia, Prussia, Spain, Portu- gal, &c. His facilities for transacting foreign Patent business are unsurpiissed. He can generally obtiiin Certificates of Provisional Protection from the British P.atent Office within six weeks from the time the invention is first committed to his care. The cost of British and other foreign Patents, to A^merieans, has been greatly reduced. Tlic undersigned may at all times be consulted, free of charge, by Utter, or personally at his olVice, in reference to I'ateuts, Inven- tions, &c. All consultations and business strictly private. For fur- ther information apply to or address ALFRED E BEACH, Solicitor of American and Foreign Patents, April 1, 1854.— It SO Xassau street, Xew York. TO NURSERYMEN. 100,000 Xorw.ay Spruce, 5 to 15 inches. 6i*)00 Silver Fir, 5 to 6 inches. 3,000 English Yew, 4 to 6 inches. 1,000 do 9 to 15 inches. 2,000 Larch, 12 to 15 inches. 4,000 do 6 to 9 inches. 3,000 Scotch Fir, 6 to 9 inches. 20,000 American Arbor Vita;, 8 to 18 inches. 50,000 Osage Orange, 1 year. 20,000 Sweet Briar, 1 ye.ar from seed. 1,000 GooseV^erries, best sorts. 1,000 Currants, Ruby Castle.; 55 Varieties Strawberries. 20,000 Mountain Ash, 3 to 9 feet. 50,000 Asparagus Roots, 1 and 2 years. All for sale at the very lowest prices, at the Geneva Nursery. April 1, 1854.-11* W. P. & E. SMITH, Geneva, N. Y. FRUIT SCIONS FOR 1854. THE subscriber will furnish both Apple and I'ear Scions for this season's grafting, of all the standard kinds, including those heretofore advertised by him in the Farmer. Price, one dollar per hundred for Apple, and" three shiUings per dozen for Pear Scions. In large quantities thev would be sold less. They ran be sent by mail or express to any portion of our country. Orders, enclosing the money, will be promptlv tilled. J.AilES H. WATTS. P.ochester, February 1, 1854. — tf 40,000 CHERRY STOCKS, OXE YEAR OLD, good size. Price, $5 per 1000. Also, a few hundred plants of mv early Grape. They ripen two weeks earlier than the Isabella, and are a better grape. Price of two-year- old nlants, SI ; one-year-old, -50 cents. Address April 1, l"854.-lt* H. PAIGX, Lockport, X. 1 . _ 132 THE GENESEE FARMER. X^' M^;**?!! -_^Ca'mnJ''o WriKELER'S HORSE POWER AND COMBINED THRESHER AND WINNOWER.' ITEW YORK STATE AGRICULTTJEAL WORKS, BY WHEELER, MELICK & CO, ALBANY, N. Y. THE subscrilKis ;iro now making for tlic trade of 1854, a much larger number of all articles in their line than they have in any previous year, and have made several improvements which will raise their Maeliines still higher in the public estimation. As the limits of an advertisement will not admit of an explana- tion of all the advantages of our Machines, and as most of them »re so well known as to need no commendation, we will make this Btatement brief, and for more detailed information we refer to our printed catalogue, which will be sent by mail, postage free, when requested. As we give our entire attention to the improving and manufac- turing of Horse Powers, Threshing Machines, and a few other arti- cles, we feel warranted in assuring the puWic that they will find each of the following Mo.chiues unsurjiassed : ^VHEELiER'S PATENT RAILWAY CHAIN HORSE POWERS. These Powers (repreneutrd ia the above cut) ai-e unrivaled for driving all kinds of Farmei-s', Planters', and other Machinery, which admits of being driven by Horse Power. They are made for either one or two horses, and tiieir superior merits, in point of durability, strength and ea.se of running, are fully established ; while their compactness and simplicity, lightness and greater length and width of treading floor and stall, give them ad%'antages over other Powers, which are highly a|jpreciated by those who have tried them. Several thousands of them are in use, some of which have threshed over 100,000 bushels; and though our present Powers are much improved over the old ones of the same kind, yet the latter are still good. Over 1,000 of them were sold by us and our agents the pa.«t season (a larger number than in any previous year), thus proving their increasing popularity. WHEELER'S PATENT COMBINED THRESHER AND WINNOWER. This Macliine (also represr-ntiMl in the cut) is a late invention. It was got out three years ago, .ifler a long series of experiments re- sul:ing in a Machine which performs the three operations of Threshing, Separating and Winnowing, with as much dispatch, and with as few hands and horses, as are required to thresh and se)'arate only with other Machines; and although designed for so complicated work, it is yet a model of simplicity and compactness. Th>' entire running parts are driven by the main belts and one small band. We have no doubt it is the most perfect Machine in use for th'-ishing and winnowing. Driven by two horses, they thresh and clem from 150 to 200 bushels of wheat, or twice that quantity of oa1-\ per day. Wc give below a notice of it from the Valley Farmer, published at St. Louis, Mo., and also two letters from gentlemen who have the Machines in use, showing the estimation in v.-liich they are held, premising that these two are about an average of many other similar letters which wc can show : [From the Valley Farmer of August, 18-5.3.] '• Wheeler's CoMnixED Trrkshkr and Winnower. — We take plcisure in laying before our readers the following extract from a letier just received by us from a very rospecfable individual in Cape Girirdeau county. Mo., to whom we sold one of these Machines about a week ago, with the understanding that if it did not work to his satisfaction he could return it to St. Louis at our expense It will be recollected that the manufacturers warrant thciC Machine* to thresh and clean from 150 to 200 bushels of wheat per day, or twice that quantity of oats : 'Apple Creek, Mo., .luly 18, 1853. Mr. E. Abbott — Pear Sir : — ^I have tried my Thresher and Win- nower, and it has given entire sati.sfiiction. I have moved the Ma- chine one mile, set it up, and threshed two hundred and forty-two bushels of wheat in one day, and have threshed forty bushels in an hour. It works finely, and is considered the best JIachine to thresh and save grain in South-ea.st Missouri. IT CAN'T (JO BACK TO ST. LOUIS. I think I shall thresh from 8,000 to 10,000 bushels oi wheat this season. Yours, truly, James F. Colyer.' " Another gentleman, to whom we sold our Double Power and Combined Thresher and Winnower, writing to us fiom Orange Co., N. Y., under date of December 9th, 1853, says : " I have received the Machine, and used it, and it gives the v( rj best of satisfaction that could be exp'ected. Yours, truly, Henry J. Howe." Having sold between 300 and 400 of the Winnowers during th« past season, we could, if space permitted, give many other testi- monials to their utility, but the above must suffice. \l'HEEL.EirS O'T'ERSHOT THRESHER AND SEPARATOR. This Machine is also our own invention, and has been ia use ^?, or 14 years, and its many advantages are appreciated by other jnnnu- farturers, as well as tlie farming public. Driven by our Doui::' Power, it threshes and separates from the straw from l-'iO to L'liO bushels of wheat, or twice as much oats, per day. For the Sim-lo or One Horse Power we make a sm.aller Thresher and SeparaU.r, which threshes from V5 to 100 bushels of wheat per day. Tlie small Machine is adapted to moderate sized farms; and as the Sir.gle Power is sufficient for sawing wood, churning, cutting stalks, stiav,, &:c., and driving almost every kind of machinery used by faiUK r,, and is cajiable, by changing horses and elevating the power propeil \-, of threshing much faster than we slated above, it is a very pojiuliir Machine in some sections. We would also call esj ecial alti-ntion 1u our Clover Hullers, Portable Saw Mills, and St;ilk and Straw Cii?- ters, either of which is adapted to both our Double and Sinu'ls Powers : [[t^ All our Machines are WARRANTED to give entire sa:i faction,. or they may be returned at the expiration of a reason^.; :., time for trial. PRICES. For Double or Two Horse Power, Thresher and Separator, Inclnd ; : belts, wrenches, oil cans, complete, $•' n Double Power alone, inrUiding belt, — l-D do do withoutbelt, H'l Double Thresher and Sei'arator alone, __ -U) Single or One Horse Power, Thresher and Separator, including belts, oil cans and wrenches, complete, VJ. Single Power alone, including belt, — '.[> do do withoutbelt, ■''•') Single Thresher and Separator alone, .^s Clover HiiUei-s, "■! Straw ami Stilk emitters, for Horse Power, "vl Circular Saw Jlill, with 2i-inch Saw, Ga THE GENESEE FARMER. 133 One Horse Power, without band wheel, 80 Churn Goaiing, 13 Band Wbt-el, 5 Band for Power, - 5 Double Power, with Combined Thresher and Winnower, ia- • eluding belts, wrenches, &e, 245 Combined Thresher and Winnower alone, 125 g;^" Orders are aolicited and will be promptly filled. Address WHEELER, MEUCK & Co., April 1, 1S.54.— It Albany, N. Y. :KETCHUM'S iBUc'itoVED MOWING MACHINE, jWITII ENTIRE CHAXtiE OF OEAK. THE ONLY SUCCESSFUL MOWER NOW KNOWN. KETCHUM'S Improved Machine, which we are building for the harvest of 1854, was thoroughly tested last season, and the advantages gained by our change of gear are in all respects a-S we designed, viz : durability, convenience and ease of action. The shafts now have bearings at both ends, which overcome all cramp- ing and cutting away of boxing. A counter balance is attached to the crank shaft, which gives it a steady and uniform mption. Each Machine can be thrown out of gear; there is great convenience at each and every nut, all of tliem being on the upper side of the frame ; oil cups are attaclienUMS, including two at the Cruftal Palace (silver and bronze medals), were awarded it at the auUinni exhibitions. I am liuildiug only 800, which are being rapidly (udi-rcd. Mr. .Joseph Hall, Roclicsler, N. Y., will also build a few. E^^ Early ordew neces.sary to insure a Reaper. Price at Chicago $175 — S75 cash with order, note for $50, payable when Reaper works successfully, and another for $'50, payable fir.st December next, with interest ; or gilGO cash in ivUvance. War- ranted to he a good Self-raking Reaper. \f^ Agents, properly recommended, wanted throughout the country. Experienced Agents preferred. It is important tlii.-* year to have the m.aehincs widely scattered. Descriptive circulars, with cuts, and giving impartially the diffi- culties as well as successes of the Reaper, nxiiled to post-paid appli- cations. J. S. V/RIGHT, March 1, 1854. — 3t "Prairie Farmer" Warchou.«e, Ciiicago. RAIN WATER FILTEES. I CONTINUE to furnish Filters a.s usual, much improved in tlie inside fixtures, for w-hich I have obtained "Lettci-s Patent." They are now cosn- jilete, and can be sent to any section of country in .safi'ty. No family living in lime sections of coun- tiT ought to dispense with their use, as whatever istaken into the circulation has much to do with health, as a preventive of disease. Tliey have been fully tested by hundreds of our first class citizens within the last ten years. I make four size s, at •'S''5, S6, $8 and SIO each. They will last from two to four years without repacking, which can easily be done bv any one with projier directions. Orders for Filters, or Rights of Territory, will be attended to at once. March 1, 1854.— tf JOHN KEDZIE, Rochester, N. Y. : GAEDEN IMPLEMENTS. HEDGE, Long Handle, and Slidhig Pruning Shears ; Budding and Edging Knives; Pruning Hatchets, Saws and Knives; Pruning, Vine and Flower Scissors; Bill and Milton Hooks; Lawn and Garden Rakes; Garden Sculllers, Hoes of great variety. Shovels and Spades; Hand Engines which throw water fort}' feet or more, Syringes and Water Pots; Grafting Chisels, Tree Sciapers, and Caterijillar Brushes ; Transplanting Trowels, Reels ; Hand Plow and Cultivator, very useful to work between rows of vegetables; together with a large assortment of other implements too numer- ous to mention. R. L. ALLP2N, March 1, 1854.— 3t 189 and 191 Water street. New York. NEW AND IMPKOVED PLOV/S ! INCLUDING the Deep Tiller, Flat Furrow, Self Sharpener, Cen- ter Draught, Side Hill, Subsoil, Double Mold Board, Potato, and Culti\ation Plows. Harrov.s, Eoller.s, Seed Sowers, Cultivators, and a large .assort- ment of all ether Agricultural Implements. R. L. AliLEN. March 1, 1854.— 3t 189 and 191 Water street, Iv'ew York. ~ ~^ COKN SHELLEES. WE have now on hand, at the Genesee Seed Store, a large stock of the various kinds of Corn Shelters of the most approved patterns now in use, all of which we off'er for sale at the njanufac- turers' prices, and warrant them to give satisfaction, or to be re- turned and the money refunded. J. RAPALJE & CO^, March 1, 1854.— tf CUTTER EIGHTS FOR SALE WE will test our Hav, Stalk and Straw Cutle'-, patented Novem- ber 8th, 1853, for speed, ease and duial'ililv, against any- other in the United States. J. .JONES & A. LYI.E. SnF° For further information, address JONES & LYI,E. Roch- ester, N. Y. February 1, 1.'554. — ^ff OSAGE ORANGE SEED, RECEIVED direct from Texas, and warranted food. Price. i(flO ]ier bushel — same rale per pet^k — and a rodi.ttion to dealers. Directions for culture, .and management of (he bee gc, furnished to all customers. (It is now ascei-tain^d, by five ye.-irs' experiment, that this most excellent hedge plant will endure the winters a,s far north as Western New York, and wherever it has become known it is rapidly finding favor,) M. B. BATEHAM, March' 1, 1854.— 2t. Columbu.s, Ohio. 200 BUSHELS OSAGE ORANGE SEED, JUST REfU:iVEl>, and for sale on reasonable terni-;. at wholesale and retail. Seed warranted the growth of Is.Vf, ami genuine. Adlress J- & T. HAMMOND, April 1, 1854.— 2t* ^Dublin, Wayne Co., Ind.3 134 THE GENESEE FARMER. WM. K. PRINCE & CO., FLUSHING, N. Y., ARK sclliii' i>ir llio lai.:o .-tock of Tivos tVoni thoir T.O ivcio Xur- st'iv :it ii-'incc'l piicis, Iho l{jiilio:i'l beiii;j; lakl out throiii;1i it. Kxt!-ii"lai;;c ami bi/autiful l-'niit and Ornaincutal Trees, ami also pm ilU-r sizes. -.^ j^ ■, ■, i- ^ ■ 8,U0) I'l'ai-s hu IV ir, 8 years grafletl, and from 10 to 12 feet in hciL'lil. iin'l 'iOiOOO of G to 10 foot. 10,0 ntliers, Pyrus umbicillata rosea and ati-o.^an- guinea. Bulbous flowers of everv variety, including all the sjilen- did Japan Lilie.s, 30 new Glaii cf tlieir patrons and IXt the )iub!ic in general to their verv extensive collection ft' FRLIT AND OKN.VVIKXTAL TKEK.S, .SHRL'BS, &c., would v - spectfuUy infoT-m t'leni that the stock they olTer for sale the coniii j; siiring is unusually Cue, both as regards quality of trees, vari^ i\ of kinds, i*cc. i^c. The soil and climate of the Hudson Highlands have rendi n I proverbial the success of the trees sent f riun iiere to all parts of li i " Union; and the accuracy and precision so indispensaiile in i1h> propagation of fruit trees for which tliis establishment has Imu; been celebrated, render errors in nomenclature of rare otcurrer.c.'. They have propagated in large quantities all the leailingstani!:ii d varieties which are proved best ad:ii)ted for genei-al cultivatioi'., i ^- peei.ally those recommended by the .\m.'iican l'(un()lo;;-!cal Sociily, as well as all novelties both of native and foreign origin. " To iiarticularize within the limits of an advertisement wouM ii'iliossible ; they refer to their General Catalogue, a copy of wli. '.[ will be sent to all post-paid appli&mts, ou enclosing, a post ('Mr- .stamp. The following comprises a portion of their stock, amhi" all of line growth, viz : Pi:,U{s in over 400 varieties, both standards on their own stm ; -^ for orchard culture, and on the Quince for dwarfs, jiyramids a:. 1 quenoueile, for garden culture. Ai'i>r.i;s in over 300 vaiieties, both standards and dwarfs. ('ni:iiKii:s, both standards and dwarfs. Pi.tT.M, Ai'RicoT, PiiAcu, NECTARINE and QtJiNXE trees, in cvr. . variety. GitAi'E Vises, both native and foreign, for vineries. Also, (lOOSEBEUKircs (50 best Lancashire varieties). Currants, R.\^i- BEERY and Stkawbeuky plants, of all leading and kiu.wn Idiivl- ; together with - Sea Kale, Asi'AKAors and Rhubaur roots. ORXAMi:XTAt^ Trees, SiiRUBis, and Vink.s, both deciduous mil evergreen, suitable for street and lawn planting, embracing all tii' new and rare conifers, weeping trees, and shrubs of recent iulru- duction. licsES in every variety, including Hybrid Perpetual, Hybri- Bourbon, Hybrid China, Hybrid Damask, Prairie, Boursault, A\ i - shire, and other hardy climbing and garden varieties, as well as 1li( more tender Tea, China, Bengal, Bourbon and Noisette vaiietifs. IlKRisAc'Enrs Plaxts. — A large collection of Pieonies, Phloxi < Campanula, Penstemon, ffinothera, cfcc. &c. Dahlias and Beddixg Plaxts, for the parterre and flower l'ii den, in largo quaniities and variety. Hedge Plaxts. — 500,000 strong two-vear-old Osage Oiange, li three dilTerent sizes, at ifplO, .fS and §6 per 1000; Buckthorn p'.aii,- two years old, at ?!8 per 1000. Dealers an'l planters of trees on a large scale will be dealt v, iii on the most liberal terms. Newburgh, March 1, 1854.— 2t VIRGINIA LAlfD FOS SALE. A VALUABLE tract of land for sale in Richmond and AVest- nioiel.ind counties, Virginia, containing 2700 acres — well tim- bered with ship and stave timber, well watered, and with vast beds of rich shell m.arl, enough to lime many such estates. The tract is about three miles from navigation, in'a healthy location, and in a good neighborhood. It can he bought for the low sum of .^10 per acre. The siil is good, and easily improved, with the means on it to put it in a high slate of cultivation ; about 1500 acres cleared ; builiiinirs smalt. It will make six or eight f:irms. I will make a deduction if sold without division. My address is 45 Broadway, Baltimore, Md. Persons wishing to purchase will call on or address me. and I will give any further information. 11. BEST. March 1, lS54.^3t GEITEGEE VALLEY NTJESESIES. A. FROST & CO. ROCHESTER, N, Y., OFFER to the public the coming spring one of the largest an finest stocks of Fruit and Ornamental Trees, ShruVis, Ro^.- &c., in the country. It in part consists of standard Apple, I'l in Cherry, Plum, Peach, Apricot, Nectarine and Quince Trees. Al,->' Dwarf and Pyramid Pi'ars and Ajiples. SMALL FRUITS. — Native and Foreign Grapes, old and new s. . ! of Currants, finest Lancashire Gooseberries, Strawberries, l!,i j berries, &c. &c. The ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT comprises a greatvail of Deciduous and Evergreen Trees, Shrubs, Vines and C'rei j wliidi includes upward of of 300 varieties of the Rose. BEDDINii PLANTS.— 1.50 varieties of Dahlias, a large colkci; of Verbena.s, Petunia.", Helictropes, &c. kc. Priced Catalogues of the above will be m.oiled to all applicant enclosing a po.stage stamp for each Catalogue wanted, viz : No. 1. — Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits, Ornamental Tree- Shrubs, &c. No. 2. — Descripti\'C Catalogue of Green.Hon.se and Bedding Plan! of every description, including every thing new which may be in troduced u)) to its season, will be published in March each year. No. 3. — Wholesale Catalogue, published in September. Februa-y 1, 1854.— tf EIVEE BANK NUKSEEY,: Opposite the Race Course, North St. P,aul-st., Rochester, N. V. WE rei|nest the attention of purcha.«ers to our stock of FRl'il TREES. It comprises all the varieties of merit, and will bi sold at reasonable prices. The most careful and jirompf attentim will be gi\en to all orders we may be favored w ilh. GEO. H. CHERRY k CO. Jj3^ Western Nurserymen can be accommodated with a h;rg( amount of voung stock, of the choicest kinds." JIarch 1, 1854.- 2t FOR SALE, BLACK MAZZ.AJID CHERRY STO(;KS, one year old. JAilES C. CAMPBELL, Rochester, N. Y. March 1, 1854.— 2t. THE GENESEE FARMER. 135 r AVER'S CHERRIT PECTORAL., For the rapid cure of COUGHS. COLDS, HOARSENESS, BRONCHITIS, WHOOPING-COUGH, CROUP, ASTHMA, AND CONSUMPTION. Ti) CURE A COLD, ■WITH IIKADACIIE AXD SOREXKSS OF TlIK iSODY, take the (^ukkky 1'kctoual ou ^oing to beil, and • wrap up wanii, to sweat durinj; tlie night.. FOK A (X)I.D AXD COUtJlI, ialce it niorninjr, noon and eveiiinfr, BccorcUug to directions on the liottle, and tlie dilticulty will soon be removed. X'one will long sulier from tliis trouliK'. wluu tlu-y tind it can be so readily cured. I'ersons afllicted with a seated cougli, which brealvs tliem of their rest at niglit, will find by t;iking the Ch:'.!!i;y PiiCTOR.VL on going to beil, they may be sure of sound, un- brcdicn sleep, and eonset|iient refreshing rest. Great relief i'roni sullering, and an ultimate cure, is ali'ordod to thousands who are tlius afliicted, by this invaluable renie'iy. Fiom its agreeable effect in these cases, many find themselves tjnwilling to forego its nse v.-hen the necessitv for it has ce.i.sed. TO .SiXClvlW AXD Pl'BLlC Sl'KAKKKS this remedy is invalua- ble, as by its action on tlie tlnoat ami lungs, when taken in sra.all quantitii'S, it removes all hoarseness in a.few hours, and wonder- fully in n'ases the power and flexibility of the voice. ASTtl.M.V is generally much relieved, and often whoUy cured, by CiiKKKY PjiCTOR.iL. But thcrs are some case.-) so obsUnale as to vield entirely to no medicine. Cherry Pectoral -will cure them, if they can be cured. UilOXCIIITIS, or irritation of the tlu-oat and upper portion of the lungs, may be cured by taking Cherry Pectoral in small and frequent doses. The uncomfortable oppression is soon relieved. F(.)K CROUP. (live an emetic of antimony, to be followed by lai-gc and frequent doses of the Ciierky Pi:cToirAL, until it subdues the disease. If taken in season, il ivill not fall to cure. ■WHOOPIX'li-COUtrH may be broken up and soon cured by the I u-'c (d' Cherry Pectoral. " THE IXFLUEXZA is speedily remo\-ed by this remedy. Nu- merous instances have been noticed where \vliole families were nroteeted from any serious consequences, while their neigldiors .vithout tlie (.'ilERRY Pectoral >vere suffeiing fioin the disease. ' Iti'ieated instances are reported here of patients wh>> hue lj(jeu cured from I.IVER COMPLAIKTS, by this remedy, so many that there can be no question of its healing povv r on tlieso diseases. It should be persevcringly taken until the pain ia the side and other unpleas- ant sviiintoms cease. FO'li COX.SU.MPTIOX" in its earliest stages, it should be taken under the advice of a good physician, if possible, and in eve -y case with a careful regard to the printed directions on the bottle. If ju- diciously used, and the patient is carefully nursed meantime, it will seldom fail to sulidiie the di.-ea^e. for settled C0X>'U.MPTIOX in its -worst form, the Cheery Pec- toral should be giveu in doses adapted to what the patient leqiiires land can bear. It always ailoids some relief, and not unfrcquently cures those who are considered past all cure. There arc many thousands scattered all over the country, who feel and say that (hey owe their lives and piesent health to the Cherry' I'ectoral. This remedy is offered to the coniniimity with the conSdence v.^e feel in an ar!i<-'.i' which seldom f.iils to realize the happiest elVects (hat can Im.' di-, 1852. -luseyoui Cherry Pecioial ilailv in my practice, and am satisfied it is a remedy which iuu-:t ni'-'et in everv country (he higiiest approhation. V. W. .lACKHEER, .M.'p., Resident Court Physician. .PREPARED AXD SOLD BY .TAMES C. AYKK. PU.ACTIC.U. AXD ANALYTICAL C!fi:\H?T, LOWELL,MAS.S. 'Sold by LANE & PAXE, Rochester, and 1)V all Druggists every ivhere. Maich 1, 1S54.— ly consifioration. Dr. .1. C. Avi ffiontcuts o£ lt)is Nuntkr. Hints for April, _ lO.') Hints for PracficiU .Men, l.. 101 Wheat aftcrCorn,.. 107 Reasons why Collee is not well Made, lOS Address Delivered hefoi-e the franklin County Agricultural So- ciety, bv Daniel Lee, il.T).,. , ' 1 108 The Col Ion Gin,. .j. . ... 110 Ve.retable Vitality......... i. Ill Distillery Slops,..' . 113 Farming in California, llli Indiana Farming, 114 (Jood Tillase a Preventive of Drouth, .. 11,') Potato Insect, llC Chimney Swilllbws, :__ . 11(5 Superphospliate of Lime, 117 ArtilU-ial Breeding of I'isli 117 I'biw vs. h^pade,..! .' im* (target in Cows, 1 US Octagon Barns, lit Cheeses Weighing ovei- Five Hundred Pounds Eacti, .-... 120 (HI of Peppeiioiut, 121 Ag.ieultura! Improvements, 1 121 Bushel and Acre, 121 Ancient Agriculturists, 121 UOKTICnLTU'R.U. nKI'ART.MEXT. Bedding Pl.inls, _ ^ 122 The Gooseberry, .^ 122 .Seedling .Vpples jj 123 A Distruclive Worm, .: . 124 To Prevent Insects from a.scending I'luiii Trees, 1*24 The Horticultural Review and Botanical Magazine, 124 .\meriean Fruit-growers' Guide, 124 Seedless. Api'lcs, 12'i The yi:-nrW. Rose Stock, ..124 I. vi>ii;s' j)!:i'A:iT.'irEyT. .•\si-arauu> M C'l lur Coliee, 125 Thunder Storms, 12.1 Fires in Chimneys,... .- 125 Economy ill '■ , ; ''' '. 1:^5 Chcsrfoini ■ . 125 KUITOL'S TABrL. Premiums for IS.W, 12G April, . . _. 12'j Mount A'ernon for , an Agricultural College, ■ 12i5 Cause and Cure of the Potato Kot, 126 Importation of Cattle into England, 12G Introduction of Wheat i!ito the Valley of the Genesee, 12^ Transactions of the Wisjonsin State .VfricuParal Society 127 Wool-growing in Austraiui, . .. '^ 127 (Joder's Lady's Book. . 127 Tlie New York .Journal, . 127 Blackwood's Magazine, ' V21 Illustrated Magazine of Ait,. 12; Inij,uiiies and jUiswers, ]i7 ILLUSTK yriO.N's. Eagle Cotton Gin, Ill Improved Octagon Barn, __ 120 Hough ton's Se -dliug iJooseberrv, ;■. 12;t TEMPEST HOME PEOTECTION. INSUilAXCE com: PAX Y. CAPITAL, $250,000. Organizeii December 21, 1S52— Chartered Mirch 1, 1S53. nOMK- ONLY INSURED BY THIS C O M P A XY. X'o one Risk taken for more than $.jOOO. Ho.'iE Opeice, Mkrjbia.n, X'. Y. .Many distinguished pe.r.sons have insured tlieii homes' to the onT>ur.t of .S3000 each in this Companv, anion? whom an' V.s- I'resid.nt V.\N BUREX, Kinderliocdc; Kx-Governo.SK.WARD, Al- burn; DAXIEL S. DICKIXSON, E.k U. S. Senator, Biiigliamito- . To nhiim it mny rinre.rn : .\v.w\xy. Afav 1«1b. IS-O:;. We are personally acquainted \yith many c^f the OiHro's and D'- rectois of the Tcmjiest Insurance Coiapauy, located at Meridi.m, Cayuga county, N. Y. In our oi)inion tiiey are .among the most v.ealliiy and substantial class of farmers in this county. J. N. STARIN," ELMORE P. KO'^S. THOMAS Y. lin\VK, .fr. The above gentlemen will be recognised as the Cashier (fCayug.i County Bank. Auburn; Postmaster, Auburn; and Ex-Member of Ouigress, Auluirn. Cavuga county, N. Y. February 1, 1854— ly 136 THE GENESEE FARMER. THE PREMIUMS FOR 1854. ♦♦-► — - T^TIME EXTEJS'DED TILL THE FIFTEEJYTH OF JUJVE...^ Till- Proprietor of the GENESEE FARMER, encoiira-ed by the liberal support long extended to this journal by its friends and patrons, announces that the Fiftkkxtu Volume of the second series, commencnig January, lo54, wiU con- tain a third more reading matter than any of its predecessors, and be otherwise much improved, without any increase ""^ T.'' enlarge tlie usefulness bv extending the circulation of the GENESEE FARMER, the undersigned wiU pay the following PREMIUMS on subscriptions to Volume XV., second series : FIFTY EOLLARS, IN CASU to the person who shaU procure tlie LARGEST Nr:MP.ER OF SUBSCRIBERS in any^County or Dis- trict in the United States or Canadas, at the club prices. FORTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one who shall procure the SECOND LARGEST LIST, as above. THIRTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one jirocuring the THIRD LARGEST LIST. TWENTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one procuring the FOURTH LARGEST LIST. TEN DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one procuring the FIFTH LARGEST LIST. In order to reward every one of the friends of the GENESEE FARMER for his exertions in its behalf we wU give to those not entitled to either of the above premiums, the following BOOKS, free of postage, or EXTRA PAPERS as may be preferred : 1 To everv person who sends SIXTEEN subscribers, at the club terms of thirty-seven cents each, ONE EXTRJ COPY OF THE FARMER. I " To every person sending for TWENTY-FOUR copies, as above, any AGRICULTURAL BOOK valued a FIFTY CENTS, or TWO EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER. .3 To everv person ordering TfllRTY-TWO copies, anv AGRICULTURAL BOOK worth SEVENTY-FIVl CENTS, or THREE EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER. 4 To everv person ordering FORTY copies, anv AGRICULTURAL BOOK valued at ONE DOLLAR, o FOUR EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER. .5 To everv pei-son orderinsr FORTY-EIGHT copies, any ARGRICULTURAL BOOK worth ONE DOLLA] AND TWENTY-FIVE CENTS, or FIVE EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER. For larger numbers, books or papers given in the same proportion. To save cost to our friends, we pre-pay postag on all books sent as premiums. Persons entitled will please state whether they wish books or extra papers, and mak their selection when they send orders, if thev desire books -, or if they have not obtained as many subscribers as the intend to, we will dalay sending until the club is full, if so requested. We do not require that all the i^apers of a clu should be sent to one' post-oflice. If necessary for the convenience of subscribers, we are willing to send to as man different offices as there are members of the club. We write the names on each paper, when a number are sent to th same office, if desired ; but when convenient. Postmasters would confer a favor by having the whole number ordered a their own office, sent to their own address. Z-^ As all subscriptions commence anew with the year, places where the FARMER was never before ta,ken wiJ stand an equal chance in the competition for premiums. ZS' BACK VOLUMES of the FARMER will be furnished, if desired, and coimted the same as new subscribers We shall keep a correct account of the subscribers sent by each person, and in the JULY NUJNIBER WE SHALl ANNOUNCE THE PREMIUMS. :Z^ Specimen numbers, show-bills, &c., sent to all post-paying applicants. All letters must be post-paid or fret Subscription money, if properly enclosed, may be mailed at our risk. THE VOLUME FOR 1854 IS PRINTED ON GOOD PAPER, WITH NEW TYPE,? BOUGHT EXPRESSLY FOR Tl A gentleman, gi-aduate of the l^niversity of Vienna, who is familiar with the languages of those nations in which tb* science of agriculture is most cultivated, will aid us in translating for the FAR^nIER" whatever can instruct or interee its readers. This gentleman is by profession a Ci\il Engineer and Architect — branches of knowledge intimately con nected with the progress of rural arts and sciences. The general character of our paper is thus pithily stated b^ th Hon. Mahsiiam, P. Wilpi;r, President of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, and of the United States Horticul tural and Agricultural Societies, in a letter now on our table, which closes as follows : •' I have alwavs had the Genesee F.\RMEn. It is, icithout favor or affection, the best paper in the country. I " ^Marsiiai,/. p. Wilder." As our duV) ]irice to each subscriber is only thirty-seven cents a year, no matter how many agricidtural journals on may take, to patronize the FARMER can not impoverish him. DA.NIEL;LEE, Publisher aud Proprietor. Vol. XV., Second Series. ROCHESTER, K Y., MAY, 1854. No. 5. THE GENESEE FARMER, A MONTHLY JOfRXAt. OF AGRICULTURE & HORTICULTURE. VOLUME XV., SECOND SEIRES. 1834. EACH N'UMBEU CONTAINS 82 ROYAL OCTAVO PAGES, IN DOUBLE COLUMNS, AND TWELVE NUMBERS FORM A VOLUME OF 3S4 PAGES IN A YEAR. Terms. Single Copr, §0.50 Five Copies, _ 2.00 Eight Copies, 3.00 And at the same rate fur any larger number. 5;^" Remittances properly mailed, and postage paid, at the risk of the Publisher. DAKIEli LEE, Publisher ami Prnpriclor, Rochester, N. Y. INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS WITH LIME AND ASHES. Mr. D. G. AYeems, of Tracy Landing, ild., has kindly sent us the Fourth. Annual Report of Dr. Higgitis, State jJgricultural Chemist, from which we copy the followiii<; instructive and interesting ac- count of the vahie of lime and ashes as fertilizers, extending through five successive annual crops : " CAMBRinoK, Dec. 24, 18.53. "Dr. James Higgin.s — Deak Sir: — I regret that I have been unable to comply with your request, made of me early last spruig, in regard to instituting a series of experiments in agriculture, to test the value of dif- ferent fertilizers upon difierent crops, upon various soils whose constituent parts had previously been ascer- tained by accurate analyses. " To aid in the end you had in view, early in the season I laid off several lots in my field for corn, specimens of which had been analyzed by you during your visit to our county, and manured with lime, ashes and guano ; but, I am sorry to say, the whole jffort proved a miseral)le abortion. The worm and Jry weather in the spring seriously injured the crop, ind the umisual flood of July almost entirely de- stroyed what was left by the worm. " Having then obtained no results from the experi- nents undertaken at your suggestion, I may perhaps urther the end you have in view, and not be ' traveling )ut of record,' if I give you the results of other e.x- )eriments demonstrating the same points, and under- xiken a few years since, and some continued to the , )resent year. The first one I shall refer to has been I carried through a period of five years and to the present season ; it was reported to you, as far as it had been carried, in the year 1850, and noted in your first report. As stated in that communication, I se- lected several acres of land, in the year 1849, for experiments with lime and ashes, to test their relative value as manures for wheat, corn and clover. A por- tion of the soil of these several lots, all lying contigu- ous, you have examined and shown its elementary parts in your first report. Upon lot No. 1 I applied 100 bushels of ashes and reaped 17^ bushels of clean wheat, and upon lot No. 3 only 7 bushels; lot No. 2 was not gathered to itself, but stands equal in appear- ance with lot No. 1. The crop was sold for $1 per bushel, ©ne year all the lots rested in clover, when they were fallowed and the clover turned under; and upon the whole field about 100 bushels of stone lime per acre was applied, including all the experimental lots. Thus, upon lot No. 1 had been ai^plied 100 bushels of ashes and 100 bushels of lime, making a total cash outlay on said acre of $20.50. The crop that year (1851) was 33^ bushels, which sold for about $1 per bushel (not having my account book before me, I can not state the precise amount). The crop on lot No. 3 was not noted after the first year ; but taking the product of that season as a standard of comparison (and the crop was full for the land ; there was no rust, smut or other disaster attending it), and we have the following results, showing the value and superiority of lime, bushel per bushel, with such ashes as I used; and in an economical point of view, and for the production of wheat and corn, and the profit flowing from a free use of both, thus: Two ernps of wheat in 3 years, from acre No. 1, improved land, 17>i and 33^^, at $1 per bushel,... $60.76 Deduct charge for cash paid for 100 busliels ashes, $12.50 " " " " 100 " stone lime, 8.00 " 3 years' interest on land, $10 per acre, 1.80 " 2 " " cash advanced for lime and ashes, _ _ 2.40 " also, charge for seed, cultivation, har\'esting crop, hauling and spreading lime and a£he8, and threshing, 11.00 35.70 $15.06 The product of acre No. 3 was, as above stated, first year, only 7 bushels ; and taking that as a standard for the next year, we have as a result two crops, 14 bushels, _. $14.00 Deduct interest on land, $10 per acre, labor of cultivating, threshing, harvesting, &c., 4.40 $9.60 " This comparison shows that ashes pay well, but lime better, especially when compounded with the 138 THE GENESEE FARMER. former; and though the oulay was heavy, yet it soon paid back and iiroved the better economy. lu the three vears alluded to, two of cultivation and one of rest, tiie whole cost of improvement was repaid with intere-^t on land and improvements, and left a net balance on liand of ^15.05. AVhercas the net value of the products of acre No. 3 amounted to oiilj; $9M for the .same period, being less than No. 1 by $')A'->. "The same liold has been in cultivation twice^ since; once in corn and once in wheat, making up the f) years through which the experiment has been conducted and the results noted. The crop of corn in 1852 was on the separate acres not measured. The crop from the entire field averaged .53 bushels per acre, and that on acre No. 1 was decidedly best. The crop of wheat on that portion of the field where the lots were situ- ated w^as injured bv the winter, fly, rust, and other disasters, and ilid not make a full yield. The product from acre No. 1 was only about 17 bushels. Add these resuly to the above statement, and we have the result of the five years: Net balance, ns alwve shown, for 3 years, -;.---- ^^^-^^ Crop of corn, 1852, 5." bushels, at 60 cents, $31.80 Crop of wheat, 1353, now on baud, estimated at $1.50,. 25.60 $57.30 Deduct for seed, interest, cultivation, harresting, and other expenses, 20.90 36.40 $51,45 " We have thus, as final results of the five years since the first improvement was made, after deducting all expenses, charges and interest, the net sum of $51.4.5 per acre against ^19.20 per acre without the improvement — thus showing most conclusively the value of lime and ashes, in union or separately, as fer- tilizers for wheat and corn grown on such soils as I have described. " Other experiments I tried with various manures for sugar beets and mangel wurtzel. Two years in succession T planted my crop of these roots on a soil similar to the one just described, except that it con- tained more iron ; I manured heavily with hog dung and human excrement in the hill, but reaped very poor crops, yet the same land had produced very fine corn a year or two before. But the last year of the two a portion of the crop was pitched on the spot where a pile of ashes had lain for a month or two, until they could be removed to the field, and the crop on that spot waa magnificent; some of the roots measured 5.96 inches in diameter. I consulted Boussingault, and the mystery was solved at once. Your analysis proved that the land contained but a small portion of potash, and the analysis of the ash of the beet showed an unusual quantity was consumed by that plant, and that for the successful cultivation of the crop on my soil an extra supply was absolutely neces- sary. The next year I manured a few rows as usual; but on the balance ashes were apphed on the drill after planting, and some before, at the rate of about 100 bushels per acre. The result was as I expected. The crop was very fine where the ashes were applied, and very sorry where they were not. But it seems from these results to require a large supply of potash in the drill for a heavy crop, not only because of the ■lemand for consumption, but from their inability to push out their roots laterally in search of food, but a e confined to a small space. " Thus it seems that liine is a necessary applicatii ■: on my soil for the production of heavy crops of whL-.\t and com, and potash for crops of beets; both a!«a.ly siB and experiments prove this, and tJiey have bn ■ proven to be the best applications respectively for th respective crops. Without lime, as well as other t'io- ments, in a soil in proper proportion, wheat can not be n-rown; neither can beets without an adequate sujh ply'^of potash in proportion with other elements, if there be enough of all other substances and none nf these, the crop nniat fail; or if not enough in propfir- tion to others, the crop must be starved. As w-" might a manufacturer expect to make a piece of e siuet with cotton warp alone; wool must be suppli* - in proportion to the cotton used. If either is wanting, or in too great an abundance, or out of proportioii. the product must fail, or the surplus be unprofitaijlc. Farming is a great system of manufacturing. The farmer must have his proper materials in sufficioi;' abundance and proper proportions, if he expects ;-; realize satisfactory results. It is the business of chemistiy to investigate these matters, to reveal the constituent parts of plants, to show their wants, aJid the proportion necessary for their life and liealtliiul developments, to show where they can be found, whew in abundance and where not. But carefully couduct;i i experiments, I am aware, arc necessary to the support of science, and the absence of them is the cause of the many errors learned men commit in deducing their theories. With the view of contributing my humb!'^ efforts to shed light on a profession not properiy my own, I have undertaken the experiments above de- tailed, and give the results for what they may be worth. I remain yours, &c,, James Wallace." We in-vite attention to the fact that so much as 33 J, bushels of wheat may be grown by the use of linie and ashes alone, without any ammonia, or organic manure of any kind. With cheap mineral fertilizers, one may grow clover and other renovating crops so as to attain a high degree of fruitfulness, without either guano or the manure of the stable or barn-yard. In one sense, all organic manures may be regarded us themselves valuable crops ; for whether produced on the farm or purchased from abroad, they may cost the value of an ordinary crop. To escape this heavy expense, the farmer has only to provide such ingre- dients as form the ash of cereals, clover, and other agricultural plants, to avail himself of the peculiar benefits of rotation of crops, and the resom-ces of the atmosphere. On many poor soils, lime alone has the poorer to bring out latent potash, soda, magnesia, chlorine, phos- phoric and sulphuric acids enough to supply the wants of several good crops. These minerals are always more or less locked up in earthy masses in an insolu- ble, and therefore unavailable, condition. The farmers of New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, experience great advantages from th« free use of calcareous manure ; and the comparative neglect of lime in other States, and in the longest cultivated portions of the British Provinces, invoIvo,-i a loss which ought to be removed. We have recently -iisited the States in which fanners use most lime, and every where found them well satisfied with the prac- I tical results of this system. THE GENESEE FARMER. 139 IMPORTATION OF EUROPEAN CATTLE. Thr Aitieriean Agriculturist complains of this jounuil for copyinti:, as a matter of agricultural news, a short article from the St. Louis Evening JVews, stating that Mr. Huxt, the Belgian Consul at St. Louis, "is organizmg an association with a large capital for the express purpose of importing stock from Belgium and Germany." Our contemporary devotes two columns of comments to this subject, in which statements are made that deserve a passing uotice at our hands. He says : " Now, we can assure the people of St. Louis in particular, and Missouri in general, that they could not well do a more I'oohsh thing than to import Dutch, French and Belgian cattle. It would be in fact worse than throTxing the money away ; for the animals on arrival at St. Louis would not be worth the cost of their freight, to say nothing of other expenses. The cattle of these countries are no better in any single point than the good native cattle of the United States. They are not imported into England for the purpose of imj^roving the Enghsh breed, but for beef and other purposes. Yet English cattle are taken to the above countries at high prices, for the express purpose of improving their native stock. The very best of continental stock is not equal to the thii-d best breed of England. " ^Ve have often imported the best Dutch, Flemish, French and Spanish cows into America ; and they can now be found pure bred, or nearly so, from the Canadag to Louisiana. Yet ask any good judge of stock whether they are any improvement to our na- tive breed, of which they are in a measure the foun- dation ? The answer will be an emphatic — No. " The Dutch cows of certain breeds give a large quantity, but a poor quality, of milk ; so does the English Yorkshire, and thousands of nati\'e American cows. But when the Dutch have doue milking, it costs nearly as much to fatten them as thej^ arc worth. Not so with a good Short-horn or Devon. When properly bred, they will give large messes of rich milk; and when dried off to fatten, they take on flesh very rapidly, and pay the feeder a good profit" When the senior editor of the Agriculturist was importing "Dutch, Flemish, French and Spanish cows," Berkshire hogs, and other fancy animals, into the United States to be sold at high prices, we thought no better of the entei-prise then than he appears to think of the Belgian Consul's noiv. It being a pri- vate business transaction, it was no part of our edi- torial duty to use the press to condemn the importa- tions of Allen & Co. ; nor shall we imitate the Ag- riculturist in proclaiming the " folly of the people of St. Louis in particular, and of Missouri in general," if they do what the Allens have done. If we take any notice at all of these doings, our purpose is to act the part of an impartial historian; and in that capacity, it should not be necessary to expose past humbugs as the means of preventing their repetition. The Agriculturist devotes most of its article to a labored puff of Short-horn and Devon stock ; and it treats its readers with statements that have been a thousand times asserted but never proved, although the proof has been demanded for twenty years by the dairymen and growers of beef cattle in this State. When or where has it ever been demonstrated by a fair trial, that a Short-horn or a Devon steer can elaborate more or better meat from any given amount of grass, hay, roots or grain, than our best native steers of the same age ? When or wheie was it proved that our best native cows can not separate as much milk, butter and cheese from any given quan- tity of suitable food as the best De\on or Short-horn cows separate ? The Presidents and a majority of the Executive Oflicers of the New York State Agricultural Society have, from its beginning, placed that institution under the control of Short-horn and Devon cattle breeders; ar,d we have, year after year, urged them to test by fair experiments the superiority of their high-priced imported living machines for the production of meat, wool, milk, cheese and butter, with such native ma- chines as are used for similar purposes. They have uniibrmly evaded such a trial. They are justly ap- prehensive that true weights and measures, and genuine science, will spoil their lucrative trade. Hence, specu- lation, not an increase of professional knowledge, is the spirit that governs too many agricultural associa- tions. A radical reform is greatly needed ; and we have watched for " the good time coming " when the people would demand it. We do not say that the so-called improved animals, of whatever name, are worthless, but that their supe- riority should be demonstrated by a larger return in value for their care and keep than less expensive ani- mals yield. Any such race ha\'ing such vouchers of unequaled productiveness will command our earnest commendation. Give us a Herd Book based on science in place of tradition. Your cattle and swine genealogies must be weighed in an exact balance ; and if not found wanting, they will gain much by having passed the ordeal. How you created the first pure blood, and how its virtues have been subse- quently meliorated, until all other blood is dross in comparison, you must make plain to common farmers. Knowledge, not pretension, is the one thing needful in rural arts and literature. IMPROVED NATIVE COWS. Having been reared on a dairy farm, and paid much attention to the economical production of milk, we have never yet seen any breed of imported cows that was able to elaborate more milk, butter or cheese from 1000 pounds of grass, hay or roots, than our best native cows yield.- Nor are we alone in this opinion. The Hon. John W. Proctor, of Danvei-s, Mass., one of the most distinguished farmers of the State, in an address before the Agricultural Society of Hillsborough county, N. H., made the following statement bearing on this subject: "Where can be found an animal excelhng the Oakes cow for butter? * * * She was a small sized, ordinary looking cow, with a small head and neck, straight back and broad hind parts, with milk vessels of best form and capacity. She was taken when about two years old, by a farmer in Danvers, from a drove on its way from Maine to Brighton, without any certificate of pedigree, as many others have been taken, and proving to be a good milker, was sold to his brother Oajkes, 140 THE GENESEE FARMER. a shoo mannfacturer, to afford milk for his family." An accomil wu,s kept of the ))uttei- made from her in one season. Tliis was in 1816 ; and from May 17th, when her calf was killed, to December next following, she yielded 16 Itis. of butter per week, besides one quart of milk per day for the use of the family. ]\Ir. Pkoctoh says, " of the truth of this statement there is not a shadow of doubt. A more reliable man than Mr. Oakes never lived. I knew him well. But it may be said that she was high fed or she never could have done this. So be it. Can it be expected of any animal to create such produce from nothing ? Suppose a cow to yield 20 (piarts of milk a day throughout the year, how much do you think would be the weight of the milk? If I figure right, 15,000 ibs., or nearly 8 tons. Can this be expected of a cow without something to feed on ? " FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SEC. OF THE MASS. BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. We are indebted to Cuarles L. Flnt, Esq., Sec- retary of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, for a copy of his first annual report, together with the reports of . Committees appointed to visit the County Societies of the State. The document con- tains 186 pages, and reflects credit upon its talented and industrious author. It is mainly devoted to an elaborate rcAaew of the past and present condition of the agriculture of Massachusetts; and as such it will be read with interest and profit, not only by the farm- ers of that commonwealth, but by cultivators in other States into whose hands it may chance to fall. Of all the crops, the cultivation of which is dis- cussed in this report, no one is likely to be less under- stood by our readers than that of the cranberiy; and to this fruit the attention which we are now able to bestow on Massachusetts farming, will be confined, Mr. Flixt says that the American cranberry is ex- ported very largely to Europe, though it is not uni- versally considered as eciual to the Russian. Its natu- ral habitat extends from Canada to North Carolina, and in the swamp districts along the great lakes and rivers, indefinitely westwai'd, perhaps to the base of the Rocky Mountains. At the request of the Secretary, Prof Horsford, of Cambridge University, made an analysis of the ash of the (Vuit of this ])lant, with the following re- sult : The fruit has 88.75 per cent, of water ; and it is therefore a very watery fruit, as those familiar with cranberries will bear witness. The per cent, of ash is small, being only .17 per cent, or about one-sixth of one per cent, on the undried berries. Deducting charcoal, sand and carbonic acid, the ash was found to be compoaad of — Potasb, 50.7956 Si)cl.a, 7507 Chloride of sodium (common salt), 2..5619 Lime, 12.1443 Magne-sia, 8.2370 Sesqui-oxide of iron, 1.2433 Sesqui-oxide of manganese, tr.ace. .SuliiUunc acid, 4.2845 Silicic acid, 5.7251 Phosphoric acid, 14.2354 100.0000 To ti-ansform a wet swamp filled with bushes of no value into a cranberry plantation, is a pretty expen- sive operation. On this part of the subject Mi-, Flint makes the following remarks : " ]Many fields which I have seen, are thus arranged. Swamps like those described, which have always been considered as entirely incapable of improvement, have beci^ reclaimed in many instances, with great lal)or, and filled up with coarse, white beach sand, and often when the swamp has been covered with water to the depth of three or four feet. The plants have then been set out in the manner desci-ibed, from one foot to eighteen inches apart, in holes made in the sand by a small stick, hoe or dibble, and sometimes with the hand; a small cluster of roots taken from the sod in which they had been taken from their natural posi- tion, freed from grass and roots, being placed in each hole. In such a situation there will always be mois- ture enough for them. " The cost in these cases varies from f 100 to $400 per acre. Under the most favorable circumstances, I have never known an acre prepared in this way to fall below $125 ; and that, too, even where it has been prepared in the most economical way, all the labor being performed by the owner himself The cost, in the situations described, including the origi- nal preparation by paring, fencing, filling up with sand, procuring and setting out the roots, has more frequently been about $300 per acre. In many cases within my knowledge, the owner has contracted to pay at the rate of $1.87^ a square rod for preparing the land and setting out the plants properly. In somewhat more favorable situations, the contractor pays $1.50 a rod, or at the rate of $240 per acre. " When the roots are thus transplanted, a foot or a foot and a half being left between them, they are expected to spread and entirely cover the ground with vines in about three years. If the plantation is troubled by grasses at first, the rapid growth of the 2)lants will generally destroy them in the course of three or four years. In one of the most successful cases which have come under my observation, where the i^lants have been set about si.x years, the quan- tity of grass and weeds was much less the last season than the jireceding ; the vines produced abundantly, and there seems to be every reason to suppose that the canberries will very soon take full possession of the ground. But if they are set sufficiently near, and have a proper amount of labor bestowed upon them, they will ordinarily, on sand, get an early hold of the ground and bid defiance to all opposition. ******* " But in estimating the comparative profits of the upland and lowland cultivation, it will be borne in mind that the labor on the upland is gi'eater, and the land more valuable for other purposes. The liability to frosts is not, however, quite so great when the cranberries are in blossom. There can be no doubt that it will grow and do well on upland, and produce too a superior fruit ; but it seems to prefer a poor, sandy soil, full of moisture, such as can be best ob- tained by improving swamps, wliich, unless used for this pur])ose, are nearly worthless. Half an acre of cranberries, on a veiy rich upland soil, has been esti- mated by the owner to have cost him, after being set four years, and including labor, interest of land, and other expenses of cultivation, about $300, or at the rate of nearly $600 to the acre ; whereas it has been THE GENESEE FAEMER 141 seea that the roughest and most uncompromising swamps may be reclaimed and set with cranberries at about half that amount. If the soil be a rich loam, as in the case above mentioned, the grass and weeds struggle very hard for the mastery, while on the poor and barren sand they hardly grow at all, if the ground has been properly prepared in the first instance ; so that the labor of cultivation is but very little at most, and many think that no care at all is needed. Thus, there seems to be much truth in the remark which I have often heard on this subject : ' Grive us sand and water enough, and we can grow cranberries to any extent' So far as my own observation extends, the fruit grown on pure white sand is quite equal in point of size and firmness to that gi'own on upland. More experiments may, however, show further advantages in its extended culture on upland. " It should be remarked that it will be well to spend BufBcient time in planting the vines to do it properly, since they will thus get an earlier start, and sooner cover the gi-ound. In the case of one jilantation, visited during the process of transplanting, after the sand had b<3en filled in and leveled, a line was carefully drawn and marks were made in the sand, eighteen inches one way and one foot the other, when holes were dug three inches deep by one man mth a hoe, while others followed, dropping five or six roots into each hole, and after him followed a boy who pressed the sand carefully about them. In this way an acre was quickly planted. " No manure is needed for the cranberry. Indeed, Ci*om what has been said, it will be evident that the poorer the ground the better. In the experiments which have come under my observation, where manure was used, it caused the coarse grass to grow abun- dantly, to the injury of the cranberry plants, which were not apparently benefitted by the manure. But in cases of upland culture, swamp muck is often used about the ^ines with apparent profit " In the case of nnes growing naturally, it will be found advantageous to spread over them occasionally > a thin covering of sand. ' " Time of Planting. — If the cranberry is to be raised from seed, it may be so-mi in the fall or in the roring. For some reasons the latter is prefen-ed, and the mouth of May is selected. It is better to crush the fruit and separate the seed from the pulp, though the latter is not necessary. The beriw is sometimes crushed and mixed with sand, by which means the sowing is made more easy. " If the plants are to be propagated by cuttings, tiie spring is considered as preferable. The ground should be moist, but not liable to be flowed immedi- ately after planting. " But for the usual mode of transplanting the vines, tiie fall is generally preferred, though there seems to be no difficulty in making them live when transplanted at any season of the year. I have known them transplanted in the middle of summer, and to live and do well But if the planting be done in the fall, they take root in the spring and grow more vigor- ously the first year than they otherwise would. For this reason, if the ground can be made ready in the fall, it is desirable to have the vines set out then, and they will thus ordinarily have the start of those planted the following spring, by two or three months. If planted in the autumn, they will also bear a little the next summer, and the crop will increase gradually till the fourth or fifth year, when it seems to attain its highest yield. Circumstances may make some differ- ence in the length of time which must pass before a full crop is obtained, as if the vines are nmch choked up by grass, and retarded in their gi-owth by want of care. The statement made above, both as to the time ordinarily required, and aa to the eflect of the unfavorable circumstances alluded to, is confirmed by the experience of many who have been engaged in the cultivation of cranberries long enough to have had opportunities of extended observation on the sul)ject Tliere seems to be no reason why the crop should diminish after the fifth year, nor is it certain that it will, as a general rule ; yet it is evident that i^ at this age, the thrifty and healthy vines have covered the whole ground, they will be likely to bear to their utmost capacity. Probably, after the seventh or eighth year, it will be found to be well to rake or stir the surface under the vines so far as it can be done, or perhaps to spread over them a thin covering of sand or loam. " The Yield. — ^The yield will vary according to cir- cumstances, but about one hundred and fifty bushels per acre will be a fair average ; though an acre in full bearing will often produce more than two hundred bushels. In a very large number of cases, a bushel to the square rod has been gathered without much trouble of cultivation. In one lot visited by me, more than three bushels to a rod, or at the rate of four hundred and eighty bushels to the acre, on two or three rods, were obtained from vers' thrifty vines on a peat bottom, with a thin covering of sand. This must be regarded as a remarkable yield ; and when the quality of the fruit is such as to command a ready sale at from nine to eleven dollars a baiTel, which waa offered for them the past season, this crop must be acknowledged to be very profitable. "Loudon remarks that Sir Joseph Banks, after having imported the American cranberry into Eng- land, raised, in 1831, three and a half bushels on a piece of land eighteen feet square. This is at the rate of about four hundred and sixty bushels to the acre. " It is probable, that for several years in succession, the average yield throughout the State would not be more than a hundred bushels per acre, if it were so great ; being some years much more than that, and others much less, the number of bushels varying ac- cording to the accidents of frosts and vriuter. '• The market value of this fruit will also be different in different seasons. In 1852, four dollars a bushel for cultivated cranberries were very readily obtained. During the past season, the price has ranged from two to four dollars a bushel, according to the quality; raising and falling, also, to some extent, according to the demand and the supply in the market. " The demand is rapidly increasing, and there can be little doubt that it will continue to increase as the superior quality of the cranberry, in some sections of this State, becomes better known. And if, owing to any circumstances, as competition from abroad, the value should fall to one dollar per bushel, it would still be a profitable and desirable product, especiallj when it is left to occupy its fa\'orite barren and other- wise unproductive swamps and dead sands." 142 THE GENESEE FARMER. SHORT-HORN CATTLE. Tire Prize Short-horn Ox, inustratcd on this page, presents a fair developuiont of all the important points of a good animal ; and their stndy is respectfully com- mended to the attention of all growers and breeders of neat stock. Hitherto, Russia has furnished a large ment of the soil, while they concentrate the value of farm produce, and enable it to be sent to the most distant markets. These are controlled mainly by cus- toms and habits. In one community the popular taste demands coffee ; in another, green tea ; in another, black tea ; and in another, there is no beef like that of a wcU-fattcd Shoii-horn bullock. As ..nonnt of tallow to England every year; and this supply will be cut off during the existence of the present war, which may last many years. This con- tinent ought to be able to send to Great Britain whatever tallow, lard and meat it may need from abroad; and now is the time to extend our economical production and export of these articles. Fat cattle -and pigs yield much manure, and favor the improve- producerg, farmers should watch the current of public sentiment. Every observing, experienced cattle-feeder knows that butchers and drovers pay fancy prices for beautiful animals, as compared with those given for animals ugly in form, color, &c., although yielding an equal amount of meat and tallow. Hence, taste and "good points" are matters of intrinsic value to the man who rears cattle for market. THE GENESEE FARMER. 148 IRRIGATION. Wk have often expressed our conviction of tlie fjreat utility of irrigating improved lands in this coiuitry; and it gives us pleasure to find our views fully sustained by intelligent Americans familiar with agriculture, who have observed the advantages of ir- rigation in Europe. L. G. Morris, Esq., late Presi- dent of the New York State Agricultural Society, yifered tht; following remarks on this subject in his address before said Society, at its annual meeting, held in Albany, February 9, 1854: " The next subject I will call your attention to is that of irrigation. While in Europe, in 1850, and a-iaia in 1852, I was forcibly struck with the great a(ivantage of this fertilizer. There is many a brook or strea:n nniuing comparatively waste througli a farm, that, if properly directed, woidd add as much to fertilizing the land of said farm as the ordinary stock kept upon it. If you will allow me to trespass ou your time, I will give a short description of the three modes of irrigation I saw in practice. '•In Devonshire, England, I saw what is called the 'catch meadow' system. The plan is this: A stream is dammed, and as large a pond formed at as high an elevation as the location will admit ; that pond is tapped by a small ditch or raceway, at its bottom, to drain it; that ditch or raceway leads tlie water, keep- ing it at the highest elevation its head will admit, and allowing its banks to overflow and irrigate as it me- anders along, by which means a certain number of acres of the farm can be watered. This process is performed in the fall, winter and spring, as often as tie pond will lil]. " An experiment of this kind I witnessed in Exeter, at tlie Royal Agricultural Meeting held in that place in 1850. Mr. Gkoroe Turxer, the celebrated agri- cultuiist of that section, exhibited the process on his own farm, and while the water was flowing made very full and explanatoiy remarks as to its eilicacy. Mr. TuRXER stated that he in-igated at any season of the year, excepting midsummer ; he also said he did not use matmre on the part irrigated, but would hurdle his sheep above the irrigated land where the w-atcr could not get : by which means he transferred the advantage of irrigation by the droppings of the ani- mals which liad consumed the pasture and hay, on the land below the water line. '•The only disadvantage, Mr. Turner stated by telling an anecdote of the celebrated breeder Bake- WFJ.L. Bakewei.l was so tenacious as to the exclu- sive breeding of superior animals himself, that he would not sell his old ewes to a breeder ; and when it became necessary to part with them, he would fat- ten them on irrigated land, and then say to the bntcher, 'You may sell them to breeders if you please, as they will never produce increase hereafter.' "This kind of pasture produces what is called the ROT (a disease of the liver), and if the animal is not killed that fall it will die before spring. Mr. Turner stated that he was veiy carefid never to graze his breeding flock ou such pasture. Homed stock and other animals he expressed no opinion as to injurious effects. " The second mode of irrigation I saw on the plains of Lombardy (near the city of Milan), the great country for making Parmezan cheese, which is pro- duced almost entirely from the grass and hay, as they very seldom feed any thing else to their cows. The process of making this cheese is very simj^le, and per- formed by men in a very careless and any thing but cleanly manner. " Tlie cows are kept tied in the stables the year round, and only put out a few hours each day for water and exercise ; they are rather better than an ordinary race of milkers, and are procured in Swit- zerland, at three years old, before they have produced their first calf; they are allowed to breed every year, and the young calves butchered ; and when they get too old for the dairy they are killed, and their jjlaces again supplied from Switzerland. They po&sess a very decided appearance as a distinct breed, being, univer- versally, some of them brown, and others mouse color, with a light or mealy tinge around the eyes and nose; very straight on the back ; coarse in the bone, horns and hair. The agricultural establishment at Grignon prefer them to any breed of cattle. " The kind of irrigation used in Lombardy is by letting the water remain on the laud, at a moderate depth, for a certain number of days ; this country being so level, it is {Drepared thus : The water which descends from the snowy peaks of the Alps, rests itself in such beautiful lakes as Como and Maggoire, and afcer being quieted, tamed, and comparatively ^varmed, it winds its way in sluggish streams through- out those extensive plains. Previous to the channels of tho.se streams being formed, and in great freshets, this whole country must have been irrigated naturally, which h'as prodwced one of the richest countries in the known world. At the present day, it is necessary to renovate that alluN'ial quality, and to do which, a stream is dammed at the most suitable location, and a raceway is foi^med, frequently by raising an embankment; this raceway is tapped at pleasure, and suffered to cover a. certain amount of meadow, which is so graded and arranged by ditches that after the water has remained on it a proper length of time it is let oft' upon another meadow, so graded as to re- ceive the water of the others, &c. "The person owning a location high enough to warrant a stream being dammed, sells the privilege of taking the water from it for quite a large sum, and the next neighbor sells to his next neighbor, and so on. There are certain periods of time, and depth for the water to lay on the meadow, regulated by the heat of the weather ; and a crop is taken from the meadow once in thirty days, at a growth from sevem to nine inches long, as thick as the hair upon a dog. The climate is so mild that eight or ten crops of this kind are taken per year ; and if the grass is not cut every thirty days during the season of gi-owth, the roots of the sod are injured. "The third and last mode I saw, and by far the most beautiful, and in all respects better adapted for our general use, was in that picturesque country, Switzerland. This country is diversified by moun- tains, steep side hills, slopes and flat lands; and when the water is finding its way down from those snowy peaks to the streams in the valley, its course is diverted by the peasantry, and obliged to flow over and irrigate the side-hills, and at last finds its way into the streamsi below, after having performed its eoriohing duties. Hi THE GENESEE FARMER. " This process of irrigation is well understood in Switzcrluini, not only by the larije fanners and small peasantry, but every woman and child seems to un- dei-stand the working ami advantagt^ of it. " AVhen at Berne, I ripent part of two days with Mr. Fkllexijerc, tlie Prerfideut of the Swiss Agri- cultural Society, and for who-ic kindness and hospi- tality I shall ever foel grateful. Mr. Fkllen'hkk(j was the son of the late celelirated Fkij^enherg, the founder of Ilofwyle (tlie celebrated institution which partly united with it^ studies agriculture); and while on 1,he grounds at Ilofwyle I had pointed out, to me a very complete system of drainage, and the three dit&rent kinds of irrigation. This institution ceased on or shortly after the death of its founder, and the whole estate was for sale, it being the private property of the Feu.en'berg family. "Mr. FEi,i.E.Ni!ERy offered, if I desired, to send me a man to this country who was a scientific irrigator and drainer; and I believe it would pay a few of us well, as individuals, to import a man of that kind. He could take a gang of hands, prepare one farm, and then go to another, only moving himself, as the work can be performed by the common Irish laborer, if it is properly laid out and superintended " The waters considered to have the most beneficial effects for irrigation, are such as the speckled trout firequent, and the water cress grows in luxuriantly ; and it is my belief that we have not a cultivated county in our State, or a cultivated State in our Union, but that the productiveness of which could be increased one-fifth by iiTrigation, and that, too, at a comparatively small cost." CUEING CLOVER HAY. Mr. Editor : — Inclosed I send you a sample of linen yarn, spun liy machinery in the North of Ire- land, twenty-two dozen to the pound. You will also find a few grains of what the Irish call " whin seed." It is evergreen, and makes a beautiful hedge. I will also take the liberty of asking for some in- formation on curing clover hay, so that it will be free from dust when we feed it in winter. T sowed one bushed of clover seed and one of timothy to every ten acres, which produced veiy fine crops; and as they did not ripen at the same time, I was governed in catting by the appearance of the clover. I com- menced cutting when three-quarters of the clover heads had turned brown. I made the hay the next dsj,y after it was cut, and put it in the barn. In the winter it was so dusty that it could not be fed to horses. Last summer I commenced cutting when the heads of clover were about one-third turned brown, cured the hay as before stated, and put^ about six- quarts of salt to every ton of hay. I found l)ut little improvement in the quality of the hay when I com- menced feeding it. If you will be so good as to ^ive your opinion or some advice as to the time when it should be cut, and the proper method of curing it, you will confer a favor on Your humble servant^ IL McElrot. Sidney, Shelby Co., Ohio. Mr. McElroy has our thanks for the specimen of exceedingly fine and beautiful linen thread, and seeds of a hedge plant ; and we will do what we can to aid him in curing clover hay. We spent much of our youth on a farm that annually produced from fifty to one hundred bushels of clean clover seed, and have since had considerable experience in tht3 curing of clover cut in all stages of its growth. The dustiness complained of accrues from putting clover hay into a stack or mow before the large green stems are suf- ficiently dried ; and the difficulty in drying these arises mainly from the loss of the valuable leaves of clover, if it be exposed to the sun long enough to cure its large stems. To obviate the inconveniences named, we cut clover for hay pretty early (when the earliest heads begin to turn, and go out of l)lossom), wilt the leaves and small stems, and finish the curing process in small cocks, by turning them with a fork In this way, raking, whether performed by hand or horse power, does not shatter and waste the leaves and heads of clover (both of which break off easily when dry), while the thick juicy stems of the plant are readily cured )iy turning and opening small stacks. If from any cause we can not haul in hay as soon as it is ready, we put three or four small stacks into one, and take paias to put them up so as to shed rain. Clover, however, is peculiarly bad for stacking, for water runs through it very easily unless protected by a covering of fine hay or staw, or what is better, a painted cloth, like cotton sheeting. The science of curing any plants for hay is pre- cisely like that of curing medicinal herbs — the less sun and the more shade the better, l»ut both need to be well cured. About three parts in four of clover, when cut at the right time for hay, are water, four- fifths of which ought to be expelled by drying. It is a common mistake in fanners to put hay into barrs and stacks for winter use with too much moisture in the plants. This moisture induces fermentation, heating, raow-burning, and involves a serious loss of nutritive matter. We know scores of other\vise ex- cellent husbandmen, and large stock-growers and dairymen, who follow a bad tradition in curing, and failing to cure, their annual crops of corn-fodder and grass cut for hay. This defect gives them moldy corn-stalks, dusty hay, and horses subject to the heaves and sore eyes. A wise farmer will be cai-eful not to leave too much of the natural juices of forage plants, undricd, in their stems, heads, or foliage. Young corn plants, when from twenty to thirty inches in height, contain ninety per cent, of their weight of pure water ; and up to the time of ripening their seeds, the amount of water is not below seventy-five per cent. Hence, in growing corn for soiling cow?, we always evaporate a part of the water even in Au- gust and September, before feeding it to stock. Cattle like forage plants of all kinds partly cured better than when quite green, or quite dry; but such plants heat and sour, and sometimes rot, if put up too green, or too wet. We have often thought that where labor is not very expensive, it will pay not only to cure hay and corn-stalks well, and cut them before feeding, but to moisten them thoroughly again, to fa- cilitate the extraction of all nutritive elements in such food, as it pa&ses through the digestive and ali- mentary organs of domestic animals. Very dry forage does not yield up to the blood all its nutritive proper- ties ; much ia found in the dung. Some have seen THE GENESEE FARMER. 145 whole corn, oats, and other seeds, that have been voided by the bowels ; and a chemist can detect starch and pi'otein elements in the fresh dropjDings of cattle, horses and swine. Hay-makin it to try experiments, as I beUeve they loose much of their juice and vitality. Last year I planted sixty-six hills with uncut sets of medium size. I then ctt some large ones through the middle, dropping tl' ; seed ends in one pile and the stem ends in another, and iDlanted sixty-six hills with sets of the stem cnd<. and sixty-six hills with sets of the seed ends, aloni-- side of the uncut sets. In harvesting, the uncut sein had no affected tubers, while those from the stem eml.-j had one gallon of afiected tubers, and those from tin' seed ends had three-fourths of a bushel of aflecu! ones, and the former yielded a bushel and a half m( r. than the latter. Third. There are two kinds of insects worthy nf notice. One is a small black bug about the size of tlie Ilea,' that jumps very much like thal^ insect when iqi- proached, which gnaws the cuticle off the leaves auil youBig shoots ; it also works on cabbage, turnij/ ^ radishes and peppergrass. The other is a large \ i> riety, growing from a half to three-fourths of an inch long; some of them are of a dusky-brown hue, Mhiie others are brown, striped with yellow. They were s-* numerous here three years ago that they devounul the leaves of my potatoes, beets, beans, and many other vegetaliles; they then traveled off to the wooil- land, falling aboard of vegetation there, and devouring it hke so many herbiverous animals. My potatoea \ i THE GENESEE FARMER 14^ are more generally injured by these little pests than by auy thing else. A good preventive is to sift dty mJeached wood ashes or slaked lime over them while they are wet with dew or rain, which I believe acts as a lunar caustic, at once destroying them. They soon disappear, at all events. Perhaps you, or some one else conversant with entomology, can give the names of these insects. Fovrih. A great many people having a small lot of ground for potatoes, will, in order to get the largest yield, crowd them on three times as close as they ought to be; and the result is, they throw up a bunch of weak tops and smother each other, and shut out the air and hght, which are particularly essential to the growth of the potato — the haulm rots next to the ground, the outside leaves curl and mildew, and in a week or so die, and the fetid juice passes down and aHects the tuber, which very soon sets up decom- position. Is it not then a wonder that the potato, under so many states of deprivation for more than a century past, does not become entirely extinct ? In addition to the above causes, may be mentioned the bad management of pitting. I have noticed a great many farmers here who defer digging their po- tatoes till late in autumn, after the "fall "rains have ..come on, and then have to take them up in a wet state and put them away, which is very detrimental to them. They should be taken up in dry weather and left in the sun to dry, and then carefully pitted or stored in a dry cellar. Last season I cultivated a small plot of ground (one-eighth of an acre), to ascertain the expenses of culture. It was of a north-eastern aspect, and the soil was composed of sandy and clayey loam, inter- mixed with vegetable mold. It was broken up on the 10th of April and left to the 2d of May, when there were five loads of well-decomposed stable ma- nm-e spread on, and plowed in to the depth of eight or ten inches. It was then well harrowed, and fur- rowed off three and a half feet each way, and two sets dropped in a hill, six or eight inches apart, and covered four or five inches deep. The variety used for seed was the Red JVeshannock. They were cut ci-osswise, the seed ends being planted in one place and the middle and stem ends in another ; and those from the seed ends on being harvested were not onlv of a smaller size, but had more pronged and more af- fected ones than the others, there benig half a bushel in all, which I charge to late planting and cuttino- sets. As soon as they were up sufficiently hio-h, they were plowed, with three furrows in a row, and hoed, with a broad flat hill hollowing in the middle to con- duct rain. This includes all the work or care they had. The following is the bill of expenses of culti- vation : however, did not appear to impede the growth of the potatoes much, the haulm looking green and fresh, and entirely covering the ground, so that it could not be seen, and the ground was perfectly mellow and porous. The crop was excellent, yielding 60 bushels of large tubers; one was 15 inches long, and weighed 3 pounds — another, a pronged one, would hardly go into a peck measure, and weighed 5 pounds. The crop averaged 48 fold to the seed, and 480 bushels per acre. s. A. Ellis. BoscoE, Coshocton Co., 0. INDIAN" COEN. April 10— Breaking up the lot, ._. $0.18'^ " 30 — Hauling three loads of manure, 37p May 2— " two " " and piow'ing" ivs ^ 2 — spreading manure, _.. 3ji^ <- " 2— One and a fourth bushels of seed,"" 'goi/ ■ " 2— Planting the same, V.V." !.37i' June S — PloiTing and hoeing, ] So''* " 15— Digging and pitting, "-"I"""! 1..31'^ "^"^^ - $4.5l" ~ The middle part of last season was very warm and dry here; there was not rain enough in six weeks to lay the dust on the public highway. The di'outh Mr. Editor: — It is unnecessary to speak of the great importance of this truly American jjlant. It is equally at home in the Northern limits of the temperate zone as well as in the semi-tropical climate of the sumiy South. Man, beast and bird equally find a wholesome, healthy and palatable food from Its ripened grain. It is a plant too which pays well for all the labor and cultivation bestowed upon it; and the cultivator who neglects to put his land in proper condition and tilth, finds when the harvest draweth nigh that small ears and puny stalks are the reward of his previous neglect. Such being the case, it is of great importance that the soil be properly fitted and prepared, in order that its growth may be encouraged and the precious grain be put out of the way of the early frosts of autumn. It is a rank feeder; and provided the soil be thoroughly plowed and pulverized, you can hardlv make the soil too rich. Spread your manure, on a green sward ; then with a good, strong team, and a deejD-set plow, cover it well Avith earth. Use the har- row welluntil the land is as mellow and friable as you would wish your garden soil to be. Plant your rows straight— be j^ari/cM.Zrtj- to have them straight— other- wise the cost of after cultivation is very much in- creased. Moisten your seed corn with warm water, and to a bushel of corn add a pint of tar; stir thoroughly till each gram has its coating. Dry with plaster of Paris or ashes. Plant when the Dogwood or Shadblow is in blossom, or when the leaves of the White Oak are about the size of a cent. Give the young plants, when about two inches high, a handful of leached ashes or plaster. Keep the cultivator or corn-harrow in active operation between your rows, and particu- larly when it is a dry time. Of the importance of stirring the soil during a time of drouth, one may easily satisfy himself by digging a hole to the depth of about a foot in a hard baked'soil, and refilling with earth made mellow and fine. He will find in a few days that the mellow earth is moist and damp, even while the adjoining earth is as impervious and im- penetrable to the refreshing dews as so much rocky surface. Connected with the necessity of deep tillage as a protection to the growing plant, is the present practice of the Narjo Indians of New Mexico, where the climate is very dry and arid. They make a hole^ about a foot in depth with a stake, and enclose the seed corn in a ball of moist earth and drop it in the hole. The moisture contained in the earth sprouts the corn, and being placed so far below the dry sur- face of the upper soil it takes care of itself, and iieedi. 148 THE GENESEE FARMER. but to be kept free from weeds to insure a generous return. It has been a disputed point whether topping the corn or cutting it up by the roots is a better prac- tice; but repeated and careful experiments have shown that there is a loss by topping, to say nothing of the annoyance caused in plowang under the stubble left. Cut when the corn is glazed — and it may be cut in the milk even, if early frosts threaten. When husked, be particular not to put too many stallvs together, for they retain moisture and dampness long after the tops and* blades can be crumbled to dust in your hand. There is another use I would most strongly recom- mend all to make trial of — it is not an experiment — for all who have tried the same express themselves in the highest terms of its value as a forage crop in time of a ckouth. Generally in our climate the months of August and September show bare pastures and fields. An acre of corn sown in drills nine inches apart, and cut when in tassel, will supply the need of many acres of pasture at a time when pasture fails. Will not some of my readers try the experiment of preparing a piece of ground, sowing with corn for forage pur- poses only, and soiling their cows and cattle during the warm summer months, when flies and scant pas- ture annoy and vex, and report the same for the benefit of brother farmers ? Facts are wanted, and it is only by analysis of facts and correct inferences deducted therefrom, that agriculture can be made a science. Yours, A. D. W. FARMING IN OREGON. Editor of the Gexesee Farmer — Sir : — If you will give me space, I will try to show to your numerous readers that an article in the October number of the Farmer, over the signature of W. B. Daytox, Ore- gon City, is prejudicial to the interests of Oregon. In giving a short account of things in Oregon, he be- gins by saying that what he writes will be plain mat- ter of fact, that comes under his own observation. Now, sir, it would seem to me that Mr. D. has not only confined himself to his own observation, but that his observation must have been confined to those poor, brushy, ferny, rocky points about Oregon City. Mr. D. very justly says, that in describing the state of things in Oregon all the drawbacks should be stated, as well as what a crop could be sold for. According to my opinion, Mr. D. has given the drawbacks, and not what a crop could be sold for, or any of the ad- vantages of Oregon. From his statement, a person would infer that a poor man could not get along at all in Oregon ; but if a man for common labor can get from $400 to $600 a year, it will bring a team or plow as " comeatable " in Oregon as in other parts of the United States. A poor man has as many advan- tages in Oregon as in any part of the world ; he can get a good price for his labor, and all the produce Uiat he raises he can sell for the highest prices ; and as there are two crops of grass each year, stock does well out on the commons all the year — so he has nothing to feed out. As Mr. D. says, wheat is one of the best crops that is raised in Oregon; but he says that on the best lands there can only be raised twenty bushels of wheat to the acre. In the summer of 1852, under very un- favorable circumstances, and on new land, I raised thirty-four bushels of wheat to the acre. Last sum- mer, on the same ground, from wheat sown in No- \-ember, I got tliirtj^-two bushels to the acre. The following letter, which I received a short time since, will show that I am not the only successful farmer here : HowEr.L Pkaikie, Marion Co., O. T., Dec. 10, 1853. Daniel CJ/Ark, Esq. — Sir: — Your note of the 5th nit. is before me. I take great pleasure in answering your questions in relation to the growth of wheat and potatoes. In the summer of 1852 I had 7i acres in wheat, which yielded 375 bushels. About 4.3 acres of this ground was summer fallowed — the balance was not. Now, in relation to the potatoes, I can not give yon a precise statement of the amount I raised per acre. I think, however, I raised at the rate of 400 bushels per acre last season. I have just finished digging and putting up my potatoes, and find the return far more than I expected when I saw you at Salem. Yours, truly, Wesley Shannon. Now, sir, in order to show that it will pay to raise both wheat and potatoes in Oregon, I will give the prices for the last two years: In 18.52, wheat sold at $2 @, $3 per bushel ; flour, as Mr. Dayton says, at $9 @ $20 per cwt ; potatoes, at $2 @ $5 per bushel. In 1853, wlieat sold at $2 @ $3 per bushel; flour, at $7 @ $10 per cwt. ; potatoes, at $1 per bushel. By this your readers will plainly see whether it will pay to raise potatoes and wheat in this section of the country or not. I am credibly informed that Mr. Shannox has never put- one bit of manure on his ground, which is high rolling prairie. I might cite many other similar crops, but I think the above sufiicient. I remain, sir, truly yours, Mariox County, 0. T. Daniel Claek. POTATO-CULTURE — CHEAP TILE Mr. Editor: — Although so much has already been said on potato-culture, 1 will, with your permission, give the readers of the Farmer my plan. I prepare the ground fine and mellow, make very light marks, say 18 inches apart, drop in the potatoes, co^er with about 3 inches of loose earth, and then cover the en- tire gi'ouud with straw, about half rotten, to the depth of 4 or 5 inches. They require no more care until they are dug. I can raise more in a row, with double the rows, than in any other way, and that without tending. I have tried it two years. The insect your correspondent in the March number cora- plains of, does not like the looks of such a place. My potatoes were all sound, while others by the side of them, planted in the usual way, were destroyed If your correspondent will try it, he will find there is no " old woman's indigo test " about it. Tour correspondent, Mr. Dinsmore, of Ripley, wishes to know how to procure cheap tile to make under-drains of If he will in May or June cut do^vn a Hickory tree, lay the bark off in strips of 12 inches in width, expose it to the sun until it nearly closes (which will be in about two days), and then put it away until he wishes to use it, so tliat it will not close up entirely, he will have tile that will not fill up with crawfish or moles, and will last as long as any he caji get, and be much cheaper. Yom'S, with respect, RiDGEviLLE, Warren Co., 0. Buokeye. THE GENESEE FARMER 149 FARMERS, STUDY TOUR PROFESSION. Mr. Editor : — It is somewhat strange that the little time farmers devote to literary pursuits, they spend in acquiring political in preference to agricvl- txtral knowledge. We now address the farming com- munity. The lawyer spends his time poring over his law books, acquiring a knowledge of jurisprudence. The physician dissects the human body, ascertains the pre- cise location of every artery, vein, muscle, nerve, bone, &c., &c., acquires a knowledge of the conditions of health, and the causes of disease. The minister pon- ders over the Sacred Scriptures, and reads works that will afford him a knowledge of di\nnity. In short, they all '^ study their profession." Now, how is it with the great mass of those who devote their time to tilling the soil ? You profess to be farmers — agri- culturists— and yet almost the sum total of your reading and study is of a political character. We are denominated a nation of farmers; yet we patronize and support about three thousand pelitical, and but sLxty or seventy agricultural, papers — about in the ratio of forty-five to one. The greatest source of our nation's wealth and prosperity is in her agriculture. Our schools and colleges for disseminating a knowl- edge of the professions of law, medicine, and divinity, are numerous (all well enough) ; yet the whole nation can scarcely boast of one such institution for the spread of a scientific knowledge of agi'icultural opera- tions. We read with delight and admiration of our vast exports of agricultural products; yet do little or nothing, in the aggregate, to keep up the produc- tiveness of our virgin soil. We boast of our privilege of having a voice in the elevation of our officers; yet vote for men unskilled in our profession, who will legislate on any and every subject sa^'e that of spread- ing abroad a scientific knowledge of agricultural pur- suits. Each state, county and town throughout the Union, almost, has its regular meetings for the discus- sion of political topics ; yet how few such societies meet regularly and exclusively for the discussion of agricultural topics, compared with the political. Now, farmers, our appeal is to you — to you, who have the power of swaying every legislative body in the Union — to you, who may say to them. Legislate for us, encourage our profession, attend to our wants, do what you can at least to aid us in discharging suc- cessfully the most important duty devolving upon man, or it shall be our most imperative duty to act the part of a Cromwell — to throw you out of our employ, and place those in your stead who tvill do our bidding. We say, to you the question is asked. Shall this system of things continue, so long as " water runs" and mankind are born with the demand of food stamped upon their constitutions? AVo have riiore confidence and faith in the growing intelligence of American farmers than to believe that such a system of things will long be permitted to exist. Farmers, awake ! behold your dignity and your strength ! Ex- ercise the power you have for your own best interests and the good of the race, and your wants will not be neglected. Every farmer, or tiller of the soil, may aid in this great work. If your library consists of but half a dozen volumes, let one at least be devoted to agriculture. If you obtain and read two periodicals, let one be devoted to agricultural topics. And since farming is your profession, if you should read four or more papers, let two or more be devoted to the same subject. K in the future you should contribute your mite for the erection and support of two institutions of learning, let one be an agricultural school or college. If you have two sons to be educated, let one have an agri- cultural education, if such can be had in America — if not, patronize the schools of the " Old World." If you attend conventions, fail not to attend the ag- ricultural convention. If one of two associations is to be attended, political or agricultural, patronize the latter. When you cast your vote into the ballot box, let it be for one who will advocate boldly and faith- fully the interests of your }3rofession. If every farmer would attend as closely to his own profession as here set forth, or as the minister to his text, how long, think you, it would be till the farmer's calling would be as honorable as though he were classed with the titled nobility ? How long, think you, it would be till the farmer's profession would be sought by the educated, the talented and the wealthy? How long before his occupation would be loved, de- sired, admired and sought ? A Young Fakmee. Strattonville, Pa. EUROPEAN CATTLE. Mr. Editor: — Upon opening your March number for the current year, I find, among much valuable matter, the following extraordinary and startling an- nouncement, copied from the St. Louis Evening JVews : " Thus it is. England imports fine cattle from the continent of Europe, and the United States import fine cattle from England. Yet there is no great inconsistency in this. English stock-growers get cattle from abroad to cross with their fine l^reeds, knowing that in this way alone the superiority of stock may be preserved," &c. Now, sir, I call upon the writer of the article for proofs of his statement, or a retraction of it ; for it is a statement implying that English farmers have not their own stock sufficiently good, or have not sufficient skill to raise it, Mathout importations from foreign countries. True it is, that importations of Dutch cattle in daj^s of yore formed part of the foundation on which the present Short-horn breed are raised ; but go now and ask a Short-horn breeder which of his cattle came from the continent, and what was the effect of the cross, and he will think you are laughing at him. Does the writer think the bull that was sold for 650 guineas at Lord Dugie's sale, or the cow that fetched £700, were crossed with continental stock ? Or what does he think the use of the Herd Book is ? Is it to record, not where purity of blood Hes, but where the stain and the cross is ? Ask any Shoi-t- horn breeder what he will give for an animal that ig known to be of impure blood. Go, too, to a breeder of Here fords, or of Devons, that can trace an un- broken line of descent, certified by unvarying form and color, for hundreds of years, and ask for one of his stock that has been crossed with the Dutch or Holstein cattle, and he will laugh in your face. In 150 THE GENESEE FARMEE. feet, so far from its being true that cattle arc im- ported from the contiuent'"of Europe to improve the Eujrli>li stock, I believe it to be a fact that not one head is imported for that purpose, and I am quite certain that every breeder of the recognized breeds would give it a most unqualified contradiction. But I thinlTl can say from what the writer in question formed his opinion. Here is a paper fresh from Eng- land, unopened, lying before me — the Agricultural Gazette — the firet in England. I v,il\ open it, and write the Smithfield returns: " From Germany and Holland there are 332 beasts, 970 sheep, and 155 calves ; from Spain, 43 beasts." Feb. 6. "From Germany and Holland there are 278 beasts, 60 sheep, and 32 calves; fc-om Spain, 200 beasts." Feb. 10. So that it is for feeding, not for breeding, that the animals are imported. I do not believe they are ever imported for the latter purpose, though I have no doubt that, hke many out hei-e, there are those in England who fancy a cow is a cow as long as she has four legs and a head, and keep a stray animal now and then when she may seem a likely milker. I my- self have seen importations of cattle into England, but they were all for Smithfield. I think it but an act of justice to my native coun- try to make this statement, for fear that the numbers who read your valuable and instructive columns, and have no means of judging for themselves, may fall into the gross error of imagining that English farmers require fresh importations, or any importations at all, from any other part of the world, to keep up then- stock ; and I repeat that I do not believe there is a drop of foreign blood — no, not one drop — in the veins of any English beast of the higher and more distinct classes of clattle, save in the Short-horns and their kindred, the Ayershires — and in them it is veiy remote indeed, dating before their establishment as a separate breed. Hoping the writer alluded to will bring for- ward his proof or withdraw his assertion, I remain, sir, your faithful servant, "Woodstock, C. W. A. H. FARiTEB. CLEARING LANDS. ilR. EniTOR: — In perusing the Gkxesee Farmer, I have often seen a request that all farmers would communicate their experience, that all may be mu- taally benefitted. I thought that among the rest I might add a little ; and if I should happen to com- municate any thing that would be beneficial to my brother farmers in their future practice, I should be more than paid for my labor. "When I purchased the farm that I now live on, it was owned by a man who was said to be a very good farmer. I thought so, for it bad been his practice, whenever he cleared a piece of ground, to sow it with wheat and immediately stock it down to grass, and let it remain in that .situation imtil the stumps were sufiBciently rotted, so that most of them could be pulled out by a team. I followed the same plan of management in making adilitions to the clearings. In this way I was enabled to keep almost clear of Canada thistles and weeds ; and when I broke up the land that had been thus treated, I found a very hearj s^^■\■lrd, which, together with the decayed wood of stumps added to an unexhausted soil, made the land what it ought to be for future tillage. Thus I wa.-^ blessed with good remunerating crops ; and after taking three crops in succession, the rotted sod had not wholly disappeared, and the land was left in a good condition for a second seeding. Now, brother farmers, is it not a much better way for us to endeavor to keep our farms in good heart, than it is to undertake to revive them when once ex- hausted ; besides, I do not see clearly where we are to obtain sufficient manure to bring them back to their primitive richness. I have long thought it to be veiy bad policy to put in the plow as soon as lami Ls cleared from the timber, and take from it three or four crops before seeding. Yom-s, respectfully, Marilla, Erie Co., N. Y. \V. M. BRICK TILE. Me. Editor: — I see by the March number of the Farmer that Mr. Di.vsmore, of Ripley, Chautauque county, ■^Tshes to be informed where drain tiles can be obtained in his vicinity. I would say to Mr. Dixs- MORE that he can get them at Erie, Pa., next July, when brick-makers burn a kiln. I think they are the best tile to drain with that were ever got up. They are made by taking a press-brick mold and putting a half circle in it, so that two of the tile put together will form a hole two or three inches in diameter. They can, however, be made of any size. They can be afforded here for five dollars a thousand : a thousand will lay twenty rods. I lay them so as to break joints. I have made a great many drains with stone, and have found the same trouble that Mr. Dixsmore says he has. I tliink the tile cheaper than stone, even if stone would answer the purpose. Always yours, Erie, Pa. Robert Evans. "\Ye see no reason why brick manufactured in the form stated by our esteemed correspondent, will not . answer a capital purpose; and as they can be molded with any desirable hoUow, and made thick or thin to suit the ideas of difTerent farmers, draining materials can be provided in abundance wherever good brick are burnt. — ^Ed. Mb. Editor : — ^Will not some gentleman who has the means and materials invent glass hydraulics, to conduct water from spring's, &:c., to buildings? I believe them to surpass all others, as to purity of wa- ter, durability, etc. D. Kohler. Moxterey, Pa. Great Product of Butter. — Mr. Thomas Motley' Jr., of Jamaica Plains, states that his four-yeai-old Jersey cow. Flora, has made, during the eight months ending Januaiy ISth, four hundred and seven and seven-tentlis pounds of butter. Up to November I6th she had no grain. Since then her feed has been three quints cob' and corn meal per day, less than half a bushel of caiTots, and oat straw. — Boston Journal. The first step to greatness is to be honest THE GEXESEE FARMER. 151 PLAN OF A FARM COTTAGE. TuE rooms in tliis plan for a small farm kouse are of the most common description, to wit : a parlor, a living-room or kitchen, a pantiy, and a bed-room, ou the first floor; and three bed-rooms, with closets, on the second. Although micommon in its form and arrangement, this cottage is thought to be more than ordinarily convenient, as well ;xs unique in expression. GROCXD PLAN'. H, h:iU or entrance; P, parlor; L, living-room or kitchen; B; Ijeti-.-^om ; P, pantry, with shelves ; f, piiucipal ehimnev ; A, par- lor chimuer. In this design the parlor is 13| feet square, inside measure; the kitchen, 13^ bv lt!| ; the bed-room, which has a small closet, \'c>\ by 9; the pantnr, 6j bv 8|; the hall or entrance, ~i\ square; the passage, 2 feet 3 inches wide, and the stairs 2 feet 3 inches. The bed-rooms in the second story are of the same size as the three lower rooms, and directly over them. The space over the pantry affords room for two good- sized closets. The parlor chimney ascends only to the chamber floor, and a pipe runs from it across* the passage to the main chimney. The rear gable is of the same height as the two front ones, bul the roof is less steep, inasmuch as the back part is wider than the front parts. The wood-house should stand 20 feet in. the rear of the building. The cost of materials and labor vary so much in different location;? that it seems needless to attempt giving an estimate of the expense. It will vary, however, from §500 to SSOO, depending upon style of fuiish, cost of material, -hcn fully IrieA The disparitj' in the number of evergreens we now cultivate and the above list is great indeed, and the question arises, AVhy have they not been introduced ? We leave others to answer, while we proceed to put a more important question: "Shall no effort now ha made, with the present facilities of ra]ud communicar tion with the Pacific coast, to speedily introduce the magnificent trees of that fertile portion of our country; or shall we rest contented with what we find imme- THE GENESEE FARMER 169 diately around us, and leave the introduction of the arboricultural treasures of that region to the ener- getic and enthusiastic collectors of Great Britain, satisfied to get them at enormous prices from that country, after they had been reared by the care and attention of her inteUigent cultivators ?" To this we would like a speedy reply. And if, as we believe, there is among our amateur planters and nurserymen the least national pride or desire to accomplish so im- portant an object, they will respond in the heartiest manner, and take some immediate measures to set about it. We know of one gentleman whose zeal is unabated in the introduction of every hardy treeor shrub, and who already possesses a large collection of fine specimens; and he hassent us the following note, to show how desirous he is of making some etTort to retrieve the want of taste which we have shown in BO long neglecting this subject. It is as follows: " Mr. Hovey — Dear Sir: — Vei-y few persons seem to be aware of the extent, variety and beauty of the trees and shrubs scattered over the western territory of the United States, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. It is humiliating to know that Europe is far better informed than we are upon this subject, and that seeds and plants of every Oak, ever- gi'een and shrub, peculiar to that country, have been sent to England, and are now in process of successful culture. It seems to me that it is high time we should bestir ourselves in this matter, and that a collector, whose knowledge and integrity can be relied upon, ahould be sent out to Oregon and California for the purpose of ol^taiuing seeds and plants. " It has occured to me that this might easily be accomplished by associating a few persons who would be willing to contribute toward the expense, leaving tlie details of the arrangements to yourself, as to the person to be selected, and the disposition to be made of what the collector may obtain. If you will start the thing, you may put my name down as one, and I will cheerfully subscribe one hundred dollars toward it, or double that sam if necessary. No time should he lost in getting the funds, and in dispatching the proper person. Truly yours, R. S. F, "Boston, Jan. 3, 1854." Our correspondent will have the thanks of every lover of fine trees for his liberal offer ; and we think we do not underrate his enthusiasm when we say that no reasonable amount on his part shall be wanting to secure a successful result. For our own part, we heartily second his movement with another hundred dollars, and appeal to all our friends to make known to us at once their views, and the aid they wiU give to the undertaking. We have no fears that a proper sum can not be raided. The only trouble will be to procure an able, intelligent and enthusiastic collector, on which the success of such an expedition will depend. But we believe it can be done. It will then only be necessaiy to organize an association of the subscribers for the receipt of the seeds and plants, and their distribution among those who have contributed toward its ex- penses. Thousands of seeds could be sent home the ensuing autumn, and in a year or two our nurseries might be stocked with a collection of the most mag- nificent trees of which the world can boast Even the acquisition of the Abies bracteata, or the big Arbor Vita?, would almost repay the expense of a short expedition. We invite all our friends to consider this important matter, and give their aid in its accomplishment. — Hoveifs Magazine of Horticulture. AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. The fifth session of this National Association will be held at Horticultural ITall, in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, commencing on "Wednesday, the 13th day of September next, at 10 o'clock A. M. It ig intended to make this assemblage one of the most interesting that has ever been held in this coun- try on the subject of pomology. All Horticultural, Agricultural, and other kindred Associations of North America, are therefore requested to send such number of delegates to this Convention as they may deem expedient. Pomologists, nurserymen, and all others interested in the cultivation of good fruit, are also invited to attend the coming session. Among the objects of this Society, are the following: To ascertain, from practical experience, the relative value of varieties in different parts of our widely ex- tended country. To hear the reports of the various State Fruit Committees, and, from a comparison of results, to learn Avhat fruits are adapted to general cultivation; what varieties are suitable for particular localities ; what new varieties give promise of being worthy of dissemination ; and especially, what varie- ties are generally inferior or worthless, in all parts of the Union. In order to facilitate these objects, and to collect and diffuse a knowledge of researches and discoveries in the science of pomology, members and delegates are requested to contribute specimens of the fruits of their respective districts ; also papers descriptive of their art of cultivation ; of diseases and insects inju- rious to vegetation ; of remedies for the same, and whatever may add to the interest and utility of the Association. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society has gener- ously offered to provide accommodations for the Society, and also to publish its proceedings free of expense. All packages of fruit intended for exhibition may therefore be addressed as follows : " For the Ameri- can Pomological Society, Horticultural Hall, School street, Boston, Mass.;" where a Committee will be in attendance to take charge of the same^ All Societies to be represented will please forward certificates of their several delegations to the Presi- dent of the American Pomological Society, at Boston. Marshall P. Wilder, President H. W. S. Cleveland, Secretary. Mildew on Gooseberries. — Samuel Edwards, of La Moille, 111., states that for several years his goose- berry bushes were badly affected by mildew. Last year he gave them a severe pruning, mulched with coarse hay, top dressed the soil with well-rotted barn- yard manure, salt and leached ashes, and he hag no mildew. 160 THE GENESEE FARMER. CHEAP MODE OF PRESSING CHEESE. Mr. Editor: — Being desirous of rendering' the farmers wife a service by imparting information which may not be generally kno\\Ti, I avail myself of the Eages of your widely-circulated journal to tell them ow to press cheese with the least possible expendi- ture of labor. The want of convenience in small farm-houses is often the cause why cheese is not made where milk is plentiful. The simple method which I learned the other day from a highly intelligent Eng- lish farmer's wife, appears to obviate all the difficulty attendant upon clothing and pressing, and, she assured me, was the method adopted in the manufacture of the famous Stilton cheese. To illustrate the fact, she brought me a tin cyhnder, a little larger in the bore than a large size of stove-pipe ; this was about a foot in depth, and perforated with holes about two inches apart, all over the tube ; it was furnished with two lids, which shut on hke the lid of a common tin canister, and which were, I think, also perforated with holes. After the whey is drained from the curd in the tub as usual, and broken fine, the case is then filled, and the weight of the curd is its own press ; a little salt is thrown in while you fill the case, pressing the curd gently with the hand as you pack it in. All that re- mains for you to do is to turn the case upside down every two or three hours; the whey runs out through the holes in the sides, and none of the buttery parti- cles by this sort of treatment are forced from the curd. I tasted a piece of the cheese thus pressed, and can speak for its firmness and good quality. Any sized case of course can be made, to suit the quantity of milk. The cost of the one I saw was 3s. 6d. I do not know that in this method the entire filling of the vat would be of any consequence. I mean to try it myself, and feel confident that it will be found a very labor-saving process. Oakland, Rice Lake, C. W. DOMESTIC RECIPES. Beef Soup, a la Francaise. — Take three pounds of beef (rump, rib or flank), put in clear, cold water, ten to fifteen minutes before using ; then boil about six quarts of water, in which, when boiling, put the beef, two turnips sliced in four, two carrots sliced, a piece of thajheart of cabbage, size of a tea-cup, and a small quantity of parsley, tied in a bunch ; as the froth rises, scum it constantly till it ceases, which will require about two to two and a half hours. Care should be taken that the fire 1)e not too ardent. Af- ter the scum ceases rising, remove the pot from the hook to a tripct, and let it simmer over a coal fire two or three hours. When ready to serve, remove the beef from the pot, then the vegetables, and pass the soup through a fine sieve into the tureen, to which add two or three slices of bread well toasted and broken into fragments, and as much of the vegetables as may suit the fancy ; or if vermicelli be preferred, ase about a quarter of a pound of that, taking care to boil it iu the broth about ten minutes (after leaving the soup), in order to cook it. Soup made after this direction is entirely free from that nauseous effect which hustij-made soup has upon most persons (more especially invalids), but is rich, nourishing, and free from grease, and may be taken with beneficial efli3cf8 into the most debihtated stomachs. To Boil Fresu Pork. — TalvX' a flat blade-bone of country pork, commonly called the oyster ; take out the bone and put veal stuffing in its place; wrap it ib a clean cloth, and put it into a saucepan of boiling water, with a little salt ; let it boil slowly for about an hour and a half, or an hour and three quarters, according to the size ; it should, however, be well done. Serve it up with parsley, and Initter poured over plentifully. This is a most rich and at the same time a most delicate dish, equal to boiled fowl and pickeled pork, which, indeed, it greatly resembles. Arrowroot Blancmange. — Put a quart of milk to boil; take an ounce of Bermuda arrowroot, ground fine; make it a smooth batter with cold milk ; add a tea-spoonful of salt ; when the milk is boiling hot, stir the batter into it; continue to stir it over a gentle fire (that it may not be scorched) for three or four minutes ; sweeten to taste with doul^lc-refined sugap, and flavor with lemon extract or orange-flower waten, or boil a stick of cinnamon or vanilla bean in the milk before putting in the arrowroot; dip a mold into cold water, and strain the blancmange through a muslin into the mold; when perfectly cold, tm-u it out. Serve cuiTant jelly or jam with it. Rice Flour Blancmange. — Make as directed fbr arrowroot blancmange — a small tea-cupful of ground rice to a quart of milk. Pineapple Jelly. — Pare and grate the pineapple, and put it into the preserving pan, with one pound of fine white sugar to every pound of the fruit ; stir it and boil it until it is well mixed and thickens suffi- ciently ; then strain it, pour into the jars, and when it has become cool cover the jars tightly, and ti^ai them as apple jelly. How TO Cook Sweet Potatoes. — Boil two large sweet potatoes; rub them through a sieve ; then adij a piece of butter the size of an egg, a little salt, one pint of buttermilk, a tea-cupful of sugar, a tabte- spoonful of saleratus dissolved in warm water ; baks in an earthen dish. Serve up with cold cream. To Remove Marks from Tables. — Hot dishes sometimes leave whitish marks on varnished tables, when set, as they should not be, carelessly upon them. To remove it, pour some lamp oil on the spot, and rub it hard with a soft cloth. Then pour on a Uttb spirits, and rub it dry with another cloth, and the white mai'k will disappear, leaving the table as bright as before. Wash for the Head. — A mother asks, " What & an efficient remedy for removing dandruff in the haii^ as she has an objectfon to using an ivory comb ^.^ The objection is well founded, as it increases the evil. The following wash, applied with a small piece of flan- nel to the roots of the hair, will be found excellent: Three parts of oil of almonds ; one part of lime wa- ter ; to be shaken up well I THE GENESEE FARMER. 161 Agejcct i-V New Tork. — C. M. Saxton, Agricultural Hook Pub- liitlier, Xo. 152 Fulton street, New York, is agent for the Gen'ksi:k Farukr, and subscribers in that city who apply to him can have fheir papers delivered regularly at their houses. AcTsrjrcY ix CinxiX-Vati.— R. Post, No. TO West Tliird street, Cin- cinnati, is agent for the Genesee Farmei:, and subscribers in that city who apply to hira can have their papers delivered regularly at their houses. Agricultuue as a Profession. — Thousands who have long thought of nothing more than to pur.sue farming as an occupation, and submit through life to its dull, monotonous drudgery, are now happily beginning to appreciate the dignity and pleasures of Agriculture as a Profession. It is a calling which admirably adapts itself to every taste, and every capacity. The most stupid hind and thoughtless dave find fitting employment in the unvarying routine of the commonest field labor. Koman slaves, Russian serfs, and English peasantry, have followed tillage and hus- bandry for indefinite ages, and advanced scarcely one de- gree in mental development. So uniformly dead-and-alive have farm operatives been for five thousand years, that many have afltected to regard agriculture as the mother of Stupidity. Born on a farm, and nursed by the milk of its gentlest kine, this insult stung us like the wound of a scor- pion ; and if it were possible to lift rural industry above such degrading imputations, we resolved that no ellort of ours should be withheld from any friend of the great farm- ing interest who was willing .to work for its immediate and enduring elevation. The difficulty has ever been to reach the millions who own and cultivate the soil ; and no one has yet devised a plan which fully attains that object. Exceedingly cheap periodicals, those that cost clubs only diirty-seven cents a year, promised the greatest advantages by universal circulation ; but their very clieapness, such is the pride of the human heart, operates against their use- fulness in some circles. Purse-proud men think it beneath their consequence to teach their brother farmers, or be taaight by them, throu;^!i the medium of a fifty cent paper. T!ie good spirit of universal philanthropy is not in them. They arrogate to themselves all the honors of advanced agriculture as a profession, without performing any of its higher duties. Such characters de.serve nothing but con- tempt; for while they do nothing to enlighten and benefit mankind, they claim the consideration due only to the faithful servants of the people. There is but one way for a man to show that his faith in agricultural progress is genuine, and that is by his works. If all who profess to believe in the improvement of rural affairs would cheer- fully lend a helping hand to make agriculture as learned and honorable as it is useful, it might be raised in a few years to the highest public honor, where it of right be- longs. High elevation, it should be remembered, can not be reached by any trick, clap-trap, or shallow advantage. Empiricism is often clamorous, and full of oily-gammon, but its labors always have selfish ends to serve. It belongs to agriculture as a mere occupation, not to agriculture as 4 scientific profession. None but liberal minds devise liberal things. After four years' experience and observa- tion at the federal metropolis, we do not hesitate to say that the tone of j)ublic morals, and the spirit of patriotism, have suffered greatly from the corrupting influence of selfish, mercenary politicians. There is a lamentable want of sound ngrirullural statesmen at Washington ; and there is an equal lack of care among all farmers in selecting men to represent them in Congress. Ameriorn statesman- ship is not what it ought to be. Its most prominent feature is a degrading strife for the spoils of office. Educate and elevate the industrial classes, and thereby form a more patriotic and a purer public opinion, and all parties will be compelled to serve the country more, and individuals less. It is a perfect misnomer to call a majority of our state and national legislators " public servants." Their principal labor is to serve themselves, their personal and political friends — not the community at large. This defect must be remedied by intelligent farmers, who control the ballot box in every State in the Union. They are the true conserva- tive power of tl'.e republic ; and so regarding them, we esteem their professional standing and intellectual attain- ments as matters of the highest public interest. They should not feel the necessity of sending so many lawyers to fill all the important oflices at Washington, because farmers and mechanics are too poorly educated. The pro- fession of agriculture is not what it ought to be in a free country. It .should be the nursing mother of wise states- men, instead of the pack-horse of itinerant demagogues and political gamblers. Agricultural Statesmanship is al- most unknown in a land where farmers themselves give a large majority of the votes that make and unmake eyary administration and every state and national legislature. Let the talented youth who read this journal, and who will soon have to discharge the responsible duties of popu- lar sovereignty, think of these things, and study to be worthy of the highest honors that freemen may confer. Provide yourselves with good libraries, and read them faithfully to some purpose. A Model Pcstmaster. — No other class of public ser- vants have equal opportunities for promoting human progress and elevation that the twenty-five thousand post- masters in the United States enjoy. They operate a government machine of almost unlimited power for good or for evil. It would be saying too much in praise of fallen humanity to assert that all postmasters labor for the advancement of whatever is good, and for tlie suppression of whatever is injurious to the public. A large majority of them, we are happy to believe, do .sympathize with those who devote their time and best energies to the in- struction and improvement of mankind. It is in this way only that so many excellent religious, educational and in- dustrial journals obtain millions of readers. We honor postmasters of this stamp as the salt of the earth. With- out their influence and a.ssistance in behalf of the Agricul- tural Press, the circulation of jiapers devoted to the great farming interest would be diminished one-lialf, if not three- fourths, in the country. Postmasters generally appreciate the importance of giving to every cultivator of the earth a cheap common medium, through which they may both teach one another and Itarn of one another. WhereTer 102 THE GENESEE FARMER the Genesek FarMKb has fully introduced this system of mutual instruction, by tlio favor of postmasters and other kind friends aiud patrons, tlie good etFects have been seen and acknowledged. Mr. J. W. Pkkhtman, P. M. at Monti^omery, Hamilton county, Ohio, writes under date of March 11th, 1854 : " The farmers seem to be waking up in old Hamilton County on the subject of ag-riculture. Many arc tryiny the subsoil ,[)hi\v to some purpose ; and seveial of your sub- scribers here, since readinij your suggestions on the subject of manure-cellars, are deterniinod to have them, and shel- ter the litter and dung about their barns. This appears to speak well for your paper ; and the more it is read the bettjr it is liked. In soliciting subscribers, ho\yever, I find there are some who, because their fathers carried corn to mill in one end of the bag and a stone in the other for a balance, believe that they must do likewue. They are averse to all progress which may come through papers, as being too scientific and unpracticable. Nevertheless, we hope through such journals as yours to diffuse the light more abundantly ; aiid if they will persist, they will have to pull ui) stakes and move away, or live and die in poverty." City Manukks. — A writer in a late number of tlie Lon- don AgricnUitral Gazette says: "An imperial gallon of sewer water from Barrett's Court contained substances in solution, 243.30 grains ; in- soluble substances. 248.0() grains. In the soluble sub- stances there were nearly 37 griiins of ammonia, and at least 70 grains of salt, which pass aw.ay and are lost by the acts of common filtration, or of subsidence. And matters are not much better if peat- charcoal be employed as a filter." "We are not surprised to learn that peat-charccal fails to answer the expected purpose of separating salts of ammo- nia, potash, soda and magnesia, whether dissolved in sewer water or the urine of animals. Either the water holding fertilizing matters in so'ution must be applied directly to the soil, as at Edinburgh, or it must be evaporated, with such an addition as will fix the ammonia it may con- tain as a carbonate or free. In the city of Manchester there is a Manure-making Company, whose operations, so far as we understand them, appear to be on the best known plan. Their sales increase rapidly, because thus far they have manufactured a first-rate article, and sold it at a reasonable rate. Hamilton Township Fair.— The enterprising farmers of Hamilton township, C. W., as v,-e learn from the Co- boiirg Star, have recently held an interesting and successful fair, for the purchase and sale of agricultural seeds of all kinds, farm stock, and other articles important to the cul- tivators of the soil. The festival concluded with a good dinner, followed by patriotic toasts, and a reasonable amount of agreeable and instructive agricultural talking. Such fairs for the sale of choice seed wheat, corn, peas, oats, barley, garden seeds, neat stock, &c., are very useful in the spring of the year, when remunerating prices may be had to encourage general improvement. Every town- ship (or town) in the Northern States, and every precinct and parish at the South, ought to have a well-organized Society to facilitate domestic exchanges of property, good wiU, and rural knowledge. Such a Society should also have a well-selected agricultural library, for the instruction of all its members. An Interesting DiscovmiT. — The American Journal of Science and Art for March contains an interesting ac- count of Fossil Lingulca and some other Shells, by W. E. LouAN, F. R. S., and T. S. Hunt, Esq., engaged in a geological survey of Canada, which occur in several parts of the Lower Silurian Rock, Potsdam Sandstone, and strata of a more recent age. These fossils are remarkable for being composed, not of carbonate of lime like all other moluscs, but of phosphate of lime like the skeletons of the verlebratce. These ancient shells have the following com- position : Phosphate of lime, 85.79 Carbonate of lime, 1] .75 Magnesia, 2.80 100.34 The gentlemen above named say : " The proportion of phosphate of lime is that contained in human bones, after their organic matter has been removed." They descrilie four varieties of fossil Lingulw ; and should they any where be found in quantities, they will furnish a new resource for agriculture, in giving an important element of crops. Buckwheat as a Fertilizer. — Mr. James Bullooh, of Sylvania, Bradford county, Pa., wishes to learn from some one having exjierience in the matter, whether he can raise two crops of buckwheat in a season for plowing in on the same piece of land. Our impression is that it ii quite practicable in this latitude, and we have seen twxi crops grown in Upper Georgia for the purpose named. At the South, and we believe in Pennsylvania, peas are better than buckwheat as a renovating crop — of which two crops may be grown in a year, unless August and Septem- ber prove to be exceedingly dry. There is not much sub- stance in the stems and leaves of buckwheat as food for neat stock, or food for agricultural plants ; and buckwheat has little to recommend it, beyond its seeds for grinding and griddle-cakes. The American Artists' Union of the city of New York is doing a pretty extensive business in the manufac- ture and sale of popular pictures. Those wishing any thing of the kind, or an agency for the sale of engravings, oil paintings, &c., can address J. ^Y. Holbrooke, Secre- tary, 605 Broadway, New York. Godet's Lady's Book for May — Containing 100 pages, 51 engravings, and 74 contributions. A beautiful spring number, containing every thing that a lady may de.-'ire to complete her spring toilet. To any person sending us three dollars, we will send Iko copies of the Fakmeh and one copy of the Lady's Book. Russia as tt Is : Rv Count Gukowski. New Tnrk : D. Applb- TON & Co. Sold liy n". M. Dewey, Rochester, N. Y. We have read the book above named, and regard it as one of the mo.st ins'^ructive and interesting of the season. Count GuROwsKi is a native of Russian Poland, who has spent much tim.e at the capital of Russia, and had every desirable opportunity to study its institutions and people. r>v sending a dollar and ten cents to D. M. Dewey, a copy ' wiU be sent, postage paid, to any part of the United States- THE GENESEE FARMER. 103 Noiitts to Corrtaponitntjs. Mr. I. G. Fanning will please accept our thanks for his instructive communication on " Flax-culture in Ohio." Mr. S. A. E1.1.1S, of the same State has favored us with an article on •' Rocky Mountain Flax," and sent samples of the stem and lint of the plant, wliich appear to possess several important advantages. This plant is perennial, and it is thought that successive crops may be mown like common meadow grasses, and yield a profitable return. Both of the above communications will appear in our next issue. Other communications, and several books, pamphlets, letters ©f inquiry, &c., will also receive due attention in the June number of the Farmer ; they having come to hand after the pages of the present number were engaged. ^ Proposi.vg to raise $500 worth of pork, can j-ou toll me bow many acres I must have in potatoes and in ruta bagas (reckoning upon a common yield), to keep my pigs in good growing condition till put up to fat ? And how many acres in corn to fat them on ? My land is nem, a middling loam, several feet deep, being dry up- land, and lies in Wisconsin. In summer it is covered with a thick growth of natural gr.ass. I propose to commence in spring, buy breeding sows, and raise mj- own pigs. How m.any sows, the same being ton or twelve months old (common breed), must I have, and In what month bu}' them, to raise fifty pigs, which shall weigh, when dressed, 200 lbs. each, or something more ; so that if pork should not bo §5 when disposed of, the (rvr.rweighl shall secure me the S500 any way ? I intend to feed the potatoes, and bagas, and com, raw ; except during the time of weaning the pigs, when I nhall feed with boiled bagas and corn meal, mixed. Provided I feed thera regularly, attend fo them carefully, give them good warm lodging, and have it well littered in winter, in how long a time may I be able to do tliis thing ? What is the smallest quantitj' of the Canada field pea that can be sown by di-ill, on an acre, with a probability of producing a fair crop ? G. COLSOX. — Rochester, N. Y. To bring a large lot of spring pigs up to an average weight of 200 Rs. each of dressed meat by the first of January, 1855, will require better keeping than farmers generally give their swine. There is so much difference in the fertility of sows that no one can say what number will produce fifty pigs without a chance of a considerable sur- plus. Early sown oats make a fine range for hogs after the heads of the grain are nearly ripe ; and where land is cheap and rich, o.ats and peas yield very economical food for swine. In reference to the quantity of small peas which may be profitably drilled per acre, that too depends on the fact whether one has a small amount of seed as Compared with his land or not. Assuming seed was dear and scarce, we should not plant over twelve quarts per acre, especially if the pexs were small. As to the area to be planted in corn and potatoes, every thing depends on the quality of the soil and the season, to obtain the amount of food needed to make the $.")00 worth of pork. Having seen a statement of Mr. Rozell, of N'ashville, Tenn., in relation to the Oregon pea, in which he claims it to be far superior as food for stock and a better fertilizer than red clover, I should like to have some light upon the subject. Where can the peas be procured ? J. A. P. — Marshall, Mich. Charcoal as a Fertilizer. — I am a new beginner here altnopt, on a new farm. Much of the soil is of a light, saudy nature, ai d I am inclined to think destitute of a proper quantitj' of vegetable matter. I find it somewhat dilTicult t« get clover to take on tho lightest spots. With clover once started, so as to plow under a good growth, I believe its fertility may be rapidly augmented. I have thought too that a dressing of pulverized charcoal might be very benefici;il, supposing it would tend to absorb ammoniacal mat- ter for the sustenance of plants, as also to ameliorate the soil othei - wise. But the question with me is how to pulverize it cheaply and expeditiously, and apply It to the soil to the best advantage. I have not means yet to get mc all the necessary tools for farming properly, and can not therefore go into much expense for machinery, however profitable the investment might prove in the end, because I might be swamped before reaching the profits. I should like very much to see the matter of charcoal for the improvement of land elucidated in your journal, knowing that your extensive knowledge and experience might give us something reliable upon it. Also, I should like very much to have you give the cheapest practicable method of pulverizing the coal, with perhaps drawings of the in- strument or apparatus necessary. I think it might prove accepta- ble to others of your friends and subscribers. If you deem the subject of sufficient importance to impart the information desired, I shall feel myself under many obligations. T. E. Wetmork. — North Cannon, Mich, We have seen charcoal ground for agricultural purposes in a common iron bark-mill, such as tanners use for grind- ing tan-bark ; and it is sometimes crushed with pestles in large troughs. It is proper, however, that we inform Mr. Wet.more that pulverized coal has not proved of late years, by carefully conducted tests, so valuable as it was esteemed ten years ago. "We should advise him to expend the money that charcoal will cost in the purchase of gyp- sum and ashes, to improve the poor places on his farm where clover refuses to grow in a satisfactory manner. Can you give me some simple mode of managing night-soil ad- vantageeusly as manure ? I have burnt a pit of charcoal for tho purpose. Nearly all our land in this region is in urgent need of draining, and there is a growing disposition to do it; but the expense of tiles (about double the New York price) is so enormous as to amount to a practical prohibition. If you can spare time and space, I should be greatly obliged to you for some instruction on the subject. Which is the right kind of clay ? And how can tiles be most sim- ply and economically made on a small scale ? Our subsoil is a very compact, heavy, reddish-yellow clay, remarkably retentive of water ; and our position on the river aflfords great facUities for the trans- portation of tiles. MosES H. Hunter. — Gross Isle, Wayne Co., Mich. Any clay that will make good brick will answer for draining tile. Where several in a neighborhood or town need tile, and wish to study economy in procuring the same, jt may be wise to unite and purchase a machine which will make both horse-shoe and pipe tile, and cost only $250. Such a machine is durable, and will soon pay for itself at any brick kiln, or works erected on purpose for burning tile. Wilson describes the Tweeddale machine as re- quiring a man and a stout boy to work it, and two boys to carry the tiles to the drying shelves. In a fail- season it can produce 600,000 tiles, and as many soles. The present price, he says, is £40. " A pipe tile machine," he remarks. " is of the simplest construction, and costs only about £6 or £7." Many prefer pipe tile to either tile with soles, or those with covers ; and they can be made so as to be 164 THE GENESEE FARMER as mucli cheaper than pump longs as they are more dura- ble, for the underground conveyance of water from springs to any place it may be required, for watering stock or irri- gation. Dry loam or charcoal are best to deodorize night-soil. I HAVE an opportunity of getting some hundreds of bushels of nnleached wood ashes for eiglit cents per bushel. Will they pay at that price, and if so how, and to what crop can I make the most economical use of them ? Also, what is the best way to make a bed of straw go into manure, that has been tramped but shghtly by cattle ? Geokge Cattell. — Oakland, Harrison Co., Ohio. Ashes wiD paj' on corn land, on clover or meadow land, on spring wheat, barley, oats and potatoes, unless your soil is alreadj' exceedingly fertile. Large heaps of straw and corn-stalks require some time to rot. If we have heavy clay ground that needs to be made lighter, we sometimes plow under unrotted straw and stalks, and let them rot in the earth. In this way the soil gets all their organic ele- ments— a gain that pays for the trouble of raking straw and stalks into the furrow to be covered with the plow. Some plows clog up with straw spread on the surface much less tlian others. If straw is ever plowed in like clover on light land, cover it deep, or it may be a long time in decaying. I WISH you to set my name down as one of a thousand young men that are willing to give a doUar a year to promote agricultural science, and hope you may succeed in forming a Society. In the year 1847 I was scarce of bedding for my horses ; every morning I spread the coal ashes made the day previous over the ''table floor (an earthen floor) to keep it dry ; and the dung and ashes were wheeled out together daily around the straw pile among cattle, in the fall. I manured my wheat with it, and the whole of that crop measured thirty-one bushels per acre. I have both be- fore and since manured equally as heavy, and put in aa well, with the exception of the ashes, and have never had more than from eighteen to twenty-five bushels per acre. Had the Lshea anything to do in producing the above result ? The vein of coal that we use fi-ora has much more sulphur in it than the Pittsburg vein. I would be much pleased to have your opinion. J. L. Crawford.— Carmichaeh, Greene CO., Pa. The ashes were beneficial.*! YoTT will confer a favor on at least •no of 5-onr numerotis readers If you will suggest the best mode of getting rid of moles, as they are very numerous about here, and troublesome. A Young Fakster. — Terre Haute, la. Will not some reader familiar with the evU complained of state what he regards as the best remedy ? To catch moles m traps and to poison them are methods of destroy- ing them in common use. Your rxeellent paper should be in the handi) of every thinking farmer. I am no farmer, yet I would not be without it for ten times it« cost. Please give through the Farmer the most approved mode of raising hops. I think it would prove a profitable crop on our dry, lich lands of the West. C. F. McNeill.— ConcorfJ, Ind. WiU some of our readers familiar with hop-culture give ns an article on the production of this often exceedingly profitable crop ? Cax you"prescribe a'remedy for the mildew of the gooseberry r H. 'W.— l Washington Mills, If. T. ^Can any of our readers giye the desired informatioQ ? The Preservation ov ButtjiR.— I wish to ask through yottr valuable columns the best mode of preserving butter as it is madfe through the dairy season, to have it as sweet as when laid dowi>. You or any of your subscribers giving the best mode would conHar a favor. D. R. ^\KS^LXKE.—■Horsehcads, A'. Y. "Will some experienced butter-maker give the informal tion desired ? We will only intimate the necessity of working out all the buttermilk, and laying down the butter in a manner to exclude the air from the firkin or stojie crock in which it is packed. HORTICULTURAL. Api'les. (J. N. S., Marion, Ohio.) . The apples are quite new to us, and we should think them to be a seedling variety. They reached us in good condition ; and wb should think them to be well worthy of cultivation. The quality seems to be excellent, and its appearance indicates long-keeping qualities, which is very desirable. ADVERTISEMENTS, To secure insertion in the Farmer, must be received as early as the 10th of the previous month, and be of such a character as to be of interest to farmers. Terms — 'Two Dollars for every hundrefl words, each insertion, paid in advance. T TO YOUNG MEN. — Pleasant and Profitable EMPLOTitEUjii. Young Men in every neighborhood may obtain healthful, pleasant^ and profitable employment, by engagiug in the sale of useful and popular Books, and canvassing for our valuable Journala. Fox terms and particulars, address, post-i)aid, FOWLERS AND WELLS, No. 308 Broadway, New Yof^ P. S. — All Agents who engage with us will be secured from the possibility of loss, while the profits derived will be very liberal May 1, 1854.— 2t GENESEE VALLEY NTJESERIES. A. FROST & CO., ROCHESTER, N. Y^ OFFER this spring as usual choice BEDDING PLANTS of every- description, select GREEN-HOUSE PLANTS, NEW ROSES, &c. &c. As . desirable additions are made to our extensive stock every spring, by importations from the most reliable sources I'D Europe, it comprises a large collection of the most select varieties of Dahlias, Verbenas, Petunias, Fuchsias, Scarlet Geraniums, Helio- ti'opps. Dwarf Chrysanthemums, Roses, &c. &c. J^^° Priced Descriptive Catalogues of them can be had upon ap- phcation. When sent by nuiil, a one cent postage stamp requirefl to prepay postage. Ai.ril 1, 1854. — 2t FARMEK AND GARDENER ^WANTED. WANTED, on a farm in Ulster county, about 95 miles from New York, a young married man, capable of doing general farm work, and willing to make himself generally useful. Also, wanted a young married man, capable of cultivating a plain g.arden, taking care of hoi-ses, &c., and occasionally to assist with farm work. Privileges allowed are house and garden spot, keeping of a cow and jiig, and fuel for the year. Persons answering above descrip- tion, and able to fui-nish good recommendations as to capacity and intcffiitv. may address, stating terms in addition to above privileges, April"!, 1854.— 3t. W. W. DIBBLEE, New York. IMPORTED KORSE CONSTERNATION. THIS well-known, thoroogb-brcd Horse, will stand the present season, a.'* heretofore, at the farm of the subscriber, one mil© west of Svracuse. For full pedigree, see Derby & Sliller's edition of Youatt. "Terms— $10 the season, $15 to insure ; payable in advance in all cases. Good r.%<;turage furnished at 4s per week. Mares at risk of owners in all respects. _ No mare will be served that ia | either ringboned, spavined, or blind, J. B. BURNETT, May, 1854.— 3t Syracuse, N. Y. CULTIVATION lOF TOBACCO. A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON GROWING TOBACCO IN THB NORTHERN STATES, just published. Price, 25 cents. E. H. BABCOCK & CO., May 1, 1854.— 3t Syracuse, N. Y,„ THE GENESEE FARMER 165 KENTISH'S PREPARED OR ARTIFICIAL GUANO. TWENTY DOLLARS PER T©X. POTATO ROT. I HAVE used "Kentish's Prepared Guano" tliis season on po- tatoes. My crop was Large and all sound. Where I did not use it, the potatoes were all rotten and worthless. My neighbor.s, also, who have not used this fertilizer, have not raised a saleable potato this yeai-. I consider it a preventive of rot. G. PREA UT. Westchester Co., N. Y., Sept. 29, 18.}0. Extract of a Letter from E.'Ji. Addison. Alexandria Co., Va., April 23, 1S51. Dr. John H. Bayne, President of Prince George's County Agri- cultural Society, Maryland, has desired me to inform you that last spring he used African Guano, Poudrette, Peruvian Guano, and your Prepared Guano, on potatoes. The tirst two were di.stancod, but the result from the Peruvian and yours wa.s about equal. He pronounces your Prepai-ed Guano to be a very excellent article, and esteems it highly. Richmond Co., N. Y., July 27,1849. I have made use of Kentish's Prepared Guano on potatoes, cab- bages, cauliflowers, corn and grapes. I found the result much more satisfactory, and the produce much larger, than where I used im- ported Guano or any other kind of manure. EDWARD JENNINGS, Gardener. Jj^ It is equally fertilizing on all crops. See the numerous certitic.ates on this subject in the printed circular, to be obtained at KENTISH & CO.'S Depot, No. 159 West street, city of New York. March 1, 1854.— 3t PERUVIAN GUANO. WE are receiving our supply of Peruvian Guano, p«r ships " Blanchard," " Senator," and " Gray Feather," from the Chincha Lslands, and are now prepared to make contracts for the apring supply. As the demand is large, we would advise all who may be in want of this excellent manure to make early application. Price, ^0 per ton of 2000 pounds. Be particular to "observe thaj erery ba^ is branded — No. 1. "WARRAXTED PERUVIAN GUANO. nrPORTED INTO THE UNITED STATES BY F. BARREDA BROTHERS, FOR THE PERUVIAN GOVERNMENT. LONGETT & GRIFFING, State Agricultural Warehouse, 25 Chlf sti-eet. New York. April 1, 1854.— 2t. WM. PATERSON'S IMPROVED SUPERPHOSPHATE OF LIME, WHICH has been fully tested in various States last season, and found the best in the market. Put up in bags of 150, 100, and 50 lbs. each, and sold by the manulVicturcr at DIVISION ST. WHARF, NEWARK, N. J., or bv his Agents- L0N(;ETT & GRIFFING, State Agricultural Warehouse, 25 Cliff street. New York. EMERY & CO., Albanv, N. Y. P. MALCOLM & CO.."Bowlev'sWliar^ Baltimore, Md. JOSEPH RADCLLFF & SON, Washington, D. C. ROBERT BUIST, PhUadelphia. March 1, 1854.— St. SUPERPHOSPHATE. TVrO expense has been spared in the combination of this most X 1 fertilizing manure, which contains all the nutritive properties of all plants. It is superior to most of the articles offered for sale nnder the same name, and is inferior to none, although sold at a much lower price. Put up in bags at .$40 per ton of 2000 Its., cash. Office of the New York Superphosphate Manufacturing Com- pany, No. 159 West street. New York. March 1, 1854.— 3t VICTOR R. KNOWLES, Agent. BONE DUsi * BONE sawings, or meal, a very superior article, warranted pure. Price, $2 75 per bbl. Bone dust, ground, (quite fine). Price, $2 37 per bbl. For sale, in any quantity, at tlie State Agricultural Warehouse. LONGETT & GRIFFING. May, 1854.— 3t No. 25 Chff street. New York. FERTILIZERS. SUPERPHOSPHATE OF LIJIE, No. 1, of the best manufacture. Peruvi.an Guano, best No. 1. Poudrette, Plaster of Paris, &c. R. L. ALLEN, March 1, 1854.— 3t 189 and 191 Water street. New York. :200 BUSHELS OSAGE ORANGE SEED, JUST RECEIVED, and for sale on reasonable terms, at wholesale and retail. Seed warranted the growfli of 18.')3, and genuine. Address J. & T. HAMMOND, April 1, 1854.— 2t* Dublin, Wayne Co., Ind. People's Patent Office, > 86 Nassau-st., New York, i REJECTED APPLICATIONS, &C.— The undersigned respect- tully givus niilice Uiat, lu' is al all times iiriqiared to p.ay spe- cial attontiou to the prosi'culion of rejected appliciitions for Pa- tents; also to contested and interfering cases. In some instances he will undertake to prosecute rejected cases, receiving no compen- sation unless theP.itent is granteil. Patent business of every description, whether before the United .States Commissioner, or the Circuit and United States Supreme Courts, promptly attended to. The undersigned being represented at the seat of governnu-ut bv William P. Elliot, Esq., foiiuerly of the American Patenl Ollire, possesses rare facihties for immediate reference to the i.ateuled models, drawings, records, assignments, and other official matters. Examinations for particular inventions at the Patent Office, made on moderate terms. Persons wishing for information or advice relative to P:iliii1.s or Inventions, may at all times consult the undersigned icilhuut charge, either person.ally at his office, or by letter. To those living at a distance he would state, that all the needful step» necessary to secure a Patent, can be arranged by letter just as well as if the party were present, and the expense of a journey be thus saved. All consultations strictly confidential. The whole expense of Pa- tents, in the United States, is small. ALFRED E. BEACH, Solicitor of American and Foreign Patents, May, 1854. — It No. 86 Nassau street, New York. GENESEE VALLEY NURSERIES. A. FROST & CO. ROCHESTER, N. T., OFFER to the public the coming spring one of the largest and finest stoclvs of Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Roses, &c., in the country. It in part con.sists of standard Apple, Pear, Cherry, Plum, Peach, Apricot, Nectarine and Quince Trees. Also, Dwarf and Pyramid Pears and Apples. SMALL FRUITS. — Native and Foreign Grapes, old and new sorts of Currants, finest Lancashire Gooseberries, Strawberries, Itasp- berries, &c. &c. The ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT comprises a great variety of Deciduous and Evergreen Trees, Shrubs, Vines and Creepers, which includes uj>ward of of 300 varieties of the Rose. BEDDING PLANTS.— 150 varieties of Dahhas, a large collection of Verbena.s, Petunias, Helictropes, &c. &c. Priced C'atiilogues of the above will be m.ailed to all applicants enclosing a postage stamp for each Catalogue wanted, viz : No. 1. — Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits, Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. No. 2. — Descriptive Catalogue of Green House and Bedding Plants of every description, including every thing new which may be in- troduced up to its season, will be ]iubUshed in JIarch each year. ., No. 3. — Wholesale Catalogue, published in September. ^February 1, 1854.— tf FRUIT SCIONS FOR 1854. THE subscriber will furnish l)Oth Ajiple and Pear Scions for tlils season's grafting, of all the st.audard kinds, including those heretofore advertised by him in the Farmer. Price, one dollar per hundred for Apple, and thiee shillings per .dozen for Pear Scions. In large quantities they would be sold less. They can be sent by ■mail or express to any portion of our country. Orders, enclosing the money, will be promptly filled. JAMES H. WATT.S, Rochester, February 1, 1854. — tf GARDEN IMPLEMENTS. HEDGE, Long Handle, and Sliding Pruning Shears; Budding and Edging Knives; Pruning Hiitchets. Saws and Knives; Pruning, Vine and Flower Scissors ; Bill and Milton Hookfi ; Lawn and Garden Rakes; Garden ScufTlers, Hoes of great v.ariety, Sliovels and Spades ; Hand Engines which throw water fsrty feet or more. Syringes and W.ater Pots; Grafting Chisels. Tree" Scraper.';, and Caterpillar Brushes; Transplanting Trowels, Reels; Hand Plow and Cultivator, very useful to worli betn-een rows of vegetables ; together with a large assortment of other implements too numer- ous to mention. R. L. ALLEN. March 1, 1854.— 3t 189 and 191 Water street. New York. NEW AND IMPRO^VED PLOWS ! INCLUDING the Deep Tillei-, Flat Furrow, Self Sharpener, Cen- ter Draught, Side Hill, Subsoil, Double Jlold Board, Potato, and Cultivation Plows. Harrows, Rollers, Seed Sowers, Cultivators, and a large assort- ment of all ether Agricultural Implements. R. L. ALLEN, March 1, 1854.— 3t 189 and 191 Water street. New York, FIELD AND GARDEN SEEDS. SPRING WHEAT, Baricy, Oats. Grass Seed. Clover. Fresh Ray Grass, Lucern, White Clover, just imported. Excelsior Potatoes, a new and improved variety. Belgian Carrot, Sugar Beet, SiC. Garden Seeds of all kinds, including Flower Seeds. R. L. ALLEN. March 1, 1854.— 3t 189 and 191 Water street, New York- 166 THE GENESEE FARMER. :ketchum's improved mowing machinf, .WITH i.xTiut; cu.vNWK or ckai;. THS ONLY SUCCESSFUL MOWER NOW KNOWN. Ki'.TCnCM'S Improted Macliiup, wliich we are building for the harvest nf 1S54, was thorouglily tested last season, and the o-lv.mtai^es gained by our chsnge of gear are in all respects as we desiifiieil, viz : durability, cunvcnienre and ease of acliun. Tlie shafts now have bearing;* at both ends, which overcome all cramp- in;; a:id eattini; away of boxing;. A counter balance is attached to the crank shaft, which gives it a steady and uniform motion. Each M:u-hiue can be thrown oat of gear; there is great convenience at each and every nuf, all of thqm being on the upper side vf Ike frame ; oil cups aro attached to all the bearings, which, by tlie u-se of a wad of cotton, will hoM oil for a long time, as well as protect the bear- ings from dust, grit, &c. ; the finger bar is lined with u-oa its full width, which protects it from wear. _. These and various other additions for strength, durability, &c., m ike it the most simple and perfect agdcultural imjilement in use. Tiiey weigh .ibout 7oO lbs. each, and can easily be carried in a one- horse wagon. It re'iuires not over ten minutes to get one ready for operation, there being but two bolls (besides the pole bolts) to be secured to hai'e one ready for use. Tbcy will cut all kinds nf ^ass, and ofc- r&to well on uneven or rolling lands, or where there are dead fur- rows. This .Machine took the highest award, with special appruba- tioji, at the World's F.air; it also received, during Uv5t season, one silver and four gold medals, and various other Qatteriug and sub- stantial testimonials of approval, AVe have spared neither pains nor monej' to make this machine deserving of public favor, and hope to be able the coming season to suijply the great and increas- ing demand. We take this occasion to caution fp.rmers against buying vnlried Mowers ; if they do (as was the c^ise with many last year), they will incur loss, vexation and disappointment. If any parts are wanted to repair any Machine we have sold, or may hceafter sell, they will be furnished and only manufacturers' co^t for the same be charged. Z'W' I" ■''''' ca-"*'''! where Extras are wanted, be sure to give us the number of your Machine. (W.VRF.ANTV :) That said Machines are capable of cutting and epre.-iding, with one span of horses and driver, fiom ten to lifteen acres per da.' of any kind uf grass, and do it as well as it is done witii a scythe by the best of mowers. The price of the ^[owe^, with two sets of knives and extra,s, is $110 c:i.sli, in BulTalo, delivered ou board of boat or cars free of of cliarge. OflRce and Shop, corner of Chicago street and Hamburgh Canal, Jteax the Eastern K. R. Depot, Buffalo, N. Y. ■ HOWARD & CO., llanufacturers and Proprietors. ■ The Mower is also manufactured by RUfiGLES, NOURSE, MA- SO-V & CO., at Worcester, M.ass., for the New England States; Hy SEVMOL'K, MORGAN & CO., Brockport, N. Y., for Illinois, Iowa and Micliigan ; By WARDER & BROKAW, Springfield, 0., for Ohio and Ken- tacky. J. R.\PAL.JE & CO., Agents for Rochester and vicinity. April 1, 1854.— 3t CIDER BULL AND PRESS. HICKOICS Cider Mill and Press is considered now the best in use; simple in construction, port;ible (weighing but 275 lbs.,) and not liable to get out of order. Warranted to work well, and give satisfi'fion. The first premium of the American Institute »nd Crystal Palace h.as been awarded to this machine. Drawing »nd description will be sent by addressing the .agents for the sale, in New York. Price of mill and press, $40. LONGETT k GRIFFINO, May, 1854. — It 25 Cliil street, near Fulton, New York. CUTTER RIGHTS FOR SALE WE will test our Hay, Stalk and Straw Cutter, patented Novem- ber 8th, 1853, for speed, ea.se and durability, against any other in the United States. J. .TON'ES k. A. I,YEE. iTW f"""" further information, address JOXES & I.YLE, Roch- ester, N. Y. February 1, 1854.— tf MCCORMICK'S REAPING AND EMOWING MACHINE. I AM manufacturing 1600 Reaping and Mowing Macliines for 1S.14, and fanners who want M'nh;ni-s are rc'iuested to si-nd in tlioir order.s early. Last year I had not a supply, although I had 1.500 in the market, I offer my large experience (both in this country and in Europe) for the la-st fifteen years and more in this business, as the safest LTuarantee the farmer can have in the purchase of a M.achine of this kind. Deeming it useless to insert long advertisements in the newspar pers, I shall be pleased to furnish applicants with my printed Cir- cular. Some important improvements h.ave been made, while the Ma- chine will be found ,as simple and onicient as a .Machine of the kind c^n lie. The important points that will present themselves in these Ma(diiiiea, will be Perfect Simplicity, Ease of Repairing, Durability, and Adaptation to the Wants of the Farmer as a Reajier and Mower, I shall continue the use of the Wrought-iron Beam, which will be found very important in mowing, because of the friction upon tlie ground, and lialiility to tear and ■i\car a Wof den Beam, or any sheet-iaon lining tliat may be used upon it. Another very important advantage which I claim for my Combined Machine is tliat it can be readily changed so as to cut any desired height of stubble as a Reaper or Mower by simjjl.y removing three bolts. This princijde will be found wanting in other machines, though valuable upon rough ground, or for mowing barley or lodged oats, timothy seed, clover seed, &c., or where the ground may not be firm, and there be liability in the wheels to sink and the cutter to be brought in cnntict with the ground, sand, gravel, &c. With my Combined M.achino the farmer h;LS the advantage of a'Redlin mowing, which admits of a slow walk to the horses, and is es- pecially valuable when the wind interferes with the successful ope- nation of the Machine. I have no fear of the result upon trial of the Machine with others; it has no superior as a Reaper or as a Mower. The public are now especially cautioned to beware of SETMom & Morgan's " Xnw York Reapei!." Th< se men have been selling my Machines, thongh under an injunction the second time since the re-issue of my Patent in April last, in addition to a verdict of $20,000 for past infringements. g*^ Sundry other parties ynW soon be held to strict account for their infringements under this Patent, which makes them juntas liable to be enjoined sis Seymour & Morgan. The Machine will be warranted equal to any other, both as a Reaper and as a Mower; and it will be forwarded to anv part ol New York or Canada, if ordered of THOS. J. PATERSON, at Ro- chester, N. Y., who want* to sell it in some of the unoccupiec wheat districts. C, H. McCORMICK. May 1, 1854.— tf ATKINS' SELF-RAKING REAPER A r\ OF these machines were used the last harvest in grass <"l ■Trv/ gr.ain, or botl;, wilh almost uniformly good success, in nin* different States and Canada. TWENTY-SIX PREfflUMS, including two at the Crystal Palace (silver and brsnze medals) were awarded it at the autumn e\-hil)itions. I am building only 800 which are being rapidly ordered, ilr. .Joseph Hall, Rochester, N Y., will also build a few. Sj3^ Early orders necessary to insure ! Reaper. Price at Chicago $175 — .$75 cash with order, note far §50, pavabh when Reaper works successfuU)', and another for .§50, payable firs December next, with interest; or .SlfiO cash in advance. War' ranted to be a good Self raking Reaper. ^f^ Agents, properly recommended, wanted throughout thi country. Experienced Agents preferred. It is important this yeK to have the machines widely scattered. Descriptive circulars, with cuts, and giving impartially the diflS culties as well as successes of the Reaper, mailed to pnst-paid appli- Gitiona. .T. S. WRIGHT, March 1, 1854. — 3t "Prairie Farmer" Warehouse, Chicago.. MOWER AND REAPER. FORBUSH'S NEW IMPROVED COMBINED REAPES AND MOWER. THE above patent machine is now permanentl.y established, an' its entire success as a reaper and mower proved beyond al "■ doubt. This machine will be warranted to be maiie in a workman like manner, and of the best materials, and is capable of cuttin from ten to fifteen .acres of grass or grain per day; and in .all re Sjiects to do the work as well, and as ea,sy for the horses, as an. other machine in the country. Price of Combined Reaper and Mower, $1,35 " Mower, ..- 115 LONGETT & GRIFFINO, Ma.v, 1854.— 3t 25 Cliff st.. New York. KETCHinyrs mowers, WITH the new improvement. For sale bv LONGETT' & GRIFFING, May, 1854.— 2t 25 Cliff street. New York. THE GEJfESEE FARMER. 167 A «•?• '''5 sm-ularly snccesaful rcmeJy for the cure of all ^X BiUoiis diseases— Costiveness, Indigestion, Jaundice, Dropsy, KUeumati.-m, Fevers, Gout, Humoi'S, Ntryousness, IrriUiliility, In- fUiramatwn, Headacbe, Pains in tlie Hreast, Side, Back and Limbs t"t '^o'"Pl*"'ts, &c., &c. Indeed, rerj- few are the diseases in Tfhicti a Furgatu-e Medicine is not more or less required, and much sickness and suffering might be prerented, if a harmless but etlec- ^ual Cathartic were more freely used. No pei^son can feel well TTliile a coatire habit of body prevails ; besides it soon generates Benoiis and often fatal diseasos, which might have been avoided by the timely and judicious use of a good purgative. This is .alike true of Colds Feverish symptoms, and Bilious derangements. i hey all tend to become or produce the deep seated and formidable distempers which load the hearses all over the land. Hence a re- liable family physic is of the first importance to the public health, ana this Bill has been perfected with consummate skill to niPet that demand. An extensive trial of its virtues by Physicians Pro- lessors, and Patients, has shown result? surpassing any thing'bith- erto known of any medicine. Cures have been effecte'd beyond be- Iiet, were they not substantiated bv pereons of such exalted posi- tion and character as to forbid the suspicion of untruth. ' Among' the many eminent gentlemen who have testified in favor Of these Puis, we may mention : i Doct. A. A. Hayes, Analytical Cliemist of Boston, and State Assayer of Massachusetts, whose high Professional character ja en- dorsed by the — Hon. Edward Everett, Senator of the United States KoBERT C. WiNTHROP, Ex-Speaker of the House of Representa- tives. '^ ARnoTT Lawrence, Minister Plen. to England. I John B. Fitzpatrick, Catholic Bishop of Boston ; also Dr. J. R. Chiltox, Practical Chemist of New York Ci'tv cn- oorsed by ^ ' Hon. W. L. Marct, Secretary of Stale. Wm. B. A.STOR, the richest man in America. S. Lei.a.\d & Co., Proprietors of the Metropolitan Hotel, and others, ' Did sp.»ful nsc in GREAT BRmUN AND IX THE UNITED STATE!?, Where it has e3ti'ngui,»4de(l IViuncroiis Accidental Fires, And saved from destruction A VAST AMOUNT OF PRO- PERTY n? BOTH COCSTKIES, Is now respectfully ctraimendi- ed to GENERAL PATRONAGE. The Agency is vested in A. K. AMSrJEW, NO. 39 STATE ST., Rochester, N. Y. __ Orders for the Annihiialors, thus addressed, -win receira prompt attention. May 1, 1854.— It HOME PKOTECTION, TEMPEST INSUKANCE COMPANT, CAPITAL, $250,000. Organized December 24, 1852— Chartered March 1, IS&S, HOMES ONLY INSURED BY THIS COMPANT. No one Risk taken for more than $3000, ■HoMB Office, Mekidiah, N, Y, Many distingui.shed persons have insured their hoiries to thia amount of .$3000 each in this Company, among whom are Ex- Pre.sidentVAN BUREN, Kinderhook; Ex-Governor SEWARD Au- Ijura; DANIEL S. DICKINSON, Ex U. S. Senator, Binghampton. To whom it may eoneern : AnncRjf, May 16th, 1S5.3. We are personally acquainted with manv of the Officers ar;d Di- rect jrs of the Tempest Insurance Company, located at Jlcridian, Cayuga county, N. Y. In our opinion they are among the most wealthy and substantial daas ot farmers in this county." 3. N. STARIN, ELMORE P. ROSS, THOMAS Y. HOWE, 3t. The above gentlemen will be recognized as the Cashier ofCayu^ County Bank, Auburn; Poatma^ter, Aaburn; and Ex-Moraber Sf Congress, Auburn, Cayuga county, if. Y. February L 1854— I'y VntGINIA LAND FOE SALE. A VALUABLE tract of land for sale in Richmond and West- moreland counties, Virginia, containing 2700 acres — wWl tim- bered with ship and sfaie timber, well watered, and with va-rt bed.? of rich shell marl, enough to lime many .such estates. The tract is about three miles from navigation, in a healthy location and in a good neighborhood. It can be bought for the low sum of $10 per acre. The soil is good, and easily improved, with the means on it to put it in a high st:ite of cultivation ; about 1500 acres cleared ; buildings small. ■ It will make .six or eight farms. I will m.ike a deduction if sold without division. My address is 45 Broadway Baltimore, Md. Persons wishing to purchase will call on or address me, and I will give anv further information. H BFiiT March 1, lS.54.-4t 168 THE GENESEE FARMER. Contents of tJjis Numlitt. Interestiog Experiments with Lime and Ashes,..- 137 Importition of European Cattle, - - 139 Improvfd Native Cows, - -,"-— r." Kirst Annual Report of the Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of .Vicrioulture, -- }^ Short-horn Cattle, - 1^^ Irripition, - J*J Curing Clover Hav, Jfj Stone Walls, ". - 1« The Potato— Its Deterioration and Improvement,. 146 Indian Corn,... - - 1|J Farniiiij; in Oregon,... - 1-*'^ Potato-culture— Cheap Tile, ..148 Farmers, Study vour Profession, -. 149 European CattV, I-IS Clearing Lands, - 150 Brick Tile, - - 150 A Fann Cottage, - 151 Farming in Palestine, 152 Prize Estiay on Butter-making, 153 HORTICDLTURAI, DEPARTMKST. Gardening Operations, 155 The Curculio, - -- 155 Seedless .Vpples, 156 The Lawtou Hlm-kberry, 157 The Trees and Shrubs of California and Oregon, 158 American Pomological Society, 159 Jlildew on Gooseberries, 159 LADIES' DEPARTMENT. Cheap Mode of Pressing Cheese, 160 Domestic Recipes, 160 editor's table. Agriculture as a Profession, 161 A Model Postmaster, 161 <"ity Manures, 162 Hamilton Township Fair, 162 .\n Interesting Discovery, 162 Buckwheat as a Feitili/.er, 162 Notices to Correspondents, i 1C3 Inquiries and Answers, 163 ILLUSTRATIONS. Earl Spencer's Prize Short-horn Ox, 142 Plan of a Farm Cottage,.. _ 151 The Lawton Blackberry, .^ 151 ONE DOLLAR A YEAB ! FIFTY CENTS A VOLUME ! SPLE.VDIl) EXCUAVIXGS ! I THE PEOPLE'S JOURNAL, An Illusteatkd Record ok .^gkiccltuke, JIkchanics, Science, A.vD Useful Knowledge. EVERY number cont.iins 32 large pages of letter-press, beauti- fully printed on. fine paper, and PROFUSELY ILLUS- TRATED icilli ENGRAVINGS, forming at the end of each year TWO SPLENUH) VOLUMES, comxtv.An^.fuur hundred pages, and iUustrated with about FIVE IIU-VDltED ELEG.VNT ENGRA- VINGS, the entire cost being only ONE DOLL.VR. The Pkoplk's Joufi.val was commenced in November, 1853, and hsLS already attained a large circulavion. The November number «ontained 40 engravings, the December num'ier 72 engravings the January numVier 47 en'.;ra\'ing3, and the February issue has 01 en- gravings, making in all 220 illustrations, although only four num- bers have been pulilished. These relate to Science, Art, Mechanics, Agriculture, and Useful Knowledge, in accordance with the general pi in of the work. No publication of the kind has ever been pro- duced with sucil magnificence or at so cheap a piico. It is admued and Uikea by every one who sees it. Tkrms. — to .Sutwcribers — 0;ie Dollar a Year, or Fifty Cents for Six Muntks. Subscriptions miv be sent by mill in coin, post office stamps, or bills, at the risk of t!ie pulilislier. The name of the Post Oilice, County, and State, where tlie i)aj>er is desired to be sent, should be plainly icriiten. Address, postage I'.'iid, ALFRED E. BE.\CH, No. 8fi Na-'s-au Street, New York City, I Editor of the People's Journal. A LIBERAL DISCOUNT TO POST MASTERS AND AGENTS. Single copies I2J2 cents. Specimens sent on receipt of four postage stamiis. March 1, 1S54.— 4t FOR SALE, OR TO LET FOR THE SEASON, AMOR i AN STALLIO.V, four years o'.d. Inquire of A. H. ROBINSON, May 1, 1854.— It* • ScoltbvUle, Monroe Co., N. Y. OuB Illustrated Journals. — Fowleks and Wells, 308 Broadway, New York, Publish the following Periodicals. They have a circulation of One Hundi-ed Thousand Copies. These PopuLar and Professional Serials afford an excellent oppor- tunity for bringing before the Public with Pictorial Illustrations all subjects of interest. Physiological, Educational, Agricultural, Me- chanical, and Commercial. The Water-Cure Journaj. and Herald of Refohmb. Devoted to Hydropathy, its Philosophy and Practice, to Physiology and .\natomy, with Illustrative Engravings, to Dietetics, E.xercise, Clotiiing, Occupations, Amusements, and those Laws which govern Life and Health. Published monthly, in convenient form for bind- ing, at One Dollar a Year in advance. "Every man, woman and child who loves health; who desires happiness, its direct result ; who wants to ' live while he does live,' ' live till he dies,' and realU' live, instead of being a mere walking corpse, should become at once a reader of this Journal, and prac- tice its precepts." — [Fountain Journal. The American Phrenological Journal. A Reposi- tory of Science, Literature, and General Intelligence ; Devoted to Phrenology, Physiology, Eduattion, Magnetism, Psychology, Me- chanism, Agriculture, Horticulture, Architecture, the Arts and Sciences, and to all those Progressive Measures which are calcu- lated to Reform, Elevate, and Improve Mankind. Illustrated with numerous portraits and other engravings. A beautiful Quarto, suitable for binding. Published monthly, at One Dollar a Year in advance. " A Journal containing such a mass of interesting matter, devoted to the highest happiness and interests of man, written in the clear and lively style of its practiced editors, and afforded at the ' ridicu- lously low price' of one dollar a year, must succeed in running up its present large circulation (50,000 copies!) to a much higher figure." — [New York Tribune. Now is the time to subscribe. Sample Numbers sent gratia. Agents Wanted. Inclose the amount, and direct as foUews : Fowlers axd "Wells, May 1, 1854.— 2t 308 Broadway, New York. CHEAPEST AND BEST. LEE, MANN & CO., ROCHESTER, N. Y., Are the Publishers of one of the Largest and Cheapest Newspapers in the countrv. THE WEEKLY AMERICAN Is a paper of large size, containing .36 columns. It contains the Latest News up to the day of publication. Important Public Intel- ligence, a well- selected Miscellany and General Reading page, Grain, Cattle, Wool and Iron JIarkets to the latest dates from Bos- ton, New York, Albanj', Buffalo, Cincinnati, Troy, Baltimore and Rochester. Tliis paper is pubhshed every Thursdav, for ONE DOLLAR A Y'EAR, INVARIABLY" IN ADVANCE. It is the best and cheap- est paper for farmers and others in this and the Western States.*^ They also publish THE TRI-'WEEKLY AMERICAN Price $4 per annum, and THE DAILY AMERICAN, Price $0 per annum, to mail subscribers. LEE, MANN & CO. have in operation SIX STEAM AND THREE H/VND PRESSES, by means of which they can give all orders for BOOK OR JOB WORK IMMEDIATE dispatch, while their large assortment of TYPES, BORDERS and ORNAMENTS, enables them to execute orders in the BEST STYLE. Railroad Companies, Banks, Insurance Offices, Manufacturing Establishment.s, Forward- ers, Shippers, Merchants and Lawyers, can have their work done with PUNCTUALITY and ELEGANCE, and their Books ruled and bound in any desired j.at terns and in the best manr.er. Address LEE, MANN & CO., Rochester, N. Y. Office on Buffalo street, opposite the Arcade. M.ay 1, 1S54.— tf EARLY EXCELSIOR POTATOES. THIS is a new and very sujjerio.- sort. They are as early as the June potato, grow above the average size, are mealy and palata- l)le, and have kept better than any other variety planted in tliia vicinity. The rot has never been known among them. R. L. ALLEN, April 1, 1854.— 2t 189 and 191 Water street, New York. I IIME ^!f I^r ^if £1m Vol. XV., Second Series. ROCHESTER, K T., JUNE, 1854. No. 6. THE GENESEE FARMER, A MONTHLY JOl'RXAI, OF AGRICULTURE & HORTICULTURE. VOIiUME XV., SECOND SEIRES. 1854:. EACH yU^fBER COXTAIXS 32 ROYAL OCTAVO PAOES, IN DOUBLE COLUMN'S, AND TWELVE XUJIBERS FORM A VOLUME OF 384 PAGES IX A YEAR. Tcj-ms. Sin4: per acre for the wheat of a single season. Allowing $14 to cover every expense, and keep the soil good, with the aid of the straw and the growth of clover after harvest, and the net income per acre is $70, or 7 per cent on a valuation of one thousand dollars per acre! The six Xew England States put together do not grow over two-thirds as much wheat as one county in the Genesee Valley. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ESSEX COUNTY (MASS.) AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY FOR 1853. Essex County contains some of the most intelli- gent and skillful farmers in the United States ; and we always look to the annual Report of the doings of its old and flourishing Agricultural Society with full confidence that we shall find something both inter- esting and instructive. We are indebted to the Hon. JoHx W. Proctor for a copy for 1853 ; to whom, with Messrs. Newel and Dodge, (the President and Secretary of the Society,) Massachusetts is largely indebted for her agricultural advancement. This County Society expended last year $^82 in premiums — a larger sum we believe than any other County Society paid out in agricultural premiums. It has a good library, open to all its members, and productive funds to the amount of $9,336. Such an institution is as useful to the public, as it is creditable to the farmers of old Essex. Let the owners of the soil in every county in the Union do likewise. Farmers in Massachusetts have to contend with a generally barren soil, often overlaid with rocks and stone, sometimes inundated Ijy swamps or springs, and occasionally the land is a mass of compact intractable clay. With all these evils Mr. Crosby had to contend ; and with what cheerfulness and suc- cess he apphed his energies to the task, the reader may judge: Josiah Crosby's Statement. — " In calling your attention to my farm, I feel some reluctance in conse- quence of the veiy prevalent idea among farmers, that none but lai-ge and decidedly model farms should be considered worthy of a premium. But notwithstand- ing this opinion, experience and observation have taught me that small farms declare the largest relative dividends, and in corroboration of this statement, I could, if my limits would permit, cite many instances of farms in this county, containing ten or twelve acres, that are made to produce annually a larger net mcome than others containing one hundred acres. "In conformity with these views, I have ventured to offer my humble farm for a premium, destitute as it is of all such pleasing associations as 'paternal acres,' 'ancestral oaks,' or 'venerable mansions,' handed down from former generations ; and I present my claim only upon the ground that he is a benefactor who makes two blades of gi-ass to grow, where but one grew before. I will endeavor briefly to convince you that this much I have done. " I purchased my farm in the spring of 1841 ; it then contained about thirty acres, one half of which was completely covered with bushes. My first move was to commence an open warfare upon these * cuin- berers of the ground.' For awhile they resisted manfully, and seemed to bid defiance to our attacks ; but after a hard-fought battle, we found oureelves at last in full possession of the field. This field is now the best part of my farm, and is capable of producing two tons of English hay to the acre ; but at the time I commenced work upon it, it would not have afibrded subsistence for a solitary cow. " The other half of the farm at the time of my purchase, was a strong and rich, but cold soil, and for want of sufficient draining and manuring, it produced but scanty crops. It has been partially drained and had a hberal supply of manure. It is now in a good state of cultivation and produces large crops, but is yet susceptible of great improvement. " I have made several additions to my first purchase, and the farm now contains about sixty acres, all of which (with the exception of sixteen acres of wood- land) is in a high state of fertility, and with a little additional di*aining and manuring, will compare favor- ably with any similar number of acres in the county. "I have built a barn and cellar 56 by 38 feet, M'ith sheds, carriage-house, piggery, poultry yards, &c., at- tached, which have cost about $1,700 ; I have entirely remodeled and repaired my dwelhng-house, at an ex- pense of about $2,500; I have built a small gTcen- house, with a cellar and well, for raising foreign varie- ties of grapes, which has cost about $160 ; I have made 200 rods of substantial stone wall, and have dug 350 rods of drains; I have set out about 300 fruit trees, comprising the choicest varieties of apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries and apricots; I have hauled at least 500 loads of sand a distance of a mile and a quarter, which has been spread upon the laud, and is now thoroughly incorporated with the soil, and has changed the character of it, preventing it from baking or cracking during severe drouths, and caus- ing the crops to start much earlier in the spring; 1 have paid out in cash for manures about $500, and have made various other minor improvements on the farm. " But, as I have before stated, I do not enter my farm for a premium on account of its magnitude, or as being a model farm on a small scale; neither do I claim any superior mode of cultivation, but simply on the ground that I have taken it in a miserably dilap- idated and worn-out condition, and have put it in such a state that it mil compare favorably with a majority of the farms in our county. " The following statement will show the compara- tive condition of the farm when purchased, and as it now is: Produce of Elm Vale Farm in 1841, say about five tons of hay, worth $75 00 Produce of the tame for the year 1853. 25 tons English hay, at $20, $500 00 3 " Squashes, at $40, 120 00 25 bushels Onions, at 60 cents, 15 00 350 " Potatoes, at $10, 360 00 2500 heads Cabbages, at 60 cents, 15 00 60 bushels Oats, at 60 cents, 36 00 40 bushels Corn, at $1, 40 00 25 barrels Apples, at $3 75 00 Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Melons, Green Corn and Peas, 36 00 Cherries, Pears, Peaches, Quinces, &c .• 26 00 Pork fatted mostly upon milk and refuse potatoes, and apples, 90 06 Celyes 18 00 1 $1,464 00 172 THE GENESEE FARMER. " No account is made of butter and milk, garden vegetables, fruit, &c., used in the family. Original cost of the farm, -- - $2,900 00 Cost up to the present time about 10 00 Farm expenses for 1863, - 516 00 " Elm Valk Farm, North Andover." THE BREEDING AND BEARING OF HORSES. Thkre is no part of the world where the breeding and rearing of good horses will pay a better profit than in the Southern States. No inconsiderable share of the best animals are now imported from the North at a high expense, after paying high prices to the producers. This fact is known to most of our readers, while the cheapness of land at the South, and the facility with which suitable food for horses may be grown, will not be questioned. Some have thought that the climate of the cotton-growing States is too warm for the health and highest constitutional devel- opments of the eciuine genus. To refute this notion, it is enough to refer to the horses of Arabia and an- cient Egypt. The horse ])clongs to the thick-skinned order of mammalia, having the elephant and rhinoce- ros as congeners; and he flourishes best in warm cli- mates, as the vast droves of wild horses in Central Africa, South America, and Asia, sufRciently attest. Judging from the best lights of comparative anato- my, natural history and geology, we think that Afri- ca is the native habitat of the horse, and not the steppes of Central Asia, as has been suggested by HuJiBOLDT and Pallas. Perhaps no man living is so good authority on the origin and geographical dis- tribution of animals as Professor Agassiz, whose lec- tures for several terms we heard at ihe Smithsonian Institute, and recently a course in the city of Roch- ester. Egyptian monuments leave no room for dottbt that the horse was domesticated in the valley of the Nile indefinite ages before any history of which we have any knowledge was written. The earliest allusion to the horse is an incidental mention of mules in the Mosaic notice of Anah, the son of Zibeox, and a co- temporary of Isaac; and the earliest express mention of him records that "Joseph gave the Egyj^tians bread in exchange for hoises, and for flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses." The ear- liest evidence that the horse was broken for the sad- dle or ridden, occurs in Jacob's benediction on his sons — " Dan shall be a serpent in the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse's heels, so that his rider shall fall backward." " Horses and Chariots figure largely in the early wiitten history of our race; and one of the most ef- fective and beautiful passages in Job is his gi-aphic description of the war-horse. The Rev. John M. WiLSox, of Edinburgh, says that " the word ' thun- der' in our common English version of the passage is wrong, and must be substituted by the phrase ' beau- tiful mane.' " He adds, " whoever has observed the effect of a spirited horse's mane at a moment of ex- citement, will appreciate the allusion to it." "Hast thou given the horse his strength? Hast thou clothed his neck witli his Ijcautiful mane? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? The glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley and rcjoiceth in his strength. He goeth on to meet the armed men; he mocketh at fear and is not af- frighted; neither turncth he back from the sword. The quiver that rattleth against him, the glittering spear and shield; he swalloweth the groitnd with fierceness and rage ; neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He saith among the trum- pets Ha! ha! — and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains and the shouting." When the children of Israel left Egypt, "PnARAon took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them; and the Egyptians pursued after the children of Israel — all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen and his army."' Solomon had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 cavalry. In the land of the Fig and the Olive, the horse has attained his highest developments; and his cultiva- tion at the South should no longer be neglected. Start with a determination to provide a full supply of suitable forage, summer and winter. The most seri- ous impediment in the way of rearing horses in the cotton-growing districts, is the want of cheap food for their daily consumption. This want, however, arises more from neglect than from any other cause. Sain- foin, lucerne, lupins, vetches, peas, beans, and grasses, may be grown as cheaply at the South as in any part of Europe, Asia, or Africa. It only requires atten- tion, care, and moderate industry, to secure feed enough for a good stock of horses. No other cultivated plant probably contributes so much to the growth of horse flesh in this country as Indian corn; and the climate of the Southern Atlan- tic States is best adapted to the prolific growth of this cereal grass. If the soil is defective in some places, let it be carefully studied, and the defects re- moved. YouATT truthfully teaches his readers that soft water is much better for horses to drink than hard lime-stone water. It so happens that the writer has had excellent opportunities to study the water consumed by jiersons and domestic animals, both in freestone and limestone districts. Horses and cattle uniformly prefer rain water in limestone regions, wher- ever it can be found on the ground, to that which has passed through the earth and become impregnated with salts of lime, as it appears in brooks, springs, and wells. A litlle lime, however, has never, to our knowledge, done either horses or neat stock any harm. Nor should our remarks be construed as bearing against the use of common salt. The salts dissolved out of earths, which when in excess arc injuiious to animals, man included, are gypsum (sulphate of lime), alum (sulphate of alumina and potash), and copperas (sulphate of iron). Carbonate of lime, held in solu- tion by free carbonic acid, and chlorids of lime, mag- nesia and iron, may exist in excess. We are ac- quainted with farms on which well water contains epsom salts enough to physic persons and cattle not accustomed to it. Men and horses ought to have tolerably pure water, although in extensive districts both drink water that abounds in many foreign bodies. Too little attention has been paid to the anatomy and physiology of the horse, and to his ailments, by men of science, in this country. Our professional THE GENESEE FARMER. 178 " horee-doctors" are too often as ignorant as they well can be; and we should gladly see sonicthiug done to elevate and imijro\'e this dcjjartmeut of useful know- ledge. Unfortunately, anatomy, physiolog}', and the diseases of animals, are dry reading for the masses, so tliat we are virtually forbidden to do more than al- lude to these important topics. And yet anatomy and physiology form the only relial)le basis for the successful crossing and treatment of any race of ani- mals. The horse has a small stomach, and may be reared from its mother's milk to subsist mainly, if not exclusively, on flesh. The Tartars have a race oi' war horses hardly less ferocious than tigers. " Their keep- ers," says Sir R. Kerr Porter, " always sleep on their rugs among them to prevent accidents; and sometimes, notwithstanding all this care, and that of tying up their heads with double ropes, and fettering their heels to fastenings in the ground, they manage to break loose, and then the combat ensues. A general neighing, screaming, kicking and snorting soon rouses the grooms, and the scene for a while is terrible. In- deed, no one can conceive the sudden nproar of such a moment, who has not been in eastern countries to hear it; and then all who have must bear me witness that the noise is tremendous. They seize, bite, and kick each other with the most determinate fury; and frequently cannot be sepai-ated before their heads and haunches stream with blood. Even in skirmishes with the natives, the horses take part in the fray, tearing each other with their teeth, while their mas- ters are in similar close quarters on their backs." The best varieties of the Persian horse for both strength and elegance, occur in Kurdistan. Horses of the best blood in the world may be constitution- ally ruined by treating them as ladies treat their pet lap dogs. They become smooth lumps of fat, with feeble bones and feebler muscles, as a basis for it to rest upon. Some run into the opposite extreme, and half starve their breeding mares and foals, partly under the idea of hardening them, but mainly from sheer penuriousness. There are some American farmers who breed and rear first rate horses, as al- most any city will demonstrate, if its best " turnouts" be examined; but ninety-nine in one hundred of our horses indicate some material defect that art and sci- ence should have prevented. Farmers must learn to prevent those errors in hus- bandly which all know to exist. It is usually many times easier to avoid a misfortune or evil, than to suf- fer its consequences. Unless we try to improve our domestic animals, their deterioration is inevitable. The difference between a valuable colt and one com- paratively worthless, often depends on the difierence in ihsir keeping, and the way they are liroken to the satdle and harness. If Northern horses have supe- rioiity over Southern, it is mostly due to the manner in which they are reared, trained and handled when young. They need very little grain before they are four years old, but good grass in summer, and good hay or fodder in winter, with pure water, and a plenty of exercise. Corn fed colts become clumsy, dull, stumbling and stupid. It is better to feed them pea hay with the. peas in, or oats in the bundle, than corn in the ear. A little corn fed regularly we do not re- gard as objectionable, where oats or peas are not at hand and one has not good hay. We have had some experience in breaking colts as well as steers, and know the importance of having these operations wisely performed. They should not be delayed until young animals obtain their growth, and the impress of an incurable wildness. Early and gentle handling always cultivates docility and kindness, mingled with a cheerful habit and willing disposition. These prompt a laboring horse or ox to do all he reasona- bly can with spirit and confidence. Any working an- imal is half ruined when his confidence in himself or master has departed. Encouragement, wielded with discretion and an even temper, often w^orks wonders, where animals are well fed, w-ell housed, and never beaten. Punishment is sometimes necessary, but such cruel floggings as poor animals have been made to suffer within our recollection, are most injurious and inexcusable. THE HYGROSCOPIC POAVER OF SOILS. Tiui power of cultivated earth to extract moisture from the atmosphere, presents a most inxiting field for critical research in connection with the growth of agricultural plants. Before stating our own doubts and difficulties in the matter, we shall invite the read- er's attention to the views and experiments of Sir Hu-MFHEEY Davy, which throw much Hght on the subject. He says : " The power of the soil to absorb water by cohesive attraction, depends in a great measure, upon the state of division in its parts ; the more divided they are, the greater is these absorbent powers. The power of soils to absorb moisture from air is connected with fertihty; ivhc7i this jmiver is great, the plant is svppUed with moisture in dry seasons, and the effect of evaporation in the day is counteracted by absorption of aqueous vapor from the atmosphere by the interior parts of the soil during the day, and by both the interior and exterior during the night. The stiff clays, approaching to pipe clay in their nature, which take up the greatest quantity of water when it is poured upon them in a fluid form, are not the soils which absorb most moisture from the atmosphere in dry weather; they cake and present only a small surface to the air, and the vegetation on them is generally burnt up almost as readily as on sands. The soils most .efficient in supplying plantg with water by atmospheric absorption, are those in which there is a due mixture of sand, finely divided, clay and carbonate of lime, with some animal and vegetable matter, and which are so loose and light as to be freely permeable to the atmosphere. With respect to this quality, carbonate of lime, animal and vegetable matter are of great use in soils — they give absorbent power to the soil, without giving it like- wise tenacity; sand, which also destroys tenacity, on the contrary gives it little absorbent power. I have compared many soils as to their absorbent powers^ with respect to atmospheric moisture, and I have always found it greatest in the most fertile soils, so that it affords one method of judging of the product- iveness of land. One thousand parts of a celebrated soil from Or-Miston, in East Lothian, which contained more than half its weight of finely divided matter, of which eleven parts were carbonate of lime, and nine parts of vegetable matter, when dried at a tempera- ture of 212 degrees, gained in an hour by exposure 174 THE GENESEE FARMER to an air saturated with moisture at a temperature of 62 degrees, eighteen parts; 1,000 parts of a very fer- tile soil from the banks of the river Parret, in Somer- setshire, under the circumstances, gained 16 parts; 1,000 parts of soil from Mersea, in Essex, worth 45 shillings [rent] per acre, gained 13 parts; 1,000 parts of a fine sand from Essex, worth 288. an acre, gained 11 parts; 1,000 parts of a coarse sand, worth 15s. per acre, gained only 8 parts; 1,000 parts of a soil of bag-shot heath, gained only 8 parts." Other experiments, which will be quoted hereafter, indicate a wide difference in the hygroscopic power of dilTerent soils; and Sir H. Davy leaves no room for doubt that he regards this absorbed moisture as being within the control of plants to be imbibed by their roots, circulated through their tissues, and evaporated from their leaves. Cuthbert W. John- son, and other wi'iters of distinction, express similar opinions; but having recently raised the question of fact, whether water drawn from the atmosphere by the absorbent power of soils can be taken from these soils and given back to the atmosphere again by grow- ing plants, we have as yet found no experiments which prove the soundness of this popular idea. 'We put the question to Professor Hosford, in Cambridge University, in this wise: Why should not a soil that is endowed with strong absorbent powers draw mois- ture from the green and watery roots of plants, as well as from a dry atmosphere? Such an atmosphere draws moisture rapidly from leaves of plants, as may be seen when those of corn curl up in July and August, from excessive evaporation beyond the sup- ply of water at their roots. Does Nature operate in 30 limited a circle as to have the moisture that ascends from a soil through the roots and stems of plants, and passes out into the air through their leaves, i-e-ab- gorbed from the air by the dry soil, to be again con- veyed through the circulation of the plant as before? We seriously doubt the truth of this theory; and after stating the objections to it in a hygi'oscopic point of view, Professor Hosford (who was some years with Liebig) agreed with us that the annals of science furnish no satisfactory evidence that plants do extract hygroscopic water from the earth, and give it out to the atmosphere to be again absorbed by the earth for the use of the same, or other plants. If our growing crops can avail themselves of water absorbed from the air both night and day, as Sir H. Davy teaches us to believe, the fact may be demonstrated by direct experiments. Such experiments ought to be made. Like fei-tile soils, plants have the power to imbibe moisture from the atmosphere; but to what extent is not known ; nor is the circulation of fluids through their cells and vascular systems well understood. A dry atmosphere, especially when leaves are under the influence of direct rays of the sun, takes moisture from plants very rapidly. But does this evaporation from the surface of plants render their roots more hygroscopic than the soil which surrounds them, or the atmosphere that permeates such soils? Dr. Hales ascertained that a cabbage transmits into the atmosphere about half its weight of water daily by insensible vapor; and that a sunflower, three feet in height, transpired in the same length of time, nearly two pounds weight; but there ia no evidence that any of this water drawn from the earth was hygroscopic. The soil not only retains water that falls in showers and heavy dews with great tenacity for the uses of vegetation, but it draws water from the subsoil by capillary attraction fi'om a very consid- eraljle depth, under favorable circumstances. Dr. Woodward found that a sprig of mint, weighing 27 gi'ains, emitted 2.543 grains of water in 77 days; a sprig of common night-shade, weighing 49 grains, evolved in the same length of time 3.708 grains. M. Saussure proved by direct experiment, that plants may double the organized carbon in their tissues without any mold to grow in, or connection with the earth. Indeed, the hanging moss that grows so abundantly in cypress swamps at the South, must derive the whole of its carbon from the carbonic acid in the atmosphere. The luxuriant growth of this moss on the limbs and twigs of trees, illustrates an important law of vegetable nutrition. While we question the power of any soil to extract moisture from what would be regarded as a moderately dry atmosphere, in any quantity available to the cu'cula- tion of i^lants, we see little reason to doubt the power of a saturated atmosphere so to dampen a fertile soil as to enable it to feed, like a damp cloth, the roots of plants. When the air is cooled down to the dew point, and water begins to be precipitated, it is im- portant to have the soil in the utmost hygroscopic condition to augment the amount of fertilizing dews it may nightly condense within its cells or pores. Dews are nothing more than little showers ; and so far as they yield water at all, it should be husbanded by the cultivator with great care. Intimately connected with the natural function of soils to absorb water from the atmosphere, is the in- qiiiry: How much water does a corn, Avheat, cotton, or other agricultural plant, really need to have pass through its circulating system, from the first sprouting of the germ to the perfect maturity of the crop ? We have devoted some attention to this inquiry, and find that the poverty and richness of the soil govern the amount of water needed to produce profitable crops of grain, roots, cotton, tobacco and sugar cane. If we mistake not, this is the law : The more fertile the soil the less water it needs to yield an abundant harvest. Mr. Lawes found by careful experiment, that a poor soil required over three thousand grains of water to pass through the stem of a single wheat plant, to convey one gi-ain of the ash or minerals in such plant, from the soil to its destination in the plant. We will give the figures that bear upon this question as they may be found in the thirteenth vol- ume, second series, of the Genesee Farmer, page 79. The soil in each case being alike, Wheat required 3111.2 grains of water to evaporate from its leavea for one grain of ash deposited in the plant, from March 19 to September 7. Barley required a smaller quantity of water to attain a siroilar result, viz.: - 2618.8 graiiM. Beans stUl less, or 2289.5 " Peas 2527.3 " Clover 1884.2 " It is obvious to every reasoning mind that the poorer the soil the more diluted must be the food which it yields to hungry plants, and the larger the amount of water that must enter their roots and evaporate from their leaves to supply the needful all- i THE GENESEE FARMER. 1V5 ment. Hence, rich soils may, and do give large crops in a season cliaracterized by a scarcity of rain, which prove fatal to all crops growing, or attempting to grow, on poor lauds. These facts are adduced to show the importance of ceasing to impoverish good soils, and of trying to enrich poor ones. The neglect of the latter soon bring them into a condition that forbids any quantity of rain, however advantageously distributed, to give full crop^. Manures as well as soils absorl) moisture from the atmosphere very unequally. In the Edinburgh (^uarterlr/ Journal of Agriculture, Cutiibert \\. Johnson gi\es the following as the results of his ex- periments: " One thousand parts of hoi-se-dung dried at a tem- perature of lUO degrees, absorbed, by exposure for three hours to air saturated with moisture, at 62 degrees, 14.5 parts ; 1,000 parts of cow-duug, under the same circumstances, absorbed 130 parts ; 1,000 parts of hog-dung absorbed 120 parts ; l,()00*parts of sheep-dung absorbed 81 parts ; 1,000 parts of pigeon's-dung absorbed 50 parts ; 1,000 paits of a rich soil worth two guineas per acre [rent] absorbed 15 parts." Subsoil plowing has done mucli to improve the hygroscopic power of soils, and to bring up the min- iral food of plants from the earth l^elow. Deep and thorough tillage, however, does more by increasing the aliment of crops availal)le to the cultivator than by a1:).sorbing water from the atmosphere ; and while lime is known to be attractive of moisture, and there- by increase the hygroscopic capacity of soils, as stated by Sir Humphrey D/U-y, yet we suspect that this mineral benefits growing plants still more by its chem- ical agencies, and nutritive properties. However it may operate to augment fertility, certain we are that its use for agricultural purposes is largely ou the in- crease iu this country. THE HOG. Allowinr the hogs kept in the United States to be worth an average of only three dollars a head and their aggregate value is one hundred million dollars. This is a large amount of money to be invested in one species of quadrupeds; and especially in a race of animals so much neglected as the hog, As a peo- ple, Americans are remarkably fond of swine's flesh; but we cannot say that they delight in the wise and economical improvement of the race from which this kind of meat is obtained. Scientific breeders who have investigated the subject, find the varieties and sub-varieties of the domesticated hog more numerous than those of the human family. The English Rural Cyclopedia describes a distinct breed, like the Berk- shire, Suffolk, Woburn, Dishley, Hamjishire, Essex, &c., for nearly every county in the kingdom. The existence of some twenty or thirty different breeds of hogs, with perfectly developed peculiarities in each, in so small a country, proves two things: First, the per- fect susceptibility of domesticated swine to assume extreme variations in anatomical structure, as to the size and shape of its bones, small or large abdomen and chest, small and short or large and long legs and ears, and a disposition to fatten or otherwise, as well ae an aptitude to come early to maturity, or to Uve on like the elephant, and never attain to anything more than a worthless mass of bones, gristle, lungs and intestines. Second, it shows that, iu past ages, the rural districts of England have had the least pos- sil.ile intercourse with each other ; for the same inter- comnnmication between the fanners of different coun- ties that exists in this country would prevent the formation of twenty distinct breeds of hogs or sheep^ within two or three hundred miles of each other, in the same State. One may travel from Maine to Cal- ifornia, through the United States, and not find so marked a difference in the language of the people as is met with among the peasantry of adjoining coun- ties in Great Britain. Devon cattle, South Down sheep and Suffolk pigs, are historical monuments of great significance. Had half the care been bestowed on the improvement of the laboring classes of Eng- land which her horses, dogs, sheep, and swine have received, Britons might boast of the universal educa- tion that prevails on their densely peopled Island. It is a curio as fact, that nearly all of the native hogs of western and southern Europe have been ad- vantageously crossed with the Chinese or Siamese hog, imported within the last two hundred years. It is the quiet blood of the long domesticated swine of the Pkst, now common in Siam, China, AustraUa, and the Cape of Good Hope, that has improved the hogs of England, France, Italy, Central Europe, and the United States. In the twelfth century, wild boars were hunted in the immediate vicinity of London; and the vigorous blood of those powerful animals prevails in some parts of the Island with slight if any deterioration. The wild boar of Europe is a most fe- rocious beast, and some of the race when half do- mesticated, attained a prodigious size. The largest family of swine now known in England are doubtless improved descendants of these lords of ancient Bri- ton, where men and hogs subsisted mainly on acorns and other products of the forest. Wilson says that "the Rudgwick hog often weighs seventy or seventy- two stones when two years old." A stone is sixteen pounds; so that the mammoth Rudgwick hog (the largest in Briton) weighs from eleven to twelve hun- dred pounds. Our author does not give the Suffolk breed a high character; although his account is as favorable as we could write from what we have seen of this last importation of English pets. He says: — " The Suffolk hog is a small and somewhat dehcate an- imal; and attains an average weight of from 16 to 19 stones. Its hair is short and very bristly; its fore-- head is broad; its back is narrow; its belly is pendent; its legs are high; and its general form is more slug- gish than that of the Norfolk hog. It seems to possess a large inter-mixture of the white Chinese breed, and has been for a considerable period in somewhat high estimation; yet it eats a comparatively vast qvantitu of food, and is by no means a kindly or economical feeder." (See Rural Cyclopedia, volume 2, page 664, article Hog.) One should select a breed of hogs with reference to the abundance of grain and other food he may have for their consumption; and also with reference to the kind of meat he wishes to produce. Market hogs designed for packing as pickled pork, or for naxh- ing bacon, need to be of good siz'j,, having length, depth, and breadth of cai-cass. For this purj)ose, 176 THE GENESEE FARMER the China ho^ is (juite too small; and most of the Berkshires and Hunbllis imported into this country partake too largely of the Chinese race to meet the wants of large hog raisers in the United States. If one has a poor range for swine, and is in a district where corn is raised with difficulty, large hogs and oToss feeders are to be avoided, for their meat is like- fj to cost more than it will sell for. A small, thrifty breed, that will come early to maturity, is best for general use, where a farmer makes pork or bacon, or both, for home consumption. If any number of hogs are to be kept, it is important to give them a good pasture in spring, summer and autumn, if not in win- ter. For this purpose, a piece of swamp ground well set in grass pays remarkably well. Good feed, access to pure water, salt, and shelter from rain and snow, form the basis of successful swine-breeding. It is bad economy to permit large herds to run together. Di- vide your stock into lots of not more than fifty or sixty, if practicable. Neither hoe nor flees are apt to trouble hogs that have sulphur mixed with their salt. Many mix wood ashes either with the salt or cod of their fatting hogs, and find the alkali benefi- cial. Lye or pearlash water is better than raw ashes to correct acidity of the stomach when it occurs. At the South it is especially important not to crowd hogs to closely in small lots or pens. Peas, oats, bar- ley%weet potatoes, turnips and carrots maybe grown for the feeding of hogs, as well as corn, grass, figs, mulberries, and other fruit. The period of gestation in sows is one hundred and twelve days; and they readily produce two Utters of pigs in a year. This power of reproduction is of great importance to the farmer, who is able to turn it to a profit by selling pigs when from one to eight months old. All youug animals give much more flesh for any given quantity of nutritive matter consumed than adults. Hence, pigs are rarely kept m England over a year, except for breeding purposes. A stunted pig rarely recovers from the shock its system has sustained, and one should be careful not to at- tempt to rear and fatten more hogs than his food will keep to the best advantage. The same amount of corn that will yield 300 lbs. of meat fed to three an- imals, win produce 350 lbs. if fed to two. The truth and philosophy of this statement many farmers either do not understand, or sadly overlook. Before any animal can add one grain to its weight of flesh, a con- sderable share of its daily food necessarily goes to form its so called animal heat, and to replace every el- ement in its organized system removed by the absorp- tion of the previous twenty-four hours of hving pro- cesses. Bones, muscles, and all internal viscera, are constantly giving ofi" effete atoms and taking new ones of the same chemical and physiological nature, to renovate the living machine. To groiv and to fattea imply the organization, and deposition in the animal tissues, of more atoms than before existed therein. This calls for an excess of aliment, which excess or surplus, beyond what the system daily parts with, thousands of thoughtless husbandmen fail to supply to young domestic animals, which want to grow and wax fat, but being unwisely restricted in food, they cannot. They are stunted, and injured na- ture furnishes the owner with a small lump of meat for the food eated. HOW MUCH CHARCOAL WILL ONE HUNDRED POUNDS OF WOOD MAKE? Until we had an opportunity to read the accurate experiments of M. Musiiet, determining the yield of coal from difierent quantities of various kinds of wood, we had greatly over estimated the product of this valuable fuel. Of all the common woods, dry chestnut yields the most coal ; it being 23.2 per cent Oak yields next highest, or 22.6 per cent. Beech, maple and Norway pine peld 19.9 per cent. Elm 19.5 per cent. ; Scotch pine only 16.4 per cent. From the above facts it appears that full four-fifths of the dry solids in wood are burnt away and lost in the making of charcoal ; nevertheless, we think that 20 pounds of coal derived from 100 of wood are worth more for warming a room, heating iron, or gen- erating steam, than 20 pounds of any wood. Viewed in all its economical aspects, fire is an expensive agent; and it is very far from being maintained to the best advantage. ' . Probably not more than half the farmers m the United States avail themselves of the economy of using well seasoned wood for household consumption. In the Northern States, where snow lies on the ground six months in a year, and it is sometimes cold enough to freeze mercury, good wood-houses, filled^with sea- soned wood and coal are quite common. There are from one to two thousand pounds of pure water in a cord of green fire-wood, which has to be converted into steam or vapor, if green wood be burnt, involv- ing a prodigious loss of heat. Season all fire-wood before burning it, if possible. FIRE-FANGED MANURE. The season of the year has arrived when stable manure is prone to fire-fang — a chemical change that lessens its value from fifty to sixty per cent. To pre- i vent such a loss is an object of much importance m I farm economy, and we wiil endeavor to explain the subject in a way that will render it plain to all inter- ested in providing food for plants. Few are ignorant of the fact that a mass ot dung thrown from a stable, and particulariy that from hor- ses and mules, is apt to heat, and sometimes it pro- ceeds to spontaneous combustion. This heating is not injurious, if only moderate in degree, for it always precedes and attends fermentation, whether vinous or putrefactive. The latter is what the skilfuliarmer desires to increase the solubility of manure; lor Na- ture rots vegetal)le and animal substances to prepare their elements for reorganization in the cells of living growing plants. Fire-fanging is a peculiar chemical operation analagous to burning wood into coal, or charrin"- hay or straw by imperfect combustion. It not only checks putrefactive fermentation in a manure heap, but drives off in a gaseous state all the nitrogen and ammonia it may contain. H alf burnt dung and straw (fire-fanged manure) refuses to ferment, rot, oi dissolve for the nourishment of crops, for a long time after it is buried in tiUed ground. Hence it is not too much to say that a farmer who allows his dung- heaps to fire-fang, really loses nearly three-quarters ol I the value of the same, and often more than that. How one can best prevent this excess of heatingj THE GENESEE FARMER. Ill is the point now to be considered. Tt is done simply by spreading the manure over a greater surface, not so thin as not to heat at all, nor ferment, but thicker or thinner according to the weather and the nature of the manure. To adopt the language of fanners, some excrements are of a more heating nature than others; and no one rule will apply to every condition and composition of the dung heap. It should not, how- ever, be long exposed to the open air, rain and sun- shine, but'lUlie covered over with loam, clay, or vege- table mould. In this state Scotch farmers call their dung-heaps "pies;" the covering of earth being the upper-crust, and one of clay or leaf-mould being the under-crust. The right management of these "pies" is quite as difficult as the management of a coal-pit, or burning brick-kiln. All air must not be excluded, for that would arrest decomposition. To learn the condition of the mass, the farmer sticks a stake into it, which being drawn out, he learns from the steam, .gases, and temperature of the air that issues, how his pie is baking. If the heat is too great, the heap should be forked over immediately to cool it, as you would close the draft in a coal-pit, a lime or brick- kiln. If water is convenient, make stake holes into the heap and pour water into them, just enough to put out the latent fire below. To avoid all loss and labor of this kind, we prefer to haul most of our manure in a raw, unfermeuted 5tate, into the field, spread and plow it at once, and let it rot in the soil. This course is not always prac- iir;ible, and the dung has to be preserved in some !'(inn for future use. To have it rot, and at the same tims decompose a good deal of corn-stalks, straw and forest leaves, mixed therewith, and lose nothing of its volatile elements, is the end to be aimed at. OPERATIONS FOR JUNE. ^Ir. Editor : — June has come and with it the seed time of many of the present backward season. Every moment is now of value, and let eveiy stroke and ollurt tell. Hay, corn, wheat — in fact, all the agri- cuUural productions of the country, have brought hi;i;!ier prices than for years before, and we see no reason why they should much diminish in value, while the demand for the European market shall continue. Will it not be worth your while to have as great a surplus of those crops as possible, by bestowing more attention to root crops as a means of winter feed for your stock ? The turnip is a veiy important element in English husbandry; and though our climate may not be so well adapted for that particular root, yet have we not an equivalent in the sugar beet, car- rot, parsnip and mangel wurtzel ? On ground pro- perly prepared, the yield of any one of the roots mentioned, may be safely estimated at from 500 to 800 bushels. The writer once raised thirty-nine bushels of mangel wurtzel on four and one-half square rods of ground, or at the rate of nearly fourteen hun- dred bushels to the acre. To raise roots to advantage the soil must be in good condition and thoroughly pulverized — no clods or lumps being left to mar the straightness of your rows, or interfere with the sowing of the seed. Supposing that you devote an acre to roots, it will pay well to get a seed drilL The saving of time, seed. and exactness in planting, together with increased i'acility for after cultivation, will nuich more than balance the outlay. Soak your beet or wurtzel seed in lukewarm water for forty-eight hours, and sow in drills sixteen inches apart on freshly tilled land. When up and i'airly growing, thin to from four to six inches apart. Most who commence the study of roots, err in not giving them s})acc to grow. Keep clear of weeds, which can mostly be done with the hoe. Soon as their broad leaves have fairly developed themselves, you need bestow but little care upon them, save to stir the soil in time of drouth. Potatoes, once our surest crop, now in many sec- tions are a very uncertain one. Those have had the best crops generally within the last few years, who have planted on a light, loamy soil, not highly man- ured. When the rot became so prevalent and de- structive a few years past, the editor of this paper surmised among other speculations that the disease in question might be owing to an exhaustion of the elements of the plant and tuber in the soil. Several experiments during the past year in different parts of the country, have satisfactorily shown that planted in moderately fertile ground, and as soon as above the ground, well dusted with a handful of ashes and plas- ter to each hill, and the same application repeated when about to flower, there will be but httle of the rot. It is an unsettled question, whether large or small seed potatoes will give a greater return. We would be much obliged to our friends who feel interested in this matter, if they would try experiments, and report the result when the crop is gathered. You will find that to plant your corn in drills from three and a half to four feet apart, the stalks from six to nine inches apart in the rows, and to thoroughly work the ground with the cultivator, without hilling, or at least' but very slightly, will give jou equally as large a return as if you had carefully hilled your corn, thereby throwing the moisture away from the plants. Have you provided good rakes and implements wherewith to facilitate the securing of your hay and grain crops ? Pitching hay on to a high mow is hard work and warm work too in a hot day, and it requires but a slight expenditure of time and means to pro- vide fixed and movable pulleys, with a ro})e and suit- able fork, by which your load can be lifted and deposited on your mow, by a horse or your team, with no expenditure of manual labor. To make farming attracti\'e, study to introduce machinery as far as practicable, for human help is the dearest of all. Peas for fattening your hogs may be sown at any time before the middle of the month. They are an excellent preparation for wheat, and leave the ground in a very friable condition. If you have not yet plastered your clover, do not fail of doing so ; also your peas and corn. It will pay M-ell to have your boys thoroughly weed your grain fields by hand ; " one year's seeding makes seven years weeding," and clean fields should be your pride. If you have a spot of Canada thistles or dock on your premises, give them no peace or rest from your plow as often as they show themselves above the- ground. A thorough fallowing of weedy ground^ followed by hoed crops the ensuing season, will almost 178 THE GENESEE FARMER. entirely remove the nuisance. If you cannot plow them up, mow them often, and by no means let them go to seed. Have your compost heap or jDlace convenient for the same, and deposit there every thing susceptible of decay, it hardly matters what — weeds, turf, loam, muck, straw, chips, &c., and let your hogs tmni it over and mix it ; wet it with soap-suds, urine, &c., and you will find the summer's accumulation of much value for the ensuing spring crops. Yours, &c., CuLTOB. ROCKY MOUNTAIN FLAX. flax that have before been discovered in the United States, would also seem to be clear. A tract of uinety square miles of flax, such as Mr. Oaki.ky desi-ribed, would be a sight in any country, and would rival the grass covered prairies of Illinois. Now, in relation to it being superior to any of the wild flax in the United States, is, I think, a mistake, for I have recently discovered a lint on the Butterfly- weed, also called silk-weed and pleurisy root, (Ascle- , pias Tuherosa,) that surpasses any thing that I have seen in strength of fibre, belonging to that family of vegetables, "if the variety described by Mr._ Parker is fn any way superior to the silk-wped, it is in height, and not in the strength of the lint, for that cannot Mr. Editor:— If you think the following worthy of a place in your valuable journal you are at liberty to insert the same. I know of no plant which seems to better deserve an eflbrt for its introduction into the class of cultivated crops, than the above named. The common flax plant is an annual; it is exposed to the depredations of many insects; and to get the full amount of the crop, it is necessary it should be pulled; and yet, with all these drawbacks, it is a valuable crop, and indispensable for many purposes. If a plant possessing the same valuable qualities as the common flax, and perennial, and cradled or mown at maturity, thus giving an annual succession of crops from the same root, could be discovered and brought into use, particulariy in the fertile valleys and prairies of the Western States, the advantages would be very great. Such a plant is the flax of the Rocky Moun- tains; and the iudi\ddual or the society that shall in- troduce it into cultivation, should it answer present indications, will be considered as essentially benefitting the agriculture of the country. Of the various notices which I have seen of this plant, I select the following as most particularly describing its appear- ance and the extent of its growth in those regions. Mr. PARKaR, in his excellent narrative of his journey across the Rocky Mountains, from the Mississippi to the Pacific, says: "Flax is a spontaneous production of this country. In every thing except that it is perennial, it resembles the flax that is cultivated in the United States — the stalk, the bowl, the seed, the blue flower, closed in the day time and open in the evening and morning. The Indians use it in making fishing nets. Fields of this flax might be managed by the husbandman in the same manner as meadows for hay. It would need to be mowed like grass, for the roots are too large and run too deep into the earth, to be pulled as ours is; and an advantage that this would have is, that there would be a saving of plowing and sowing." This was on a branch of Lewis or Snake River. In a late journal of a passage across these mountains, by Mr. Oakley, of Iflinois, under date of the '21st of July, 1839, occurs the foUowing : "Encamped to-night in a beautiful valley, called Bayou Salard, twenty-eight miles from the head of the South Fork of the Platte. It is a level prairie, thirty miles long and three wide, and covered with a thick growth of flax, which every year springs up Bpontaneously." Whether the Rocky Mountain Flax will prove to be as near the common flax as is supposed by Mr. Parker, mny be doubted ; but that it is unlike and far superior to the two or three kinds of native vrild be, and in all probability it is the same plant, as Mr, Tucker seemed to doubt the description of Mr. Par- ker, and that he had only seen the nets and lines that the Indians used, and guessed at the rest. There are two kinds of this jilant, one is found in uplands, and the other in low sandy river or tributary valleys, anc sandy plains, corresponding exactly to the locatior which Messrs. Parker and Oakley have mentioned and it is also a perennial ; and there is very littk difference in the appearance of the two, both growing from two to five feet high. In an open exposure U the sun they grow from two to three feet high, witl a thick stalk, and branching out most profusely at th' top, and when they grow in a shaded situation am thick on the gi'ound, they often attain the height o five feet, with a smooth, straight stalk, and but Ics branches at the top. (For a general description o this plant see U. S. Dispensatory, p. 127.) It pro pagates from seed, then spreads at a rapid rate unde the ground, coming up in every direction, which wouL greatly aid the process of propagation, I hay transplanted some roots- this Spring, to ascertai whether they would bear transplanting, and if so, th variety peculiar to low lands might be advantageousl cultivated on barren, sandy ground, or otherwise while the other could be cultivated on land peculia to it ; thus gi^nng us a natural advantage of a grea scope of country for cultivation, and at the same tim be producing a great medical plant as well as one c the most durable lints in the world, which you wi" perceive by the specimens I have sent you. No. is a section of a stalk with the fibre on the same, an^ also the lint and a cord of two others, which wer collected March 20th, 1854, that grew in the yea 1852, and which had been out ah that lapse of tim exposed to the inclemency of the weather, withou destroying its lint, hence you will see the great utilit of this fibre in making cables and other goods tha are exposed to the weather. From the fineness an^ whiteness of it, I believe the best linen might be mad of it. No. 2 is a section of two stalks and the lin of two others stripped off; and a cord twisted b; hand ; it grew last year and stood out till the 5th c the present month. You wiU also perceive that th stalk is hoflow, which would render it easy of bein{ broke with the flax break or machine, and the shov easily dispensed with. Medical Properties and Uses. — The root of Af clepias Tuberosa is diaphoretic and expectorani without being stimulant. In large doses it is oftei also cathartic. In the Southern States it has lonj been employed by regular practitioners in catarrh THE GENESEE FARMER 179 pueumonia, pleurisy, consumption, and other pectoral affections ; and appears to be decidedly useful if ap- l)lied in the early stages, or after sufficient depletion, when the comjjlaint is already formed. Its popular name of pleurisy-root expresses the estimation in whicli it is held as a remedy in that disease. It has also l)eeu used advantageously in djsentery and acute rheumatism, and might probably prove beneficial in our autumal remittents. Much testimony might be advanced in proof of its possessing very considerable diaphoretic powers. It is said also to be gently tonic, and has been popularly employed in pains of the stomach arising from flatulence and indigestion ; from twenty grains to a drachm of the root in powder, may be given several times a day. But as a diaphor- etic it is best administered in decoction or infusion, made in the proportion of an ounce to a quart of water, and given in the dose of a teacupful every two or three hours till it operates. Before concluding, I would ask whether you or any of your readers ever knew of this plant producing lint, and if so, whether it has ever been cultivated for that purpose ; if not I think it worthy of a fair trial both for its lint and medical uses, by some of the Agricultural Societies. I shall, however, report my success the coming season. Yours, very truly, S. A. Ellis. KoscoE, Coshocton Co., 0. FLAX-CULTURE IN OHIO. Mr. Editor : — Having been a subscriber to your valuable paper for the last two or three years, I do not recollect of seeing anything in regard to the cul- tivation of flax seed. In this section of the country, this staple of produce is pretty extensively cultivated for the manufacturing of oil. In the year 1852, there were raised in this county 136,000 bushels of flax 5eed, according to the returns of the assessor. Last year there was n great failure of the crop, owing to the great drouth in the fore part of the season. I oresurae there was not more than one-third of a crop m an average. Now, sir, there is a great difference )f opinion among our liest farmers, whether the cul- ivation of flax is more injurious to the ground than )ats. My principal object in writing this, is to re- (uest that you, or some of your numerous corres- pondents, would analyze the flax and oats, in their lifferent stages of growth, and ascertain what proper- ies they draw from the earth. Our soil here is quite aried. You can seldom find a field of twenty acres vith one kind of soil. Some of it is a stiff clay, some i loose clay, and some of it a dark loamy soil, with a ittle sand mixed with it. In the last mentioned soil, t generally requires under-drainage before it can be nuch used, for in the spring of the year it is Aery pet. There are also other differences of opinion in regard 0 this crop. Some contend that the wheat crop 'hich generally follows the flax, is not as good — 'bile others say that they have raised just as good 'heat on flax ground as on oats. Others say that ly cannot raise two crops of flax in succession on le same ground — while others contend that they ive done so. Now, sir, if you or any other person inld test the matter by any chemical experiments, it would not only gratify, but benefit a lurge number of farmers in this section of country. If you think it is worth publishing, I will give you a brief account of the mode in which it is done here. In the first ])lace the ground is plowed between the 6th ami 20th of April, or soon after oats are sown. It is then harrowed with a heavy harrow, and the ground pulverized as much as possible. The seed is then sown at the rate of three pecks per acre — more than this it is considered would be too thick for it to branch well, or less would he considered as not thick enough. After it is sown, go over the ground again with a harrow or large brush. If there should liafh pen to be a heavy rain before it can be harrowed or brushed after the seed is sown, nothing need be done with it, for the rain will beat the seed in the ground sufficient to sprout it. I have raised just as good a crop after the rain has beat it in the ground as if it had been harrowed. As soon as a large majority of the bolls begin to turn brown, commence cutting it with a cradle, taking out the third and fourth fingers in order to make it as light as possible. Cut it so that two swaths will come together — in other words, make a double icinroiv in all cases where it can be done. This will enable the team to pass between them and not run over it. There is no necessity of laying the straw straight like v.heat or oats. After it has lain on the ground some three or four days, (owing a good deal to the dryness of the weather,) the thrashing can be commenced. This is done by trampling it with horses on the barn floor. One or two hands go to the^field after a load, while one or two stay in the barn with the horses. If the flax is very dry, it can be thrashed out as fast as it can be hauled in. In the morning, we have to wait until the dew is off, for if it is damp in the least, it takes a long time to trample it out. I generally arrange it so as to leave a flooring on the floor over night, and by the time the dew gets off in the morning, I have that flooring trampled out. It will not do to leave the load on the wagon over night, for it will commence sweating ; and if the morning should happen to be foggy or damp, it will take until the middle of the day to get it out clean. "When we get some 40, 50, or 60 bushels on the floor, we commence cleaning in a wind- mill— generally running it through twice. Some far- mers who have a good deal of barn room, haul it in and mow it away, and thrash it in the winter. There is very little use made of the sti'aw in this neighborhood ; some burn it, and some stack it in their barn yards and let their cattle nibljle at it in the winter and tramj^le it into manure. I am told that in the county south of us, the farmers sell it to the paper makers at a good profit ; but they have to trample it more, in order to get as many of the shievea out as possible. I have never seen any of the paper made from the flax tow, but I presume the time will soon come when it will be baled up like cotton, and sent to the Eastern States to be manufactured into paper. I am yours, &c., J. G. Faxninq. Eaton, Preble Co., Ohio. The spirit of the world encloses four kinds of spirits, diametrically opposed to charity. The spirit of re- sentment, spirit of aversion, spirit of jealousy, and the spirit of indifference. 180 THE GENESEE FARMER HOW TO CAPONIZE FOWLS. TnE practice of the French country-women is to pclect the close of the spring, or the beginning of autumn, as well as fine weather, for the performance of their work. The parts necessary to be removed, being fixed in the abdomen, and attached to the spine at the region of the loins, it is absolutely necessary to open the abdominal cavity for the purpose of their extraction. The biril should be healthy, fasting, and about three months old. He is then to be secured by an assistant, upon his back, his belly upwards, and his head down, that the intestines, &c., may fall up toward the bretist ; the tail is to be towards the ope- rator. The right leg is then carried along the body, and the left brought backward and held in this posi- tion, so as to leave the left flank perfectly bare, for it is there that the incision is to be made. The said incision is to be directed from before to backwards, travcrsely to the length of the body, at the middle of the flank, and slightly to the side, between the ends of the breast-bone and the vent. Having plucked away the feathers from the space where it is intended to make the incision, you take a bistoury or a razor, and cut through this skin, abdominal muscles and perito- neum ; it is better to do this at two or more cuts, in order to avoid the possibility of wounding the intes- tines— a casualty that would, in most cases, be at- tended with fatal results. The intestines present themselves at the orifice, but you must not suffer them to come out ; on the contrary, you press them gently aside, so as to have room for action. I may observe, that the incision should have been sufficiently large to admit of the fore-finger previously well oiled, be- ing passed into the abdomen, and carried carefully towards the lumbar region of the spine ; you will there find what you are in search of. You first reach the left substance, which you detach with your nail, or with your finger bent hook-fashion ; you then arrive at the right, which you treat similarly ; bring both substances forth ; you finally return the intes- tines, sow up the wound with a silk thread — a very few stitches will suffice — and smear the place vrith a little fresh butter. Some persons recommend the amputation of the comb, close to the skull of the newly-made capon ; but this is surely an unnecessary piece of torture — a useless addition to the sufferings of the poor bird. The proposed object of this am- putation is to insure the recognition of the capon amongst his co-mates of the poultry-yard. Were such a distinctive mark necessary, it strikes us that the operation must have been, so to speak, thrown away; inasmuch as the superior size and bulk of the capon should, of themselves, be sufficiently indicative of his identity ; but independent of these, I may observe that the comb of the capon does not grow to any size, and always retains a pallid color. Should it be pro- posed to caponize cocks belonging to varieties not natnrally^posscssing combs, it wfU surely be found, at the very most, sufficient to cut the tail feathers down to a stump. In some parts of the continent, the caponizers resort to still more unnecessary brutality. They cut oft the spurs of the poor caponized bird, and making an incision in its comb, as it were plant them in it ; they are so held for about twenty minutes — ^in short, just until the bl©od coagulates ; they then become not merely permanently adherent, but actually grow. The less, however, said about these very, and needlessly inhuman practices, the l>ettcr. To return to our more immediate subject: The process having been performed as above described, the bird is placed in a Avarm house, u-hei-e there are no perches, as, if such appliances v.ere present, the newly-made capon might very probably injure himself in his attempts to perch, and perhaps even tear open the sutures, and possibly occasion the operation, usually simple and free from danger, to terminate fa- tally. For about a week, the food of the bird should be soft oatmeal porridge, and that in small quantities, alternated with l^read steeped in milk; he may be given as much pure water as he will drink, but I re- commend that it be tepid, or at least, that the chill be taken off" it. At the end of a week, or, at the farthest, ten days, the bird, if he has been previously of a sound, vigorous constitution, will be all right, and may be turned out into the walk common to all your fowla — Richardson. DENWOOD, THE RESIDENCE OF JOHN J. SMITH, ESQ., OERMAXTOWN, PA., NEAR PHILADELPHIA. The private residence of which we give a drawing, presents some peculiarities of construction and inte- rior division, which we have thought might prove a useful study to those who are about to build. It is a complete 7-vs in vrbe; the kitchen being in the Aillage, and the opposite or piazza side, facing the northeast, for summer afternoon shade, overlooks the country, with a fine belt of trees within a suitable distance. The amount of gi'ouud attached is two acres, but we observed that it is filled with the most valuable hardy trees and shrubs, imported and domes- tic. Among the former will be found a collection of Hollies and Rhododendrons — two important but much neglected families of plants. The fii-st thing that strikes the eye in looking at this house, is the circular hoods in the attic story — a contrivance which gives height to a considerable portion of the rooms, and has externally a good ef- fect. The attics are in fact as good rooms as need be asked — superior to any we have seen in dwellings of the same elevation. A front portico, and two pro- jecting bay windows, make not only a cheerful en- trance, but add materially to the size of the drawing and dining rooms. The portico, as well as the inte- rior hall, are paved with tesselated tiles, made by MiNTON & Co., Stoke-upon-Trent, England, which are now becoming so much apjjreciated, and which can- not be too much known. The interior of the house is divided in a diffbrent manner from most dwellings, as will be seen by a glance at the ground plan. The hall is carried only to the depth of the drawing room, where, by an or- namental ground glass door, it opens upon a neat li- brary having a bay window slightly enriched at the top with colored glass, so that the view through the library door and the bay window beyond, produces an effect like that of an oratory. The book-cases on one side are recessed out of the butler's pantry, so as to occupy no space from the room. The two doors THE GENESEE FARMER. 181 DEXWOOD FRONT ELEVATION. in the octagon corners are filled with book backs, ' bound on blocks to form a perfect representation, and ! to furnish the room — a plan much practiced in En- 1 rope. These doors open respectively into the butlers pantry and the i)rivate office beyond the drawing- room. Three ^ood and useful rooms are thus ob- ! tained. The pantry is a low story; above it is the I bath-room, ter's clay, brought up from a considerable depth, Mr. Way infers that it does not depend on organic mat- ters, but is entirely due to the clay. In a later paper he has extended his investigations, and starting from the obvious fact that the absorption could not be due to the clay as a whole, but rather to some par- ticular substance existing in it, and possessing a high degree of absorptive power, he has inquired mto the subject in this point of \-iew, and arrived at results of much practical and scientific interest. As it it was manifestly impossible to extract from the clay the supposed substances to which its absorptive power was attributed, he adopted a different mode of inves- tigation. He first proved that felspar, albite, and the other minerals from which the clay of our soils is pro- duced, hive no absorbent effect, and then proceeded to try wdiat could be done by the artificial formation of substances of a similar nature. When silicate of soda is added to a solution of alum, a white powder is formed which is a compound of silicate of alumina and silicate of soda, and this, when treated with a salt of lime, gives a similar compound, containing lime in place of soda. When this substance is mac- erated with a salt of potash or ammonia, it is decom- posed, and there are formed double compounds con- taining these siibstances, and nearly insoluble in wa- ter. The potash compound so formed contains 24 per cent, of potash, and that of ammonia contains about 5 per cent. The substances are so little solu- ble in water that a gallon extracts from them only 2.27 gi-ains of potash, and little more than one grain of ammonia. The practical inference fi-om these facts is sufficiently obvious; suppose the soil to con- tain the silicate of lime and alumina, and a quantity of sulphate of ammonia to be employed as a manure, we should necessarily have produced the absorptive effect actually observed in practice; sulphate of Hme would be formed, and the ammonia would pass into the sparingly soluble doulde silicate of alumina and ammonia, which would thus become a magazine from which that important element of our crops would be slowly hberated to the extent of a grain for every gallon of water, so as to fulfil the requirements of the i)!ant. The solubility of these compounds is howev- er so small, that in some instances a sufficient quanti- tity of potash and ammonia might not be obtained by the plant were it not that their solubility is re- markably increased by carbonic acid and common salt. Mr. Way found' that a gallon of water satu- rated with carbonic acid gas, dissolved 2.5 gi-ains of I ammonia from its compound, and a solution contain- 184 THE GENESEE FARMER. ing 1.97 per cent, of common salt dissolved out am- at the rate of 23 grains per gallon. We have thus another function which carbonic acid may possess, and in addition to that of acting as a food for plants, it may serve as the agent by means of which an ad- ditional supply of other substances is presented to it. The fact just' mentioned may also explain the effect produced by conmion salt, which has always been a difficulty, especially since we have seen reason to be- lieve socla is of little importance as a food for plants. We have already alluded to the absorption of phos- phoric acid, which is in no clegi'ee dependent upon these double silicates, but solely on the presence of lime ivx ^Ve soil, with which it forms an insoluble com- pound. It cannot be doubted that these observa- tions are of much importance, and have a very im- portant V)eaving on the practice of agriculture. I cannot help thinking, hoM-ever, that Mr. Way carries his views too far, when he denies any absorbent influ- ence to the organic matters of the soil, and attributes it exclusively to these double silicates. It has been distinctly proved that humus absorbs and retains am- monia and its carbonate; and though I do not know that the experiment has been tried, the humats of lime (which certainly exists in the soil) ought on chemical grounds to decompose the salts of ammo- nia, and form the humate of ammonia, which retains its base with great obstinacy. It must also be re- membered that it has not been proved that these double silicates actually do exist in the soil, but only inferred, that because when artificially produced they absorb ammonia, they may be the cause of the same effect in the soil. Difficulties even exist in explaining how they should be formed there; but, with all this, it is manifest that the inquiry is an important contri- bution to our knowledge of the chemistry of the soil. But we must beware lest we carry too far the infer- ences to be deduced from these experiments, and I think there is rather a tendency to do so. The ab- sorptive power of soils is a convenient phrase which I have sometimes heard used, as if sufficiently explain- ing facts otherwise unintelligible, although a veiy lit- tle consideration might have shown that they could not possibly liave any connection with it." — London Agricultural Gazette. [From the Cobourg Star.] PRIZE ESSAY ON BUTTEE-MAKING.* BY MRS. TRAIL. Pans of thick glass are much used in home dairie^f also pans lined with zinc and a species of enamel, such as the iron stone pan and preserving pans are coated with ; trays of wood about four inches in depth with pegs for letting off the milk used to be much the fashion, but I think wooden ware is liable to crack and wai-p during the hot weather, and is less easily cleaned from the sour particles of milk. With respect to the churn, a small volume might be written on the kinds — in my opinion the simpler the machinery the better. The old fashioned uprio-ht chuni, worked with the staff and cross dash, may be as effectire in the end, but it imposes a greater amount of labor than such as are worked with a winch. The • Concluded from the Jlay number. \ simplest churn and one that I have heard much praised by very good dairy-women, is a box churn, the sides of which are sloped so as to leave no acute angles and corners, always difficult to keep clean ; the sides are provided with dashers, and a dasher is also affixed to the beam of the handle which passes through the churn, this can be unscrewed; the butter- milk is drawn off by means of a plug-hole near the bottom of the churn. I have also seen a churn with an iron wheel turned with a winch, which is very easy to work. There is the old barrel churn which is also simple and effective ; the advantage of this last being that the butter can be washed before being removed from the chum, ready for salting. Earthenware pots or good stoneware jars are best for storing the cream in ; with each jar there should be a clean smooth wooden staff for stirring the cream. This is a matter that dairy maids pay little attention to, and yet it is of some importance in thoroughly mixing the cream together so as to prevent any sour milk or whey from settliiig below, thus giving a disagreeable taste to the whole mass of butter. Those persons who churn the fore-milk of the cows only, often keep it in the churn, but this I think is apt to injui-e the flavor of the but- ter. In cool weather, scalding the cream just before churning greatly facilitates the churning, and obviates the necessity of putting hot water into the cream, a practice in very common use, but which I believe is highly injurious to the richness and good color of the butter, gi\ing it a white, greasy, poor appearance. In the winter season the cream jar should be brought into a warm room over night, which M'ill thicken the cream and bring it to the required temiDerature for churning; frozen cream will make frothy butter, or no butter will be obtained after much labor. In hot weather the churn should be allowed to stand some time with cold clear water in it, and if the v^'eather be very hot immerse the churn in water; if a plunge churn be used, it can be placed in a tub of cold water during the churning. Many excellent dairy women are in favor of churning cream and stripping, while others prefer the cream only. I think myself tliat the richest butter is produced from the cream alone, but possibly a larger return may be obtained from the former practice. AVhere cows are fed on turnips, a small quantity of saltpetre dissolved in a little water and mixed with the cream before churning, is said to remove the flavor of the turnips from the butter. I knew a farmer's wife who always practised it in the winter season. This same person, who was celebrated in the part of the country where she lived for good butter, used during the hot weather to put half a pint of cold spring water into each of the milk pans or trays to raise the cream, and in winter she jsut the same quan- tity of IsoiUng water to raise the temperature for the same purpose. Many approve of the Devonshire and Cornish plan of scalding the milk; careless servants are apt to let the milk get over-heated, Avhich decidedly injures the flavor of the butter, but veiy good butter no doubt is made by heating the milk, and the largest amount of cream is raised from the milk ; it has another ad- vantage, that of keeping the skimmed milk sweet for the use of the family. In a North Lancashire paper I saw the following THE GENESEE FARMER. 185 ad^^ce to dairy women, wbicli as it is easily tried I will insert : " Heat two pans of the same size ^^■ith boiling water, let them stand a few miimtcs then pom* off the water and ponr in the new milk, cover the pan that has the milk in it with the empty heated pan, this will raise the cream in less time and in larger quantity than if put in cold pans — try it." Some persons never wash their butter but absorb the butter- milk in the following way. They place a lump of butter in a coarse linen cloth and beat against the sides of the churn, -RTinging the cloth from time to time in cold salt and water, repeating the beating process until the milky particles are completely re- moved. The famous Epping butter is thus treated. This butter has the character in London as being the finest in England, very little salt is used for seasoning it; and as the sale of it is so rapid, probably the keeping properties have hardly been tested. The following recipe was given me by a farmers wife who made excellent butter; "To 32 lbs. of well washed butter, she allowed 3 oz. of the following mixture: 2 J lbs. of salt, rolled fine; 6 oz. of saltjjetre; J lb. of loaf sugar, rolled fine; these ingredients to be well rubbed in a mortar, or rolled till they were thor- oughly mixed. The butter after having been well worked, to be put down in stone jai's; over the top a strong brine to be poured, and the jar kept well cov- ered. Butter thus prepared should stand untouched for a month, and it wUl keep for a twelve month. The thorough extracting of the milky particles and the working of the salt well through the mass, cannot be too much insisted upon. Attention to cleanliness, coolness in summer, and a moderate temperature in winter, are the three most important matters for ensuring good marketable butter. There arc doubtless in this countiy many sound practical dairy women who are much more competent than myself for supplying information as to the man- agement of dairy produce, but however skilful in practil3e, they are unused to arrange their ideas on paper, and perhaps are withheld by diffidence from coming forward with the valuable knowledge they have acquired by long experience, and I trust thai another year some one among the intelligent wives or daughters of our Canadian farmers, who are better qualified than myself, may come forward and give a more useful and practical essay on the subject so gen- erally valuable to all, as the management of the dairy is acknowledged to be. Oakland, Rice Lake, C. W. Spare the Birds. — On no pretext whatever should farmers or gardeners permit their birds to be disturb- ed. Instead of killing them or frightening them away, they should make use of every means in their power to induce them to increase in number, and be- come more tame and familiar. The worst of them earn twenty times what they eat, and then, what ex- quisite pleasure to have your garden, yard, orchard, or wood, alive and vocal with the music of merry birds. Plant trees for them, build houses, if neces- sary, for them, and they w 11 teach you lessons of do- mestic bliss — preach you sermons — and warble you such hymns as you never heard elsewhere, Be kind to your birds. The law is now ample to protect your premises. Foot-evil in Horses. — A certain and sure remedy for the Foot-evil, called by some " Sore-foot " ; by others, " run-round " : Wash the horse's foot well with warm soap-suds — wipe it dry with a cloth, then take two spoonfuls of common table salt, two spoonfuls of copperas, pulver- ize; take four spoonfuls of soft-soap (home-made), mix them well: spread it upon a thick cloth, apply it to the foot, then confine it with a bandage of cloth. Let it remain twelve hours, then take it off; wash as before, and I will warrant a cure; the disease will not spread the size of a wheat grain afterwards. The above is sufficient for to cure the foot alone. If, when mixed, the compound be too stiff, moisten with watei-. A wash of the same preparation will be good for the sore nose in horses or cattle. It often hap- pens that cattle have the sore foot; this is equally good to cure them. ^ Many valuable hoi-ses have beeiwuincd by losing their hoofs. By using this remedy It will always be prevented. One plaster is sufficient to effect a cure. — D. S., in Southci'n Cultivator. Poultry Cholera — A Preventive. — Seeing an inquiry made some time since by "Medicus" in your paper, relative to cholera in fowls, be the name what it may, the symptoms are familiar to me as being very prevalent here in California, carrying off thousands of fowls throughout the spring and summer. To prevent this, I have the following from an old fowl raiser, and have found it a remarkable good remedy by my own experience : Put 2 ounces of red oxide of iron into one pint of quick lime, and this into 2 gallons of water, (to be kept fresh and cool ;) let the fowls drink freely of this as common water ; to about 200 fowls give this one day in three. The cost is but nominal, and if it succeeds with you, it will fully reward " Medicns" and others who may go to the small pains to try it. — Calfon, in Southern Cultivator. Weevil in Grain — How to Destroy. — I read an article in one of your numbers which spoke of keep- ing the shuck on corn, in order to prevent the weevil. Keeping the shuck on the corn is the best mode of preserving the corn sweet and clean, and it also pre- vents the weevil ; but wheat and other grain cannot be conveniently preserved in the shuck. I will give a method by which the weevil may be prevented from doing damage to wheat, or other grain. It is by cut- ting the young (or growth of the same year) of the sassafras, and placing a few branches in the bos con- taining the wheat. It will be preserved for three or four years entirely clear of weevil. If you think that this will benefit or interest your readers you may in- sert it in the Cultivator; if' not, you may treasure it up. — J. M. S., in Southern Caltivator. " Cabbage," says the Edinburgh Revieiv, "contains more muscle sustaining nutriment than any other veg- whatever. Boiled cabbage and corned beef make fifty-two as good dinners in twelve months as a man can eat." .^»-* fc Rye exists wild in Siberia. 186 THE GENESEE FAEMER. COXDUCTED BV JOSEPH FROSt! PRUNING. The object to be obtained by pnuiini^and tliiiinino; is the form of the plant, its tVuitriihiess, and the re- moval of disease. In this it is purposed to treat prin- cipally upon fruit bearing, the cause of the barrenness of some trees, and its remedies. It is known that almost every description of fruit tree planted in a thin stratum of good loamy soil, with a hard, dry, and impervious subsoil, will come in- to bearing at its natural season. Every person, too, has noticed forest and fruit trees which have been par- tially thrown oiU of the ground by high winds, the roots exposed, m the trunks or branches injured by exposure, are tways more fruitful than others. Those trees that are grown under opposite circum- stances only are barren, unless that some temporary cause should interfere, such as late frosts or other perverse circumstances. It is a frequent complaint thatsuch a tree grows very fast; but not a single specimen of fruit has been seen upoa it. As a cure for these things, various remedies are proposed. Taos. Rivers, the eminent English horti- culturist, has succeeded admirably in producing fruit from heretofore barren trees, by root pruning at reg- ular annual or l)iennial seasons, lie recommends root pruning fruit trees of twenty or thirty years growth as follows: " Dig a circular trench as early in the autumn as possible around the stem of the plant, which should not be nearer than three feet, and only two-thirds of the roots should be pruned the first season, leaving one-third as support to the tree, so that it is not blown on one side by the wind, and these, of course, must be left where they will best give this support. The following season half the remaining roots maybe cut, or if the tree be inclined to vigor all of tliem ; but if it gives symptoms of being checked too much, they may, on the contrary, remain undisturbed for one or even two seasons." The treatment thus given for plants of the same age in tliis country, we think, would be too severe, as trees attain a much larger size during the same period of growth than in England. If the distance from the stem of the plant to the circular trench was from foni' to six feet, we think it would be better, or in proportion to the size of the tree; and instead of two-thirds of the roots to be pruned the first season, say one-half, which might prove to be ample, though experience would be the best guide. Many pereons in purchasing Pears of varieties on Quince stocks, have found that while some produced fruit very abundantly, others did not. The root prun- ing method is particularly applicable to not only Pears on Quince, but dwarf Cherries, Apples, &c., making them come into bearing at once. The operation is performed in the most simple and easy manner, and requiring but very httle labor and attention. In des- cribing the manner it is done with these small trees, we cannot do better than to give the author's own words, which seem applicable to small fniit gardens; where the trees are of larger size, the operations must be in proportion. It will be seen that the same sys- tem may be applied with favorable results to unfruit- ful I'ear trees on Quince grown in orchards, which are of large size; but as we said before, the opera- tions must correspond with the size of the plants. Mr. Rivers says: "Before entering on the subject of root ])runing of Pear trees on Quince stocks, I must premise that handsome and fertile pyramids, more particularly of some free bearing varieties, may be reared without this annual, biennial or triennial op- eration. I have a large plantation of Pear trees on Quince stocks, which bid fair to make very handsome and fertile pyramids, yet they have not been root pruned, neither do I intend to prune them; but I wish to impress upon my readers, that my principal object is to make trees fit for small gardens, and to instruct those who are not blessed with a small gar- den how to keep their trees perfectly under control ; and this can best be done by annual, or at least bi- ennial, attention to their roots; for if a tree be suffer- ed to grow three or more years and then root pruned, it will receive a check if the spring be dry, and the crop of fruit for one season be jeopardised. There- fore, those who are disinclined to the annual opera- tion, and yet wish to confine the growth of their trees within limited bounds by root pruning — say once in three years — should only operate upon one-third of their trees. They will thus have two- thirds in an un- checked bearing state; and those who have ample room and space may summer pinch their pjTamids, and suffer them to grow to a height of fifteen or twenty feet without pruning their roots. I have seen avenues of such trees in Belgium really quite impos- ing. Pyramidal Pear trees on the Quince stock, where the fruit garden is small, and the real garden- ing artist feels pleasure in keeping them in a healliiy and fruitful state by perfect control over the roots, should be operated upon as follows: A trench should be dug around the tree about eighteen inches from its stem, every autumn, just after the fruit is gathered, if the soil be sufficiently moist; if not, it will be better to wait until the usual autumnal rains have fallen ; the roots carefully examined, those inclined to per- pendicular growth cut with the spade, which must I^e introduced quite under the tree to meet on all sides, so that no root can possibly escape amputation, and all the horizontal roots, except those that are very small and fibrous, shortened with the knife to -within a circle of eighteen inches from the stem, and all brought as near to the surface as pos-sible, filling in the trench with compost for the roots to rest on; the trench may then be filled with the compost; well rot- ted dung, and the mold from an old hot-bed, equal parts, will answer equally well; the surface should then be covered with some half-rotted dung, and the i-oots left, till the following autumn brings its annual care. It may be found that after a few years of root prun- ing, the circumferential mass of fibers will have be- come too much matted, and that some of the roots are bare of fibers towards the stem of the tree. In such cases thin out some of the roots, shortening them at nine inches or one foot from the stem ; this will cause them to give out fibers, so that the entire circle of three feet or more around the tree is full of fibrous roots near the surface, waiting with open THE GENESEE FARMER 187 mouths for the nourishment annually given them by surface dressings and liquid manure." This course may not only be adopted with dwarf fruit trees, but with standards also — the Apple, Cher- Tj, Plum, Pear, Peach, &c., grown upon their respect- ive stocks, not excepting the gooseberry and cui-rant, where space is an object. CRITICAL REMARKS ON THE CULTIVA- TION OF FRLIT TREES, AND POMO- LOGICAL LITERATURE. More fruit trees are grown for commercial purposes and private use in the neighborhood of Rochester, than in the vicinity of New York, Boston, Philadel- phia, or any other city in the Union, or in the world. Having no interest in any of these extensive and valuable nurseries, we are in a position to judge im- partially of the merits and defects of each, and to speak of them without the suspicion of any bias to warp an honest judgment. It is not unreasonable to assume that intelligent men, having a lai-ge amount of capital invested in Tree-culture, would give the sub- ject that degree of study, cai-e, and business attention, which would render their long experience productive of useful improvements. Such improvements, we feel confident, are now in progress ; and for the benefit of the whole community, we shall point them out so far as we are able to discover them. It has long been the common error of nurserymen to attempt to raise too many trees on an acre of ground. Trees are sold by the hundred or thousand, and numbers, therefore, are the measure of profit, rather than the quality of the article. The rearing of defective fruit trees in crowded nurseries, is still further encouraged by the lack of general knowledge of what a young tree ought to be for successful trans- planting from a nursery into an orchard. Sometimes a whole Apple or Peach orchard proves a failure, be- cause the plants were burdened with immature wood, had long flexible stems, like the little saplings that grow up so densely in wind-falls, although while stand- ing in straight rows in the nursery, nothing appeared more promising of fruitfuluess. Had each plant been allowed four times the ground, with its solar light and heat, and a free circulation of air and wmd, in the nursery ; and had its side leaves and small branches been unpruned and left to elaborate food for the growth of a large and solid stem instead of being pinched oft' prematurely ; had the earth been proj^erly cultivated around each isolated plant, instead of allow- ing them to grow up like an Alder swamp, where one may cut good fish-poles ; young fruit trees would be so nursed as to make their transition from the nursery to the orchard the gentlest thing imaginable. For such a change of position, they ought to be duly prepared ; and not only so, but so soundly grown that the organization of both healthy wood and healthy fruit may be reasonably expected in future years. Of course, nurserymen are in no wise respon- siljle for the bad treatment of trees after they are taken out of their hands ; but before they leavt; tlieir premises, thousands and millions, purchased at ])rices that ought to supply trees of the very best quality, have been so badly managed that constitutional weakness and unfruitfulness are impressed on every cell and tissue bought to form a long-lived and valu- able orchard. To develop fully and wisely the vital powers of seedlings and buddings, is one of the high- est attainments of pomological art, and physiological science. All seeds are but a m-ass of cells, and en- dowed with but a limited amount of vital force. Buds have a similar structure, and may become, un- der favorably circumstances, the parents of new gen- erations. No physiologist has been able to distinguish the vitality of a' seed from that of a bud ; while the life in each may be shortened by bad treatment, or prolonged by good treatment. To distinguish one kind of treatment from another, and be able to say with confidence and truth, that such and such treat- ment is injurious, and tell why it is so, and such and such treatment is beneficial, and tell why that is so, implies more learning than most practical men have found time to acquire. And yet, the experience, close observation and extended researches of the last one hundred years, have developed many facts, and a pomological Hterature worthy of our best attention. To collect, collate and scrutinize these facts, and prune the over-luxuriance of this literature, is a labor that we shall not shun. Our best books on pomology are disfigured and rendered uninviting, by a barbarous nomenclature, and an excess of such phrases as "Crawford's Late Melocoton;" "Crawford's Early Melocoton;" as though " Melocoton " expresses the word peach better than to say Crawford's Early Peach. If a man by the name of Crawford origi- nated the fruit, it is proper to designate it by his name ; but that done, why mystify the matter by sup- pressing the word peach, and using "Melocoton" in its place ? Grant that this specific name once desig- nated a particular variety or kind of peach ; such distinction by the lapse of time, by changes of soil, climate, and perhaps the hybridization of Crawford or others, is now effete, and valueless. By covering up a mass of ignorance in the verbiage of needless professional terms, pomologists injure nobody so much as themselves, and their honorable and useful calling. Students are required to master so many hard words to understand a few hundred sorts of apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, quinces, grapes, apricots, and other fruits, that the principles of pomology are never learned by one in a thousand. Those that overwhelm you with a perfect deluge of pomological jargon, learned by heart with great labor, are generally inno- cent of any knowledge of the alphabet of vegetable physiology. Big words that signify nothing have so crammed their heads that there is really no room left for a single scientific idea, or thought. A reform in tills matter is the first step toward the substantial advancement of fruit-culture in the United States. The popular understanding demands more sound rear soning and less ver1)iage, from professional pomolo- gists. Sound principles are to be elucidated, incul- cated in language not above the comprehension of the millions engaged in farming and gardening. In- struction is what they need, communicated not in French, Latin, Spanish, Italian, German, or Creek; nor in a bad compound of all these with the addition of a little Enghsh. L. ^»»-^ The currant and gooseberry came from Southern Europe. 18b: THE GENESEE FARMER JAPAN CEDAR. [Crifptomeria Japonica. Amoxg the uumevous trees aiid plants introduced^ NEW YORK STATE FAIR. TuE Xew York State Agricultural Society hold their annual meeting at Hamilton Squiu-e in the city of Xew York, on the 3d, 4tb, 5th and 6th of Octo- i into England by Mr. Fortune, the Collector of the her next. Its competitor, the American Institute, \ London Horticultural Society in China, no one, per- 'uiites with the Society in the exhibition, and it is j haps, has attracted so much attention as the Japan pleasing to learn that the differont Horticultural ] Cedar. It is nearly alUed to the Cyprus, and grows Societies located in the vicinity vvill join. In some j to the height of 100 feet in its native habitat in . departments the display promises to be for superior | China and Japan, being a great favorite for avenues than at any previous exhibition of the Society. I and valuable for timber. Whenever forest-culture Floral Hall, the usual center of attraction, will re- 1 shall command the attention which it deserves in this ceive an abundance country, this '■ Queen of rare and valuable i^^^ of Evergreen Trees," ; contributions from ;^^^^\ w^ ^^ ^^ ^^^ '^^^"^ called , the grounds and r^H) l^^'^^^ by high authority, is . green-houses of pri- o^"'''^^^^ ^^ likely to be exten- vate gentlemen, who "SOp sively cultivated on reside in the Aicinity ^b account of the dura- ^ of Xew York. The W, ^g^i^£,fe-,,_ bility and firmness , many enterprising ^r^^^ ^^^^^wr of its wood, and the • florists will, too, em- j^^^^^^mB \ % % ^^^^ ^^^* *'^^ *^^6 brace this opportu- ^^ ^' ^it ' ' ' 1^^ ^ fi'ce gTowth, as nity of displaying ? |r ^'(^^^^^ well as a gi-aceful the products of their '^ F^^^^i^^'^t^ form. Itisemploved skill and labor. -5>^^^^^K | 'f^^> i" CJhiua for the high Heretofore at the j^01(^ ''^r '^-''■^^ vn sK poles, which are eve- exhil.itions of the ^^f '%% xY^^^^^- * '7 ^^ere placed at Society, the fi-uit de- M \ % ^t W^M\^^ the dwellings of raan- partment has been ff'ij^ T^^^^'^^lr .J^l% M^ '^;'->i|^> darins to denote largely represented V .;^fW^^^:^{ii!'^^^ f ^ ^^ y}-. ^/''o- '•'';»> then- rank, where it by growei-s in the A^fi^f *'' C^^ \\ \i^ ''-''''': '^ ^ ^^^^ to last for western pajt of the •■f^^^^*'~-^v;'''5fffe?M|r ' ''"'■■ '^ ^°^^' State. Now, the -^^l^^^^n'^ 0n'^^^p'^^^^~^^ ^^^ ^ ^'^"' ^^^^^ place assigned by. #/W^'Ji >f fi^ '8 ^HVi'W^^^^ oi Wq Cryptomena the locatmg com- MJ^W ^% ^ ^^t # i\ <^M^^^ Japonica, have as mittee is as equally # '«^ ^- ^:^^i^^- J ^ ' ^,^^^ yet been imported accessible, if not i |m^ ^0W§^m' ''' ' ^- '^^^^^ ^^^' into the U. States ; more so, to the in- ^' '-V '^;Mwm r--v \ ■■v:^^^^^l^ 'y V ■ nor are they likely habitants of Con- ;M'\r} pM'^'^^^^^ to be abundant be- necticut, Rhode Is- /f'l'V ^rife'^l,'^ '•i-J^'J^'ij^ l'^'^'' ^^^^^^% ^^^'^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ land, Massachusetts, /4A)^ J:^4^f^Mr^^^^'^'/J-'f\^^--^!tU^''% ^''iW'^^ tained sufficient age Xew Jersey, Penn- ^'^[^m^^m^'^^W^'^ WJ| )^Slj^ ' *« 7-1^.,^ f'^'J f eylvama, Delaware, £0 '/('^ y'- ' ■-'■^'<^^^-'^^% seeds. 1 he faret seeds and even Maryland, m'^/M'}/ '^''- >. ^'■■'^i'^''^ il^ V- received in England as to its more' west- VWw' -N o'^' ';^^V^lt^w''<^ ''^ ^'^"^ ^^^'- Fortune era members. M4W'^ -'-' '' 'Jil^i^M'Af ft'^ arrived in 1844 This is an agree- i' j ^ l^M',, h-' ■-...., ,-^2^^ il VMw M /l'>^ ^r. Barry thus able feature, and '\ ' % fi^ t^' ^'Im >•'# tS' commends it: ought to be improv- :'.'^P*- 1^ _ '' V^ ' " <'' '' " While in Eng- cd by cultivators ^^ ^^^^^^^«:^^_ ' laud we were de- of fruits residing at ~ -^ ^ _,=„^ _-ii^^_ —_^=:Ji=-"'^?^^^' ~~ lighted with this tree locaUties contigious ' \ wherever we saw it> to the city, as great Japax ce ar. .^ ^j^^ ^p^^ ground good might arise from it. The interchange of ideas, ' or in the house. We think it unquestionably the comparison of specimens grown in different localities, i most graceful and elegant evergreen tree of the im- theh characteristics in such, ascertaining the proper mense number cultivated in Europe. It has proved and correct names of fruits of which sad confusion at ' perfectly hardy in England, and its growth is exceed- present prevails among growers, are sufficient induce- 1 ingly rajjid, equahng the Norway Spruce. We saw ments for cultivators to attend and cany their pro- an elegant specimen in the Chiswick garden nine feet ductioDS. A better opportunity than this may not i liigh, that had made four feet gi-o-niih last season." occur for years to many pei-sons. i A sandy loam mixed mth some peat or leaf mold, — ■— — is the kind of soil best adapted to the Japan Cedar. The caiTot is by some supposed to have been I Care should be had not to permit a wet subsoil to brought from Asia, but others maintain it to be a ; damage the roots by stagnant water. Smith, in his native of the same country as the turnip. j Landscape Gardening, pubUshed in Edinburgh in THE GENESEE FARMER. 189 1852, says that it was "still doubtful whether the Japan Cedar will become more than a bush iu this country-," moanin? Great Britain. The climate of our Central and Southern States is much nearer that of China, and more likely to suit the Cryptomerla than that of either Eu"iand or Scotland. THE PLUMBAGO LARPENTJS. [Ladi/ Larpenfs Leadivort, or Plumbago.] In 1846, Mr. Fortune found this beautiful plant on the ruined ramparts of Shang'hai, in China. All who have seen it describe it as one of the most charming blue flowering plants now known for bed- PLUSIBAGO LARPENT^. ding out in masses, as we do the Yerbena, Petunia, &c' The Plumbago capensis is a well known useful plant for bedding out, but it seems to be the opinion of cultivators that this new one entirely supersedes it. It will undoubtedly prove much better adapted to our climate, and answer bedding purposes better from its compact and bushy habit. It is described as ha^^ug ob ovate pointed leaves, finely serrated and fringed with hail's on the margin, as will be seen by the cut. The flowers are produced in terminal clusters, and are clear deep blue, or intense violet color, with a tint of red in the throat, increased by cuttings of the young wood. An idea maj' be formed of the profusion of its blossoms from the fact that a single plant has borne 4,000 blossoms. The London Hortiadtural Magazine says :— " The Plumbagos flourish in any light, porous, turfy soil, but in none better than where sandy loam pre- ponderates. The present species must be particularly vrell drained, and not too freely watered. It may be propagated by cuttings planted in sand, and set in a mild hot-bed : these cuttings should, as iu the case of other bedding plants, be planted in the latter part of the summer, and kept over the winter iu green-houses or dry frames, until the following spring. "For pot culture it will doubtless prove a veiy desirable subject. It must, in this case, be regularly shifted into jiots containing a compost iu which turfy loam preponderates, not using very large pots, and having these drained in an efficient manner. The plants should, while young, be well stopped back, the point of the shoots being removed as soon as practi- cable, after they reach from two to three inches long. This is to be continued until a good round head of branches is produced, and the plant should then be allowed to grow on for flowei-iuff." THE NEMOPHILA. The JVemopldla insignis is one of the prettiest of all dwarf annuals for the border, or for masses on a lawn. Its foliage is delicate and fine, and its flowers of a beautiful blue. It blooms in great profusion, and a long time. We extract the following notice from the HortkuUural Magazine (English). There is another new and rare one, macidata, of a fine dark violet, with a white spot in the margin of the petal, worthy a place among the select annuals : NEMOPHILA. " This is a showy annual of a dwarf growth, which soon displays abundance of small blue flowers, a little 190 THE GENESEE FARMER cupped, having a pure white eye, and deeply cut leaves. Its seeds may be sown at difl'erent seasons, a few in April, and a few at the end of September ; for if the winter be not very sharp, they will bloom very early in spring, and those sown in the spring will come into flower l)y the time the autumn-sown ones decline. The young plants will bear removal, but I prefer sow- ing them where they are to bloom ; there is, however, no harm in planting out the few that you take up from a patch when they have been sown too thickly ; and some gardeners make them regularly potted plants, and therefore sow all in one place, and pot off" or plant out at pleasure. They are very beautiful till they begin to straggle along the ground, when, although they still keep flowering a little, I should advise you to pull them up to make room for some- thing better." HINTS FOR JUNE. • ExAMixE carefully your grafts and budded trees. See that they are not robbed of their due j^roportion of sap by shoots on the stock below. If you have trees that are shy bearers, pinch off the terminal shoots M'hen they have attained about one-half or two-thirds their usual groAvth, in order to develop the fruit buds for another season. It has been found a good practice in young orchards just come into bearing, to take off a large proportion of the blossoms that may set, that they may bear every year instead of every two years, as is usual with the Apple. The Apple tree left to bear freely, exhausts the materials for a fruit crop elaborated the previous season, and as there is not usually time after the ripening of the fruit, for its vessels to develop the fruit buds for another year, before the falling of the leaf, the consequence is, that usually the Apple tree bears its full crop every other year. CheiTy trees mature their fruit so early in the sea- son, that time is given to elaborate the fruit buds ere cold weather sets in. Weakly and tender trees should not be permitted to bear freely — for present profit is purchased at the expense of future health and vigor. Mulch your newly transplanted trees and shrubs, especially those not hardy and vigorous growers. Cheriy trees particularly require it. Treat your trees and shrubs, as fairly as any of your hoed crops ; supply them liberally with well decom- posed manure, or better, with a good compost spaded or plowed in lightly; keep your cattle from summer pruning or heading them back; watch carefully to keep them clear of insects, &c. If slugs make their appearance on your Cherry trees, dust them with dry caustic lime or ashes. Jar' your Plum trees smartly every day or two, early in the morning, and be sure to destroy by fire or boiling water all the droppings therefrom. Soot and ashes dusted freely over your melons and cucumbers will much promote their growth, and ma- terially assist in keeping them clear of bugs. When your squashes have commenced running, draw earth over the third or fourth joint and press it with your foot; they will root and perhaps save your fruit should the parent vine be destroyed by the bug, &c. Keep your strawbeny beds clear of grass and weeds, and remember that when swelling their fruit they require a liberal supply of water. Sow peas and radishes eveiy two or three weeks, if you would have a fresh supply for your table. Put your soap-suds around the roots of your gTape- vines, or pour thorn on to your manure or compost heap — in no case let them be wasted. Wash your trees with lye of moderate strength as high as you can reach ; they will soon show by clean, smooth bark, how well they appreciate good treatment. Hang vials of sweetened water among your fruit trees. You will be surprised at the number of flies and insects that you may destroy, which would other- wise prey upon the leaves and fruit. In transplanting your cabbages, &c., be particular to take time and do it well. You may not seem to make fast work, but how much better is it that all should make good heads instead of only one-half or one-third. Remember that all gardening and farming opera- tions have their appropriate season, and can never bo so profitably performed as at the proper time. * CULTURE^ OF FRUIT TREES. Mr. Editor : — I want to impress upon the minda of your readers, as the season of transplanting ap- proaches, the importance of thorough work. One tree properly set is worth two merely stuck in the ground. I set an orchard four years ago this spring, and occupied from fifteen to twenty minutes in placing every root and fiber in its proper place, and filling every crevice with mold ; I also mulched them the two first years ; and I have not lost one. I have manured and planted the ground every year. My trees are fine, and the bark is smooth and green. I expect to have fruit this season. It has been before the people in your journal, but as there are many new subscribers every year it should be kept before them, that it is of no use — that it is worse than useless — to be at the expense of buying trees and then neglecting them. They want culture just as much as corn, or any other grain or vegetabla This is not all : you must watch every enemy, and particularly the borer, just at the ground ; they are very destructive, and before you are aware of it your trees are ruined. Proper pruning should be observed from year to year. Many think when their trees are set that all is done, but it is not so. I set 300 Pear trees (every other one a dwarf) a year ago last fall, and I want all the information I can get in regard to their cultui-e. Would you advise me to put ashes around each tree, and if so how much? I can obtain refuse lime cheap; would it be good with ashes? Will the Willow that grows on the banks of streams grow on uplands, and make a hedge plant by proper pruning ? Please give me your o])inion on the above, and oblige D. B. W. Ashes and lime will be useful spread over the ground around Pear trees, a little farther than their roots extend. As to the River Willows growing on upland, it would be an experiment, and is worthy of a trial in a small way. — Ed. THE GElfESEE FARMER. 191 WHY DON'T THE LADIES LEARN TO COOK ? Among the coraraou things to the teaching of which public atteiitiou is now so strongly directed, it is to be hoped that the art of cookery — one of the commonest, and yet, apparently, one of the most dif- ficult and neglected of all — will not be forgotten. The instruction of the female peasantry in this useful art would be as advantageous to themselves when set- tled on their own hearths as to the middle classes, in which before marriage they ofBciate as domestic ser- vants. Emigration and abundance of employment have given to the servants at home the upper hand, as completely as if they were in Australia. On all sides we hear complaints of the difficulty of finding, and of retaining when found, a cook who can roast a leg of mutton, and make batter-pudding or pea-soup. In point of fact, we have heard of ladies who have it in serious contemplation to dispense with servants al- together, as the least troublesome alternative. With- out wishing matters carried quite so far, we are con- vinced that many of our fair friends would lose noth- ing, either in point of respectability or happiness, while they could add at least one-third to the effect- ive incomes of their husbands, if they were to spend a little more time in their kitchens, superintending the prejjaratiou of the family dinner, instead of content- ing themselves with ordering it — if, indeed, they con- descend to do even that. Some forty years back la- dies were driven to shoemaking as a fashionable way of killing time. Why not try a little cooking? Thanks to the modern stoves, with their nicely ar- ranged skillets and stewpans, which science and me- chanical skill have substituted for the blazing kitchen hearth of other days, young ladies of the 19th centu- ry, just passing its prime, may cook without soiling their fingers or injuring their complexions. Were it not so, we would not recommend them to cook. We would rather iive on bread and cheese all the days of our lives. It will be said, perhaps, that om* notior.s with re- gard to female education and employment are too an- tiquated— that in these matters, as in everything else, a new era has dawned, and the solid course of instruction now given in colleges for ladies will be tri- umphantly appealed to. Ladies, however, who pos- sess these solid acquirements — who, like Lady Jaxe Grf-y, prefer Plato to a pic-nic — will be least likely to neglect the economy of the kitchen. They will throughly understand the dignity of the employment and call to mind all the poetry of cooking. To say nothing of the dinner which Milton describes Eve as preparing when " on hospitable thoughts intent," there are the Homeric banquets, at which kings lit- erally " killed their o\vn meat," and at which queens and princesses turned the spit for the roasting, or drew tlie water and chopped wood for the boiling. Cook- ing is classical, and no lady will disdain to take part in it who has read of these feasts in the original Greek. Let it be observed that it is the middle and working classes on whom we wish to urge the impor- tance of the study. An earl's daughter can afford to be so ignorant of common things as not to be able to recognize chickens in a poultry yard, because they do not run about with a liver under one wing and a giz- zard under the other, though our modern poultry shows, it must be confessed, will tend much to dissi- pate this error. A knowledge, however, of the art of cooking is of more importance to the wives of the laboring population than to those of the middle class- es, because it is the art, when properly cultivated, of making a little go a great ways. A French army can subsist in a country where an English one would starve, and chiefly for this reason — that the French soldier can cook. — Mark-lane Express. USEFUL HINTS. Metal Kettles and other Vessels. — The crust on boilers and kettles arises from the hardness of the water boiled in them. Its formation may be prevent- ed by keeping in the vessel a marble, or a potato tied in a piece of linen. Tin-plate vessels are cleanly and convenient; but, unless carefully dried after washing, they will soon rust in holes. Iron coal-scoops are liable to rust from the damp of the coals. If cold water be thrown on cast-iron when hot (as the back of a grate), it will crack. Cast-iron articles are lirittle, and cannot be repaired, The tinning of copper-saucepans should be kept perfect, clean, and dry ; in which case they may be used with safety. Co]3per pans, if put away damp, will become coated with poisonous crust, or verdigris, as will also a boiling-copper, if left wet. When used for cook- ing, and not properly cleaned, copper vessels have oc- casioned death to persons partaking of soup which had beed warmed in a pan infected with verdigris. Untinned copper or brass vessels are at all times dangerous; it is absurd to suppose that if the copper or brass pan be scoured bright and clean there is lit- tle or no danger, for this makes but a trifling differ- ence; such vessels for culinary purposes ought to be banished forever from the kitchen. A polished silver or brass tea-urn will keep the water hotter than one of a dull brown color, such as is most commonly used. The more of the surface of a kettle that is polished, the sooner will water boil in it, as the part coated with soot gives off rather than retains heat. A polished metal tea-pot is preferable to one of earthen-ware; because the earthen pot retains the heat only one-eigth of the time that a silver or pol- ished metal pot will: consequently the latter will best draw the tea. A German saucepan is best adapted for boiling milk; this is a saucepan glazed with white earthen- ware, instead of being tinned in the usual manner; the glaze prevents the tendency to burn which it is well known milk possesses. A stewpan made as the German saucepan, is pref- erable to a metal preserving pan; simply washing keeps it sweet and clean, and neither color nor flavor can by any chance be communicated to the article boiled ip it 192 THE GENESEE FARMER. JSifoi^'^ I^t)lc. AOBNCT IX New York. — C. M. Saxtox, Agricultural Book Pub- Usher, No. 152 Fulton street, New York, is a^ent for the Gejtesee Farmkr, and sutecribers in that city wlio apply to him can have their papers delivereil rogularlj' at their houses. AoESCT IN- CiNTisx.vTi.— R. PosT, No. 10 Wcst Third street, Cin- cinnati, i.<; agent for the Genesee Fakmer, and subscribers in tliat city who apply to him can have their papers delivered regularly at their houses. " The Slavery of Ignorance and Vick." — The leader in the last (April) number of the Edinburgh Review, is an able and instructive article on Mormonism, in which the writer calls attention to the fact, " that this fanatical super- stition has made more dupes in England than in all the world besides " ; there being at the census of 1851, 30,690 Mormons in England alone. After tracing this wonderful success to its true sources, the reviewer offers this pregnant suggestion : " Surely if, among the millions who worship in our churches, we will not say one in five [as among the Mormons], but even one in fifty, were thus animated to exertion, their achievements in rescuing their countrymen from the slavery of ignorance and vice riught at least re- deem the future, if they could not remedy the past." " The slavery of ignorance and vice," and we will add, the slavery of prejudice, are the grand preventives of agri- cultural improvement. They exist every where to the in- calculable injury of mankind. Why should millions of church members, and tens of millions of farmers, do next to nothing to abate an evil so wide- spread and so ruinous ? The profound indifference of educated persons to the well-being of society is, after all, the greatest marvel of the age. England needs to import about one hundred mil- lion bushels of grain a year ; and the increase of its crops is a matter that vitally concerns every British subject in the United Kingdom. And yet, marvelous to relate, the five or six agricultural papers published in Great Britain and Ireland do not circulate more copies than a few industrious Mormons s^ll of their weekly paper, called the " Millen- nial Star," to its regular subscribers. Among the twenty- nine millions of inhabitants now on the British Islands, there must be nearly a million of tenant farmers and pro- prietors of farming lands, to say nothing of the peasantry. How many agricultural journals does the reader suppose are taken and read in England, Wales, Scotland and Ire- land ? Judging from the list of " stamps " returned bv tliese journals, they have less than thirty thousand sub- scribers ; while the " Millennial Star " alone has twenty- five thousand, according to the Edinburgh Review, If the landed interest and the Church of England do little " to rescue their countrymen from the slavery of igno- rance and vice." and prevent their dependence on foreign countries for their daily bread, what better do we in the United States to augment the elements of fertility in our meadows and pastures — our grain, tobacco and cotton fields ? Have we so much as lifted a finger to remove the black pall of popular ignorance which shrouds the jjublic mind, as to the exact loss or gain, of the things in the soil that really supply the nation with food and raiment ? Igno- rance, profound ignorance on this great subject is univer- sally cherisiied in the land that has given birth to Moi-mon- ism, and seen its Supreme Court Judges and United States Senators become the votaries of the spirit rappings and table turnings invented by the Misses Fox in this city ! Poor human credulity ! That these things should be true beyond all doubt, is humiliating indeed ; and even now while writing this last paragraph for the June number of the Farmi:k, there comes to us from the city of ISew York a handsomely printed sheet, asking an " exchange," called the " Christian ^Spiritualist," which, we dare predict, wUl soon wax fat on the " slavery of ignorance and vice." Mental slavery has become a permanent American insti- tution ; the people having, apparently, adopted the Hudi- brastic maxim — "Because the pleasure is as great In being cheated as to cheat." How else can we account for the almost uniform success that rewards shameless political, religious, medical and agricultural quacks and impostures ? Bold, dashing, lying impudence is always popular. By it thoiisands of really ignorant men have attained both power and fortunes. Such characters, whether the leaders of a church, of a po- litical party, or of an agricultural society, are the greatest tyrants in the world ; and what is more remarkable, the masses cheerfully sustain these despots, as they do Louis Napoleon in France, in perpetuating their own degrada- tion and virtual slavery. The French are not the only worshipers of the " one man power." Human nature ap- pears to be governed by a law having the force of instinct, which makes the few shameless empirics — the many their willing dupes. PkOPO-SED ExrERIMENTAL FaRM AT MoUNT VeRNON. — The subjoined Report on a subject highly interesting to our readers, was submitted to the Senate on the 10th of May, by JNIr. Morton, from the Committee on Agricul- ture : — " The Committee on Agriculture, to whom was referred the memorial of the JIaryland State Agricultural Society, submit the following report : — " That they have had under consideration the said me- morial (which, it appears, has been adopted by the United States Agricultural Society, recently convened in the city of Washington), proposing the establishment of an agri- cultural school and experimental farm at Mount Vernon, under the auspices of the General Government, and ap- prove the design of the memorialists, and ask for it the fa- vorable consideration of the Senate. " The United States, while they lead the civilization of the age in almost every other useful art, are far in the rear of the rival States of Europe in tliat which relates to hus- bandry. England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, and even the minor States of the continent, have agricul- tural schools, with experimental farms attached, to blend science and practical skill in forming a model system of cultivation. A systematic education is deemed indispensa- ble to improve the art of husbandry, as it is found essen- tial to imjjart progress in every other pursuit of civilized life. We have no schools of agriculture, and receive only from report and very remote example the impulse which has led to renewed efforts in this country to imitate the cultivation abroad that has, in some degree, redeemed it from the rudeness which threatened to condemn us to per- petual inferiority. " The lf)nging in the public mind for scientific teaching and experimental proof and example, which contrasts the improvement of Europe so strongly with ours, is so gener- THE GENESEE FARMER 193 ally manifested that Congress has attempted to gratify it by publishing annually, at great expense, gleanings on ag- ricultural subjects, gathered by the Commissioner of Pa- tents, and by scattering seeds of various kinds among the farmers of the country. This eiibrt on the part of Con- gress, altliough well received, evidently does not satisfy its constituents. The innumerable agricultural societies springing up everywhere, and the multitude of agricultu- ral journals, all express the general desire in favor of some head and system, to make a model school of instruction, which will beget similar institutions in tlie States through those taught in it. The contribution Congress now makes to advance the husbandry of the nation is evidently not properly directed ; for it leaves the public unsatisfied and restless in regard to the aid afforded by tiovernment to ad- vance the great art upon which its wealth and power main- ly depend. The committee thinks whatever Congress at- tempts to do in a matter of such magnitude it ought to do well. It exerts its power liberally to promote and protect the commerce of the country. Military and naval schools are the smallest part of the machinery devoted to tliat ob- ject. Manufactures have had millions on millions lavished in indirect bounties to establish them. Our Patent Ofiice and its a})]iendages constitute a Government establishment to advance, by the large bonus derived through patent rights on every good invention in mechanics, the interest of the class engaged in that species of national industry. Copy-rights provide the remuneration to stimulate literary labor. Yet the Government does nothing to embfidy intel- ligence and give it direction to assist the efforts of individ- uals in the greatest business of life, and that which should be the greatest care of Government. " The committee would recommend the memorial of the State Agricultural Society of Maryland, supported by that of the United States, to the favorable consideration of the Senate, as presenting a plan well calculated to fill what all admit to be a great void amid the institutions of the coun- try. It recommends an appropriation, to be placed at the disposal of the President, and applied at his discretion, to purchase Mount Vernon, to be converted into an experi- mental farm, connected with an agricultural school, and both to be attached either to the Smithsonian Institution or the Patent Office, and to receive from the controlling au- thority of the one with which it may be associated an or- ganization in analogy (so far as difference in objects allows) like that of the West Point Academy, under the War De- partment ; the plan when matured to be submitted to Cou- gress for moditication and adoption. " The committee, in further elucidation of its views, sub- mit the said memorial, which contains the recommenda- tions of "Washington upon the subject, as a part of this re- port, and ask that it be printed herewith." The Memorial of the Maryland State Agricultural Soci- ety we will publish in our next. We have little confidence in the favorable action of Congress on the scheme ; although the Senate Committee on Agriculture appear to be unanimous in its behalf. If the Agricultural Press and Societies of the whole country would take up the subject, probably the noble e state of Washington might become public property, as it deserves to be, and the locale of the best educational institution in America. Now is the time to move in the matter. Potato -CoLTUfiE. — Too much pains can hardly be taken in the planting and cultivation ®f potatoes. Although a fair dressing of wood ashes will not, under all circum- stances, secure a full crop of sound tubers, yet uo other fertilizer has so generally benefitted the crop. Rich stable manure has often appeared to induce the premature decay of potatoes ; and the most experienced cultivators in this coimtry and England avoid the direct application of maniu-e. On the prevention of the rot. Mr. C. Coey, of Lima, Indiana, has sent us the following excellent sug- gestions : "Facts woktu knowing. — The potato rot may be propagated by means of diseased seedlings. Hence much care should be exercised in the selection of potatoes for planting. There are but very few potatoes found in the market entirely free from this disease. The dry scab on the surface ordinarily indicates it as certainly as do the dark putrid spots within. Frequently the two show a dis- eased connection. For planting purposes select those potatoes whose surfaces are most free from all blemishes. Examine them around the stem, eyes, &c., seeing also that there is no internal affection. If resort must be had to those which show signs of disease, cut out deeply all affected parts. It is far better to cut out and plant simply the potato eyes, including a reasonable quantity of the potato, than to plant whole potatoes which are in tlie least affected. Here an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Elevated land with a loose soil, is better as respects this blight, than low lands, naturally wet and heavy. New clearings, recently burned over, planted with healthy seedlings, are, other things being equal, least liable to said disease. Ground that has been well stirred and aired, and kept clean, as in the thorough cultivation of corn, for one or two prior seasons, is better than sod or stubble ground. Stable manure purified by filtration, with a mixture of salt, lime and water, liberally applied to each hill at the time of planting, will tend to increase the crop and to counteract said disease. Plaster, lime or ashes ap- plied to the vines during their growing process, will have the same tendencies. " The potato rot, judging from its nature, is probablj destined to always remain iu all countries where it now exists ; and, under the ordinary mode of cultivating the potato, is likely, in warm and wet seasons, to increase. Much of the evil, however, arising from this disease, may be prevented on perfectly scientific principles and at a moderate expense, when its true nature shall have become generally known and heeded. The above remarks, which are most respectfully submitted, are based on known facts gathered from investigations and experiments made during several consecutive years." Beet Root Brandy. — The Imperial and Central Ag- ricultural Society of France appointed a committee of three of its members, eminently qualified, to examine the best process for the distillation of the Beet root. Ac- cording to their Report, from the pen of Payen, of the In- stitute, the operation is as easy and simple as in the case of the cereals and potatoes ; and there is no loss of the sac- charine ingredient, or of the alimentary substance for cat- tle. The root yields as good brandy as even tlie grape. Distilleries multiply, and Some are on a large scale. Hogs Packed in the West. — The Cincinnati Price Current has a very elaborate review of the Hog Trade of the Western States, which indicates an increase of 333,600 head slaughtered in the winter of 1853— t over those of the previous winter. From the following figures it will be seen that Ohio and Indiana send more hogs to market for packers than seven other states : States. 1852-3. 1S53-4. Ohio, 617,.342 734,.300 Kentucky, .369,600 505,225 Tennessee, 26,500 58,880 Indiana, 611,018 019,176 Illinois, 361,132 365,784 Iowa, 57,500 45,060 Missouri, 112,500 149,845 WirtCi.Msm, 85,518 49,000 Detroit, 10,000 7,500 Grand Totals, 2,201,110 2,.534,770 The prospect for a large fruit crop is first rate in the neighborhood of Cincinnati. 194 THE GENESEE FARMER. ENTOMOLOGT.-^The Legislature of this State at its late Bession. jjlaced $1,000 in the hands of the New York State Agricultural Society, to be expended in niakinsi an exam- ination and descrij)tion of the insects of this State, inju- rious to vegetation. At the last meeting of the Board, Dr. Asa Fitch, of Salem, Washington County, was ap- pointed to carry tliis object into effect. A better selection could not have been made, and we learn that he is to de- vote his attention this season, mainly to the investigation of such insects as depredate upon fruit-bearing trees. His re))ort will be looked for with interest, and we doubt not will prove of great economic and scientific value. — Country Gentleman. Dr. Fitch's essays on Wheat Flies would have been more intelligible to farmers and useful to the public, had he either avoided the use of so many technical terms, descriptive of the anatomy of insects, or explained their meaning in language plain to unscientific readers. We heartily approve, not only of the a])propriation, but of the selection made of a person to study and describe the insects injurious to vegetation in this State. Our word of criticism above is prompted by the most friendly feeling toward Dr. F. that he may not again fall into a natural and too common error in scientific writers for the million. The Natural History of New York was undertaken with the pretence that a geological, botanical and agricultural survey of the Commonwealth, would do its agriculture a service of almost inestimable value. The writer advocated the undertaking to advance the great farming interest of the State, and popularize the natural sciences ; but he has lived to see over half a million dollars expended on this Natural History, which not one farmer in ten thousand has ever read, or ever will read, if the work be continued by Prof. Hali., his heirs and administrators, for a century. Milk and Butter Cows. — A statement is published, verified by a responsible name, of the product of milk and butter, of 14 Ayrshire cows, the property of Edward M. Shepakd, of St. Lawrence county. New York, which is worthy of being laid before our readers. It is briefly as follows : — "Mr. Shepard had 14 cows, Ayrshires and their cross- es on natives, half-bloods, six heilers milking for the first time — time, the first week in June — feed, grass only. " Allowing one cow for family use, and deducting 40 per cent, from heifers, and his trial stood thus : Cows 8 Huifers 6, reduced to cows is 3.6 11.6 Deduct one cow for familj', is 1.6 " 1 he product for the week was 13 fcs. 12 oz. per cow. The lirst week in July, feed, grass only, and much affected by dniught, he milked twenty, eight of which were heif- ers, milking for the first season, and his trial stood thus : 1- cows, Itss one for family, is 11 8 lieifers, 40 per cent, off, is 4.8 Full cows... 15.8 •' Tiie product for the week, per cow, was 14 Bbs. 13 oz. and a fraction over. " I'.ut lest you might think my allowance for heifers too much, which, however, is consfdered a just allowance bv the dairymen of this country, the result of the last trial, with.. ut any deduction for their being heifers, and four of them only two years old at that, was 12 lbs. 5 oz. and a fraction per head, for the week." ■ ■ Potatoes were first cultivated in the U. States in 1719. Gates vs. Bars. — Mr. Cyrus Gray, of St. Paul, Min- nesota, has favored us with a drawing of a common farm gate, and some sensible remarks showing the advantages of gates over bars. It is indeed strange that more farmers do not discover the economy of making gates to all their fields, rather than lose so much valuable time in taking down and putting up bars. IMr. G. says he " can make, hang and set the i)osts of three gates in a day, and follow it up after the materials are on the ground." He sets the main post on which the gate hangs three feet into the earth [would not four be better?], and uses for the gate five boards 12 feet long by G inches wide, one inch thick ; one 4 inch scantling, 8 feet long, hung by hinges to the main upright post ; one 5 feet long, 2 by 4 inches, for the end, to which the latch is applied. In addition to the above, two boards are used for braces — the one extending from the top of the 8 feet scantling diagonally across the gate to the bottom of it, below the latch ; and the other brace starts from the bottom of the main post and extends diagonally upward till it reaches the top of it, above the latch. Thus double braced, if the work be properly exe- cuted, a very durable gate will be had. Long bar dove- hinges are preferred by our correspondent. Periodicals. — Among the numerous periodicals issued from the teeming press, there are none that can be read with so much satisfaction as the able Revieivs, (the London, Edinburgh, North British and Westminster Quarterlies), and Blac/cwood's Magazine, re-published by Leonard Scott & Co., 79 Fulton Street, New York. These stand- ard works are afforded at so low a price in this country, that every one who takes an interest in the literature of the age, or in the progress of arts and sciences, will find little difficulty in possessing the four Reviews, which cost but $8 a year. These and Blackirood's Magazine cost but $10 ; and no library should be without them. Farmers' 'Sons ought to unite their efforts and means to obtain good libra- ries, both professional and literary ; and all County Agri- cultural Societies would strengthen their popularity, and increase their nsefidness, by subscribing for such Reoietcs as those above named. Sensible persons appreciate the value of cultivating the ma?i as well as the soil. Our language abounds in the choicest intellectual treasures ; and there is no good reason why Americans should not enjoy them. Horticulturist. — It is but simple justice to both Edi- tor and Publisher of the Horticulturist (both of whom have been some years connected with this Journal), to say that they have not only sustained, but decidedly improved, that valuable work thus far in the volume for 1854. Horticul- ture, Fruitculture, Arboriculture, are justly esteemed as the most health-giving and agreeable, as well as useful and ornamental, of the Fine Arts. It is their legitimate func- tion to create a refined taste where it is not, and to culti- vate and improve its rude beginnings wherever a yearn- ing after the beautiful in rural scenery exists. Horticul- tural literature and science are receiving increased and de- served attention in all parts of the country. The Horti- culturist is published in this city at $2 per annum, bj. James Vick, Jr.; P. Barri, Editor. THE GENESEE FARMER 195 A Kev to True HAPriNESS. — A book with the above title, containing IG-i duodecimo pages, has been written by Mr. E. JIoBTON, of St. Joseph, Michigan, for a copy of which we are indebted to the author. Like thousands of otlier philanthropists, Jlr. M. would gladly do something to reform and bless a thankless, heedless, wicked world; and the better to attain the great ends of Truth and Kight, in human society, he proposes to organise a new Order in tJie community for the increase and ditfusion of knowledge and virtue. II is plan of association partakes somewhat of the leading features of Masonry, united with the industry, frugality, and co-operative efforts that distinguish Friends as a Christian body. In theory, the scheme is as promising OS its objects are commendable ; but like ten thousand churches that sink to the level of the dominant passions and common failings of the mass of mankind, this new Or- der would either die from the lack of popular sympathy, or do as other people act. If the piety, devotion and genius of a few gifted sons of Adam were adequate to persuade mankind to love and seek the Truth, to learn and obey the Kight, popular ignorance, vice, crime, and all their pesti- lent fruits, would long since have been banished from the world in which we live. Had we room, we would gladly pursue this theme at some length, for the ways and means adapted to the eleva- tion of our race are matters to which we have given the consideration of at least a score of years. Lewte, or the Bended Twig, by Cousin Cicely, has been laid on our table by the publishers. "We wish that every mother in our land, who resembles the Mrs. Elwtn of the tale, would carefully peruse the above, and note well the results of neglect in esrly parental government, and many might learn from the gentle and patient Agnes the true spirit of love and kindness to our fellow men. Pearl Fishing ; or, a selection from " Household VToRDS," BY Dicken.s, is a choice selection of stories — grave, humorous and instructive. The Two Eras of France ; on, True Stories from History, by Hugh De Norm and, is another work of great merit. The history of France has at all times been of deep and thrilling interest. For a thousand years, it has been interwoven with that of nearly all the nations of Europe, and it is well worth one's vihile to acquire a know- ledge of some of the leading events in her history. The publishers, Messrs. Wanzer, Beardslet & Co., deserve credit for their enterprise and industry in getting up works of worth and utility, and we are glad to know by their rapidly increasing sales, that the public appreciate their labors in its behalf. A Treatise on Growing Tobacco in the United States. — We have received a small pamphlet treating of Tobacco Culture, anonymously written, or compiled, and published by E. H. Babcock & Co., Syracuse, which is truly a valuable little work. Jlany persons in the North- ern States, and a few in Canada, are devoting some atten- tion to the production of this staple. To all such we com- mend this treatise, for the plain and useful information contained therein. Price 25 cents ; address publishers. Struggles for Life, is the title of an interesting and suggestive work published by Lindsay & Blakeston, Philadelphia, purporting to be the auto-biography of a dissenting minister. It is written in a charitable spirit and well inculcates the duties of love and charity towards our fellow man. Phosfhobus was first discovered in 1699. Rochester Agricultural Machinery. — The atten- tion of our readers is directed to the advertisement of Mr. Joseph Hall, who manufactures in a superior style sev- eral of the most approved Reapers, Mowers, &c. Ashes, Bones and Oyster Shells. — A correspondent asks : " What is the relative value of leached and unleached ashes? and how much per bushel will it do to pay for the latter ? Can bones be dissolved in sulphuric acid without being first broken or ground ? Is oyster shell lime worlJi twice as much as shell lime ? " As wood ashes are ordinarily leached, they are w'orth perhaps about half as much per bushel as they were before leaching. Some ashes are more soluble in both cold and hot water than others ; the least soluble retain most of their fertilizing elements. Ashes leached but a short time may retain two-thirds of their value for agricultural pur- poses ; while if washed for months or years out doors on a side hill, they may part with four-fifths of their manural virtues. Where corn is worth fifty cents a bushel, it will gener- ally pay to buy good house ashes at from ten to fifteen cents a bushel ; much depends on the quality of the soil. Bones may be broken with a stone hammer, or an old axe, sufficiently for dissolving them in sulphuric acid. Treat them as described in the April number of the Farmer. Oyster shell lime is not worth twice as much as stone lime per bushel. You will do a Canadian subscriber a favor by giving a few remarka on the advantages of drill culture in your next number, as we are quite inexperienced in the use of grain drills. The principal advantages of sowing wheat in drills in- stead of broadcast, are the following : 1st. It is impossible to cover seed at a uniform depth when it is sown broadcast, and either harrowed, cultivated, or plowed in ; consequently, it comes at different times, and never acquires the same degree of maturity, so that three-fourths of the crop will be ripe enongh to cut six or eight days earlier than the other fourtli ought to be har- vested. This unevenness of ripening often causes a con- siderable loss. 2d. Less seed by a fourth is required per acre where it is well drilled than where it is sown broadcast ; and it can be covered at a nearly equal depth, thereby securing a much better stand. 3d. It is entirely practicable to stir the ground between the rows of properly drilled wheat ; and this cultivation, duly performed, benefits the crop as much as tillage b«- 196 THE GENESEE FARMER, tween rows of maize, turnips, beets, carrots, potatoes and beans, benefits these well-known agricultural plants. 4th. Clean culture tends to prevent undue dampness about the stems and leaves of wheat as it approaches ma- turity, and thereby renders it less liable to be attacked by rust at tiie most critical period of its growth. Other incidental advantages might be named, but enough has been said to justify the preference generally given to the use of the drill in the sowing of this important grain. Now is the time to j)rcpare for putting in wheat in first rate order next autumn ; and we invite attention to the facts that wheat is now, on tlie IStli day of May, worth $2.25 a bushel in Rochester ; and in all human probability, the farmers of this county will harvest in July, now close at hand, over fifteen hundred thousand^ bushels of prime Genesee wheat. We have made the cultivation and sta- tistics of this staple a special study for more years than the Erie Canal has been excavated, and shall give a lead- ing article on the subject in our next. Will it do to put sheathing on the rafters of a buildino^, jointing them pretty clo.se, and then cover them with pitcli and harden it with sand, say two or throe coats ? Such a roof, if well made, resembles the deck to a ves- sel ; and to prevent leaks, the planic or " sheathing " should be narrow, otherwise the shrinkage in each board will open a crack ou either side of it, through which water will pass. Caulking, as well as pitching, would be an improvement. Water lime cement is the only one known to us of any value for turning water. There are, however, several cheap paints, being earthy minerals mixed with oil, which will protect wood from decay, close joints, and thereby preyent leakage. These pigments are patented. I WANT a machine to cut com stalks to pieces in the field — a roller Tvith knives, or something of the kind, that will cut them short enough not to be in the way of plowing young corn. - 1 know not whether there is such a machine ; if there is not, it is time one was invented. Our corn land on White River is overflowed two or three times during March and the winter months. We raise on it nothing but corn. The stalks grow rank, and we have to rake and burn them. Such a machine would, I think, save all tliig trouble. If there is any such, please give a description and the cost of it, through the Farmer; also the best way to harden tallow for sum- mer candles. Noah Hodges. — Lamb's Bottom, Ind. PoLANT) Oats. — Will you oblige me by stating in your next num- ber, or by propounding the query for the consideration of some of your correspondents, Wliether there is any profit in raising the Poland and other he.avy oat.s ? If so, how much ? A comparative statement of the different kinds — showing quantity of seed per acre, lime of growth, yield of straw and grain, the hay value of each, and the probable action of each in depreciating the soil, would constitute an essay of immense value to this county. John M. Hamilton. — Coudersport, Potter Co., Pa. I HAVE just commenced keeping stock, and have thought of breeding (or crossing) the fine wooled Merino buck with the Leices- tershi e ewes. I had supposed that I should iixen get a large frame and a fair quality of wool, which would be the most profitjible for small farmers. I noticed a remark in some agricultural paper thai the cross would not do to breed from. If this is the tase, I should like to know it. Wliat I wish to ask is this : What will bo the effect of crossing the Merino with the Leicestershire? will the rtock do to breed from ? if not, what is the reason. N. — Warsaw. \ I WAXT a little information. I have a valuable maj-e that has the piles. Can you tell mo any thing about this comjjlaint in the horse ? What will cure it, if it can be cured ? if not, wliat will bo the final result of it ? Will you tell me whether it is best to graft or bud the pear ': Some say, bud by .all means ; but why ? Also, can you tell me how to make vinegar in a country where there is no "hard cider" ? E. Dattox. — Huiitbj Grme, III. ADVERTISEMENTS, To secure insertion in the Farmer, must be received as eai-ly as the 10th of the previous month, and be of such a character as to be of interest to farmers. Terms — Two Dollars for everj' hundred words, each insertion, P.iin ix advance. TO YOUNG MEN.— Pleasant and Profitable Employment. Young Men in every neighborhood may obtain healthful, pleasant, and profitable employment, by engagiug in the sale of useful and popular Books, and canvassing for our valuable Journals. For terms and particulars, addi-ess, post-jiaid, FOWLERS AND WELLS, >fo. 308 Broadway, New York. P. S. — All Agents who engage with us will be secured from the possibility of loss, while the profits derived will be very liberal. May 1, 1854.— 2t FARMER AND GARDENER ^WANTED. WANTED, on a farm in Ulster county, about 95 miles from New York, a young married man, capable of doing general farm work, and willing to make himself generally useful. Also, wanted a young married man, capable of cultivating a plain garden, taking care of horses, &c., and occasionally to assist with farm work. Pri\ileges allowed are house and garden spot, keeping of a cow and pig, and fuel for the year. Persons answering above descrip- tion, and able to furnish good recommendations as to capacity and iutetcrity, may address, stating terms in addition to above privileges, April 1, 1854.— St. W. W. DIBBLEE, New York. EliIPORTED HORSE CONSTERNATION. THIS well-known, tborough-bi'ed Horse, will stand the present season, as heretofore, at the faim of the suljscriber, one mile west of Syracuse. For full pedigree, see Derby & Miller's edition of Youatt. Terms — $10 the season, $15 to insure; payable in advance in all cases. Good pasturage furnished at 4s per week. Mares at risk of owners in all respects. No mare will be served that is either ringboned, spavined, or blind. J. B. BURNETT, May, 1854.— 3t Syracuse, N. Y. CULTIVATION «0F TOBACCO. A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON GROWING TOBACCO IN THE NORTHERN STATES, just published. Price, 25 cents. E. H. BABCOCK & CO., May 1, 1854.— 3t Syracuse, N. Y. BONE DUST. BONE sawings, or meal, a verv superior article, warranted pure. Price, $2 T5 per bbl. Bone dust, ground, (quite fine). Price, $2 37 per bbl. For sale, iuany quantity, at the State Agricultural Warehouse. LONGETT & GRIFFING, May, 1864.— 3t No. 25 CUtf street, New York. HARVEST IMPLEMENTS. KETCHU>rS Mowing Machine, Hussey's Reaper and Mower combined, and those of other inventors, with all the latest imjirovements. Scythes, Snathes, Sickl(>s, Horse, Hay and Hand Rakes ; Grindstones hung on friction rollers, etc. Improved Threshing JIachincs and Horee Powers, of all the best kinds. R. L. ALLEN. June 1, 1854.— It 189 and 191 Water street. New York. People's Patent Office, > 86Na.ssau-st., NewYork. i CAVEATS. — Inventors and others desiring to apply for Caveats, are infoimed that all the necessary drawings and papers are prepared by the undersigned with the utmost despatch and on the most moderate terms. All other Patent business promptly at- tended to. Persons wishing for information or advice relative to Patents or Inventions, may at all times consult the undersigned icithaut charge, either personailv at his office, or by letter. ALFRED E. BEACH, Solicitor of Patents, June 1, 1854.— It 86 Nassau street, New York. . THE GENESEE FARMER. 197 MCCORMICK'S REAPING AND MOWING MACHINE' I AM manufacturing 1000 Reaninfj and Mowinc: Machinns for 1854, and fanners who want Machines are requi-sted to send in their orders earl}'. Last year I had not a supply, althougli I had 1500 in the market. I offer my large experience (both in this country and in Europe) for the last fifteen years and more in this business, as the safest guarantee the farmer can have in the purchase of a Machine of this kind. Deeming it useless to insert long advertisements in the newspa- pers, 1 shall be pleased to furnish applicants with my printed Cir- cular. Some important improvements have been made, while the Ma- chine will be found as simple and efficient as a Machine of the kind can be. The important points that will present themselves in these Machines, will be Perfect Simplicity, Ease of Repairing, Durability, and Adaptation to the 'R'ants of the Farmer as a Reaper and Mower. 1 shall continue the use of the Wrought-iron Beam, which will be found very important in mowing, because of the friction upon the ground, and lialjility to tear and wear a Wooden Beam, or any sheet-ii;on lining that may be used upon it. Another very important advantage which I claim for my Combined Machine is that it can be readily changed so as to cut any desired height of stubble as a Reaper or Mower by simply removing three bolts. This principle will he found wanting in other machines, though valuable upon rough ground, or for mowing barley or lodged oats, timothy seed, clover seed, &c., or where the ground ma\' not be firm, and there be liability in the wheels to sink and the cutter to be brought in contact with the ground, sand, gravel, &c. With my Combined ilachine the farmer has the advantage of a Reels in mowing, which admit.s of a slow walk to the horses, and is es- pecially valuable when the wind interferes with the successful ope- ration of the Machine. I have no fear of the result ujjon trial of the Machine with others ; it has no superior as a Reaper or as a Mower. The public are now especially cautioned to beware of Seymour & Morgan's " Xew York Reaper." These men have been selling my Machines, though under an ivjunction the second time since the re-issue of my Patent in April last, in addition to a verdict of $20,000 for past infringements. Jjip^ Sundrj' other parties will soon be held to strict account for their infringements under this Patent, which makes them just as liable to be enjoined as Seymour & Morgan. The Machine will be warranted equal to any other, both as a Reaper and as a Mower; and it will be fon\-arded to any part of Kew York or Canada, if ordered of THOS. J. PATERSON, at Ro- chester, N. Y., who wants Agents to sell it in some of the unoc- cupied wheat districts. C. H. ilcCORinCK. May 1, 1S54.— tf AGENTS WANTED. CHANCES FOR MAKING MONEY! THE publishers of a large list of highly entertaining, useful and popular Books, offer great inducements to 500 energetic and thorough-going business young men, to engage in the sale of these publications, in which an}- young man of good business habits may make FIVE TIMES the amount, over and above all expenses, of the average wages of Common School Teachers. The MOST LIBERAL discounts are made to Agents from the list of prices. The books command ready sales wherever they are introduced. None need apply unless they wish to devote their whole atten- tion to the business, and who canuot command a CASH CAPITAL of from S25 to $100, or give undoubted security for the amount of goods entrusted to them. Full particulars in regard to terms, &c., wDl be furnished by calling on, or addressing, post paid, WANZER, BEARDSLEY & CO., 24 Buffalo Street, Rochester, N. Y., Or, ALDEN, BEARDSLEY & CO., June 1, 18.54. — tf Auburn, N. Y., Publishers. MOWER AND REAPER. FORBUSH'S NEW IMPROVED COMBINED REAPER AND MOWER. THE above patent machine is now permanently established, and its entire success as a reaper and mower proved beyond all doubt. This machine wiU be warranted to be made in a workman- like manner, and of the best materials, and is capable of cutting from ten to fifteen acres of grass or grain per day ; and in all re- spects to do the work as well, and as easy for the horses, as any other machine in the country. Price of Combined Reaper and Mower, $135 " Mower, _ _ 115 LONGETT & GRIFFING, May, 1854.— 3t 25 Cliff st., New York. KETCHUM'S MOWERS, WITH the new improvement. For sale bv LONGETT" & GRIFFING, May, 1854.— 2t 25 Cliff street, New York. GREAT ARTISTS' UNION EliTERPRISE!! 250,000 GIFTS FOK THE PEOPLE. STATUARY, $40,000 OIL PAI.XTINGS,... 10.000 ENGRAVINGS, colored in oil, 45,000 STEEL PLATE ENGRAVINGS 41,000 CASH LOANS, for 100 years each, 30,000 REAL ESTATE, 84,000 Total, $250,000. The American Artists' Union would respectfully announce to the citizens of the United States and the Cauadas, that for the pur- pose of the advancement and extension of the Fine Arts, and with a view of enabling every family throughout the length and breadth of the land to become possessed of a gallery of pictures, many of them the work of master minds, and finally, for the luiviose of giving a world-wide circulation to DARLEY'S GKEAT PICTURE OP WYOBIIXG, they have determined to distribute among the purchasers of this work, Price $1.00, 250,000 GIFTS, of THE VALUE of $250,000. LiIST OF GIFTS. Marble Statuary, $40,000. 100 elegant busts of Washington, at $100, $10,000 100 " " Cl.av, at $100, 10,000 100 " " Webster, at $100, 10,000 100 " " CuUioun, at $100, 10,000 Oil Paintings and Colored Steel Engravings. 50 elegant Oil Paintings, in splendid gilt frames, size 3 x4 feet, each $100, $5,000 100 elegant Oil Paintings, 2x3 feet, each .f50, 5,000 500 steel jjlatc Engravings, brilliantly colored in oil, rick gilt frames, 24 x 30 inches, each $10, 5,000 10,000 elegant steel plate Engravings, colored in oil, of the Washington Monument, 20 by 26, each $4, 40,000 237,000 steel plate Engravings, from 100 dill'erent plates, now in possession of and owned by the Artists' Union, of the market value of from 50 cts. to $1 each, ... 41,000 Real Estate, $84,000. 1 elegant Dwelling in 32d street, New York cit}-, ..$12,000 22 Building Lots in 100 and 101st streets. New" York citv, each 25 x 100 feet deep, each $1000, I. 22,000 100 Villa Sites, containing each 10,000 square feet, in the suburbs of New York city, and commanding a mag- nificent view of the Hudson River and Long Island Sound, each $500, 50,000 Loans of Cash, $30,000. 20 roans of cash, for 100 years, without interest or secu- rity, $250 each $5,0CO 50 do. 100 " 5,000 100 do. 50 " - 5,000 250 do. 20 " 5,000 2000 do. 5 " 10,000 The holder of each ticket is entitled, first, to a steel plate En- graving (iize 25 X 30 inches) of the GREAT AMERICAN HISTORICAL WORK OF ART, WYOMING, a copy of which may be seen at the office of this paper; and second, to One of the 350,000 Gifts, which will be distributed on the completion of the sale of the tickets. The purchaser of FIVE TICKETS, on the receipt of liis order, will be forwarded, carefully packed, either one copy of the " Wy- oming," plain, and one copy of each of four other engravings, equal to it in value, and is entitled to five f.if s. The puichaser of more than five tickets can have his choice out of 100 diifeier.t sub- jects, from steel plates owned by the Artists' Union, each picture being in value equivalent to the " Wyoming," and is entitled to one gift for each ticket he holds. A list of the subjects can be seen at the office of this paper. AGENTS.— Persons desiring to become Agents for tlie sale of tickets, by forwarding (post paid) $1, shall be sent a (Jift Ticket, a copy of Wyoming, and a prospectus containing all necessary infor- mation. It is confidently believed that the tickets will be disposed of by the first of Julv, when the distribution of Gifts wiU be entrusted to a COMmXTEE APPOINTED BY THE TICKET-HOLDERS. The steel plates from which the engravings are iirinted can be seen at the office of the Artists' Union,^ and cost $100,000. .Speci- mens of the Oil Paint^gs and Engravings are also on view at the rooms. REFERENCES IN KEGARD TO THE PROPERTY. W. C. Barrett, Esq., Counsellor at Law, 10 Wall street, N. Y. F. J.Visscher'& Co., Real Estate Brokers, 80 Nassan st., N. Y. ALL ORDERS FOR TICKETS nmst be addressed, post paid, with the money enclosed, to J. W. HOLBROOKE, Sec, June 1, 1854.— 3t 605 Broadway, New York. 198 THE GENESEE FARMER. ROCHESTER AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY. THE undersigned, wlio lias been many j-oars cnganed in the ex- tensive manufacture of various kinds of Ajjricultiiral Machin- ery, particularly Horse Powcrg, Thresliiug Machims, .Separators, &c., has now added to his business the manufacture of several valuable implements — 1st. ATKINS- AUTOJIATON' OR SELF-RAKIXO RE.U'ER AXD MOWER; an implement well known at the West, wliich lias been advertised for the last three months by Mr. Wkkjut of Chi- ciigo, in the Gexeseb Farmer, to wkich the reader is referred for particulars. Atkins' Self-Raking Reaper. — This machine was in successful operation on the farm of B. B. Kirtland, Greenbush, on Wednes- day and Tliursday of last week, and elicited the approbation of every one whi. saw it. It is impossible to convey in words any idea of the mechanical construction of the raking attachment. Tlie cutting apparatus does not differ materially from that of other reapers, but at regular intervals an arm, to which a rake is attached, extends itself to the farther part of the apron, slowly draws itself the length of the apron, pressing the grain against a plate, where it holds it till it swings around a quarter of a circle, clear of the machine, and coollj' deposits its neat sheaf on the ground, when it immediately returns to repeat the process. The machine is not of heavier draught, apparently, than other machines — and it does its cutting fully equal to any we have seen work. While it has no superior as a practical thing, it is a curiosity worth quite a pilgrim- age to see. It comes the nearest to being instinct with life and manifesting signs of intelligence, of ,any piece of mechanism, not excepting the steam engine. — Country Gentleman. 2d. BURRALL'S GR.UX RE APER.— At the great trial of Reapers in the harvest field, at Genev.a, N. Y., in July last, the Committee appointed by the State .Agricultural Society, took into consideration its simplicit}', duraljility, the manner in which it performed its work, and the ease with which it can be managed, wlien, in com- petition with eleven other Reapers, they unanimously awarded it \\\e jirst prize of S50 and diploma. Tlie Committee in their report remark that "T. D. Bitbrall's Machine performed its work in the most admirable manner ; the gavels were well Laid ; the workman- ship .and materials were excellent; the circular apron for side de- livery, the balance wheel and an arrangement to elevate the exte- rior edge of the apron, are valuable features, &c., &c. This Re.aper has been thoroughly tested practically, during the la.st two years, in Western Xew York. All the Reapers sent out have given complete satisfaction. We would say to those who are not convinced of the superiority of this Reaper over all others, that we have still more facts which we could not exhibit for want of space, and which we would be pleased to exhibit to all such as may eall upon us. We would observe that experience with this Re.aper will bear us out-in saying that 1. It cuts grain of all kinds, in all conditions, without clogging, and may be worked by oxen or horses. 2. It cuts at any height required, by a few moments' change. 3. It discharges the grain in the rear, if preferred, like Hi^ssey's; or at the side, like M'Cormick's ; leaving room for the team and machine to pass again without treading on the grain. This change LS made by means of an extra apron, (attached in a moment,) from which the gnain is laid in a better condition for drying and binding, and with much less labor to the i-aker than has ever been done before. 4. It has a Balance Wheel, which corrects the irregularity of the erank motion, and gives a quiet and uniform movement to the machine. This Reaper has been so thoroughly tested in Western New York, where wheat grows as stout or stouter than in any other part of the country, that there is now no doubt but that it will give entire satisfaction to all who may purchase. There is, however, no risk in buying. The purchaser can rest assured that when his harvest comes, he has something that will perform. It is not like an un- tried thing, or a thing that has not been tried in the Genesee coun- try, where wheat grows large and stout, and m.ay foil, and in failing, make the purch.aser enough expense in money and trouble to con- Fiderably more than have purchased something reliable at first. Experiments cost too much money, time and trouble, to be carried on in the hurry of harvest time, and by those who ha e crops to secure. We say, therefore, if you buy a Reaper, buy one, the relia- bility of which has been demonstrated by thorough, jiractical ex- periment, and if possible, in your own neighborhood, and on soils jiroducing similarly to your own. 3d. DANFORTH'S REAPER AXD MOWER COMBINED, which took the first premium at the Agricultural Fair in Chicago, 1852. 4th. KINMAN'S PATENT FLOUR PACKER. 5th. CHILDS' GRAIN SEPARATOR. Bth. WOODBURY'S MOUNTED HORSE POWER AND GR.AIN SEPARATOR. 7th. HALE'S SIX FEET DOUBLE PltTION HORSE POWER, which Ls unequaled for strength, easy working and durability. 8th. IRON OR PLANET HORSE POWER. 9th. PITT'S PATENT THRASHER AND SEPARATOR, which has been in use for 17 years. All of which will be sold at the lowest manufacturers' terms by June 1, 1854.-^ JOSEPH HALI.., Rochester, N. Y. XETCHUM's iklproved: mowing machine, .WITH ENTIRE CHANGE OF GEAR. THE ONLY SUCCESSFUL MOWER NOW KNOWN. KETCHUM'S Improved Machine, which we are building for the harvest of 18.54, was thorouglily tested last season, and the advantages gained by our change of gear are in all respects as we designed, viz : durability, convenience and ease of action. The shafts now have bearings at both ends, which overcome all cramp- ing and cutting away of boxing. A counter b.alance is attached to the crank shaft, which gives it a steady and uniform motion. Each Machine can be thrown out of gear; there is great convenience at each and every nut, all of them being on the upper side of the frame ; oil cups are attached to all the bearings, which, by the use of a wad of cotton, will hold oil for a long time, .as well as protect the bear^ ings from dust, grit, &c. ; the finger bar is lined with iron its full width, which protects it from wear. ...These and various other .additions for strength, durability, kc, make it the most simple and perfect agricultural implement in use. They weigh about 750 lbs. each, and can easily be earned in a one- horse w.agon. It requires not over ten minutes to get one ready for operation, there being but two bolts (besides the pole bolts) to be .secured to have one ready for use. They will cut all kinds of grass, and ope- rate well on uneven or rolling lands, or where there are dead fur- rows. This Machine took the highest award, with special approba- tion, at the World's Fair; it also received, during last season, one silver and four gold medals, and various other flattering and sub- stantial tocliraonials of approval. We have spared neither pains nor money to make this ruachine deserving of public favor, and hope to be able the coming season to supply the great and increas- ing demand. We take this occasion to caution farmers against buying untried Mowers ; if they do (as was the case with many last year), they will incur loss, vexation and disappointment. If any parts are wanted to repair any Machine we have sold, or may hereafter sell, they will be furnished and only manufacturers' cost for the same be charged. , Jf?^" In all cases where Extras are wanted, be sure to give us the number of your Machine. (Warranty :) That said Machines are capable of cutting and spreading, with one span of horses and driver, from ten to fifteen acres per day of any kind of grass, and do it as well as it is done with a scythe by the best of mowers. The price of the Mower, with t\vo sets of knives and extras, is $110 cash, in Buffalo, delivered on board of boat or cars free of of charge. Office and Shop, corner of Chicago street and Hamburgh Canal, near the Eastern R. R. Depot, Buffalo, N. Y. HOWARD & CO., Manufacturers and Proprietors. The Mower is also manufactured by RUGGLES, NOURSE, MA- SON & CO., at Worcester, Mass., for the New England States; By SEYMOUR, MORGAN & CO., Brockport, N. Y., for Illinois, Iowa and Michigan ; By WARDER & BROKAW, SpringQeld, 0., for Ohio and Ken- tucky. J. RAPALJE & CO., Agents for Rochester and vicinity. April 1, 1854.— 5t CIDER MILL AND PRESS. HICKOK'S Cider Mill and Press is considered now the best in use; simple in construction, portable (weighing but 275 lbs.,) and not li.able to get out of order. Warranted to work well, and give satisfaction. The first premium of the American Institute and Crystal Palace has been awarded to this machine. Drawing and description will be sent by addressing the agents for the sale, in New York. Price of mill and press, f40. LONGETT & GRIFFING, May, 1854. — It 25 Cliff street, near Fulton, New York. CUTTER RIGHTS FOR SALE WE will test our Hay, Stalk and Straw Cutter, patented Novem- I her 8th, 1853, for speed, ease and dunabilitv, against any»| other in the United States. J. JONES & A. LYLE. rrW' For further inforaaation, address JONES & LYLE, Roeh- eater, N. Y. February 1, lS64.^tf THE GENESEE FARMER, 199 AXEW and siuo;uIarl\' successful remedy for the cuie of all Bilious diseases — Costiveness, Indigestion, Jaundice, Dropsy, Kheumatism, Fevers, Gout, Humoi-s, Nervousness, Irritability, In- flammation, Headache, Pains in tlie Breast, Side, Back and Limbs, Female Complaints, &c., &c. Indeed, very few are the diseiises in which a Purgative Medicine is not more or less required, and much sickness and suffering might be prevented, if a harmless but ell'ec- tual Cathartic were more freely used. No pereon can feel well while a costive habit of body prevails ; besides it soon generates serious and often fatal diseases, which might have been avoiiled by the timely and judicious use of a good purii;ative. This is alike true of Colds, Feverish symptoms, and Bilious derangements. They all tend to become or produce the' deep seated and formidable distempers which load the hearses all over llie land. Hence a re- liable family physic is of the lirst miportance to the public health, and this Pill has been perfected with consummate skill to meet that demand. An extensive trial of its virtues bj- Physicians, Pro- fessors, and Patients, has shown i^esults surpassing any thing hith- erto known of any medicine. Cures have been eflected beyond be- lief, were they not substantiated by persons of such exalted posi- . ion and character as to forbid the suspicion of untruth. Among the many eminent gentlemen who have testified in favor of these Pills, we may mention : Doct. A. A. Hayes, Analytical Chemist of Boston, and State Assayer of Massachusetts, whose high Professional character is en- dorsed by the — Hon. Edward Everett, Senator of the United States. KOKKUT C. WixTHROP, Ex-Speaker of the House of Representa- tives. AiiiiOTT Lawrente, Minister Plen. to England. f John B. Fitzpatrick, Catholic Bishop of Boston; also, IJr. J. R. CuiLTON, Practic;il Chemist of New York City, en- doised by Hon. W. L. Marct, Secretary of State. Wm. B. Astok, the richest man in America. S. Leland & Co., Propiietoi-s of the Metropolitan Hotel, and others. Did space permit, we could give many hundred certificates fi-oni all parl^ where tlie Pills have been used, but evidence even more convincing tlian the experience of eminent public men, is found in then- ellects u]ion trial. These Pills, the result of long investigation and study, are offered to tlie public as the bast and most complete which the present state of medical science can afford. They are compounded not of the drugs themselves, but of the medicinal virtues only of Vegetable remedies extracted by chemical process in a slate of purity, and combined together in such a manner as to insure the best results. This system of composition for •medicines has been found in the Clii'rrv Pectoral and Pills botli, to produce a more efficient remedy than had hithei-to been obtained by any process. Tlie rea.son is pi'ilVctly ob\-iou3. While by the old mode of composition, every medicine is burdened with nioie or less of acrimonious aud injuri- ou« qualities, by this each individual virtue only that is desired for the curative effect is present. All the inert and obnoxious quali- ties of each substance employed are left behind, the curative vir- tues only being retained. Hence it is self-evident the effects should prove, as they have proved, more purely remedial, and the Pills a surer, more powerful antidote to disease than any other medicine known to the world. As it is frequently expedient that my medicine should be talsen under the counsel of an att<-nding Physician, and as he could not properly judge of a remedy v.itiiout knowing its composition, I hs.ve supplied the accurate Forniulse by wliich both my Pectoral and Pills are made, to the whole boily of Practitioners in the Uni- ted States and British American Provinces. If, however, there should be any one who has not received them, they will be prompt- ly forwarded by mail to his request. Of all the Patent Medicines that are offered, how few would be taken if their composition was known 1 Tlieir life consists in their mystery. I have no mj-steries. The composition of my preparations is laid open to all men, and »11 who are competent to judge on the subject freely acKnnwlcdge their convictions of their intrinsic merit*. The Cherry Pecloral was pronounced by scientific men to be a womleifvil medicine be- fore its effects were known. Many eminent Physicians have de- elared the same tiling of my Pills, and even more confidently, and M'O willing to certify that their anticipations were more tljan re- I aliied by their otlttcU upon trial. They operate by their powerful influence on the internal viscera to purify the blood and stimulate it into healthy action — remove the obstructions of the stomach, bowels, liver, aud otlier organs of the body, nstoring their irregular action to health, and by collect- ing, wlierever they exist, such derangements aa are the first origin of disease. PREPARED BY JAMES C. AYER, PRACTICAL A>{D ANA- LYTICAL CIIE.MIST, LOWELL, MASS. B;t^ Price 25 cents per Box. Five Boxes for $1. Ii:^ Sold by LANE & PANE, and W. PlTKlX i: SON, Rochee- ter; DEMAREST & UOLMAN, Bullalo ; and by all Druggi.st« «very where. May 1, 18o4.-~2t GENESEE VALLEY NUESEEIES. A. FROST & CO KOCHESTER, N. Y., OFFER to the imblic the coming spring out of the laigost and finest stotlvS of Fruit and Oinamental Trees, ^^hruls, Ivuces, &c., in the country. It in part consists of stand.. id Apj.le, Pear, Cherry, Plum, Peach, Apricot, Nectarine and t^uince 'trees. Also, Dwarf aud Pyramid Pears and Apples. SMALL FRL ITS. — Native and Foreign Grapes, old and new sorts of Currants, finest Lancashire Gooseberries, Strawberries, Rasp- benies, kc. &c. The ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT comprises a great variety of Deciduous and Evergreen Trees, Shrubs, Vines and Creepers, which includes upward of of 300 varieties of the Rose. BEDDl.NG PLANTS.— 150 varieties of Dahlias, a large collection of Verbena.s, Petunias, Helicrropes, &c. &c. Priced Catalogues of the above wiU be mailed to all applicants enclosing a postige stunp for each Catalogue wanted, viz : No. 1. — Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits, Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, kc. No. 2. — Descriptive Catalogue of Green House and Bedding Plants of every description, including every thing new which may be in- troduced up to its season, will be published in March each year. _ No. .3. — Wholesale Catalogue, published in September. _, February 1, 1854. — tf HOBEE PEOTECTION. TEMPEST INSURANCE COMPANY. CAPITAL, $250,000. Organized December 21, 1S52 — Chartered March 1, 1S53. HOMES ONLY INSURED BY THIS COMPANT. No one Risk taken for more than SoOOO. Home Office, Meridhk, N. Y. Many distinguished person^ have insured their homes to the amount of i?3000 each in this Companv, among whom are Kx- President VAN BUREN. Kindeihook; Ex-Governor SEWARD, Au- burn ; DANIEL S. DICKINSON, Ex U. S. Senator, Bingliampton. To whom it may concern: Auburn, May Ifjth, 1S5.3. We are personally acquainted with many of the OfTicers and Di- rect jrs of the Tempest Insurance f'ompany, locateil at iferidian, Cayuga county, N. Y. In our o]iinion they are among the most wealthy and substantial cliiss of farmers in this counlv. J. N. STARIN." ELJIOKE P. ROSS, THOM.\S Y. HOWE, Jr. The above gentlemen will lie recognized ;us the C.asliier of Cayuga County Bank, Auburn; Postmaster, Auburn; and Ex-Member of Congress, Auburn, Cavuga county, N. Y. February 1, 1S54— ly vniGnnA land for sale. A VALUABLE tract of land for sale in Richmond and West- moreland counties, Viigioia, containing ilTt'O acies — well lim- bered with ship and stave timber, well watered, and with vast bods of rich shell marl, enough to lime man}- such estates. The tract is about three miles from navig.ation, in a healthy location, and in a good neighborhood. It can be bought for the low sum of $10 per acre. The soil is good, and easily improved, with the means on it to )iut it in a high slate of cultivation ; about l.'iOO acres cleared ; huildincs small. It will make six or eight farnis. I will make a deduction if sold without division. My address is ii Broadway, Baltimore, Md. Persons wishing to puichivse will call on or address me, and I will give any further information. II. BEST. March 1, 1854.— 4t FRUIT SCIONS FOR 1S54. THE subscriber will furnish liotli \y\\f and I'l-ar Scions for this seiLSon's grafting, of all the standard kinds, including those heretofore adveitised by him in the Farmer. Priie, one didlar jier hundred for Apple, and' three shillings per dozen for I'c.ir Scions. In large quantities they would lie sold less. They can be sent by mail or eijrress to any jiortion of our country. Ordei-s, enclosing tlie money, will be prdmptly filled. JAMES H. WATTS. Rochester, February 1, 1S54. — tf 200 THE GENESEE FARMER. ContJitts of tf)i3 Numttr. The 'Wool-growing Interest, ^°= Transactions of tlie Rhode Island Societj', .......----.------ K" Transactions of the Essex County (Mass.) Agricultural Society for 1S5.3, --- "!i The Breeding and Rearing of Horses, - :Ji- The Hygroscopic Power of Soils, - ^i^ Hotv NhShCharcoar^riirOne'Hundred Pounds of Wood Make? 176 Fire-fanged Manure, - - ^i. Operations for June, |i,' Rockv Mountain Klax, - - |i" Fhxx-culture in Ohio, - - j'^ How to Caponize Fowls, - - -- t^ Denwood, ,'0., Farming in Illinois, - - :f'^ Highland and Agricultural Society,; :J°]J Prize Essay on Butter Making, - ^** HORTICrLTURAL DEPARTME>-T. Pruning, - Vi"-" Critical Remarks on the Cultivation of Fruit Trees, and Pomo- logical Literature, ::„I New York State Fair, .- ^°^ Japan Cedar, - - -- i:^^ The Plumbago Lai-penta, :}^^ The Nemophila, i^ Hints for June, -- - !:Ti Culture of Fruit Trees,... ^^^ LADIES' DEPARTMENT. Why Don't the Ladies Learn to Cook? Useful Hints, Our Illcstrated Journals.— Fowlers and Wells, 308 Broadway, New York, Publish the following Periodicals. They have a circulation of One Hundred Thousand Copies. These Popular and Professional Serials afford an excellent oppor- tunity for bringing before the PubUc with Pictorial Illustrations aU subjects of interest, Physiological, Educational, Agricultural, Me- chanical, and Commercial. The Water-Cure Journal and Herald of Reforms. Devoted to Hydropathy, its Philosophy and Practice, to Physiology and Anatomy, with Illustrative Engravings, to Dietetics, Exercise, Clothing, Occupations, Amusements, and those Laws which govern Life and Health. Published monthly, in convenient form for bind- ing, at One Dollar a Year in advance. 191 191 editor's table. ••The Slavery of Ignorance and Vice," Proposed Experimental Fai-m at .Mount Vernon, Beet Root Brandy, - Potito-culture, - Hogs Packed in the West, Entomology, - Milk and Butter Cows, --■ Gates vs. Bars, , Periodicals, - :}q. Horticulturist, - ttt A Key to True Happiness, - :}J? Lewie, or the Bended Twig, - I^? Struggles for Life, 1^9 A Treatise on Growing Tobacco iu the United States, 19o Inquiries and Answers, — 1'*"' ILLUSTRATIONS. Denwood, - ^H Japan Cedar, :J°^ Plumbago Larpentie, - 1^^ Nemophila, l^-' corpse, should become at once a reader of this Journal, and prac- tice its precepts."— [Fountain Journal. The American Phrenological Journal. A Reposi- tory of Science, Literature, and General IntelUgence ; Devoted to Phrenology, Physiology, Education, Magnetism, Psychology, Me- chanism, Agriculture, Horticulture, Architecture, the Arts and Sciences, and to all those Progressive Measures which are calcu- lated to Reform, Elevate, and Improve Mankind, niustrated with numerous portraits and other engravings. A beautiful Quarto, suitible for binding. PubUshed monthly, at One DoUar a Year in advance. " A Journal containing such a mass of interesting matter, devoted to the hiffhest happiness and interests of man, written in the clear and lively stvle of its practiced editors, and afforded at the ' ridicu- louslv low price' of one doUar a year, must succeed in running uj its present large circulation (50JOOO copies!) to a much higher figure." — [New^York Tribune. Now is the time to subscribe. Sample Numbers sent gratia Agents Wanted. Inclose the amount, and direct as follows : Fowlers and Wells, May 1, 1854.— 2t 303 Broadway, New York. ONE DOLLAK A YEAR ! FIFTY CENTS A VOLTTME ! SPLEN'DID ENGRAVINGS ! !.■, THE PEOPLE'S JOURNAL, An Illustrate!! Record of Agriculture, ilECHANics, Science, AND. Useful Knowledge. EVERY number contains 32 large pages of letter-press, beauti- fullij printed on fine paper, and PROFUSELY ILLUS- TRATED with ESGRAFL\GS, forming at the end of each year TWO Sl^LEXDID VOU'MES, com\irU\n'i four hundred pages, and illustrated with about FIVE HUNDRED ELEGANT ENGRA- VIXG.S, the entire cost being only ONE DOLLAR. The People's Journal was commenced in November, 1853, and has already attained a large circulation. The November number contained 40 engravings, the December number 72 engravings, the Januarj- number 47 engraWngs, and the February issue has 61 en- gravings, making in all 220 illustrations, although only four num- bers have been published. These relate to Science, Art, Mechaui»>, Agriculture, and Useful ICnowledge, in accordance with the general pfin of the work. No publication of the kiud has ever been pro- duced with such magnificence or at so cheap a price. It is admired and taken bv every one who sees it. Terms.— to Subscribers— 0«e Dollar a Tear, or Fifty Cents for Six Montlis. Subscriptions mav be sent by mail in coin, post oSice stamps, or bilLs, at the risk of the publisher. The name of the Post Oifice, County, and State, where the paper is desired to be sent, should be plainly written. Address, postage paid, .ALFRED E. BEACH, No. 8G Nassau Street, New York City, Editor of the People's Journal. A LIBERAL DISCOUNT TO POST MASTERS AND AGENTS. Single copies 12,^ cents. Specimens sent on receipt of four postage stamps, ilarch 1, 1854. — 4t CHEAPEST AND BEST. LEE, MANN & CO., ROCHESTER, N. Y., Are the Publishers of one of the Largest and Cheapest Newspapew in the country. THE WEEKLY AMERICAN Is a paper of large size, containing 3fi columns. It contains th( Latest News up to the day of publication. Important Public Intel > ligence, a well- selected "Miscellany and General Reading page Grain, Cattle, Wool and Iron ilarkets to the latest dates from Bos ton, New York, Albany, Buffalo, Cinciimati, Troy, Baltimore an< Rochester. This ])aper is published every Thursday, for ONE DOLLAR i YEAR, INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE. It is the best and cheap est paper for farmers and others in this and the Western States. They also publish THE TRI-WEEKLY AMERICAN Price $4 per annum, and THE DAILY AMERICAN, Price $6 per annum, to mail subscribers. LEE, M.4.NN & CO. have in operation SIN STEAM AND THREl HAND PRESSES, bv means of which they can give all orders fo BOOK OR JOB WORK immediate dispatch, while their larg assortment of TYPES, BORDERS and ORNAMENTS, enable them to execute orders in the BEST STYLE. Railroad Compani^ Banks, Insurance Offices, Manufacturing Est.ablishments, Forward ers, Shippers, Mercliants and Lawvers, can have their work don. with PUNCTUALITY and ELEGANCE, and their Books ruled anc bound In any desired patterns and in the best manrer. Addiess LEE, MANN & CO., Rochester, N. Y. Office on Buffalo street, opposite the Arcade.]; May 1, 1854.— tf TO FARMERS. TO start Com, and make it ear well and mature early, this late cold season, there is nothing equal to Peruvian Guano, on perphosphate of Lime and Poudrette are also good. For sale at the Agricultural Warehouse and Seed Store of June 1, 1854.— It 189 and 191 Water street, New York. ^'•^ .^i'.§®f7MiI :^g) Vol. XV., Second Series. ROCHESTER, N. Y., JULY, 1854. Kg. Y. THE GENESEE FARMER, A MONTHLY JOL"R.\'AL OP AGRICULTURE & HORTICULTURE. VOLUME XV., SECOXD SEIRES. 1854r. EACH XU>rBER COXTALVS 32 ROYAL OCTAVO PAGES, IN DOUBLE COLUMN'S, AXD TWELVE NUMBERS FORM A VOLUME OF 3S4 PAGES IN A YEAR. Terms. Single Copy, S0.50 Five Copies, 2.00 Eight Copies, - 3.00 And at tlie same rate for any larger number, f^" Remittances properly mailed, and postage paid, at the risk of tlie Publisher. 5^° Postmasters are respectfully requested to act as Agents. DANIEL LEE, Publisher and Proprietor, Rochester, If. T. WHEAT-CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. We congratulate the farmers of tlie United States and Canada who possess lauds adapted to the eco- nomical production of wheat, on the briorht prospects before them. Flour is now sellinn: in Rochester at eleven dollars a barrel, which is higher than it has been in thirty-five years ; and there are what appear to us good reasons for believing that wheat-culture is destined to be a very profitable business in the valley of the Great Lakes on this continent, in all time to come. A few facts illustrative of this subject will be submitted to the consideration of the reader: France, and the United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, contain a population of about sixty-five millions, who are fast acquiring that higher standard of comfort which enables the masses to con- sume good wheat bread in place of much cheaper vegetable food. For indefinite ages the great body of the people ia Europe have consumed, compara- tively, little wheat; being compelled to subsist mainly on various kinds of pulse, potatoes, and other tuber- ous roots, and rye, oat, barley and corn meal. By the discoveries and inventions in arts, and the ad- vancement of sciences, their labor is far more pro- ductive now than it has ever before been, their wages are higher, and, consequently, they are able to live better, and are glad of an opportunity of so doing. Oificial returns made to Parfiament show that the people of the United Kingdom have doubled their annual consumption of sugar in ten years — a re- markable fact, considering the comparatively small increase of population. In 1847, the British nation, before the discovery of gold in Australia and Cali- fornia, and when labor was not so well paid as it now is, imported for consumption 32,000,000 bushels of Indian corn and 4,464,757 quarters of wheat. In 1853, it imported 6,235,864 quarters of wheat, and only 14,168,856 bushels of corn. These figures show a decrease of the consumption of our Indian com of more than half, and an increase in the consumption of wheat of about fifty per cent, in seven years. In Northern and Central Europe, in Italy, France and the United States, brown bread and corn bread are giving place to wheat bread, whenever the former have long been eaten. "Rye and Ind!%,n" in New England, "hoe-cake" "pones" and "corn dodgei-s" at the South and South-west, are becoming historical Place good wheat bread and that made of meal on the tables of the million, and the old habit of eating meal bread, or meal dumplings and porridge, will in a few years cease to exist. The poor in Ro- chester pay eleven dollars a barrel for flour rather than consume meal at less that half the cost, because their wages are generally good, and they have always been in the practice of eating flour in this fine wheat- gi'owing district. In the British West Indies, Cuba, Brazil and Cen- tral America, the consumption of our wheat flour is on the increase. We have before us the oSicial Re- ports of all our exports and imports, of our commer- cial and other transactions with all nations, for several years, including the last. Attention is in\'ited to the fact that the whole world took only $1,374,077 worth of corn, and $70!),074 worth of meal, of this great corn-growing nation during the last fiscal year, ending June 30th, 1853 ; while it exjiorted wheat and flour to the amount of $20,000,000, within a small fraction. Notwithstanding our pretty high duty on foreign wheat, Canada wheat-growers sold in the United States 1,297,131 bushels in the last fiscal year, and received for the same, according to custom house re- turns, only $821,596. The returns for the present fiscal year, ending on the fii^st of July, 1854, wiU doubtless show a much larger sale, and at a far bet- ter price. Free trade with Canada would be a- great boon to its farmers, and probably no disadvantage to the much larger agricultural interest of this republic. If Canada were a part of the United States, no one would fear, or complain of free trade therewith. It 202 THE GENESEE FARMER. is a subject of much interest to many of our readers, and like most others, hik< at least two sides, and was not a little discussed in the circle of the writer's friends during the several years he was connected with the government at Washington. Looking at American agriculture from an elevated point of view, we believe tliat it will be best promoted by pursuing a liberal pi^licy with all nations and provinces. It is the general improvement and elevation of man- kind which make farming so prosperous in this coun- try; and at the risk of wounding some of the cherished prejudices of a few of our subscribers, we shall soon take the liberty of writing and publishing an elabo- rate article on this subject. To be a skillful and successful wheat-gTOwer, one needs considerable professional knowledge. The most difficult points in the operation are to make the soil precisely what it ought to be, and to prevent its gradual deterioration by years of successive cropping. Where nature has made the land just right for the growth of wheat, its cultivation is as simple as any tillage possibly can be. Where land is rich and adapted to wheat, the luxu- rient growth of weeds is often trouljlesome and quite injurious to the crop. To eradicate these, and clear the ground of their seeds, it should be plowed early in the season, which will give the weeds a fine start. After all the seeds have germinated that will before stirring the earth again, it should be cultivated with a cultivator (one with wheels is best) as deeply as pos- sible. Again the ground will be covered with weeds and young grass; new seeds having been brought up to the genial warmth of the sun. This crop of plants must be destroyed by cultivation ; and the operation indicated ought to be repeated until every pestiferous seed has sprouted, and the soil is left clean and finely pulverized, as well as rich, for the reception of seed wheat. The latter should be sown in drills, if it con- veniently can be, the ground rolled, and water fur- rows well made, so as to prevent standing water, and the furrows washing when heavy showers fall on the field. Skillful tillage will produce an extra crop where a careles.s, slovenly farmer will hardly harvest grain enough to pay him for the labor he really per- forms, and for the seed sown. Wheat-growers differ in their notions and practice as to the quantity of seed that ought to be put on an acre ; a bushel and a peck may be about the average sown in Western New York — a few sowing as much as two bushels, and some only one or less. Wheat is often more or less broken and damaged for seed in threshing ; in which case a larger amount is used per acre. AVhere it is sown broadcast, either by hand or a machine for the purpose, many cover it with gang-plows made for the purpose, as well as general cultivation. Some sow on ground as it is left by a common plow, that the harrow may cast the seed into quasi-drills between the ridges made by plowing as the seed is covered. This is regarded as better than to haiTow the ground level before the seed is sown. It is important to cover the seed as evenly as possible, and to sow it soon after a rain, so that the moist earth will adhere to the seed. Seed sown in a dry, open soil, often dies soon after it has sprouted, becf ase its young root can not. so to speak, take hold of ',e earth. Too much air dries and kills it. Hence the wisdom of using a roller to compress the earth against the seed, and the advantage of striking the back of a hoe on a hill of corn as it is planted. Summer fallows for wheat require considerable at- tention. Where one has a good flock of sheep they nuxy aid in keeping down grass and weeds, and in manuring the land by letting them gather feed all day on some rich, perhaps low ground pasture, and then be turned upon the fallow to spend the night. Be- fore they are turned out in the morning they will pick up a good deal of green herbage, and altogether the ground will be considerably improved by their assist- ance. Many farmers are not aware how much stock may do to convey the elements of fertility in low pas- tures and meadows upon arable uplands, at a trifling expense. A farm may possess valuable resources in low spots whence issue springs or flow rivulets, which are entirely overlooked or neglected by the owner. When rain falls upon the earth, passes through the surface soil and subsoil and the water appears in springs, it brings v/ith it not a little of the soluble, vegetable and mineral constituents of all agricultural plants. To allow these elements to run to waste, is bad, very bad, economy. The great truth must ever be borne in mind, that the poverty of the soil limits the growth of wheat. Hence, how to enrich the soil in an economical way is a question of universal inter- est. With our almost unlimited area of virgin lands, the necessity of saving the raw nuiterial of wheat and other crops is not so generally appreciated as it ought to be. This is a misfortune which we have done our best to avert. Neither the d^_mizens of cities and villages, nor the people in the country, are willing to give this subject that earnest attention which its im- portance demands. Every where our countrymen seek amusement more than instruction. So long as this disposition is indulged, agricultural science must languish, while '* Rural" Humbugs that cater for every popular passion and prejudice will wax fat, on tlie same principle that houses of ill-fame and dens for gamblers and tiplers make the fortunes of their proprietors. Broad is the road that leads to ruin ; and to be popular with the multitude is no evidence of either knowledge or virtue. Ijinie in the form of a hydrate, as slaked after burn- ing, as a sulphate in gypsum, and as a phosphate in bones, has long been used for the improvement of wheat lands. They are generally distinguished for the calcareous nature of some of the rocks, or de- posits, from which they have been partly formed, where nature has furnished man with good wheat soils. Remove all the lime from the soil of Western New York, and Monroe county would cease to pro- duce a million and a half bushels of wheat a year. Gypsum grows in several places, and is sold at two dollars a ton, ground, because sulphur exists in com- bination with iron; and from this compound is formed the oil of vitriol, by the union of oxygen with sul- phur; and this oil of vitriol combines with the oxide of iron to form copperas, and with lime to form gypsum. Many a soil abounds in both iron and alum salts (sulphates and phosphates of iron and alumina), that lack only lime to decompose these often injurious salts, and form in their stead both plaster of Paris and the THE GENESEE FARMER 203 efirth of bones. Where sufficient lime exists natu- rally in the soil, tillage effects the important chemical changes v.hich we have just named. A calcareous soil yields far more clover and other herbage to be turned in with the plow, and feed growing wheat plants, than will grow on laud that has only a mini- mum quantity of lime. To persuade a field to bear a generous burden of clover, or grass of any kind, we must see that the soil abounds in the things which nature consumes in the growth of such plants. If it has the constituent elements of crops, it needs no ma- nurd; but if these are lacking, then look out for ashes, bones, gypsum, marl, night-soil, subsoil plowing, swamp-muck and lime, stalale manure, and all other known fertilizers. So little attention is paid to col- lecting the elements of grain and applying them to the soil, that we do not expect ever to see wheat so low as a dollar a bushel again in this inland town. The amount of good wheat land in North America is much less than is generally supposed ; while the number to consume wheat increases very rapidly. DECLINE IN THE PEICE OF WOOL. While Beef Cattle are selling in New York at from $11 to $13 per 100 tbs., and Wheat is worth nearly $2.50 a bushel, and other products of the soil are equally high, it seems extraordinary, and quite unaccountable to some, that the price of Wool should have declined 15 or 20 per cent, below its value last year. The fact is certainly deserving of a thorough investigation. In our last, the reader's attention was invited to important statistics illustrative of the pres- ent condition of the Wool-growing Interest in the United States, in which it was shown that we annu- ally import in woolen fabrics and raw wool twice as much of this staple as is grown in the country. The jjresent low price of wool, comparatively speaking, cannot be ascribed to over-production by American farmers. Its cause, whatever it may be, is wholly foreign; and therefore it is less obvious to the pro- ducers of wool in this republic. In looking abroad for statistics bearing on this question, we find the fol- lowing figures, which embody the substance of the retiu-n of the British Board of Trade: IMPORT OF WOOL INTO ENGLAND. 1849. 1852. tbs. lbs. Spain 127,579 223,413 Germany, viz. : — Mecklenburg, ) Hanover, Oldenburg & Hanse > 12,750,011 12,765,253 Towns ) Other countries in Europe 11,132,354 13,782,140 British Poss. in S. Africa. 5,377,595 6,338,796 British do in East Indies 4,182,853 7,880,784 British Settlement in AustraUa. 35,849,171 43,197,301 South .\merica 6,014,525 6,552,689 Other countries 1,004,679 3,661,082 1853. lbs. 151,117 11,571,800 28,861,166 7,221,448 12,400,869 49,075,812 9,746,032 4,358,172 Totjil 76,768,647 93,761,458 119,396,445 The close study of the above table will inform all American wool-growers who are their powerful and successful competitors. It will be seen that Spain exported less wool to England in 1853 than in 1852 by 72,296 ibs. Germany exported less by nearly a million and a quarter pounds; while other countries in Europe increased their ex]Dorts of wool to England from 11,132,354 tbs. in 1849, to 28,861,166 fts. in 1853, The British Possessions in Southern Africa increase their exports of wool about a million pounds a year. Her East Indies have increased their annual exports from about four million pounds in 1849, to nearly twelve and a half millions in 1853. Instead of sending less wool to England since the discovery of gold in Australia, as was predicted and generally expected, the export of last year was six million pounds larger than the year previous; and at the same time South American States sent to England fifty per cent, more wool than ever before. From all countries, the excess of last year's importations over those of 1852 is about twenty-five million pounds; equal to nearly half of the entire chp of the United States. The Capital and Machinery of England appear to be in a fair way to purchase the wool, and manufacture it for half the civilized world. Her foreign possessions alone furnish more than seventy million pounds a year; and they have an undeveloped capacity for the econ- omical production of this great staple, limited only by the wants of mankind. She has virtually ceased to be dependent on Spain for fine wool, and soon wiU be equally independent of Germany for that commod- ity. It is now generally believed by naturalists that the fine wooled sheep of Spain, the parents of the best Merino blood, were brought from Africa by the Moors — a very remarkable people. Certainly, the Table Lands of South America are found well adapt- ed to the growth of fine as well as common coarse wool. In Central America, also, this branch of ru- ral industry is bound to prosper. Mr. Barrundia, minister plenipotentiary of Honduras, in presenting his credentials to the President a few days since, said: " Honduras has opened its doors and lent its co-oper- ation to an enterprise of vast importance to the in- terests of the world — I mean a rapid and easy com- munication between the two great oceans. She of- fers her commodious ports, her salubrious climate, and her great but undeveloped resources to the aid of this great undertaking, and opens her rich and fer- tile territoiy to the enterprise and industry of the American people." A ship canal, or a first class rail- way with a double track, will soon connect the two oceans in Honduras; and this great thoroughfare will alone attract tens of thousands of emigrants to "the rich and fertile territory," so liberally opened " to the enterprise and industry of the American people." No one can understand the wool market of New York, or the propriety of increasing his flock of sheep, who does not keep himself well posted in the rapid progress of the age. Many of our readers, we dare say, do not see how steamers on the ocean can possi- bly affect the value of wool in Michigan or Canada ; and yet it is such ships as the " Golden Age " (briefly noticed in this connection), that brings the uttermost parts of the earth into successful competition with the wool growers of this countiy : "American Steamsup Golden Age, " Melbourne, AustraUa, Feb. 20, 1854, " Gentlemen : — To-morrow I leave for Sidney, having arrived here, all well, in fifty-one days running time from Liverpool, from dock to dock. You can- not conceive the enthusiastic greetings we received from the Americans at this place, when the Golden Age was seen in the oSing, traveling at a speed hith- erto unseen in these waters, when they found that our 204 THE GENESEE FARMER. running time was eleven days shorter tliau that of their fastest steamer, and that we had anchored in their harbor without as much as a screw being loose, or even a chip being knocked off the outside, I am told they went quite crazy; they at once took us to their arms, and gave us a magnificent dinner (which cost more of the energy and spirit of the last half of the nineteenth century, or expect to be left far behind American commerce, which already imports about eighty miUion pounds of wool in cloths and other goods, a year, and twenty-one million pounds in the raw material. two thousand dollars). Even the English speak of us with praise. Your obedient servant, " D. D. Porter." Such enterprise is almost omnipotent; and our staid wool-growing friends must wake up and imbibe THE STUDY OF THE CALENDAR— JULY Every farmer, and every farmer's sons and daugh- ters, should be well posted in the history of each of the twelve months of the Calendar. If they were asked to state the difference between the " Old Style " THE GENESEE FARIMER. 205 and " New Style " of reckoning time, few could an- swer; nor could they name the time v,'hen ^larch ceased to be the first month of the year in England and in her American colonies, of which thirteen of our present States formed a part. In 1752 (only 102 years ago), our present calendar was adopted in England by the elision, or cutting olf, of eleven days between the 2d and 14th of Septem- ber; and in the same year the English statute changed the commencement of the legal year from the 25th of March to the 1st of January. A person born before 1752, if he estimated his age by the "New Style," would make himself younger by eleven days than by the " Old Style " of reckoning, because that number of days of his life would not be counted. In the early part of this century we heard much about "New Style" and "Old Style;" but of late the mat- ter has lost its popular interest, excejjt as a part of tlie history of the calendar. The Greek or Attic calendar distributed the year into twelve lunar months, of alternately 29 and 30 days, and intercalated a lunar month, for the most part, every two years, yet occasionally omitted the intercalary month, so as to make the civil months recur at exactly the same natural seasons. This calendar also divided each of its months into three decades. The original Roman calendar assigned only 304 days to a year, distributed these into ten months of unequal length, and reckoned March as the first month of the ten. The nomenclature of the last four months of this calendar is still retained in our own calendar — the names September, October, No- vember and December signify simply the seventh, the eighth, the ninth and the tenth months (septem, seven; octo, eight; novem, nine; decern, ten). Nujia reformed this ancient calendar by adding 51 days to the year, and distributing it into twelve mouths, inter- calating between the 23d and 24th of February in every second year, a month of variable length. This second calendar was still further improved by Juuus C.«:SAR, and continues in use in Europe and this country, with slight changes, at the present time. It adds one day to February every fourth year, which is called "leap-year." In 1582, Pope Gregouy XII. adjusted the Julian calendar of 365 days to more accurate astronomical observation ot the actual length of the true year, by altering " the style," or throwing out ten days of the year in which it was adopted, between the 4th and 15tli of October ; and by or- daining that in all time to come the intercalary, or leap-year day, of the first hundredth, the second hun- dreth and the third hundredth of every four hundred years, should not be reckoned. By this arrangement, three intercalary days are not reckoned in four hun- dred years. This "New Style" was not adopted in England, till 1752, or 170 years after its establishment at Rome, when it was necessary to throw out eleven days in place of ten. July being the fifth month from March (the latter being the firet in the year), it was called in the old Roman calendar Quintilis, derived from quinque, five; and it received its present name by order of Mark AitroxY, in honor of Julius Gi:sAR. The ancient Saxons called it " Hay-month," because it was the time of their hay-harvest, and " Meadow-month," be- cause it was the season of their meadow grasses rushing up into flower. This fact shows that their climate was nearly a mouth later than ours in West- ern New York. The head of a fierce lion has been adopted as em- blematic of the raging heat that sometimes prevails iu the month of July — the hottest in the year. For indefinite ages, Africa, with its vast oceans of burn- ing sand, was regarded as " the dry nurse of lions." The reader v.ill find in connection with this brief no- tice of the calendar and the present month, a graphic picture of the popular and poetic symbol of July. OPERATIONS FOR JULY. Mr. Editor: — The changeableness of our climate has never been more clearly marked than during the present season up to this time. The early part of March was mild and pleasant — the buds of many trees were almost fully expanded by the balmy air — when, presto ! Old Boreas whistled among the open- ing blossoms, and Crocuses and Daffodils were fain to show their modest faces from beneath the snowy mantle which covered the earth. Then a long period of cold, wet and rainy weather followed, until about the 20th of May, making the time for planting spring crops one of excessive anxiety and labor. Next fol- lowed very warm and dry weather, and most fields not well drained and worked were baked and parched. It is especially necessary during the continuance of drouth that the ground be often stirred. A finely- pulverized soil permits the air to impart its moisture to the Uttle spongioles or root-fibers that are seeking it on every side, and enables them to absorb the re- freshing dews of night. Ammonia, ever present in the atmosphere, is absorbed by the condensed vapor and deposited with the dew, thus contributing to fer- tilize and in\igorate the hungry plants. If you have not an abundance of good pasturage for your stock, do not fail of having one or more acres of Indian corn sown broadcast or in drills, ex- pressly to supply the deficiency. All who have triett'' it speak in the highest terras of its value, particularly during our summer heats. Ruta Bagas may be sown by the 10th of this month, and common field turnips by the 20th. Sow on freshly-tilled land, that is well supplied with the mineral constituents of the plant. Planting generally will now have been finished; ank keep, if possible, your plants in a healthy, grow- ing condition. Cut off dead parts of trees and shrubs, and head down those that have grown too tall and slender, that the side shoots and lower branches may become more vigorous and stocky. Laying of roses and grape vines, and budding of roses, may be done this month. Cherries may gene- rally be budded about the first of August; the exact time depends upon the season. Strawberries may be transplanted as soon as they have done bearing. The earlier they are set out the larger will be the return next year. The following, from the Albany Cultivator, tells the whole story of the precautious to be observed in successful trans- planting : " As soon as the plants are taken up, the leavea 206 THE GENESEE FARMER. should all be removed except the small central ones not yet expanded, the roots immersed in mud, and the plants then set The earth should be settled about them by pouring on water, and then fine earth drawn about them to form a mellow surface. A coating of fine manure, two inches thick, should be placed about tliem, which will keep them moist, and prevent the ground baking if any subsecjuent watering is needed." Mark by a stake or string the earliest and best con- ditioned vegetable or plant whose seed you would wish to have for another year, and let the article so mlfe-ked be strictly forbidden fruit. An invariable se- lection of your seed from the earliest ripened, con- tinued for a series of years, wull make a material dif- ference in the maturity of your crops. If you cultivate for seed, select from those plants which give the greatest return for the least amount of straw consistent with health and vigor ; if for forage, the reverse holds true. Ccltor. Rochester, N. T. , sides and floor of the cellar with a coating of water lime, about three-quarters of an inch thick; and when it became set it was completely water tight. Yours, truly, C. 11. Forman. Halton, Wilton Co., C. W. REMEDY FOR THE CUT-WORM. Mr. Editor: — The cut-worm has been very de- structive this season. I set 240 sweet potato plants, and the third day after setting I found only five left. Since then I have set 500 cabbage and 1,000 sweet potato plants, with a hickory leaf around each, and not a single plant has been cut yet. I lay the leaf on the ground, the stem end from me; lay tlie plant on it, the root to my right; take the stem end in my left hand, and with my right hand fetch the top end of the leaf over the plant and stem end, which forms a tunnel ; let the plant come through the leaf as far as it set in the ground before taken up; then open the ground with a trowel, or something of the kind, three or four inches deep; set in the plant and fill half fuU of earth; then a gill or half pint of well wa- ter; fill the hole, and press down a little, and leave the top of the ground dry. The leaf should be a half or Ihi'ec-quarters of an inch below the top of the ground. In that way I find the little scamps about the leaf, but they will not disturb the plant. All crops look well with us, wheat and grass in particular. Respectfully, yours, J. S. Carpenter. Port Clinton, Ottawa Co., Ohio. THE COMING WHEAT CROP IN CANADA. Mr. Editor: — The M-heat crop in this part of Canada looks exceedingly well. The only fear the farmers expeiience is that it is too rank, and will be knocked de the word visionary would put to it in this connection, nor do we care. We have faith in the followini;- project of producing fodder enough on two acres of land to winter one h.indred sheep. — But, says \Ir. Doubtful, it must be made very rich. Of coun-e it must. That won't hurt the land in the lea.'it. But how will you do it? In the first place, make the land veiy rich. Manure it generously — p'ow it thoroughly — harrow it fine — roll it smooth — put on the marker, and mark it into rows three feet apart, and sow Indian corn in the drills. Hoe it twice, and, after the second hoeing, take your seed- sower and sow between each two rows of corn a row of flat turnip seed. After your corn has spindled, cut it up; let it wilt, then 'tie it into bundles and shock it up as you do cornstalks which you have cut in the ufeal way and let them stand until dry. It would not be strange if you had six tons of fodder per a"i-e when they were' sufficiently dry to put into the barn. This will be twelve tons (from two acres). Now, to winter one hundred sheep you ought to have twenty tons of fodder. You have got twelve of them and want eight more, or four tons from each acre. — The turnips ought to produce this amount. Let us see. Allowing a bushel of turnips to weigh 60 ibs., in order to have four tons on an acre you shouid raise 23.3^ bu.-^hels. AV'ill not your land produce this amount aftei- taking away the Indian corn crop? So you will have your twenty tons of food from two acres. But will the sheep eat the cornstalks? — Yes, we have tried that. Just run the stalks through a straw-cutter and feed them out to the sheep, and they will eat them ail up. We have tried it, and sev- eral others have tried it. Then run your turnips through a vegetable cutter, and they will eat them all up clean. The sheep should be young and hearty and have good teeth. Who will try the exijeriment this year? We are bound to, for one.— Maine Farmer. CLOVER HAY. The making of clover into hay is a somewhat dif- ferent procass from making hay of other grasses. A crop of clover, cut when In bloom, may be ten per cent, lighter than if cut when fully ripe; 'but the loss in weight is compensated by obtaining an earlier, more nutritious and valuable' article, while the next crop will be proportionately more heavy. The hay from old herljage will keep stock ; but it is only hay from young herbage that will fatten them. Stems of clover that have brought their seeds nearly to matu- rity are ol but little more value than an equal quan- tity of good straw. Cut your clover close ; as it is partially wilted turn the swath gently over, but do not spread or scatter it. If the weather is fair and Uie clover cut before noon, the swaths may be turned after dinner; if mown after noon, they may be turned before evening, at which time tho.se turned after din- ner may be put into cocks. The points to be regarded are to cock before the leaves begin to crumble, not to sufTer the dew to fall upon the dried surface of the swath, and to build the cocks so as to completely shed rain, should the Aveather be bad. These cocks nu. stand forty-eight hours or more, and should not t opened until there is a fair prospect of having a fe hours of good weather to finish the curing proces When this is the case, open the cocks as soon as tb dew is off, and partially spread them. If the day i good, the spread clover may be turned over sooi after dinner, and an hour or two afterwards gatherec into the barn. When clover is cured by being spread, the leaves and blossoms are dry long before the stems are cured, or sufficiently dry; so that either the stems must be housed before they are properly cured, or made sufficiently dry by long exposure to the sun, when the leaves and blossoms become too dry, crum- ble and are lost. — Selected. Thk Potato a Heatiiex. — A correspondent, more hurt than indignant, writes to us upon our recent disparagement of the potato — declaring ^t to be a household god which we have rudely thrown from his pedestal to set thereon the new idol of hominy. This finding of a ficticious yet plausible substitute for so genuine and valuable a .staple of feed, will, he thinks, tend to lessen the interest in the growth and scientific study of it, and so diminish the pros])ect for the one indispensable dish on every table. We sit rebuked. Praised be potatoes for ever. But in claiming any manner of pious standing — household godliness — for this vegetalile, does our correspondent know that he errs, and that the potato is a heathen? Does he know tliat it has been battled against hy the church, as an unworthy infidel ? We must inform him that Scotland at one time made the growth of the potato illegal, because it is not mentioned in the Bible ! Tu an article on the history of it (which we saw some time since in the (Quarterly Journal of ^Agriculture), this fact is stated among the hindrances to its intro- duction into Great Britain. It was first cultivated in the fields of England in 1739. But, for years afterwards, it was not admitted into Scotlan i, from the zeal of preachers in declaring it an unholy escu- lent, bkusphemous to raise, sacriligeous to eat ■' Famine, at last," says the historian, " gave an im- pulse to the innovation, and, during tlie latter part of the eighteenth century, the excellent qualities of the potato became generally understood." — Home Jovr. To Fix Carpets on Floors. — The foreign corres- pondent of the JVeivark Advertiser, in writing from Florence, says : " Here iron rings are fastened in the floors when the cai-pets are laid, and they have large hooks in the binding, for which these rings are ej'es; so that there is no taking out and nailing in of tacks, and carpets are raised and laid as noiselessly and easilv as bed-covers." To enjoy life, you should be a little miserable oc- casonally. Trouble, like cayenne, is not veiy agreea- ble in itself, but it gives great zest to other things. Without innocence, beauty is unlovely, and quality contemptible. THE GENESEE FARMER. 219 CONDUCTED BY JOSEPH FROST. CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. Conservatory. — Some management is required to beep up the display in this and similar structures du- ring the next few months, as the present high tempe- rature will soon bring to a close the blooming season with most green-house plants. Gardeners will be now getting into a forward state plants sufficient to make a good display for a considerable time ; for the above purpose the stock of balsams and pot annuals should be looked to, and if a shift is necessary, let it be done at once; for potting the above and other quick- growing plants, the compost should be both porous and rich, that a clean, vigorous growth may be ob- tained. After the last shift, weak manure water may be given rather frequently, to assist the above ends. Neriums will be showing bloom, which will be the finer if the pots are jjlaced in feeders and kept well supplied with water. Fuchsias, Kalosanths, scarlet Pelargoniums, Lilium longiflorum and eximium, and the various other plants, should be introduced as they get into bloom. In addition, a number of plants from the hot-house may be safely allowed to bloom in the conservatory for the next two months, and if a few Palms can be added, they will form an interesting feature at this season. Another difficulty will be felt in keeping these houses sufficiently cool to be enjoya- ble ; to assist in keeping down the temperatue, well sprinkle every part of the interior each morning and night, and this, if practicable, may be repeated during the day; the canvas shading may likewise be damped during very hot weather by the garden engine, which will have the effect of lowering the internal air con- siderably. Green-house plants standing out of doors should have their pots protected from the direct action of the sun, either by being plunged or inserted into other pots. In all plant structures attention must be paid to counteract the effects of the present extreme heat by frequently flooding the pathways, and syring- ing every part of the interior several times daily. The plants themselves will require well syringing ; but let this be done late in the evening and early in the morning, to prevent any injury which might arise to delicate-leaved plants from the sun's rays acting on imperfectly dried foliage. Floiver Garden and Shrubbery. — A complete stirring of the flower garden beds, to break up the hard crusty surface caused by heavy rains, should be made before the plants get much larger. Procted with pegging down, or tying growing plants as they advance, till they occupy their allotted space, when more freedom may be allowed them, but even then, iu well-arranged flower gardens, each bed should be perfectly symmetrical as a whole, although forming only a part of the general design ; remove weeds as they appear, and pay the greatest attention to neat- ness and order, without which the richer display of flowers looks unsatisfactory. Advantage should be taken of examining the walks during heavy rains, to see the drains are sufficient to carry off the water, and additional drains and grates put down where necessary. SOUTHWORTH'S STRAWBERRIES. Mr. Souteworth, of Penfield, Monroe county, N. T., has been very successful with his strawbeny cul- ture this season. His vines extend over" two acres of good soil, and he has an abundant crop of Burr's JVeiv Pine, Hoveys Seedling, and the Early Scar- let varieties. Of the varieties mentioned, he gives a decided preference to the Burrs JYetv Pine. It bears well, and is probably the finest beriy ever grown; and he is able to supply large quantities of the fruit. His estimate is some 4,000 to 5,000 quarts of all kinds this season. We have had a trial of hia berries, and pronounce them No. 1. A DESTRUCTIVE INSECT. Mr. Editor : — As I often read in your paper no- tices and remarks respecting the various insects that attack not only fruit but also forest trees, and as no fact in Natural History is or can be indifferent to the real student of Nature, for we are all but mere learners in the mysterious economy of the insect world, I offer no apology for laying before your read- ers a fact which came under my own observation last summer, while standing on the veranda of a gentle- man's house near the Rice Lake, where there were growing many beautiful forest trees, and among the rest several vigorous Black Oak saphngs. The beauty of their shining foliage, olive bark, and general grace- ful outline, were under discussion. The air was breezeless, the lake iu unruflled smoothness gleamed like silver through the trees in the stillness and radi- ance of a cloudless sky. Suddenly a quivering tre- mor was visible iu a single branch of one of the Black Oaks — it was one of the lowest and thickest limbs — and to our great surprise it fell to the ground, as if severed by some invisible axe. Down it came, and loaded with its green and glistening foliage it lay upon the ground. It was about an inch and a quarter in diameter. AVe hastened to the spot to examine into the cause of this mystery. The bough had been severed about two feet from the main trunk, above the fork of the branch. It presented the appearance as if a very fine saw or rather file had been at work. The severed end was slightly convex ; that on the remainder of the branch, on 'the tree itself, concave. For some seconds we were unable to find the Uttle mechanic ; but at last I noticed a very small bore, oval in shape, and on opening the wood with a penknife I found a whitish worm, with a blunt, copper-colored nose. It was ringed, and I think had eight feet, but of this I am not sure ; they were reddish in color. The creature was not more than the third of an inch in length ; and on touching it the surface was like a rasp, and seemed to resist the finger on being drawn from the head downward, though to the naked eye the surface looked quite smooth. No doubt this was the instrument with which he had worked so diligently to effect his escape. About an inch above the severed part was a double leaf-bud, behind which a very small puncture had been made by the parent fly when it provided so sound an oaken cradle for the protection of its unknown successor, which, when ready for its exodus, had beeu 220 THE GENESEE FARMER oblig'ed to saw for itself a passage to the light and air. Tlie ajiimal must have retreated, like a careful miner, to await the effect of its surpi-ising efforts, and then possibly would have undergone its second trans- formation safely hidden in the vault from whence we dragged it forth. I wished to have kept the little sawyer, to have ascertained the fly it would have turned to ; but it was dropped among the grass and flowers, and we could not again di?cover it. AVe then noticed that on the adjoining Black Oaks many fine branches were withered, and on the slightest touch they fell to the ground — some of larger girth than the one that we had examined first The same cause had been at work, but the sawyer was not visible. Can vou tell me the parent insect's name ? Oaki'axds, Rice Lake, C. W. C. P. T. MILDEW OX GOOSEBEREIES. Me. Editor : — According to my experience and observation, the gooseberry bushes that grow on high, dry ground, exposed to the full power of the sun's rays, are sure to mildew, when those in rich mold, on a level low ground, and within the influence of shade, as a fence or distant trees, \rill be healthy. The gooseben-y in its native state is often found on low and even moist ground, but thrives on a flat, a little shaded by larger trees. The bushes being too thick and woody in the center, so as to stop the free circulation of air, may be one cause of mildew, as peas, if sown in double, close rows, are more Hable to it than when sown in single rows. 0. P. T. Oaklaxds, Rice Lake, C. "W. ORNAMENTAL FLOWER STANDS. Those who admire flowers in the hall or in the drawing-room, should always provide such stands as will enable them to keep the pots without pans, for the water in a pan is ruin to all plants standing in them, and this can easily be proved by reference to the thousands and tens of thousands that are killed daily, in all the manufacturing towns and populous cities in the empire. They are watered by filling the pans. This water is soon mischievous, because the roots are easily rotted by stagnant moisture. The etandfi for flower pots should therefore be provided with a receptacle for the superabundant moisture, for it is impossible to prevent water from running through the pots. This receptacle may be a groove round the outside of the solid bottom, forming a gutter into which the surplus moisture might run, and from which it is easily taken up by a sponge. The bottom must of course slope toward the outside, or have grooves or gutters leading from the center to the outside. This does away with the necessity of using pans, and the danger of injiwing the plants by stag- nant water. "With regard to the form of these stands, they may be various, accoi'ding to the places they are to occupy, and the number of plants which they are to accom- modate. There is good room to exercise a little taste upon the subject. When the stand is for a single pot, there must be a sort of cup for it to stand over ; not to stand in, so as to touch the water, be- cause that would be as bad as a pan. These stands require to be emptied occasionally, because every time the plants are watered some would go into the gutters, which, if not attended to, would overflow. These stands are made variously of iron or wicker, as the case may be, and may be had of almost any form, in wood of the rustic seat makers and veranda builders, and in iron from the general wire-workers. Some are cast, but, rich as they look, they are not adapted to move up and down or about a house. — London Horticultural Magazine. HINTS ON THE REARING AND MANAGE- MENT OF TREES. Vast sums of money are annually spent in this country on trees; it would be impossible to make a close estimate of the amount, but we cannot be very far out of the way in putting it at a million of dol- lars. We believe we could show by figures that this is not, as it may appear to many, an immoderate esti- mate; for more than one-quarter of that amount may be set down to Rochester alone. This gives us some idea of the extent and importance of our arboricul- tural interest, yet it attracts little attention. The men engaged in rearing and planting trees are not those who make much noise in the world. We have no arboricultural societies to collect mformation or incite to experiment and observation — no public gar- dens or arboretums to test theories and modes of cul- ture— the whole matter thus far has been left to indi- vidual effort and enterpiTse; and as both growers and purchasers of trees usually proceed upon the princi- ples of economy, no great improvement has been made upon old methods; at least, this business has certainly not advanced in the same ratio as some other branches of the useful arts and sciences. How many of those engaged in the planting and culture of THE GENESEE FARMER. 221 trees, have taken pains to acquire the slightest possi- ble degree of knowledge concerning their structure, the functions of the diil'erent parts, and their relative connection and influence upon each other ? Not one in five hundred. A man spending a hundred dollars for trees does not consider it worth his while to con- sult the best books that have been written on the subject — he does not consider that a dollar spent in that way might save him fifty in the management of his plantation. A few words of oral instruction from some one perhaps as iU-informed as himself, or a few hints which he finds on the cover of a nm-seiyman's catalogue, supply all the needed information. We are happy to admit exceptions — numerous, too. — Books and papers are read and studied; but the few who read and seek information from such sources are, when compared with the number of persons M-ho plant trees, but a drop in the bucket. Frauds of all kinds are perpetrated upon people thus exposed by ignorance ; for there is no pursuit under the sun ex- empt from dishonest and tricky persons. It is not surprising that we hear, every year, people complain bitterly of their trees. Some they lose totally the first season; others linger along for years without maldng any considerable growth, while the cause re- mains a complete mysteiy. " They were nice trees, well planted, and every way well cared for." Now there are many reasons for these failures; and if peo- ple were as well informed as they should be on this subject — if they possessed a correct knowledge of the essential properties of a tree fit for safe and success- ful removal, and understood properly what good planting and good treatment consist in — they could readily account for their losses. We propose, now, to oflfer a few suggestions on these topics — first, m regard to the qualities of trees, and how these are to be secured; and, secondly, on planting and subsequent treatment. We may as well say at the outset, that we are not about to ofler either a new theory or practice, but simply to point out certam principles and details of culture and manage- ment, well understood and universally approved "by experienced, practical tree-gi-owers. In the first place, a very large number of the trees sent out from the nurseries are not fit to be planted. We must not be understood now as alluding to any nurseries in pai'ticular. The fact of our being a nur- seryman will not prevent us from expressing our con- victions freely; and when we charge malpractice on the trade, we are prepared to shoulder our share of the blame. We intend our remarks to be apphed in a general way, however; and we beheve all candid nurseiymen will admit the truth of what we are about to say. It will be generally admitted that hardiness is one of the most important qualities of a tree, to fit it for safe removal. How is this to be attained? It is very well known that nearly all purchasers of trees prefer such as ai'e tall and straight, with a smooth, glossy bark, indicating what is called "thriftiness." — Height is the greatest requisite — in fact, the sine qua non — ■with by far the greater number of purchasei-s. the trade. To produce these tall, smooth-barked trees, they must manure theu- ground highly and plant closely. In these dense nurseiy plantations the light is pretty cfiectually excluded from all parts of the tree save the top; and as, according to an unaltera- ble law of nature, trees and plants grow towards the light, the tops push upward, and few or no side branches are formed. Those who have not seen this exemplified in the nurseiy, may have seen it in the forest. If a number of Elins or' Maples, for instance, are planted closely in a gi'oup, and others separately, on the same sort of soil, we find that those planted close together shoot upward rapidly, forming taU, smoo'h, naked trunks, with a few branches only "at the top; while those standing apart in the open space grow in height slowly, but throw out numerous side branches, the trunk is thick, the bark furrowed, and the trees are so different from the others as to have scarcely a characteristic in common, save the foliage. These tail trees, with few branches, grown in the shade and shelter, have few roots. In a natural state the roots always bear a due proportion to the branches. We find that a tree standing in an open field, and having a wide-spread head, wiU have roots extending three or four times the distance that those of much more lofty trees do, growing in a thick grove or forest. It is on this account that trees left stand- ing when the forests are cut down, seldom sur'^-ive the shock of the first gale; they are broken or torn up by the roots. Xature beautifully adapts everything to its situation and circumstances. The tree in the depth of the forest is sheltered on aU sides, and re- quires but few roots to resist the force of the wind, or branches to protect its ttmik. The tree in the open field, exposed on all sides, requires an ample supply of both. It grows moderately, its trunk is stout;' its wood is fii-m, compact, and iiardy; its bark thick; its rootsnumerous, wide-spread, and powerful ; its branches ample, evenly disposed, -and nicely balanced. There it stands, fitted out completely to meet the require- ments of its position. There is valuable instruction here for us all. Xur- serymen know that when their rows of trees are thinned out — say one-half or three-fourths removed — the remainder, instead of pushing upward, as they had done before, begins to thi'ow out numerous branches, the trunk thickens, and the roots spread and strengthen rapidly. One season's growth, under such conditions, gives them such a hold of the ground that it requires three or fom' times the amount of la- bor to remove them that it did the year previous, when they stood very close. On this account such trees, although generally regarded as culls, prove most successful when transplanted, and are preferred by experienced planters, even if they be defective in form. Trees rapidly grown, forced with a rich soil, and drawn up in the shade and shelter of close nursery rows, are as ill-fitted to stand the shock of removal into the open ground, exposed to the tuU force of the sun and wind, heat and cold, as are the tall and slen- ker trees that have grown up in the heail of the for- Now, nurserymen must consult the tastes of their est. The young trees have the advantage in bem^ customers, and they are compelled to adopt a system more plastic; they suffer and almost die;"but the m- of culture that will produce such trees as they find herent vigor of youth enables them, in many cases, to most saleable. They must either do this or abandon weather the storm. But even where they survive th# 222 THE GENESEE FARMER. shock, it is severely felt, and shows itself in the slow and feeble grrowth v.'hich follows removal. In jjardens and sheltered grounds this difficulty is of less account; but how small a number of all the trees planted enjoy the benefits of shelter! Scarcely any one di-eams of nursing and hardening their trees for a period previous to their final planting; and yet, in a multitude of Ciu<^es, it would be a prudent and profitable course — and so especially with all the more rare, valuabk>, and delicate trees, shrubs, and plants. Even in England, where the climate is much less rig- orous and changeable than ours, such j)roceeding is recommended and practiced. In a work which we noticed some time ago, [Practical Hints on Orna- viental Trees, by St andish & Xoble, page 479, vol. iii.] it is reconnneuded, in planting valuable and del- icate evergreen trees, to plant them first in some sort of open boxes that would allow of their removal, once or twice a year, from a more sheltered to a more exposed place, until they would finally become suiTi- ciently hardened to bear the exposure of their per- manent situation. It is quite unnecessary to multiply illustrations showing the advantages which young trees derive from })eing reared in open situations, sufficiently ex- posed to admit of the growth of side branches, and acquire what we call hardiness. Our nursery trees are in general too close in the rows; we gxow three or four times too many on the ground. We are aware that it would add considerably to the cost of the trees, to give them so much more space; but would it not be a saving for purchasers to pay one- third or one-fourth more for them? We very much fear that we shall have no very extensive reform on this head until people become much better informed on the subject of arboriculture — when, instead of looking for the tallest trees in the nursery, they will look for stout, well-rooted trees, that have been well exposed to the sun and air,*and thus hardened and fitted to encounter the trials of a removal. One reason why so few good i^yramidal-shaped young trees are to be found in the nurseries, is their closeness. Although they are cut back, no stout side branches are produced, because of the want of a full share of light around the lower part of the trees; any shoots that do start out are soon smothered, and the entire growth is thrown into two or three shoots at the top. A good pyramidal tree cannot be pro- duced— we cannot secure the first branches — without a clear space of two or three feet on each side; whereas, they usually stand within a few inches in the nurseiT rows. Another advantage in giving trees abundant space, to which we have already alluded, is, that it promotes the extension of roots. In fact, whatever favors the extension of branches, also favors the roots; beeau.>e, they depend so much upon each other as to be co- extensive. But the soil has a powerful influence on the roots. Li si\i% clayey soils, trees have bare, forked roots, ami few fibers; and that, too, when the growth of the tree is good. Such trees do not transplant well. Dry, friable soils are more favorable to the growth of numerous fibrous roots, and trees taken from them transplant more successfully. Culture has a great influence on the roots, too. If the ground be kept continually free and pliable by cultivation around the roots, they become much more fibrous and better for transplanting than if the surface of tin. ground be permitted to harden into a crust, or to In covered with weeds or grass. Having the trees thus properly grown in abundant space, dry, friable soils, and clean culture, the nc.t important point is to take them up projjcrly; because'. no matter how a tree is grown, if it 1)e badly taken up it is not fit for successful transplanting. Trees arc more universally injured — ruined — in this opcratinii than in any other. We believe it is so in all parts nf the world, for our trees imported from Europe nw aV)Out as badly bruised and mangled as any we lune ever seen at home. At the .seasons of transplant inii. nurserymen are generally hurried, and have to cmph)\ raw, untrained laborers, who know or care as much about roots as they do about conic sections. A man jnay stand over them, and show them, and talk to them, and yet the roots will be cut and mangled. It really requires considerable skill and experience, and a great deal of care, to dig trees. Some have long tap-roots that penetrate the ground deeply, while oth- ers spread widely near the surface of the ground. — These different characters require different modes of proceeding. Some insist that it does a tree no harm to cut off some of its roots; but we hold that the roots should be taken out of the ground without the slightest bruise or mutilation, if possible. The ne- cessity for curtailing the tops would thus be obviated, and there would be some hopes for the trees. Wc are utterly opposed to the lopping off both roots and branches of trees, and thus converting them into bare poles before planting. The generally commended proceeding of pruning or shortening the tops, is a necessity only because the roots scarcely ever escape injury in some way or other; and as leaves must re- ceive a supply of nuti'iment through the roots, it i.- ouly reasonable that when the roots are reduced, the leaves should also be reduced in a corresponding ' degTce. Then comes packing for transportation. The less the roots of trees are exposed to the air, between the time they are taken from the ground and the time they are planted, the better. This should never be for gotten. If roots be of any value, it can only be when they are sound and fresh. More than nine- tenths of all the trees planted have to be carried a greater or less distance from the nursery, and conse- quently require packing; and many people, to save a little cost, will run the risk of having their trees ru- ined. We are satisfied that vast quantities of trees are lost from bad packing and exposure in transpor- tation. It requires considerable skill and care to pack well. Very few of the f]uropeau nurserymen can pack for America, as importers well know ; and on this account we are always compelled to purchase at higher prices than we might do, in order to secure good packing; for if we were to get trees for notli- ing, they would be a hard bargain unless well packed, i Good packing is equally essential in transporting trees from one part of our own country to the other, because we have great delays. We can get a pack- age almost as soon from Liverpool to New York as . we can from New York to Rochester; so that par-i eels of trees should always be fitted up to go safely twice the distance intended, or twice the time that THE GENESEE FARMER. 223 ought to cany them to their destiuatiou. What sis- uities fifty cents or a doUar per huii 'red in the cost of securing treo.; for cari-iago, compared with rauaing the risk of losing them or having them so damaged that they will not recover for yoar.-s. livery man who orders trees should say emphitically, "Pack my trees in the best maimer;" and nurserymen should be held responsible for this, as much, at least, as for the quality of the trees. Having now briefly called attention to what we consider a prevailing defect in the growth of young trees, that unfits thena for safe and successful removal, and the necessity of care in packing for transporta- tion, we shall hereafter take occasion to say some- thing on planting and subsequent management. — Hor- ticullurist. [From tlie Maine Farmer.] SINGULAR DISEASE IN AN ORCHARD. Mr. Editor: — I wish that you or some of your co-respondents, would have the goodness to inform me and some of my neighbors, what is the matter with most of our Apple trees. I will tell you the symptoms in as plain and as faithful a manner as I can, and ask you as a good doctor in such cases to prescribe a remedy for a grievous disease. My or- chard contains some four hundred trees, of ages va- rying i'rora ten to twenty years, and a few old settlers of a former generation, some sixty or seventy years old. The soil is a gravelly loam, with a hard-pan un- der it, somewhat drj^, and is what we consider to be first rate for general agricultural purposes. So far as growth is concerned, my trees for the most part flourish well. They look most beautiful in the fore part of every summer, until the apples become about !i:' size of robin's eggs, or large potato balls, when a k 1., of black mold or blight, or whatever you may ca eizes upon them and spreads ov( r them, most (■ '■■ ■ u .hy putting a stop to the growth wherever it ]ti tvaiis. One side of an apple touched with tliis, will be black and scaljliy, and open, with two or three large cracks, while the other side of the same apple will continue to grow and be fair and handsome. In some instances I have known the entire fruit of a tree to be covereil with this black malady, the fruit of all sizes, from that of musket balls to that of hen's eggs, with the exception of perhaps two or three near the enils of limbs, which were stretched away off re- mote from the body of the tree; these would be large, fair and handsome, showing what the others would have Iteen if they could have had their own way about it. For the last seven or eight years I have had apples enough in number, if unmolested by this disease, to amount to some 600 bushels to the year, on an average, of good ones, and instead of that we get about l.JO bushels, and two-thirds of them hard- ly fit for the hogs to eat. Sometimes I have seen something of this on the leaves of trees, about the time when it attacks the fruit. Be the trees old or young, >eedlings, as you call them, or engrafted, large or small, growing vigorously or not, whether the land on which they grow be rich or poor, it matters not, the disease shows no regard to any of these things. I have sometimes had the ground in tillage, but it is all the same thing to the fruit It may be weU to state that I have taken great pains to keep my trees in good condition, but it is close by the sii-e of an older orchard, which is allowed for the most p u't to take ca,re of itself, and yet I believe, ihat, in relation to this disease of which I have been writing mine fares the worst. And now, my dear sir, if you will let me know what this disease is, or rather, what will cure it, I should be willing the fiist oppoi tuuity to give yoa my vote — no, that will not do, our laws, I believe, do not allow us to vote for any man from whom we have ever received, or have any prospect of ever receiving, any \aluable consideration. At any rate, I might well afford to give any man my (mtire crop of apples for a number of years, who will pre- scribe some practical method of removing the curee which afflicts them. I have consultel some authors and made a great many ini|uiries in vain. I have been strongly tempted to do in this case what physi- cians are sometimes a''cused of doing, when a disorder in animal or vegetable life cannot otherwise be cured, the death of the patient is always sure to do it. We ignorant and illiterate country clowns, of whom I claim to be oue, I suppose sometimes sorely tax your patience by our silly inquiries, and you have my consent to throw this paper into the fire, if you will only give us, through the medium of your paper, the information called for. Hampden. Here is a disease entirely new to us, and -we caJl upon all the orchard doctors in Christendom to lend oiu' friend a helping hand in preventing or curing it. VVe can ^vess but two causes for it. Either the sap vessels of the tree become charged with some delete- rious matter which it takes from the soil — or it is oc^ casioned liy some raildev/ or fungus prevalent in that locality, the seeds of which floating in the air fasten on the apple and cause the mischief. 'I'liis latter supposition is corroborated by the fact of one-half the apple being covered, and the other not, and some apples that hung out in the sun and breeze escaping. Will some of our readers who are conversant with diseases of the orchard, give us their ideas upon the subject ? — Ed. Maine Farmer. THE BLACK AND GREEN TEAS OF COMMEUCE. It was a remarkable fact that the subject of the difference between the black and green teas has been, until recently, a matter of great uncertainty. The Jesuits, who had penetrated into China, and Mr. Pioou, were of opinion that both the black and green teas were produced from the same plant ; wdiile Mr. Reeve believed that they were manufactured from two disrinct plants. Now, as regarded himself, he (Dr. Royle) had adopted the view that the best kinds of black and green tea w-ere made from different plants ; and examination of tea samples seemed to confirm that view, but a repetition of the experiment had not done so. Mr. Fortune, subsequent to the China war, having been sent out to China by the Horticultural Society of England, made inquiries on the subject. He there found the Thea bohea in tho southern parts of China employed for making black tea; and in proceeding as far north as Shai^ghae, 224 THE GENESEE FARMER. he found the Thea viridis used in making green tea near the districts where the best green tea was made. So Air, therefore, the information obtained seemed to confirm the view of two different species of Thea being employed to mal;c the two difl'ercnt kinds of tea; but Mr. Fortune, in visiting the district of Fokien, was surprised to find what he conceived to be the true Thea viridis employed in making hlack tea in districts near where the Ijest black tea was made, lie took plants with him from Fokien to Shanghac, and could find no difference between them. It was still, however, dcsiral)le to get sj)ecimcns from the district whei-e the black and green teas of com- merce were actually made, and this had latterly been effected. In consequence of the great success which bad attended the experimental culture of tea in the nurseries estabhshcd in the Himalayas, Mr. Fortu.xe was again sent to China by the P^ast India Company. He proceeded to the northern parts of the country, in order to obtain tea seeds and plants of the best description, as the most likely to stand the Himalaya climate. Mr. Fortune procured seeds and plants in great numbei-s, and sent them to the Hnnalayas, where they have been since cultivated. When he had reached Calcutta, the tea manufacturers whom he had brought with him made from plants in the Botanic Gardens black and green tea from the same specimens ; so that it was evident it was the process of manufacture, and not the plant itself, that pro- duced the green tea. All who were acquainted with the difference between black and green teas, knew that they could be prepared from the same plant without the assistance of any extraneous ma- terials, though it was a common thing for manufac- turers to use indigo, .Prussian blue, turmeric, &c., in coloring the tea. Dr. Eoyle showed specimens of the black tea plant from the Woo-e-Shan, and of the green tea plant from the Hwuychou districts. No specific difference could be observed between the two specimens.— P/-oce£C?»t^s of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, in the London Gardeners' Chronicle. Propagation of Fine Roses. — It may not be known to many of our readers that the fine Roses of the China varieties may be readily propagated by the means of slips. Cut from the well-ripened wood, slips three or four inches in length, strip off the foli- age, and insert them in clean, white sand, placed in pots or boxes. Keep them regularly watered, so that they may not get too dry, and at regular temperature. They strike root very freely. Some practice cover- ing them with a bell glass, but those of most experi- ence do not consider this practice necessary. Ladies may also propagate any of the choice Roses desired, by budding in the same manner as fruit trees are bud- ded It adds much to the beauty of the hardy climbers, to have the main trinik variegated with branches of Roses, of different shades of coloring. — We strongly commend the practice to those who would thus adorn the shrubbery of the homestead. — Practical Farmer. A California Garden. — A gentleman by the name of Wolfskill has at Los Angelos, on the P;v cific shore, about fifty acres of land, devoted exclu- sively to the raising of fruit. Thirty-five acres of this land are allotted to grape vines, which produce annually about 35,000 gallons of wine, valued at .*$19,530. There are three acres of Peach trees, with one hundred trees to the acre, which bear about 12,- 000 pounds of peaches, worth, at least, $600. Sev- enty Pear trees produce $2,800 worth of fruit, — Twenty Orange trees afford 40,000 oranges, worth .f 2,000; and other fruit of various kinds, such as apricots, apples, citrons, &c., make up an annual in- come from this garden of nearly $27,000. Mr. Wolfskill, the proprietor of this garden, pos- sesses also a rancho, situated some seven hundred miles off, in the valley of the Sacramento. Here range three thousand head of cattle and two or three hundred fine horses; and to amuse himself while herding stock, he has ])lanted an extensive vineyard, and set out a thousand trees of various kinds, includ- ing some fine Olive trees. Mr. Wolfskill has just contracted to furnish a thousand head of cattle at $40 a head. London Crystal Palace. — The Queen has given notice that she has been graciously pleased to name Saturday, June 10th, as the day on which her Majesty will open the Crystal Palace. Our readers may re- member that the Palace is to be used as a winter garden. It is thought that it will be now no less an object of interest, when enclosing within its immense glass tropical and rare plants growing in all the luxu- riance and magnitude common to their native clime^ than it was when exhibiting to the world the Indus- try of all Nations. The Pie Plant. — A correspondent of the Iiidir- ana Farmer expresses the opinion, based upon ex- periment, that the use of ashes as the manure for the pie plant produces a more delicious ^ilaut than any other mode of culture; not being as sour, but con- taining just enough acidity to make them pleasant — The reason given for this is, that the acid peculiar to the rhubarb is neutralized, in part, by the alkali of the ashes. m *■— Grapes. — The use of grapes as an article of food, is much recommended in case of consumption. They contain a large quantity of grape sugar, the kind which most nearly resembles milk sugar in its charac- ter and composition, which is also useful for consump- tives, it having a great attraction for oxygen, and readily affording materials for respiration. ^ The progress of the world is continually convertinf vrixtaes into vicea Strawberries. — On Friday, June 9th, the Key- port steamer carried to New York the enormous quantity of sixty-eight thousand and one hundred baskets of strawberries. Some showy quahties often screen a number of un- sightly ones. ^ ♦ ^1 The difiBculty is not so great to die for a friend as to find a friend worth dying for. THE GENESEE FARMER. 225 A FEW WORDS ABOUT BREAD. Mr. Editok: — Good bread is one of the greatest of luxuries. Families may live without rich cake or pastry, or sweet confectionery, but not without bread. We see as much variety in tlie quality of household bread as in any other article of cookery. Really good, light, well-baked bread, is far less common in our households than it ought to be. Even those persons who understand the principle and practice, will, through inattention and indifference, often fail to make bread well for a constancy. In the same house you will often see good bread one time of baking, and bad or indifferent the next. So much of bodily health depends upon a uniform supply of good bread, that to make it well should be a matter of primary importance in a family. If I were a young man looking out for a wife, I should be tempted to cast a favorable eye upon a young lass who was renowned for making excellent bread. It should be regarded as an accomplishment among young ladies to be able, upon an emergency, to make and bake the bread for the family, and do it well. Even those young people whose parents are situated so as to enable female servants to be kept, should yet be taught to assist at times in such useful household matters. Before a girl learns the fashionable accom- plishments of the day, I would have her taught the more homely but indispensable knowledge which will, in her vocation of wife and mistress of a family, cause her to be respected and valued. These are old- fashioned notions, I am aware, but I believe we shall see the time when these old fashions will be once more revived among us. Many sensible men now la- ment the frivolity and utter uselessness of the females of the rank from which they would naturally wish to select their wives, and feelingly lament that intelli- gent and sensible women are rare. Elegant, accom- plished girls there are in plenty ; but they will not condescend to assume the station for which nature had intended them, considering the duties of a wife and mother incompatible with their more interesting occupations of music, dancing, molding flowers in wax, and imitating them in fine wool or silk. These elegant pui-suits are not, howevei", incompatible with good housewifery ; and I have known more than one lady even in Canada who excelled as much in the one art as in the other — whose fingers could trace the most delicate embroidery, and make the most excel- lent pastiy, and household bread, and butter. But I have wandered away from the subject with which I started. I can hardly furnish a more excellent recipe for good bread than that which is made in my own family, and which I can confidently recommend to my female friends as the finest in quality and appearance, while at the same time it is most economical ; Superior Household Bread. — AVash and pare half a pail of. potatoes, taking great care to remove all dark specks as you pare them ; throw them into a pan of clean, cold water, which prevents them from becoming brown or dark colored, which destroys the delicate whiteness of the bread. Boil the potatoes with a large handful of salt till reduced to a fine gruel, bruising any lump with a wooden potato pounder ; pass it through a colander or coarse hair sieve. When cool enough to bear your hand in it, work in as much flour as will make the mixture into a thick batter; to this sponge add a large cupful and a half, or three parts of a pint, of good hup-rising barm. A deep earthern pot or covered pail, or a trough, is the best vessel to mix the sponge in. In winter, it is better made over night — but as it rises very light, and is apt to run over the pot or pail, it is as well to set the vessel in a large shallow pan. Work it up early in the morning. This quantity of potato sponge will make a large batch of bread; up- wards of twenty pounds of flour may be worked into it. Knead the dough well and thoroughly after you have added the flour, score it on the top, cover it with a cloth, and set it to rise. In about two or thi^ee hours, or sooner, your bread will have swelled, and you v.ill find it out like a honey-comb. Knead into loaves, let it stand about five minutes in the pans, and then bake in a well-heated oven. When the loaves are done, wet them over with a little skimmed milk (or water will do), and wrap in a clean cloth, setting them up on one side. Wrapping the bread up in the steam till cold prevents it from becoming hard and dry. Bread made in this manner will be equal in appear- ance to the best baker's bread, and in point of sweet- ness and economy superior to any household bread 1 ever tasted ; and as such I can confidently recom- mend it to the attention of the public. Brown bread can be made the same, by the addition of a handful or two of bran. The quantity of potatoes named might be too much for a baking for a small family; it can of course be reduced to one half; but the larger quantity of po- tatoes you have the finer will be your bread. At a time when flour is so high priced, bread so made is a great saving ; but its excellence is a still greater recommendation than its cheapness. In a future number I will give another recipe which I have also tested. 0. P. T. Oaklands, Rice Lake, C. W. A Farmer's AVife in the Olden Time. — Sir An- thony FiTZHERERT, Chaucellor to Henry VIIL, thus describes a farmer's wife: " It is a wyve's occupation to winnow all manner of comes, to make malte, to wash and ironyng, to make hay, shere corn, and in time of uede to help her husband fill the muchpayne or dung cart, drive the plow, load haj', corno, and such other. And go or ride to the market to sell butter, cheese, egges, chekyns, capons, hens, pigs, geese, and all manner of comes." If the girls would spend as nnich time 's\ith ency- clopedias as they do with milliners, they v.'ould soon find their heads as attractive as their hats. A wise thinker has said that the reason why many people know comparatively so little, is that they can never beai- to be told anything. 226 THE GENESEE FARMER |!5ifoi*'3 I^h\c AOEycT IX N^EW York.— C. M. Saxtox, Agricultural P.ook Pub- lisher, So. 152 Fulton street, New York, Is agent for the Gkxk.sf.k Farmkr, and subscrilwrs in that city who apply to liim can h:ivf their papers delivered regularly at their houses. AoK-vcr IX Ci.vciys-ATi.— R. Post, No. 10 West Third street, Cin- cinnati, is agent for the Gkxksek Farmeu, and subscribers in that city who apply to Iiim can have their papers delivered le^ularly at their houses. Obituaky.— Died, at the residence of her sister. Mrs. B. Radfoud, in the town of ilentz, Cavu^a county, N. Y., on 19th of June, Sabrina Lee ^vife of the editor and propri- etor of the Genesse Farmer), in the 40th year of her age. Mrs. L. had been ill more than a year ; and for some months previous to her decease, it was evident to her phy- sicians that her disease would prove fatal, it having induced a general dropsy. No lady was ever more respected by lier friends and ac- quaintances ; no mother and wife was ever more obedient to every duty which God in His providence assigns to the most sacred family ties ; and as a Christian, she died cher- ishing a clear and ever-living hope of seeing her Redeemer, and finding a better world beyond the irrave. Pbemiums for 1354. — In this number we are enabled to give a list of the successful persons who are entitled to premiums for the year 1854:. TTe feel under many obligations to our patrons for the aid they have rendered the Farmer, and we sincerely re- gret that we are not able to render a substantial gift to all who have exerted themselves for its welfare. While we deplore this, we feel assured that this Journal has been equally interesting and instructive to its numerous readers, as formerly, and are daily impressed that the subjects up- on which it treats are receiving the Bttention due them. Many of our friends have swelled our lists as voluntary agents, without the expectation of pecuniary reward, to whom we are, as formerly, much indebted. Heretofore it may have been noticed that nearly all the prizes were awarded in the States ; but now it will be seen that the tables are turned greatly in favor of our Canadi- an neighbors, which is an indication that their agriculture and horticulture are making rapid strides, backed by a se- ries of internal railway enterprizes that would be quite sur- prising in any age but ours. First Premium — Charles Howard, Hamilton, C. W., for the greatest number of subscribers sent by one individ- ual (223), fifty dollars. Second Premium — H. Jones Ruttan, Cobourg, C. W., for the next greatest number (150), forty dollars. Third Premium — Jesse Scuoolet, New Durham, C. "W., for the next greatest number (114), thirty dollars. Fourth Premium — TV. J. Sloane, Fredericksburg, C. W., for the next greatest number (101), twenty dollars. Fifth Premium— B. T. Mudd, Pittsfield, Bl., for the next greatest number (88), ten dollars. The first cotton factory in Lowell was erected in 1822.| ExPF.RiMENTS have been made upon the properties of the water of Salt Lake. Utah, for preserving meats, by Mr. Stansbuky and his associaias. A large piece of beef wa^ suspended from a cord and immersed in the lake for over twelve hours, when it was found to be tolerably well cured. .\fter this, all tlie meat they wished to be preserved was packed in barrels without any sale whatever, and the ves- sels were then tilled with lake water. No further care or preparation was necessary, and the meat remained perfectly sweet, although constantly exposed to the atmosphere and sun. They were obliged to mix fresh water with the brine to prevent the me.it hc-coming too salt for present use. Machine for Cltting Corn Stalks. — The Batavia (Ohio) Cour/er, after (['lifting the inquiry of Noah Hodges. of Lamb's Bottom, Ind., publi-hed in our last number. says: "We take pleasui-e in informing the Genesi;i; Fakxier and its corresijondent, that J. II. Gest, of this vicinity, is the patentee of just such an implement as that described as wanting on White Rii'er. His machine i.' perfect in its arrangement for cutting stalks, and has given universal satisfaction wherever it has been tried. It is sold at various prices, varying from $28 to $35. Address J. H- Gest, Batavia, Clermont Co., Ohio." American Wine. — We have to acknowledge the re- ceipt of a bottle of excellent wine, from the vintage of Mr. Clinton S. Fay, of Salem, Chautauque county, which we hive used for medical purposes with the most satisfactory results. Sucii as desire a pure and excellent article may rely on Mr. F. for the same, if he sells at all. Our friend John C. Winebiddle, Esq., near Pittsburg, whose grapes are not surpassad in this country, has also sent us a bottle of his wine. Few men have paid equal at- tention to the production and keeping of the juice of the grape; and perhaps no one has had greater success. He will be gratified to learn that a suffering member of our family has received some benefit from the use of his wine, which, we believe, is not mada to sell. Vermont State Agricultural Society. — The next Annual Shov>- of this Society will be held at Brattleboro", on the 12th, 13th. and 14th of September next. A lilieral and judicious premium list is offered, and we presume the friends of agriculture in the Green ^Mountain State will make a display worthy of them, while, from the accessible position of Brattleboro', and the various attractions the occasion will present, crowds of people from other States will be " there to see." The Practical Mech.vnic's Journal. — This is a re- print by Stkinger & TowNSEND. 222 Broadway, N. Y.. of a standard work which has an European reputation. It is elegantly and appropriately illustrated, in a quarto form, and is every way worthy of confidence. Terms, $3 per annum. Three hundred fat cattle from Kentucky, passed over the Columbus and Cleveland road on Friday, en route for New York. The owner expects to realize, for the lot, S35,000. THE GENESEE FAEMER. 227 The following letter from the celebrated Dr. James C. Ayer, gives the honest side of the Nostrum question. Since the public will use these remedies, we wish, for the gate of suffering humanity, there were more of them like his Cherry Pectoral and Cathartic Pills, which require no secrecy to make them go down : "Lowell, 2Gth April, 1851. " Messrs & Co., " New York City, "Gentlemen: — Yours of the 2-!d inst., asking me to join in a combination to put down the Ohio Nostrum Bill, comes duly to hand. I cannot accede to your request, for the following reasons : " The law requiring that the composition shall be pub- lished of every medicine sold in the State, cannot work to the injury of any one who deserves protection. I have published the recipes of my medicines for fifteen years, and believe this to be the honest way of making their virtues known to the community. The Medical Profession pub- lish their discoveries to the world as soon as made, for the benefit of all mankind. Why should we not? The Liw which you fear will destroy your business, can injure only tliose who falsely pretend to discoveries an J secrets which they have not. It will expose the emptiness of such pro- fessions, and the Public will turn aside from such prepara- tions as are found to be worthless when their composition is known. If medicines have real worth, they will be on- ly the better appreciated and the better patronised by lay- ing their composition open to the Public, that all may judge for themselves. If they have not real merit, it is due in common justice to the sufiering sick, to the public health, and to the cause of humanity, that the people should know them to avoid them. Yours, respectfully, " James C. Ater." Ferm Leaves from Faxxy's Portfolio; second series. Auuurn, N. Y.: Miller, Oktox & Mulligan. Fannv is, perhaps, the most versatile, agreeable, aAd popular female writer of the day, judging from the pro- digious sale of her books. To adopt the language of a cotemporary, " she speaks of home, of fireside, and of f] lends — softening the hearts of the thoughtless, and moist- ening the eye of the gentle reader. She tells of the duties of life, the struggles of the poor, the still more anxious hours that follow too of.ea in the way of wealth. There is no limit to the province of her pen. One moment we see a maiden clad in robes of virgin white led to the altar, and then Fanny discourses on the duties she is about to assume, and with merry voice cheers on the happy pair ; and then again another scene is painfully portrayed, and death is seen euterin * home, till then peaceful and hap- dy, and Fanny t ex:n's admonitions are heard, and she shows the broken-hearted that there is ' one above who doeth all thinM well.' " A WRITER in the Ohio Cultivator asserts the following to be the true mode of relieving choked cattle : " Again : cattle sometimes die from having their stom- achs bloated with wind, caused by eating clover when wet with dew or rain. In this case we take a stick, about the thickness of a man's wrist, and put it in the animal's mouth like a bridle-bit, and keep it there by a string put over the head and tied to the stick on each side of tlie mouth. As the animal will bite and bite on this stick, it opens the gul- let, the wind escapes from the stomach, and the brute is relieved. This remedy we have tried several times, and always with success." Flax-cultuue. — The Loiiisvi/le Journal says a much larger amount of land has been given for the cultivation of flax this spring, than in any former year. " In Ohio there are thirteen extensive oil mills ; in Kentucky, Indiana and Missouri, there are five more ; and in all eighteen miUs that we know of, which manufacture nearly 1,000,000 bushels of flax seed annually, and are capable of working double that quantity." Farm Implejtexts, and the Principles op their Construction A-VD Use : an Klementary and Familiar Treatise on Mechanics, and on Xatui-al Pliilosophy generally, as applied to the ordinary practice of Agriculture. By John J. Thomas. New York : Harper k. Brothers. The above is a truly valuable work for practical farmers and mechanics ; and we trust that our common school li- braries will jilace it within the reach of all the youth of this great State. Every man should be familiar with the elements of natural philosophy and mechanics, for thev are of every day benefit to him in one form or another. Mr. Thomas has treated the subject with a clear perception of the wants of the farming community ; being neither too learned for general use, nor so common place as to fail to interest his readers. Inquirujs anli Ensiofrs. Will you be so kind as to inform me, through the medium of the Genesee Farmer, which you consider the best straw cutter and the best threshing machine, to be worked_by steam power ? Any information you can give me on these subjects will be thank- fully received. A Canadian Farmer. — Cubourg, C. TV. We do not know of a better straw cutter than that ad- vertised in this journal by J. Jones & A. Lyle. In re- gard to threshing machines, we really do not feel warranted in expressing a decided opinion in favor of any one over all others. Kead the advertisement of Mr. Joseph Hall, of this city, in the Farmer. He is probably the largest manufacturer of threshing machines in the United States ; for the Genesee country greatly excels all others in wheat- culture. No other county compares with Monroe in the amount of its agricultural machinery. Will you please inform me, either directly or through your pa- per, what are the chemical properties of fish as a fertilizer ? What will be the effect of applying a fish weighing four pounds, com- pared with a shovelful of well-rotted stable manure, to a hill of corn ? What is the best mode of applying fish as a manure to corn or wheat? S. E. Baldwin. — Depere, Brawn Co., Wis. Fish are a valuable manure. They may be composted with dry swamp muck, or with dry loam. Being more than three-fourths water, they need a dry material to mix with them, unless covered in the ground at once. They operate speedly on corn or other crops — decomposing at once — but do not last so long as good stable manure. For wheat, we should drop fish in the furrow and cover them with a plow. Evenly distributed, they would be much like guano in their effects. What is the relative value of gas lime, to lime from the kiln ? The gas manufacturers say the process of filtering the gas commu- nicates large quantities of ammonia to the lime. My reasoning has been this : the lime loses nothing, and gaining ammonia, is it not more valuable than common lime ? D. R. Pillshury. — Zanes- ville, Ohio. Poland Oats. — In answer to the inquiry of J. M. Hamilton, as to the profit of raising Poland and other heavy oats, I will say that if the same number of bushels 228 TtlEi CiEJNiJyiiili JbAKMHiK per acre can be raised from the lieav^' as from the light oatg, then tlie heavy are the best, from the fact that the ex- tra weight will amply compensate for any extra expense. The Poland oat, as it is here called, is not the genuine Po- land, but a superior oat. The correct name is Frieseland or Dutch oat. The extra weight is ten or twelve pounds, and if the average yield is forty bushels per acre, then the extra weight will make the yield stand as follows : For the common, 40 bushels per acre ; for the improved, o2| bushels per acre. But this is not all, for the extra weight of the best varieties is flour ; and when compared with the common, it stands as 8 to 12 — that is, if 100 pounds of each kind are ground, the common will not yield over 50 pounds of oat meal, while the improved will yield 75 pounds. Ap- ply this to the above yield, and the common will be repre- sented by 40, as above, and the best improved by 73|. Thence, for feeding, a much less quantity of the heavy oat will be equal to light, from the fact that the extra weight is meal. In England, Scotland, and Ireland., they seek for the heaviest oat with the lightest husk or bran, just as mil- lers will select the plumpest and best wheat for grinding. I have found that the improved oat gives, on good soils, equal yield per acre, bushel for bushel, with the lighter kind ; and having shoi-ter straw, and ripening sooner than most kinds, it is, I think, no more exhausting. Applying the above rule to the oat crop of the United States, as giv- en in the Census Report for 1850, and instead of 14G,G78,- 879 bushels, we would have an equivalent of 267,088,948 bushels, or a gain of over 120,000,000 bushels ; and this at 30 cents per bushel, would add to the value of the crop $36,300,000 per year — and this improvement can easily be made bv selecting the best seed, and sowing on good soil. The fact is, that but little attention is paid to the oat crop, and without care it will deteriorate, as well as the other ce- reals. J. A. Clark. — Marion, Wayne Co., N. Y. ^HORTICULTURAL. (C. T., Kingsville, Ohio.) The disease of your Cherry trees is undoubtedly caused by their making a very rapid growth, and continuing till late in the season. The wood in such cases cannot be expected to be well ripened, and in fact not sufficient to withstand unusually severe and trying winters. To remedy this, it is only necessary to produce on your Cherry trees before the winter sets in, short, well- ripened wood. This can be done by a systematic course of root pruning, as treated on page 180, in the present vol- ume ; or it may be done quite efficaciously by making the ground about the roots of the Cherry trees poorer, by add- ing gravel or sand — the plants will then make less, but hard and firm wood. (F. M., Frankfort.) Fruit trees produced from the seed of apples, plums, peaches, pears, &c., will not be the same as the original. It is possible that if one thousand trees were allowed to fruit, the seeds of which being se- lected from fine varieties of their respective kinds, two or three sorts might possess some merit, but it is doubtful if one would be equal to the original. To commence^a nur- sery, it is best to obtain seedlings of the different varieties, and cultivate the best sorts of each species upon them, by budding and grafting. J. M.. of Bodega, Cal., advises us that the leaves upon some of his Peach trees have turned to a light yellow color, and swelled to a very large size, some of them being more than the twentieth of an inch thick. Some insects this last winter or spring have eaten out the buds upon his Apple trees. He is anxious to know the cause, and a remedy, if there be one. Bitter Rot in Apples. — In the April number of the Farmer you ask of any one who has had experience in the disease called the bitter rot in apples to give it. In the summer of 1850 said disease was very bad in my orchard, and I made some exertion to find out the cause. I came to the conclusion that it was the bite of some insect ; and I took two sound apples and put them under a glass shade, with an insect something of the shape of what is called a " grand-daddy long legs," but not more than one-third tlie size, with them. In twenty-four hours one of them had five specks of rot started, and the other one had two. That it is the bite of some insect, any one may convince himself by cutting out the aflFected part ; if that is out clean it will stop, and if it was from defect of cultivation the stem would be affected first, and the fruit would fall off. Another proof is, that the disease is always confined to tender-skinned apples. If I am correct, and I think I am, the remedy is an easy one, for the insect can not fly, but depends upon crawling. It makes its ajipearance from the first to the last of August, and continues till the frost is hard enough to kill it. I think it is hatched from a small white egg, that is placed on moss or rough bark. The best way to get rid of them is to give the tree a good rubbing, hard enough to mash all the eggs ; then put a good roll of wool around the body of the tree, which will keep them down so they can be killed. Buckeye. — Ridge- ville, Warren Co., Ohio. ADVERTISEMENTS, To secure insertion in the Faiimkr, must be received as early as the lOtli of tlie previous month, and be of such a character as to be of interest to farmers. Terms — Two Dollars for every hundred words, each insertion, paid in advance. BONE DUST. BONE sawings, or meal, a very superior article, warranted pure.' Price, .1;2 75 per bbl. Bone dust, ground, (quite fine). Price, |2 37 per bbl. For sale, in any quantity, at the State Agricultural Warehouse. LONCETT & GRIFFING, May, 1854.— 3t No. 25 Clilf street, New York. r GENESEE VALLEY FUESERIES. ~^< A. FROST & CO. ROCHESTER, N. Y., OFFER to the public the coming spring one of the largest and finest stocks of Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Rosea, &c., in ihe country. It in part consists of standard Apple, Pear, Chen y, Plum, Peach, Apricot, Nectarine and Quince Trees. Also, Dwavf and Pyramid Pears and Ayiples. SMALL FRUITS. — Native and Foreign Grapes, old and new sortB of Currants, finest Lancashire Gooseberries, Strawberries, Rasp- berries, &e. &c. The ORNAMENTAL DEPARTJIENT comprises a great variety of Deciduous and Evergreen Trees, Shrubs, Vines and Creepers, which includes upward of of 300 varieties of the Rose. BEDDING PLANTS.— 150 varieties of Dahlias, a large collection of Verbenas, Petunias, Helictropes, kc. &c. Priced Catalogues of the above will be mailed to all applicants enclosing a postage st.amp for each Catalogue wanted, viz : No. 1. — Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits, Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. No. 2. — Descriptive Catalogue of Green House and Bedding Plants of every description, including every thing new which may be in- troduced up to its season, will be published in March each year. No. 3. — Wholesale Catalogue, published in September. February 1, 1854. — ^tf THE GENESEE FARMER. 229 HUSSEY'S COMBINED REAPER AND MOWER, MANTJrACTUHED BY T. E. HUSSEY & CO., AUBURK. CAYUGA COUNTY, N. Y. r THE perfect satisfaction which the abovje-named Machine gave to every farmer who used one, botli in Reaping and Mowing, last sea- son, gives us renewed confidence iu warranting Ihem to be the best Machine for the purpose intended ever manufactured; and iu con- sideration of tlie unequaled success attending tlie operation and sale of them last season, we have gone more extensively into the manufacture of them, and have a lot now on hand, READY TO SUPPLY OR.DERS. All Machines sold by us are warranted to be built of the best materials, and warranted to work well, both for REAPING AND MOWIIVG. We could append any number of certificates as proofs of the well working of the Machine, but we flatter ourselves that the reputn- tlonof them is so well established among the fiirming community that they are not required. [[3^ AH communications sent to us on the subject of Mowers and Reapers, will receive prompt attention. July 1, 1854.— tf T. R. HUSSEY & CO., Auburn, N. Y. PERUVIAN GUANO. WE are receiving our stock of Peruvian Guano, for summer and fall supply, per ships Northern Crown, Leavanter and Antelope, and are now prepared to supply all that may be in want of this valuable manure, and request early application. Price, $55 per ton of 2000 lbs. When taken in lots of five tons and upwards, a discount will be made. There are various substances now offering in this market for Pe- ruvian Guano. To avoid imposition, be particular to observe that the genuine Guano has branded upon each bag — No. 1. PERUVIAN GUANO. Imported by F. Barreda Brothers. LONGETT & GRIFFING, State Agricultural Warehouse, 25 Cliff street, New York. July 1, 1854.— tf NEW BOOKS BY MAIL. D. M. DEWEY, ROCHESTER, N. Y., WILL send any Book, Pamphlet, Magiizine, Cheap Publication, Map, &c. &c., you see advertised or noticed anywhere, by mail, free of postage, on the receipt of the price of t!ie book, to my address. All the New Books of the day on sale at my counter at Publishers' prices. Address D. M. DEWEY, Bookseller, Arcade Hall, Rochester, N. Y. N. B.— AGENTS WANTED, to sell New Publications, Maps, &c. &c., to whom a liberal commission will be allowed. Address aa above. July 1, 1854.— 2t FERTILIZERS. SUPERPHOSPHATE OF LIME, No. 1, of the best manufacture. Peruvian Gaano, best No. 1. Poudrette, Plaster of Paris, &c. R. L. ALLEN, March 1, 1864.— 3t 189 and 191 Water street, New York. MCCORMICK'S KEAPING AND MOWING MACHINE' I AM ui;iniif:u'turins liJOO Ilenpin^ and ^^lowing Mai'liines for lSo4, aii'i lUnnurs who waut JlachiiR'S are reciueated to bl-ikI in their orilers early. Last year I had not a supjily, although I had loOU in the market. 1 olTer my large experience (both in this country and in Europe) for the last fifteen years and more in this business, as the safest guarantee the farmer can have in the purchase of a Machine of this kind. Deeming it useles.s to insert long advertisements in the newspa- per's, I shall be pleased to furnish applicants with my printed Cir- cular. Some important improvements have been made, while the Ma- chine will be found .as simple and efficient as a Machine of the kind can be. The important poiuLs tJiat will present themselves in these Machines, will lie Perfect Simplicity, Ease of Repiiiring, Durability, and Adaptation to the Wants of the Farmer as a Reaper and Mower. 1 shall continue the use of the Wrought-irou Beam, which will be found very important in mowing, because of the friction upon the ground, and liability to tear and wear a AVooden Beam, or anv sheet-i^on Iming that may be used upon it. Another very imporfcmt advantage which I claim for my Combined Machine is that it can be readily changed so as to cut any desired height of stubble as a Reaper or Mower by simply removing three bolts. This principle will be found wanting in other machines, though v.aluable upon rough ground, or for mowing barley or lodged oats, tiraothv si'ed, clover seed, kc, or where the ground may not be firm, and there be liability in the wheels to sink and the cutter to be brought in contact with the ground, sand, gravel, &c. With my Combined Machine the farmer has the advantage of a Reel in mowing, which admits of a slow walk to the horses, and is es- pecially valuable when the wind interferes with the successful ope- ration of the Machine. I have no fear of the result upon trial of the Machine with others ; it has no superior aa a Reaper or as a Mower. The public are now especially cautioned to beware of Seymour & MoRCA.v's " New York Reapkr." These men have been selling my Machines, though under an injiindion the second time since the re-issue of my Patent in April last, in addition to a verdict of $20,000 for past inf;'ingements. SJ;f^ Sundry other parties will soon be held to strict account for their infringements under this Patent, which makes them just as liable to be enjoined as Seymour & Morgan. The Machine will be warranted equal to any other, both as a Reaper and as a Mower; and it will be forwarded to any part of New York or Canada, if ordered of THOS. J. PATERSOiV, at Ro- chester, N'. Y., who wants Agents to seU it in some of the unoc- cuj)ied wheat districts. C. H. McCORinCK. May 1, 1S54.— tf MOWER AND REAPER. FORBUSH'S NEW IMPROVED COMBINED REAPER AND M0W3R. THE above patent macliine is now permanently established, and its entire success as a reaper and m(3wer proved beyond all doubt. This machine will be warranted to be made in a workman- like manner, and of the best materials, and is capable of cutting from ten to fifteen acres of grass or grain per daj- ; and in all re- spects to do the work as well, and as easy for the horses, as any other machine in the country. Price of Combined Reaper and Mower, $135 " Mower, 115 LONGETT & GRIFFING, May, 1854.— 3t 25 Cliff st.. New York. CUTTER RIGHTS FOR SALE WE will test our Hay, Stalk and Straw Cutter, patented Novem- ber 8th, 1853, for speed, ease and duraliility, against any other in the United States. J. JONES & A. LYLE. ^^^ For further information, address JONES & LYLE, Roch- ester, N. Y. February 1, 1S54. — tf FRTHT SCIONS FOR 1854. THE subscriber will furnish both Apple and Pear Scions for thif season's grafting, of all the standard kinds, including those heretoff)re advertised by him in tlie Farmer. Price, one dollar per hundred for Apple, and three shillings per dozen for Pear Scions In targe quantities they would be sold less. They can be sent by mail or ezpress to any portion of our countrv. Orders, enclosing the money, will be promptly fiUed. JAMES H. WATTS. Rochester, February 1, 1854. — tf IMPORTED HORSE CONSTERNATION. THIS well-l;nn'.vii, 1li(irnngh-lired Horse, will siand the present season, as heretufore, at the farm of the subsci-iber, one mile west of Syracuse. For full pedigree, see Derby & Miller's edition of Youatt. Terms^SlO the season, $15 to insure ; payable in advance in all cases. Good pasturage furnished at 4s per week. Mares at risk of owners in all respects. No mare will be served that Ls either ringboned, spavined, or blind. J. B. BURNETT, May, 1854.— 3t Syracuse, N. Y. ROCHESTER AGRICULTURAL MACHINERy. THE undersigned, who has been man}' years engaged in the ex- tensive manufacture of various kinds of Agricultural Machin- ery, particularly Horse Powers, Threshing Machines, Separator:^ kc, has now added to his business the manufacture of several valuable implements — 1st. ATKINS' AUTOMATON OR SELF-RAKING REAPER AND MOWER; an implement well known at the West, which Ikus been advertised for the bust three months by Mr. Wright of Chi- cago, in the Genesee Farmer, to which the reader is referred for particulars. Atkin^ Self-Raking Reaper. — This machine was in successful operation on the farm of B. B. Kirtlan'd, Greenbush, on Wednes- day and Thursday of bust week, and elicited the a] probation of every one wh< saw it. It is impossible to convey in w ords any idea of the mechanical construction of the raking attachment. Tlie cutting apparatus does not differ materially from that of otln r reapers, but at regular intervals an arm, to which a rake is attached, extends itself to the farther part of the apron, slowly draws itself the length of the apron, pressing the grain against a plate, where it holds it till it swings around a quarter of a circle, clear of the machine, and coolly deposits its neat sheaf on the ground, when it immediately returns to repeat the process. The machine is not of heavier draught, apparentl_v, than other machines — and it does its cutting fully equal to any we have seen work. While it has no superior as a practical thing, it is a curiosity worth quite a pilgrim- age to see. It comes the nearest to being instinct with life and manifesting signs of intelligence, of any piece of mechanism, not excepting the steam engine. — Country Gentleman. 2d. BURRALL'S GRAIN REAPER.— At the great trial of Reapers in the hai-vest field, at Geneva, N. Y., in July last, the Committee appointed by the State .-Vgricultural Society, took into consideration ■ its simpliciiv, durability, the manner in which it performed its work, and the ease witli which it can be managed, when, in com- petition with eleven other Reapers, they unanimously awarded it ihe first prize (f .fuO and diploma. The Committee in their report remark that "T. D. Dukrall'S Machine performed its w-ork in tin- most admirable manner; the gavels were well laid; the workman- ship and materials were excellent ; the circular apron for side de- livery, the balance wheel and an arrangement to elevate the exte- rior edge of the apron, are valuable features, &c., &c. This Reaper has been thoroughly tested practically, during the last two years, in Western New York. All the Reapers sent out have given comjilete satisfaction. We would say to those who are not convinced of the superiority of this Reaper over all others, that we have still more facts which we could not exhibit for want of space, and which we would be pleased to exhibit to all such as may call upon us. We would observe that experience with this Reaper will bear us out in saying that 1. It cuts grain of all kinds, in all conditions, without clogging, and may be worked by oxen or horses. 2. It cuts at any height required, by a few moments' change. 3. It discharges the grain in the rear, if preferred, like HtJSSEY's ; or at the side, like M'Cormick's ; leaving room for the team and machine to pass again without treading on the grain. This change is made by means of an extra apron, (attached in a moment,) from which the grain is laid in a better condition for drying and binding, and with much less labor to the raker than has ever been done before. 4. It has a Balance Wheel, which corrects the irregularity of the crank motion, and gives a quiet and uniform movement to the machine. This Reaper has been so thoroughly tested in Western New York, where wheat grows as stout or stouter than in any other part of the country, that there is now no doubt but that it will give entire satisfaction to all who may purchase. There is, however, no risk in buying. The purchaser can rest assured that when his harvest comes, he has something that will perform. It is not like an un- tried thing, or a thing that has not been tried in the Genesee coun- try, where wheat grows large and stout, and may fail, and in failing, make the purchaser enough expense in money and trouble to con- siderably more than have purchased something reUable at first. Experiments cost too much money, time and trouble, to be earned on in the hurry of harvest time, and by those who ha e crops to secure. We say, therefore, if you buy a Reaper, buy one, the relia- bility of which has been demonstrated by thorough, practical ex- periment, and if possible, in your own neighborhood, and on soUa producing similarly to your own. 3d. DANFORTirS RE.4PER AND IfOAYER COMBINED, which took the first premium at the Agricultural Fair in Chicago, 1852. 4th. KINMAN'S PATENT FLOUR PACKER. 5th. CHILDS' GRAIN SEPARATOR. 6th. WOODBURY'S MOUNTED HORSE POWER AND GRAIN SEPARATOR. 7th. HALL'S SIX FEET DOUBLE PINION HORSE POWER, which is uneqnaled for strength, easy working and durability. 8th. IRON OR PLANET HORSE POWER. 9th. PITT'S PATENT THRASHER AND SEPARATOR, which ha-s been in use for 17 years. All of which will be sold at the lowest manufacturers' terms by June 1, 1854.— tf JOSEPH HALL, Rochester, N. Y. THE GENESEE FARMER. 231 GREAT ASTISTS' XTNION ENTERPRISE!! 250,000 GIFTS FOR THE PKOPL.E. STATUARY, $40,000 OIL PALVTINGS, 10,000 EXr.!lAVI.\GS, colored in oil, 4S,000 STEEI, PLATE EXGKAVLVGS, 41,000 CASH LOAN'S, for 100 vears each, 30,000 REAL ESTATE, ",_ 84,000 Total, $230,000. The American -•^rttsts' Uniox would respectfully announce to the citi/.ens of the United States and the Canadas, that for the pur- pose of the advancement and extension of the Fine Arts, and with a view of enabliiiff every familj- throughout tiie length and breadth of the land to become possessed of a gallery of pictures, many of them the work of master minds, and finally, for the purpose of giving a world-wide circulation to DARLEY'S GREAT PICTURE OF WYOMIKG, they have determined to distribute among the purchasers of this work, Price $1.00, 250,000 GIFTS, of THE VALUE of §250,000. LIST OF GIFTS. Marble Statuary, $40,000. 100 elegant busts of Washincton, at SlOO, $10,000 100 " " Clav, at^SlOO, 10,000 100 " " Webster, at SKIO, 10,000 100 " " Calhoun, at SIOO, _ 10,000 Oil Paintings and Colored Steel Engravings. 50 elegant Oil Paintings, in splendid gilt frames, size 3 X 4 feet, each $100, _.. $5,000 100 elegant Oil Paintings, 2x3 feet, each $50 5,000 500 steel plate Engravings, brilliantly colored in oil, rich gilt fj-ames, 24 x 30 inches, each $10. 5,000 10,000 elegant steel plate Engravings, colored in oil, of the Washington Mo.\ume-VT, 20 by 26, each $i, 40,000 237,000 steel plate Engravings, from 100 uillerent plates, now in possession of and owned by the Artists' Union, of the market value of fi-om 50 cis. to $1 each, 41,000 Real Estate, $84,000. 1 elegant Dwelling in 32d street, New York city, ..$12,000 22 Building Lots in 100 and 101st streets, A'ew York city, each 25 x 100 feet deep, each $1000, 22,000 100 Villa Sites, containing eacli 10,000 square feet, in the suburbs of New York city, and commanding a mag- nificent view of the Hudson River and Long Island Sound, eacli $500, _ 50,000 Loans of Cash, $30,000. 20 loans of cash, for 100 years, without interest or secu- rity, $250 each,... $5,000 50 do. 100 " _ 5,000 100 do. 50 " __ 5,000 2.50 do. 20 " 6,00C 2000 do. 5 " .. 10,000 The holder of each ticket is entitled, first, to a steel plate En- graving (size 25 X 30 inche,«) of the GREAT AMERICAN HISTORICAL WORK OF ART, AVYOnillVG, a copy of which may be seen at the office of this paper; and second, to One of the 350.000 Gifts, which will be distributed on the completion of the sale of the tickets. The purchaser of FIVE TICKETS, on the receipt of his order, will be forwarded, carefully packed, either one copy of the " Wy- oming," plain, and one copy of e.ach of four other engravings, equal to it in value, and is entitleil to five gifts. The purchaser of more than five tickets can h.ave his choice out of 100 different sub- jects, from steel plates owned by the .\rtist.s' Union, each picture being in value equivalent to the "Wyoming," and is entitled to one gift for each ticket he holds. A list of the subjects can be seen at the office of this paper. AGENTS. — Persons desiring to become Agents for the sale of tickets, by forwaiding (post paid) $1, shall be sent a Gift Ticket, a copy of Wyoaiiug, and a prospectus containing all necessary infor- mation. It is confidently believed that the tickets will be disposed of by the first of ,Iulv, when the distribution of Gifts will be entrusted to a COJIMITTEE APPOINTED BY THE I'lCKKT-HOLDERS. The steel plates from which the engravings are printed can l)e Been at the office of the Artisfs' Union, and cost $100,000. Sjieci- mens of the Oil Paintings and Engravings are also on view at the rooms. REFERENCES IN REGARD TO THE IT.OPEKTY. W. C. Barrett, Esq., Counsellor at Law, 10 Wall .street, N. Y. F. J. Vlsscher & Co., Real E.state Brokers, 80 Nassan St., N. Y. ALL ORDERS FOR TICKETS mu.st be addressed, post paid, with the money enclosed, to J. W. HOLBROOKE, Sec, June 1, 1854. — 3t 605 Broadway, New York. AYEirS itiUlUllilUUIUil^lCUnt'JUiaUKUUJU! Fu;v ALL ^ 'IHE PURPOSES OF A FAM I LY. PH V^iC. THERE has long existed a public demand for an etVective pur- gative pill which could be relied on as su'e and poifi ctly safe in its optraliou. This has been incpiicd to meet ih:it ■'( in ii!i!, .and an extensive tri;d of ns virtues lias eiui.lusiM-ly sSiowu with what success it accouqilislies tlie |-iU]>o,s;.- .Icsigneil. It is easy to m.ake a physical Pill, Init not ea.sy to make \\v best of all Pllls—oni' which should have none of the olijectious. but ail lire a.dvajilag(S, of Lvery other. 'I his has been attempted Irere, and with what success we would respe(;tfully sulimit to the pulilic decision. It lias been un- fortunate for the patient hitherto thai almo.st iwry \i\uy,i\We medicine is acrimonious and irritating to the bowels. This is rot. Many of them produ^'e so much griping pain and revulsion in the system :is to niort- than counterbalaiu-e the good to be derived from them. These Pills produce no i; ritation or pain, unless it aiise from a previously existing obstruction or derangement in the bow- els. Being purely vegetable, no h;nm can ari.se from their use in any quantity; l:)ut it is belter that any medicine should I* taken judiciously. Minute directions for thiir use in the several diseases to which they ai'e ajqiliealile ai-e given on the box. Am-uig the comiilaiuts wliicli have been speeiiily cured by them, we may men- tion Livi 1- ("ompiaint, in its various forms of .Jautrdiee, Indigestion, Languor and Lo.ss of Appetite, Listlessness, Iriitaliilrty, I'.ilious ■ Heailache, Bilious Feve?, Fever and Ague, Pain in the Siile and Loins, for-, irr truth, all these are but the consequence of disei'.sed action in the liver. As an aperient, they afford prom)it and sure ndief in Costiveness, Pile.Sj Colic, Dysentery, Humors, Sciol'dla and Scurvy, Colds, witli soreness of the body, Ulcers and hnpur''ty of tlie blood; in short, any and every ca.-ie where a purgative is r-e'iuii-ed. They li.ave also i)roduced some singularly successful cures in Rheum.atisni. (lout, Dropsy, Giiivel, Erysipelas, Pal;.iiation of i)ie Heart, Pair.s in the Back, Stomach and Side. They shonhl l>e fi eely taken in the spi-ing of the year, to purify the I'lood and jii'epare tiic s\ stem for the change of sea,sons. An occasional dose stimul.ates the stomach and bowels into healthy action, and restores Ibe apjic- tite and vigor. They i>ur rfy the blood, and, bj' their stimulant i-c- tion on the circulatory .sustem, renovate the .strength of the body, and restore the wjusfed or disea.sed energies of the whole organism. Hence an occasional ilose isadvantageous even 11r<'ugli no .serious der-angement exisis: but unnecessary dosing should never bo car- ried too far, as ever-y pur-gative medicine reduces the sliength, when tLEy & CO., June 1, 1854.— tf Auburn, N. Y., Publishers. Contents of tf)is Numlifr. Wheat-culture in the United States and Canada, 201 Decline in t!ie Price of Wool, 203 The Study of tlie Calendar— July, 204 Operations for July, 205 Remedy for the Cut-worm, - 206 The Coming Wheat Crop in Canada, 206 Memorial, -- 200 Notes on Experiments in the Botanical Garden of the Royal Agricultural College, England, '... 209 Farming near Liverpool, 210 Beans not an Exhausting Crop, 211 Letter from Oregon, 212 Agricultural Qualities of Nebraska, 213 Illinois Wheat Crop, 213 Imported Cattle, 214 British Agriculture, 216 Changing Population, 217 Agrioulturnl Improvement of Ireland, 217 How to Winter One Hundred Sheep from Two Acres of Land, 218 Clover Hav, 218 The Potato a Heathen, 218 To Fix Carpets on Floors, - 218 HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. Calendar of Operations, - 219 Southworth's Strawberries, - 219 A Destructive Insect, 219 llildew on Gooseberries, 220 Ornamental Flower Stands, 220 Hints on the Reai-ing and Management of Trees, 220 Singular Dise:ise in an Orchard, 223 The Black and Green Teas of Commerce, 223 Propagation of Fine Roses, 224 A California Garden, 224 Loudon Crystal Palace, ^. 224 The Pie Plant, J. 224 Grapes, .' 224 Strawberries, 224 LADIES' DEPARTMENT. A Few Words about Making Bread, 225 A Fanner's Wife in the Olden Time, 225 editor's table. Obituary,-.- 226 Premiuins for 1854, 226 Experiments upon the Properties of the Water of Salt Lake for Preserving Meats, 226 Machine for Cutting Corn Stalks, 226 American Wine, 226 Vermont State _A.gricultural Society, 226 The Practical Mechanic's Journal, 226 Method of Relieving Choked Cattle, 227 Flax-culture, 227 Farm Implements, and the Principles of their Construction and Use, ._ 227 Fern Leaves from Fanny Fern's Portfolio, 227 Inquiries and Answers, 227 ILLUSTRATIO.VS. July, 204 Short-horn Bull, 214 Holderness Cow, 215 Ayrshire Cow, 215 Flower Stands, 220 HOME FEOTECTION. TEMPEST INSURANCE COMPANY. CAPITAL, $250,000. Organized December 24, 1852— Chartered March 1, 1853. HOMES ONLY INSURED BY THIS COMPANY. No one Risk taken for more than .?3000. Home Office, Meridia:*, N. Y. JIany distinguished persons have insured their homes to the amount of SriOOO each in this Companv, among whom are Ex- President VAN BURKN, Kinde:hook; Ex-Governor SEWARD, Au- burn; D.iNIEL S. DICKINSON, Ex U. S. Senator, Binghaipton. To whom it may concf-rn: ApnuRX, May 16tli, 1853. We are personally acquainted with many of the Officers and Di- rect jrs of the Tempest Insurance Company, located at Meridian, Cayuga county, N. Y. In our opinion they are among the most wealthy and substantial class of farmers in this county. J. N. STARIN, ELMORE P. ROSS, THOMAS Y. HOWE, Jr. The above gentlemen will be recognized a.s the Cashier of Cayuga County Bank, Aubura ; Postmaster, Auburn; and Ex-Member of Congress, Auburn, Cayuga county, N. Y. February 1, 1854 — Xy CHEAPEST AND BEST. J LEE, MANN & 00,, ROOHESTER, N. Y., Are the Publishers of one of the Largest and Cheapest Newspapers in the countrv. THE WEEKLY AMERICAN Is a paper of large size, containing 36 columns. It contains th« Latest News up to the day of publication, Important Public Intel- ligence, a well-selected Miscellany and General Reading page, Grain, Cattle, Wool and Iron Markets to the latest dates from Bos- ton, New York, Albany, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Troy, Baltimore and Rochester. This paper is published every Thursday, for ONE DOLLAR A YEAR, INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE. It is the best and cheap- est paper for farmers and others in this and the Western States. They also publish THE TRI-WEEKLY AMERICAN Price $4 per annum, and THE DAILY AMERICAN, Price $6 per annum, to mail subscribers. LEE, MANN & CO. have in operation SIX STEAM AND THREE HAND PRESSES, by means of which they can give all orders for BOOK OR JOB WORK immediate dispatch, while their large a-ssortmeut of TYPES, BORDERS and ORNAMENTS, enables them to execute orders in the BEST STYLE. Railroad Companies, Banks, Insurance Offices, Manufacturing Establishments, Forward- ers, Sliippers, Merchants and Lawvers, can have their work done wiih PUNCTUALITY and ELEGANCE, and their Books ruled and bound in any desired patterns and in the best manner. Address LEE, MANN & CO., Rochester, N. Y. Office on Buffalo street, opposite the Arcade. [Auction Continued.] PUBLIC SALE OF BLOODED STOCK THE subscriber having spent most cf the past winter and spring in Kentucky, has selected from the choicest herds of Blooded Cattle, upon the different plantations of that country, the best specimens of the Durham Blood, a part of which are from the old Ashland Estate of the Hon. Hexry Clay. A portion of these Cattle were offered and sold at public auction by the subscriber, at Lima, on the 2d and 3d inst., some of the cowB and heifers selling at near three hundred dollars each, and the bulls at prices proportionably higher. Seventy head which did not arrive in time for that sale, together with the remainder of the stock not then sold, will be offered at Public Auction, at West Avon, on the farm known as the " Brooka Farm," on Saturday, the first day of July next, at nine o clock In the forenoon. The stock is conceded, by those who have seen it, to be equal, if not superior, to anj' previous importation into Western New York, The sale is unconditional, and a liberal credit will be given to purchasers. JOHN W. TAYLOR, July 1, 1854.— It East Bloomfield, N. Y. MANSFIELD'S PATENT CLOVER HULLING AND CLEANING MACHINE WAS awarded the first premium at the World's Fair, New York. Also, at the Ohio State Fairs for three successive years, and all other places wherever exhibited. AVarranted to Hull and Clean from twenty to forty bushels per day, and with a new improvement to be attached to the Machines made in 1854, they will Hull and Clean one-fourth more in the eame time. Cash price, $100. For sale by M. H. MANSFIELD, Sole Manufacturer, Ashland, Ohio. N. B. — Prosecutions ivill be promptly commenced for anj' in- fringements of the rights of the patentee. July 1, 1854. — 2t* CIDER MILL AND PRESS. HICKOK'S Cider Mill and Press is considered now the best in use ; simple in construction, portable (weighing but 275 lbs.), and not liable to get out of order. Warranted "to work well, and give satisfaction. The first premium of the American Institut« and Crystal Palace has been awarded to this machine. Drawing and description will be sent by addressing the agents for the B.alo, in New York. Price of mill and press, $40. LONGETT & GRIFFING, May, 1854.— 4t 25 Cliff street, near Fulton, New York. CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO. PRACTICAL TREATISE ON GROWING TOBACCO IN THE NORTHERN STATES, just published. Pi ice, 25 cents. E. H. BAP-COCK & CO., Svracuse, N. Y. A SEED WHEAT AND RYE WANTED. THOSE having superior kinds of the above, will please addreai the subscriber with samples and prices. R. L. ALLEN, July 1, 1864.— 2t 189 and 191 Water st.. New York. Vol. XV., Second Series. ROCHESTER, N. Y., AUGUST, 1864. No. 8. CALENDAR fflNTS FOR AUGUST. The quantity of water that will evaporate from the surface of the ground during this month, under fa- vorable circumstances, will be two or three times greater than what will fall in rains. Hence, if the earth does not become quite dry in August, the natu- ral heat which it has imbibed, and the probable lack of rains in September, will be Ukely to cause vegeta- Late-sown wheat has turned out badly in Western New York, having been much damaged by the wheat fly called "weevil," and suflered unusual injury by the freezing and thawing that took place in the month of March. This experience will prompt many to sow whatever wheat they intend to put in, at an earlier period than they have heretofore practiced. To the wheat-grower, August is a stirring month to prepare his fields for seeding. Any neglect in tillage will tell tion to suffer from drouth in autumn. E7aporation from the leaves of all living plants, and h 3m their stems and the ground, draws pretty severely on the scanty supply of moisture that usually exists in this month. If it were practicable for farmers to irrigate their recently-mown meadows and their pastures, it would add immensely to their fall feed, aid in the fattening of all stock, and gi'eatly increase the pro- ducts of the dairy and the profits of the farm. against the crop when it comes to be harvested. All grass, weeds, thistles, briars and bushes should be extirpated and killed, if it be possible; for the growth of these in a wheat field is a serious detriment to the grain. Hogs intended for meat this M\ ought to have a good chance to take on flesh in August. If properly kept they will gain rapidly, and yield the maximum returo foB the food consumed. Nature disposea all 234 THE GENESEE FARMER quadrupeds, and doubtless birds also, to take on fat in summer and autumn, as a kind of protection against the cold of winter, and a partial supply of alimentary and heat-giving elements stored up in the system to be consumed at the season of its greatest need. Hence, every farmer should look closely to his cov.-s, oxen, steel's, calves and heifers ; to his sheep, horses, store hogs, poultry and honey bees ; and see that all are doing well. In many parts of our extended country, it is a common error to allow crops of all kinds to remain too long in the field after th(jy are harvested. This remark applies to wheat, rye, oats, hay, seed clover, potatoes and corn. Every crop should be housed or otherwise secured in its season, if possible ; but occa- sionally sickness, or a want of help, prevents one's garnering his crops at the proper time. Few are aware how much valuable produce, of one kind and another, is destroyed and lost by sheer neglect in the field, after it has been grown and cut at no small ex- I>ense. This is the extreme of folly. We present this month an illustration of " Virgio," the zodical sign of August. This month received its present name in honor of Octavius Acgl'stus. In the old Roman calendar it was called " Sextilis," the sixth month from March. THE STUDY OF SOILS. The Country Gentleman of July Gth contains an elaborate article "On the Practical Value of the Analysis of Soils," written by Mr. S. W. Joh.vso.v, who is understood to be engaged in studying chemistry with Baron Leibig, at Munich, at which place his communication is dated. The purport of this paper is to discredit the practical value of soil analyses, and suggest nothing as a scientific substitute. This course is to be deprecated; for it discourages the critical in- vestigation of the sources of fertility, and the causes of infertility, iu soils. It disparages the labors of such chemists as Sir HriipiiREY Davy, Chaptal, Sprengel, Leibig, Mulder, Joh.vston, Way, Tuomp- 80N, and many others, who have devoted much time and research to learn the chemical properties of cul- tivated earth. As the Country Gentleman strongly commends the article of Mr. J., we will copy two paragraphs from it, and invite attention to their con- tradiction of each other : " Magnus calculates that the average harvest of rape seed and straw, from a 'morgen,' contains 13 tbs. of pho?pboric acid. The soil of a morgen taken to the depth of 9 inches, he calculates would weio-h 1,944,000 its. 13 lbs. is then 0.00066 per cent, the weight of the soil. Chemical analysis is incapable of deciding as to 0.01 in the case of soils, scarcely as to 0.1 per cent. How many crops, and how many pounds of phosphoric acid may be removed from the soil, and chemical analysis never be able to tell the difference ? '• Magnus further shows that from a soil in which the closely-agreeing results of three analysts gave 0.0073 per cent of phosphoric acid, three crops of rape were gathered, in '46, '47 and '48, the last of which was greater than the first (no manure was iaaed), and the three crops, not including chaff, drew from the soil a greater per centage of phosphoi-ic acid, viz., .018 per cent, of the soil, than the soil con- tained according to the three analyses, viz., .0073 per cent Magnus remarks : ' It follows from this, that plants do not need to find in the soil any much greater quantities of a substance than is required to their development' '' It will be seen that Mr. Johxson asserts unquali- fiedly in the first paragraph, that " chemical analysis is incapable of deciding as to 0.01 in the case of soils, scarcely as to 0.1 per cent." As a knowledge of decimals is not common among all farmers, and es- pecially with such as went to school before they were studied as much as they now are, we will state the above in Avords : " Chemical analysis is inca2)able of deciding as to one part iu ten thousand in the case of soils, and scarcely one part in a thousand." In the very next paragraph he informs his readers, on the authority of Magnus, that " three analysts gave closely-agreeing results" and only seventy-three parts of phosphoric acid (0.0073 per cent.) in a miUion parts of soil ! It will be seen that these three ana- lysts do what, according to Mr. J., is an impossible thing. They determine the amount of phosphoric acid (the most difficult part of soil analysis) down to so small a fraction as seven and three-tenths parts in one hundred thousand, or seventy-three in a milliou. Mr. Johnson quotes Prof Magnus (high authority) in another place, where he gives only nine parts of phosphoric acid in one hundred thousand, or less than one part in ten thousand. Mr. J. is evidently an inexperienced writer for the press, or he would not thus present his readers with overwhelming evidence to convict him of gross carelessness, or gross igno- rance, as to what " chemical analysis is capable," or "incapable of deciding," iu reference to soils. As a practical farmer, we readily admit that the most refined and improved processes of chemical analysis do not give all the information which it iS' very desirable to possess ; nor does medical science give us all the knowledge of diseases which both physicians and the sick may reasonably wish that mankind possessed. No profession can be bettered by underrating its importance; nor improved without patient and laborious cultivation. Mr. Johnson al- ludes to Mr. Mapes in no complimentary terras. Probably Mr. J. does not esteem the shallow quackery of Mr. M. more lightly than we do; but our Munich student should not permit himself to run into the opposite extreme. It is too early to pronounce t-x- cathedra what chemistry, in conjunction with practi- cal agriculture, can do to develop both the real de- fects, and real resources, of common soils. For the last twenty years we have contended that science and practice — the wise culture of the mind and the labor of the hands — should go together. Hence it wad that we spent three winters in Albany to persuade I the Legislature to establish a State Agricultural College. In a Memorial to Congress in favor of a National Agricultural School, written by the editrr of this i^aper, and published at length in the Aj)ri! number of the Southern Cultivator, in 1852, may be found the following remarks: " Tour memorialist and othere have labored thirty years to persuade the Legislature of New York to THE GENESEE FARMER. 285 found one institution in that large, populous and wealthy State, designed to unite science with prac- tice in farming operations, and thus lay the founda- tion for a higher standard of professional knowledge among farmers. All these efforts have proved una- vailing to overcome the indifference of the many, and the determined hostility of the few. The want of men qualified to serve as professors of agricultural engineering, of the science of breeding and improving live stock, of agricultural physiology, comparative anatomy and veterinary surgery, of agricultural me- teorology, entomology, chemistry, geology, zoology, and other departments of science intimately related to the liberal profession of agi'iculture, has long been the most serious impediment in the way of founding an agricultural college in this country. To educate six or eight professors in Europe, who have to learn one or more foreign languages at the outset, involves an amomit of labor that but few rich persons will perform, and a degree of expense that but few poor men can meet This is the true reason why, with all our taste for reading, and general respect for learning and science, there is not one agricultural text book in any branch of rural affaii-s in the United States, worthy of the name. We have yet to apply the in- ductive system of philosophy to agricultural phe- nomena. We complacently assume to know without books, without schools, without experimental farms or farming, without study or research of any kind, a little more than we should if we availed ourselves of all these advantages, in addition to those we already possess. First and last, there has been sent some millions of dollars to England, France, Spain and Germany, to purchase improved stock ; acting, ap- parently, on the principle that one has only to buy a fine watch to become at once a most skillful watch- maker." If young men, like Mr. Johnson, educated in part abroad, throw cold water on the critical study of soils, we see but little use in trying to build up an agricultural literature in this country that shall be an honor to a nation of free and independent farmers. Some of the most valuable elements of fertility in the surface of the ground may be estimated, where they form no larger per centage than that of ammonia in the atmosphere ; which, if our memory serves us rightly, Fkesexius and Wili. ascertained to be only one part in three millions. At another time we will resume the consideration of this subject ; for it is one that deserves the serious attention of every true friend of agriculture as a profession. It is now nearly thirty-three years since Judge Buel introduced the first bill to establish an Agricultural School in this State; and now such an institution seems less likely to be founded in this rich and populous Common- wealth than it did at that early period. Hydraulic Ram. — The Banner of Industry says that Joseph D. West, of the city of New York, has made an improvement in Hydraulic Rams, the nature of which consists in a peculiar arrangement of valves, whereby the ram is made double-acting, and the use of weighted or spring valves dispensed with — import- ant considerations, truly. Measures have been taken to secure a patent. MIXTURE AND SOWING OF GRASS SEEDS. Farmers in this country are much less in the prac- tice of mixing several kinds of grass seeds before sowing them, than in Great Britain ; nor do the ad- vantages of a considerable variety of herbage for farm stock appear to be generally understood. Pas- tures and meadows have not received that critical study in the United States which their great im- portance demands. Land is often poorly prepared for seeding, and still more frequently receives too little seed of any kind. A general and thorough re- form in these regards will do more for American agriculture than any other in the whole range of hus- bandry; and now that stock-growing is profitable, we trust that the improvement of grass lands will be taken up in earnest by County and State Agricultu- ral Societies, and pursued until something more than two blades of grass shall be made to grow where one grew before. That our readers may see how this matter is viewed and practiced in England, M-here grazing is carried to great perfection, we copy the following remarks from a recently published standard work on the agiicul- ture of the United Kingdom : "Rich old pasture laud returned to grass, after having been broken up and subjected to a course of arational cropping, may be sown, at the rate of five bushels of seeds per acre, with a mixture of meadow fescue, meadow foxtail, round cock's-foot, tall oat- like soft gi-ass, rye grass, meadow cat's-tail, crested dog's-tail, yellow oat, meadow oat, hard fescue, smooth- stalked meadow grass, fertile meadow grixss, nerved meadow grass, marsh bent, florin, creeping vetch, cow clover, and white clover. This mixture is an arti- ficial improvement on that which naturally grows on the best pastures, and simply rejects the worst plants of the natural mixture and adds one or two prime ones ; and it was experimentally tried by the late Mr. Sinclair, with the express view of ascertaining the difference between its produce and that of the natural pasture. The piece of ground broken up for it was cropped during five years with successively oats, potatoes, wheat, carrots, and wheat ; it was found, at the end of five years, to have suffered a very considerable diminution of its organic constitu- ents ; it was then, in preparation for the grass seeds, manured and pulverized ; and between the time of their being sown and the commencement of frost, it received a top dressing of a dry compost of lime, vegetable mold, and rotten farm-yard manure. The produce of the first summer was cut and weighed on the 1st of July, and was found to be one-eighth greater than that of the original or natural grasses on the same piece of ground ; the produce of the first aftermath was found to be one-fifth less than that of the original grasses ; and the produce of the whole of the second year was found to be one-eighth greater than an average year's whole produce of the original grasses. " Sandy upland soils, which are broken up for the double purpose of exterminating some of their weeds and least valuable herbage, and of fertilizing them- selves by processes of pulverization and by adding to them clay or marl, may, according to SincLuAie's 236 THE GENESEE FARMER recommendation, be sown with a mixture of 3 pecks of barley-like sheep's fescue, 3 pecks of cock's-foot, 1 peck of crested dog's-tail, 2 pecks of yellow oat grass, 1 peck of rye grass, 1 peck of flat-stalked meadow grass, 1^ peck of various-leaved fescue, 2 pecks of hard fescue, 1 ft), of lesser bird's trefoil, and 3 lbs. of white clover. Or any average hill land, for perma- nent sheep pasture, may, according to the recom- mendation of Mr. Stirling, of Glcubervie, be sown with a mi.xture of 9 lbs. of foxtail, 2j lbs. of cock's- foot, 3 J lbs. of meadow fescue, 4J lbs. of hard fescue, 4i lbs. of Italian rye-grass, 3 lbs. of red clover, 4 lbs. of yellow clover, 4 lbs. of white clover, 8 lbs. of timo- thy grass, 2 lbs. of rib grass, and 1 lb. of yarrow. Or, according to the recommendation of Messrs, GiBBS, of London, light soils for permanent pasture may be sown with a mixture of 3 lbs. of perennial rye grass, 3 lbs. of Italian rye grass, 2 lbs. of meadow foxtail, 4 lbs. of cock's-foot, 2 Iba of meadow fescue, 2 fts. of hard fescue, 1 lb. of rough-stalked meadow grass, 2 lbs. of smooth-stalked meadow grass, 3 lbs. of wood meadow grass, 2 lbs. of sweet-scented vernal grass, 2 lbs. of timothy grass, 4 lbs. of red clover, 5 lbs. of white clover, and 3 lbs. of perennial red clo- ver ; and heavy soils for permanent pasture may be sown with a mixture of 4 lbs. of perennial rye grass, 4 lbs. of Italian rye grass, 2 lbs. of meadow foxtail, 5 lbs. of cock's-foot, 3 lbs. of meadow fescue, 1 lb. of hard fescue, 2 fts. of rough-stalked meadow grass, 1 lb. of smooth-stalked meadow grass, 4 lbs. of wood meadow grass, 2 lbs. of sweet-scented vernal gras.s, 4 lbs. of timothy grass, 5 lbs. of red clover, 6 lbs. of white clover, and 4 lbs. of perennial white clover. The reasons for intermixing such short-lived plants as Italian rye grass and biennial red clover, are that they spring rapidly up, afford herbage during the first year for stock, and then die out to give place for the diffusion and the increased bulk of the other plants, and that, on the other hand, the more durable plants, if sown without them, must either be sown so thin as not to afford herbage for stock in the first year, or so thick as to incommode and tangle one another in the second and following yeai-s. " For dry lands, a good addition to all judicious mixtures of true grasses and clovers, lie the mixtures what they may, is from 2 lbs. to 4 lbs. of sheep's fescue to every acre of elevated sheep pasture, and 10 oz. of yarrow to every acre of light low laud. But for healthy or moory lands, which have been pared and burned, or which have been otherwise operated upon with a ■view to the improvement of their capacities for herbage, only the cheapest and most facile mixtures can be afforded. When the lands are less than 500 feet of altitude above sea level, and are tolerably dry, a sufficient mixture, along with a corn crop, may be either 25 lbs. of mixed hay seeds, and 5^ lbs. of white clover, or 17 lbs. of mixed hay seeds, 3 J lbs. of Itahan rj'e grass, and 5| lbs. of white clover; and without a corn crop, may be either 32 lbs. of mixed hay seeds, 6 J lbs. of white clover, and two-thirds of a bushel of rye or barley, or 21 lbs. of mixed hay seeds, 4J lbs. of Itahan rye grass, 6j lbs. of white clover, and two-thirds of a bushel of rye or barley. If the lands are wet, part of the mixed hay seeds may be substituted by from 14 lbs. to 34 Iba of timothy grass, from 2 ibg. to 3| lbs. of rough-stalked meadow grass, from 1 lb. to 2 lbs. of meadow soft grass, and from 1 lb. to 2 lbs. of florin ; and if the lauds are 500 feet or upwards of altitude above the level of the sea, especially if they are dry and intended for sheep pasture, the whole mixture may consist of 2| lbs. of sheep's fescue, 1 lt>. of zig- zag hair grass, 2 lbs. of hard fescue, and 2 lb.s. of perennial red clover. " Pasture land, when intended to produce the greatest possible quantity of good herbage during the months of winter and early spring, obviously re- quires to be sown with a pecuhar selection of grasses; and if it be of any ordinary quality, it may, accord- ing to the recommendation of the late Mr. Sinclair, be advantageously sown with a mixture of 4 jwcks of cock's foot, 3 pecks of meadow fescue, 5 of a peck of meadow cat's-tail or true timothy grass, 1 peck of broad-leaved bent or florin, 2 pecks of taU oat-like soft grass, 2 pecks of buruet, 6 lbs. of perennial red clover, and 8 lbs. of white clover. If the land have very heavy soU, and be constantly depastured with cattle, some tall fertile meadow grass ought to be added to the mixture ; and if the land have a {joor soil and possess considerable elevation, some wooly soft gi-ass ought to be added. "A water meadow, with a light soil, may be sown | with a mixture of 2 J lbs. of floiin, 1^ lb. of meadow foxtail, 1 lb. of loliaceous fescue, 2| lbs. of meadow fescue, 1 J lb. of tall fescue, 2| lbs. of floating glyceria, 6 lbs. of Italian rye grass, 7 lbs. of perennial rye grass, 1 lb. of reed canary grass, 2 lbs. of timothy grass, 2| lbs. of rough-stalked meadow grass, and 2 lbs. of greater bird's-foot trefoil. A water meadow, with a heavy soil, may be sown with a mixture of 2| lbs. of florin, 1^ lb. of meadow foxtail, 3 lbs. of loliaceous fescue, 2^ lbs. of meadow fescue, 2 lbs. of tall fescue, 2| lbs. of floating glyceria, 6 lbs. of Italian rye grass, 7 lbs. of perennial rye grass, IJ lb. of reed canary grass, 3| lbs. of timothy grass, 3^ lbs. of rough-stalked meadow grass, and 2 lbs. of greater bird's-foot trefoil. A water meadow, of medium quality of soil, may of course be sown with quantities intermediate between those for the light soil and the heavy soil. In all cases, also, a bushel of rye seeds per acre may be sown to shelter the seedling meadow grasses; and when the expense of the mixtures is felt to be an objection, this may be lessened to the amount of from 4s. to 5s. per acre by excluding the meadow foxtail, and taking only half the quantity of the greater Ijird's-foot trefoil. ' LFnder most circumstances, how- ever,' says Mr. Lawson, the recoramender of the mix- tures, 'it will be advisable to retain the full quantity of the greater bird's-foot trefoil, not only from its being the best adapted of the clover tribe for with- standing excess of moisture, but also from its attain- ing to full maturity at a late period of the season, when the growth of the grasses generally becomes less vigorous.' " A mixture for sowing -svith a gi-ain crop in the alternate husbandry, whether the forage is intended for one year, ibr two years, or even for three years, has very generally consisted of simply perennial rye grass, red clover and white clover, varying m propor- tion according to the nature of the soil, the circum- stances of the culture, and the judgment or caprice of the farmer. Sainfoin and lucerne have also been THE GENESEE FARMER. 237 favorites in some parts of England ; the hop-like tre- foil, Medicago lupulina, under the misnomer of yellow clover, has, somewhat absurdly, become a favorite in some parts of the lowlands of Scotland ; and when only one year's forage is wanted, the main or the sole ■'reliance is very commonly on annual rye grass and annual red clover. But of late years, other plants, both of the gi-asses, and of other orders, have, with various degree of success, come into use with very many enterprising farmers. The Italian rye grass, on account of the rapidity of its growth, the sweetness of its taste, and the bulk of its produce, seemed to claim chief and enthusiastic favor; but it so speedily overtops almost every thing else with which it is sown, as, after fciir trial, to be generally pronounced unsuitable. Such of the plants as arc of slower growth and longer duration, however, abundantly deserve attention in all cases in which forage for two or three years is required. Farmers have, on the whole, paid good and praiseworthy attention to the improved sowing of permanent pastures ; but they are unaccountably and miserably inadvertant to the improved sowing of the temporaiy grass lands of the alternate husbandry. ' For three years' pasturage on good soils,' says Mr. Lawsox, ' the substitution of 2 lbs. of Daclylis glomcrata, the common rough cock's- foot, for about 3 lbs. of the perennial rye grass, will be found advantageous ; while in sheep pastures the addition of 1 lb. per acre of jiarsley seed, Petrose- tinmn sativum, would also be attended with good re- salts ; and in certain upland districts, established practice will point out the introduction of 2 lbs. or 3 lbs. of rib-grass, Plantago lanceolata. In pro- portion to the retentiveness of heavy soils, as well as for those of a peaty nature, Phleum pratense, the meadow cat's-tail, should be added, to the extent of 2^ lbs. to 3 J lbs. per acre.' Parsley may perhaps appear to some persons a strange ingredient in sheep pasture ; but, in addition to its own nourishing pro- perties, it serves as a condiment to all the other herbage, and it is highly relished by sheep, and never allowed by them to run to seed." FARMING IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASS. We are indebted to Simon Brow.v, Esq., editor of the JVew England Farmer, for a copy of the Trans- actions of the Middlesex County Agricultural So- ciety, for 1853, from which we extract Mr. Elijah Wood, Jr.'s, statement of his farm management, he being an applicant for a premium on the same : "The farm, in part, which I offer for premium, I purchased in 1840, it being in a low state of culti- vation, with a large proportion of pine plain land, ■which had been cropped to death with rye. The buildings were very poor and inconvenient. The main house had been thoroughly repaired, new put up, making a convenient tenement for my father and myself The barn has been built anew. The first year after the purchase, all the stock that could be kept in the winter on English hay, was five cows and a horse, and that, a share of it, was cut -where the cows are pastured now. Since that time I have added some 140 acres; about equal proportions of meadow, woodland, and light pasturing.. The pas- turing has all been plowed and manured, except the la^t, purcha.«ed in 1849, and that comes in turn next year. I plant with corn one or two years, as the case may be, plowing from seven to eleven inches, accord- ing to the depth it was turned before, and the nature of the soil, endeavoring to run a little deeper every year, spreading on from 25 to 32 loads of compo.st manure to the acre, and plow again fif sod land) Jis low as can be without disturbing the sod, (if not) make one turning answer the purpose. I have this j-ear used the swivel plow to avoid the dead furrow. I prepared a compost for the corn-hills, never more than 300 lbs., of guano for the six acres (this year only 150 Itjs.), with about four proportions of plaster. All the ashes made in the house, and excrements from 20 hens, are mixed with two loads of loam, and thrown over every day till used, when but a small handful is put in each hill. The crop is hoed level three times, sowing before the last hoeing six quarta ■ of herds-grass, one peck of red-top, and five pounds clover. If exclusively for pasturing, I sow three or four pounds of white clover. In that way I have raised for five years, an average of not less than forty bushels of sound corn to the acre. If the grass fails, in part, I scatter more seed in the spring and bush it in. When it is to be grazed the cows are kept from it till it gets a good start, sometimes a foot high. Nearly all my high land has been laid down in that way for twelve years, because of the saving of labor. My pasturing is in four lots, and 1 am con- vinced of many advantages in the division. More stock can be kept, by one-eighth, on a given number of acres ; and by keeping on each, one week at a time, when you come to the fourth the gi'ass must be fresh and large, and the cattle are quiet and peace- able, which is not the ca^^e when in one lot ; I am a believer in the old saying, that a ' change of pasture makes fat calv&s.' " Of stock, I made a small beginning, keeping hvt four cows the first summer, and hired part of the pas- turing at that; and in the winter kept seven, partly on meadow hay. Now I keep twenty-five head in the winter on the same number of acres mowed over, and what land I have bought helps to increase the number from tliirty-seven to forty with the additional purchase of .^30 worth of meadow gi-ass standing. In the summer, I keep from fifteen to twenty cow^ varying as my customer wants milk, knowing that he must be supplied in August when the feed is short, as well as in June when it is gi-een and sweet. " Moist land I depend upon entirely for grass, hav- ing turned nearly all my high land to pasture except a few acres, an orchard, where I raise all kinds of vegetables, southern corn, &c. I am fully satisfied of one fact, that the more laud a person has (if he undertakes to cultivate and manure it sparsely) the poorer he is. I have about thirty-five acres of the moist land, twenty of which have been reclaimed, the rest is on the river, and liable to be covered with water one-third of the year; experience has taught me to let that alone. My great desire was to improve the land — never being satisfied to raise only my own corn and potatoes ; some four acres have been graveled by my father, but improvements on mead- ows in those days were hardly known. The meadow was uneven, and not sufficiently drained, all the ditches 238 THE GENESEE FARMER ranning from the edge to the center, not even one head (Stch on the whole farm. The gravel in some places was a foot thick and in others very shallow. Draining and plowing those pieces and incorporating the gravel with the mud, were among the first of my improvements, causing the land to produce two crops every year since. I plow late in the fall, land that has been once fixed, and sow with oats and grass seed the next June, because I cannot spare the feed in the fall. New meadow should always be plowed if possible; if not, gravel; never burn except to get rid of roots, or stumps, or hassocks bogged off, and then gravel or level up with loam. I have seen the bad effect of burning meadows on some of my neigh- bor's farms. Ashes produce great crops for three or four years, and then it is in a worse state (if not heavily manured) than before. Ashes in their effects are precisely like rum, exciting for a short time. Some of the land that I have reclaimed was very miry, requiring the plow to be drawTi with ropes attached to something permanent on hard land; other lots have been graveled in the winter when frozen. " Some three acres were completely covered with wood and brush ; the stumps were taken out, the heights were bogged off, and burned, then loam and gravel from an old road spread over it. The last lot that I reclaimed was very near the river; it was cov- ered with alder and skunk-cabbage, and so wet that man or beast could hardly walk on it Now, it is one of the best pieces on the farm. Draining is the foun- dation of all improvement in low land, and requires more judgment than either of the other departments of farm work. Marginal drains must be run — where, and how near together, is the question. I have of that description, with stone laid in the bottom, and covered, between five and six hundred rods, and one hundred rods with joist, and pieces of rails, and boards in the bottom. The first cost of covered drain, is much more than those of open, but after once made, more grass will grow on them than on other parts of the piece; there is no cleaning out to be done, and they will last as long as the present generation. We have in our vicinity hundreds of acres of land, not mud, but black soil, where the water oozes out till June, which, if it was taken ofi^ would produce twice the hay, with the same manure, and that of a much better quality. If stone are scarce there are other materials. Where there is a will there is a way. " I have set three hundred and fifty trees of differ- ent varieties, mostly Apple, which are doing well ; except the first hundred; in that lot I was deceived, the seller not giving me the trees I bought, viz: large and well-shaped heads, but sent me crooked trees and without limbs. I soon became discouraged, partly on account of iho poor trees, and on account of en- croachments and distance from home. The land is now laid down to grass, and the few remaining trees will soon die a natural death, I hope. Dear-bought experience has taught me that I had better pay a dollar for a good tree, than to have a poor one for nothing. By a good one, I mean one that has large and fibrous roots, a straight tnink with the top well shaped and trimmed, and high enough to let the team near it Of the whole number, all started but six the first season; some few have died in the hard winters, and Peach trees from the effects of the borer. Always mulched them the first year. I believe it no use to undertake to raise fruit without the mind is made up to keep the ground under cultivation at least two years in three. As to manure, it has been my constant effort to make and use as much as possi- ble, from the barn-cellar, yard, hog-pen, vault, sink- drain, &c., always using it the present season. I keep loam constantly in the cellar which is ready to be put to the droppings. It is always thrown over directly after haying, and used either for fall seeding or for a top dressing. I then commence a new pile by wheel- ing loam into the leanto through a door expressly for the purpose, and put it down the trap doors, and by so doing the manure thrown over below can remain for a while. I used as a top dressing last year four hundred loads. Everything collected, up to Novem- ber, is used on grass. I then commence the winter stock by carrying one hundred loads of mud or black earth to the cellar, and throw on to the droppings during the winter as often as once a week. I find it almost impossible to make manure heat in my cellar, and for that reason I carry it to the field to mix. I consider it one man's time for the year to do the work connected with the manure heap. When 1 commenc- ed on the farm little help was hired, but from year to year more help was needed, and for the last three years in summer have had three men and worked out more or less. In this account no credit is given for labor of man and oxen which were kept iu winter drawing wood, stone and gravel, for the benefit of the farm. " Receipts in 1852. Milk at the car, $1573.75 Rutabagas and carrots, ; 167.00 For work off the farm, 211.00 " apples sold, 49.00 Calves, 36.00 $2,036.75 " Expenses in part. Labor of two men, 235.00 One man and boy three months, 78.00 For grass and hay, 97.00 Expenses for grain, 235.00 $645.00" AGRICULTUEE AND OTHER IMPROVE- MENTS IN CIHLI. The Cleveland Herald contains the following in- teresting letter from the United States Consul at Valparaiso: " U. S. Consulate, Valparaiso, 1854. " Agriculture is carried on here in a very primitive state. Farmers use the crooked stick for a plow, though I one day saw some small Ruggles & Mason's plows landed with a few poor fanning mills. In getting out wheat they thresh with horses, and throw it into the air to clean the chaff, A drag is a thing unknown; and one being furnished on a hacienda, the peon was found with the drag turned upside down, and he sitting among the teeth, riding. An English cart which had been furnished was returned, the workman saying 'it went too fast for his oxen.' They yoke the oxen after the old Spanish fashion, viz : a straight stick, about seven feet long, strapped round the horns. Their oxen are generally fine, long- bodied, straight animals. The drivers walk in front when driving, and when they want them to go ahead, THE GENESEE FARMER. 239 punch back with a long cane pole, with an iron point in the end. Going down a hill, one yoke of oxen is put on behind, to hold back. " The horses are the finest saddle horees I have ever seen — fine limbs, eyes arched neck, and a decidedly fancy appearance. They have wonderful powers of endurance, and are always ridden on the jump. They are perfectly broke, standing in the street wherever left, and I have never yet seen one ofifer to bite or kick. The Chillanos are splendid riders, and seem a part and parcel of the horse. I have seen one of them put his finger on a post and hold it there for fifteen minutes, his horse going round on a run ; and a favorite sport with them is to lock knees and go round, seeing which will unhorse the other. Horses are cheap; a good one can be bought for two ounces — S34.50. The people go to great expense in sad- dles, bridles, etc. — the rig of a horse frequently costing from $300 to $500. Silver bits, stirrups, spurs, .to.. are used. The country women ride on the right side of the horse. There are not over four or five car- riages, and but one buggy, that I have seen in this city. The common vehicle is a large stout gig, one horse in the shafts and the rider on another, attached ■with a rope to the shafts. This is the only convey- ance to Santiago, the capital, eighty miles inland. For a change of horses, they start with six or eight here, and run them along the road, and every few miles catch up one and put him in the shafts, turning the other loose to run with the rest. " There is a good road from here to Santiago. The trade is carried on entirely by ox-carts — taking, at this season, about a week to make the trip ; and in ■ninter two weeks. A friend counted between here and Casablanca, thirty-six miles, 360 of these carts. All the merchandise, goods, etc., and the flour, pro- duce, ^ 160 22 ffith Covered Manure. 1st 55 5 61 220 of 22 2d 53 47 61 210 22 These and similar experiments have satisfied Lord KiNNAiED of the advantages to be derived from having farm-yard manures put under cover. They seem so conclusive and instructive on this point as to deserve to be brought before the farming classes of this country. Not a few of your readers, we doubt not, will take measures of some kind to profit by them. It will require but a few minutes to determine the probable profits of protecting any certain amount of yard manure. It appears from the above results that Lord KiNNAiRD got about 125 bushels of wheat more from the ten acres manured with covered dung, than from the ten acres which had been manured with the uncovered. In wheat alone, then, without taking potatoes or wheat straw into account, the difference in favor of covered manure was quite considerable. — Correspondent of the Country Gentleman. There are two reasons why we don't trust a man — one because we don't know him, and the other be- cause we do. ^ ■ ^ Eloquence without wisdom is like butter without salt — ^pleasant to the sight, but insipid to the taste. PREPARING LAND FOR WHEAT. There has a change taken place in the minds of many wheat-growers within a few years past, iu regard to the best method of fitting ground for the wheat crop. Formerly, the summer fallow system, plowing the ground early in the season and frequently stirring it afterwards, to intermix and reduce it to fine tilth, was considered the best method ; but recently the opinion seems to prevail to considerable extent, both among farmers and their scientific advisers, that by practicing the old method a serious loss is sustained in unnecessary labor, in the loss of the land for pas- ture or for hay, and in the escape of fertilizing ele- ments, while the soil is thus exposed to the action of the atmosphere ; and that a better course is to defer plowing until a later period, and thus obviate the objections urged against the former method. Here we have two opposite methods of cultivation prevailing, and strenuous advocates for each ; but has it yet been fully demonstrated that as remunerating crops of wheat can be grown by the latter method as by the former? Will the general results be the same on different kinds of soil ? Again, have we sufficient proof that, by exposing the soil to the action of the atmosphere, we rob it of its fertility ; and if so, are all soils afTected alike ? These are important ques- tions to every farmer, and it is high time they were definitely settled. If we have been losing the use of the land for mouths yearly, and expending much labor to no purpose, and at the same time been impoverish- ing the soil, it is certainly time it was known. Now, as there is no way to determine conflicting theories of this kind but by experiments, I propose to enter upon some the present season (health per- mitting), to fully test this matter, and, if possible, ar- rive at the truth. As experiments conducted upon one kind of soil will only be conclusive so far as that soil is concerned, I in\ite others living in the different sections of our country, occupying dilTerent soils, to join me in the effort to settle these important princi- ples of tillage that are now in dispute. The plan I propose to follow iu the first experiment is this : I have a field intended for wheat where the clover has run out, and there is but little sward. This field I intend to plow in June, if not earlier, as deep as pos- sible, say twelve or fourteen inches, leaving one-fourth of an acre unplowed until late in the season, and then fit it in the best manner in as little time as possible. An adjoining one-fourth of an acre I design to plow, harrow, cultivate, and roll a dozen times during the season. Then sow the same amount of seed on the different pieces, and sow at the same time, and note carefully the results until harvest ; then harvesting and threshing separate, and weighing both wheat and straw. In this way I think I shall be able to deter- mine the difference on a clayey soil of the two methods, and also ascertain whether this kind of soil loses its fertility by being long exposed and frequently stirred. — L. C, in the Farmers' Companion. Careful experiments, we are confident, would only confirm the conclusion to which we long since came — that summer fallowing is well for stiff clays, but not for light soils. The farm can hardly be brought to a fine tilth without it ; and their nature is rather to gain than to lose fertilizing elements by exposure to THE GENESEE FARMER. 247 the atmosphere ; while the latter — light soils — are more easily reduced to fine tilth, and so have less need for a lono' fallowing, and are at the same time more exposed to a loss of fertilizing ingredients by too much exposure to the atmosphere, and so should not be fallowed unnecessarily. A good rule is to begin the preparation of the ground long enougli before hand, and to continue it sufficiently often to secure a good tilth. Any thing more than this is at least un- necessary, if not injurious. An important considera- tion with regard to wheat sowing, is, that if the soil be naturally light, that portion of it which is directly under the seed should be consohdated by artificial means. A common way of effecting this, in England, has heretofore been to turn large numbers of sheep upon the field immediately after sowing and harrow- ing. The effect of this, however, is rather to harden the surface than to consolidate the soil below the seed: and for this reason the following method is now practiced by very many English and Scotch farmers, viz.: In preparing light, sandy or loamy soils for wheat, two plowmen go ahead, one following the other, and a boy, with a one-horse cart, having two wheels on the off side and but one on the near side, follows them both. Let it be understood that the wheels are all on one axletree. The two on the off side are about one foot apart, and the distance can be varied at pleasure. As the boy follows the plow- men, these off wheels run in the furrows made by the two plows, or rather in the channel between the fur- rows, thus pressing down and hardening the portion of soil on which the seed will lie, after being sown broadcast, and so harrowed as to be made to fall into the channel prepared for it. There is no reason to doulit that this or some hke operation would be highly favorable to the wheat-growing capabilities of the alluvial soils in the Connecticut valley. — Cmmecticiit Valley Farmer. GAIN OF WEIGHT IN CATTLE FEEDING. I.^i the various publications to which I have had recourse, with the view of informing myself as to the treatment of cattle, I have found no attempt to esti- mate and distinguish the gain of useful material made by them in the process of fattening. On seeking to explain my views on this subject, I feel less hesitation, as I supply data and figures from which my conclu- sioas are derived, the soundness and correctness of which it is not difficult to estimate and ascertain. The cattle I prefer for fattening are well-grown heiters, or cows which have had their first calf at three to five years old. The breeds of this district are to a considerable degree Short-horns, the bulls used being more or less of this description ; they may be termed of " fair " to " good " quality. Their live weight, when bought in a lean store condition, ranges from 7 cwt. to 9 cwt.; their capability of carrying weight, when prime fat, may be taken at an addition of 3 cwt. Although it is not used to kill beasts in a store state, and little positive information can be gained as to the carcass weight of lean stock, yet, from observation and inquiry, I am disposed to think that this will be no less than one-half of the live weight, probably not more than 43 to 47 per •cent. In Morton's Cyclopedia treatise " On Meat," the comparison of carcass to live weight is stated ag •iO to 5.5 per cent, when half fat, and as 61 to 63 when prime fat, for cattle of the like quality. I •juote this as tending to confirm what I have stated as to the comparative proportions in lean stock. I will consider, for example, a lean animal weighing 8 cwt., and capable of weighing when prime fat 11 cwt, live weight ; when fairly started, and with pro- per feeding, I should look for a gain of 14 fts. per week, which in my practice is a moderate average ; at this rate it would require 24 weeks to bring it to a state of prime fatness. On comparing the weights when lean and fat — 8 cwt. or 64 stones lean, at 45 per cent, will leave 28| carca'js weight; 11 cwt. or 88 stones fat, at 60 per cent., will leave 52| carcass weight. The difierence is 24 stones, or 14 lbs. per week, for the 24 weeks, being precisely the gain per week in live weight. During the progress of feeding there is a gradual increase of interior fat of two descriptions — fixed fat in the loins, commonly called suet, which will vary from 8 lbs. when lean to more than 30 lbs. when fat, this is weighed with the carcass ; and loose fat, or tallow, which counts as offal. If we take two beasts of equal live weight, and suppose, on killing, one contains 9 stones of loose fat or tallow, the other only 5 stones ; now, though this loose fat counts as offal, it is known that the carcass weight of the ani- mal with the 9 stones of loose fat will be heavier than the one with only 5 stones. A consideration of this matter led me to infer that, with the increase of interior fat, there occun'ed a displacement of mate- rial in the process of evacuation. On inquiry of butchers of experience with whom I deal, they tell me that it is a characteristic of a beast, which " proves " well, to have a little stomach. On looking over the items of offal, they appear capable of little increase or variation in one or the same animal, with the exception of tallow and of the stomach, in the weight of each of which there is a difference of 100 lbs. or upwards. I observe that the writer of the paper from which I have quoted attributes this com- parative increase in the carcass weight of fattened beasts to its greater solidity, to hollows being filled up, and protuberances being formed ; it seems, how- ever, clear that this would equally affect the live with the carcass weight, and therefore does not satisfacto- rily explain the mailer. If my premises be correct it will appear that, be- sides the gain of carcass weight (which is shown by comparison to be 14 lbs. per week on an animal which gains this in live weight), there is an additional gain of interior loose fat which counts as offal. From observation and inquiiy I am led to think, then, that this will not be less on the average than 3 lbs. per week, or, in the 24 weeks, 72 lbs. of loose fat, making together 17 lbs. per week gain of useful and venda- ble material — a result at varience with the impression I held before I entered upon this inquiry. I may at some future time seek to draw attention to the proba- ble proportion and description of this material gained in the process of fattening. — F, in the Lojidon Ag- riculiural Gazette. The only legitimate strike is the strike of the iron when it is hot 248 THE GENESEE FARMER. ^==^jiM£l>^^ CHXJECH IN THE EOMANBSQUE STTLE, THE GENESEE FARMER. 249 DESIGNS FOR CHURCHES. We give on the opposite page an engraving of an Independent Cnapel, at Boston, England, built in the Romanesque style, which may afford some hints to the committees of some of our religious societies looking about for ideas. The Horticulturist, in speak- ing of this church, says: " It is different from most churches, in having a spa- cious basement room on the ground floor, sufhciently elevated to be abundantly lighted and ventilated — in short, as healthful and agreeable as a school-house above ground. This school accommodates 400 boys and girls. The exterior length of the chapel is 62 feet, the width 37 teet 6 inches ; the internal length 56 feet 8 inches, the width 32 feet; the height of side walls from pavement, 31 feet ; the height of gables, 46 feet; the tower height, 62 feet; the spire and vane, 48 feet— or total, 110 feet. " This church is built wholly of brick — the mold- ings of doors, windows, &c., of molded brick. The cost was £1,300 (about §6,500). As molded brick are now admirably made in this country (some fine buildings in this style having been erected with them at Providence, R. I.), this mode of building is worthy the attention of those who desire to unite economy with good effect." In regard to this style of architecture, the same journal remarks : "Xext to the Gothic style, the Romanesque (or Lombard), appears better adapted than any other to religious edifices. Though there is, in its lines, less of religious aspiration than in the Gothic, yet it is also equally removed from the level plane of reason which we find in the Greek architecture. There is much, both of beauty and balance, in the curved lines of its arches, and it admits the spire almost as naturally as the Gothic style. Besides this, so far as association is worth any thing, it has clearly the ad- vantage of the Gothic style — since the eai'liest Chris- tian churches were all round arched, or Romanesque.' SPATING OF COWS. Tffls is a subject which it would seem should be better understood than at present. Indeed, the whole subject of comparative physiology lags in regard to the needed progress. A few things, however, are quite certain, among which may be stated the great analogy between the physiological functions of do- mestic animals and the human race. Although our knowledge in regard to the human race is further ad- vanced than that in regard to animals, yet we may beheve that great discrepancies have not been found in taking our knowledge of any functions of the hu- man organization as a point of departure, and then making reference to the same functions in animals. ISIilk-flow, or rather milk-secretion, is a function sub- sidiary to reproduction with every animal in nature. It is for the sustentation of the young, before their organs of mastication and digestion are .suificiently matured to cope with the coarser diet of the adult. After the milk-secreting organ has been active a suf- ficient length of time for this pm-pose — after parturi- tion— it is the law of nature that the particular excitation of this function should be transferred to the starting point of a new reproduction stiU remain- ing within the generative system. Milk-production is at the expense of the generative energy. The ovaries and uterus are the first active organs in the process of reproduction ; the milk-secreting the sub- sequent one in connection with the same essential energy. When the milk begins to fail, or the cow to " dry oft"," this transfer is taking place, though it does not make essential headway until a new repro- duction is sufiBciently far advanced as to demand in its quarter an active circulation, and the general ener- gies that ai-e being lost in the useless flow of milk. The proposition, then, is having given a cow in a state of milk to prevent this transfer, by the removal of the ovaries from the animal. One thing among those which are certain is, that there can be no com- mencement of reproduction after the removal of the ovaries ; there can be no intervals of going dry any months in the year ; if once diy she must be diy for life. Another thing is absolutely certain — that the simple excision of the ovaries from a cow, if per- formed as it ought to be, is harmless entirely. Some people have a notion that spaying is the excision of the uterus entirely ; and worse yet, that it must be done by a large incision through the abdominal walls, in order to get access to them. Few animals could survive such mutilation, although this is beheved to be the method by which animals are necessarily operated upon. It is sufficient here to say, that the operation should be performed through the vaginal parietes, as the mode of access. It should be per- formed during milk-flow, and some time before the anticipated heat of the animal It should be per- formed only by skillful persons — those who have knowledge of comparative anatomy. The quality of the milk of a spayed cow is admitted to be superior. The milk of cows far advanced in pregnancy was analyzed by Lassaigxe, and found to contain no casein at all, or sugar of milk, or lactic acid, but much albumen and uncombined soda. He analyzed the nulk of the same cows after parturition, and found the first three named substances, but no albumen. Physicians have pronounced against the use of the milk for babes taken from the cow in a state of gestation. The spayed animal is more amiably disposed, always kind, and having no season of heat, if kept alone never breaks her enclosure. The writer is assui-ed that she gives a greater quan- tity of milk, varying with the season, as a matter depending on the season. Those who have fatted these cows for beef, assure us they are fatted quicker, and that the beef is better. As to the length of time they will give milk. Dr. Heckermax has known it to last ten years; othei-s have stated it to be seven and eight years. None have pronounced against the operation, or have deemed the animal less valuable if it be preferred to put her in beef in four years. AVe have only to think of the expense of wintering a diy cow, as an offset to such necessity. — »3., in the Boston Cultivator. A BAND of rascals have been abroad in Xew Hamp- shire among the farmers, buying up their cattle at the highest prices, and paying in counterfeit money. "- 250 THE GENESEE FARMER GRASSHOPPER FOOD. Thk g-overnment of the United States holds its sway over the people of all nations, tribes and tongues, and some of these are strange specimens of the genus homo. The natives of nianj' parts of Africa and Asia make fine feasts of roasted locusts ; but some of our aborigines are equal to them in this respect, the only difference being that ours use grasshoppers for want of locusts. In that great country — Oalitbrnia — tliere is a tribe of Indians called the " Diggere," whose gastromic tastes are thus described by the Empire County Argits: " There are districts of California, as well as por- tions of the plains between the Sierra Nevadas and the Rocky ^tountains, that literally swam with grass- hoppers, and in such astonishing nambers that a man cannot place his foot to the ground, while walking among them, without crushing great numbers. To the Indians they are a delicacy, and are caught and cooked in the following manner : A piece of ground is sought where they most abound, in the center of which an excavation is made, large and deep enough to prevent the insect from hopping out when once in. The entire party of ' Diggers,' old and young, male and female, then surround as much of the adjoining grounds as they can, and each with a green bough in hand, whipping and thrashing on every side, gradually approach the center, driving the insects before them in countless multitudes, till at last all, or nearly all, are secured in the pit. In the meantime, smaller ex- cavations are made, answering the place of ovens, in which fires are kindled and kept till the surrounding- earth, for a short distance, becomes sufficiently heated, together with a flat stone large enough to cover the oven. The grasshoppers are now taken in coarse bags, and after being thoroughly soaked in salt water for a few moments, are en^ptied into the ovens and closed in. Ten or fifteen minutes suffices to roast them, when they are taken out and eaten without further preparation, and with much apparent relish, or, as is sometimes the case, reduced to a powder and made into soup. And having from curiosity tasted, not of the soup but of the roast; if any person could but divest himself of the idea of eating an insect as we do an oyster or shrimp ; without any other pre- paration than simple roasting, they would not be considered very bad eating, even by more refined epicures than the ' Digger ' Indians." Stowell Cokn.— The Ohio Cultivator gives the following method of treating this corn so as to make it good for winter use, the old mode of trying to keep it green in the husk having generally proved a failure: " Gather the ears when in full milk, and strip off all but a thin covering of husk; lay these in a moderately- heated oven or cooking-stove long enough to scald or stiffen the milk, when the grains are shaved off and kept in a close bag or canister. Boil in the usual way when wanted for use. Thus treated, the corn is eaad to be very fine." It is eajd that sm.all twigs of cedar, chopped fine and nsixed with their grain, will cure a cough in horses, and that this has been used with complete success. Horrors op the Guaxo Trade. — We have re- ceived full confirmation of the horrors reported to be in the course of perpetration in connection with the gu mo trade at the Cliincha Islands. It is picked up and wheeled to the shoots, it appears, by contract The contractor has imported Chinamen for this work, nearly six hundred of whom are now on these islands. They arc liired for five j'ears, at the rate of $48 per annum. They commence work as soon as they can sec to work. They have five tons of guano to dig and wheel to a distance of over one-eighth of a mile. It is all, or nearly all, so hard that it has to be picked up; and if they do not accomplish these five tons by .5 o'clock P. M., they are flogged with raw-hide whips, some five feet long, receiving one dozen stripes, each of which starts the blood; then they are driven back to finish their work. The guano has a veiy bad effect upon them, swelling their legs and arm?, and giving them bad sores on their legs, feet and hands. Notwitlistanding all these, however, if they can get along they are compelled to finish their task. Our informant says : " I have known as many as thirty flogged in a day. They have no Sunday allowed, with the exception of one in a year, the same work going on on Sunday as during the rest of the week. The consequence of this ill-treatment is suicide in various forms, such as leaping from the rocks one hundred feet high, cutting their throats, and burying themselves alive. This last has actually been the case, to my knowledge. One morning three were found who had so buried themselves; two were dead and one alive. The last recovered to prolong his miserable existence for a short time." It is time that the voice of civilization throughout the world was heard in denunciation of such horrors as these. — JVew Orleans Picayune. Improving Wheat. — We noticed many fields of wheat in San Jose county that were unusually strong in the straw, and gi\'ing great promise of an abundant yield. Upon inquiry, we learned that it was the prac- tice of several of the cultivators to mow their wheat field previous to their jointing, and thus throw back the strength into the roots again, retarding the growth for a time. The result woidd be a more vigorous straw, a bolder, better head, and at the same time an almost entire eradication of weeds, wild mustard, and other grasses that would injure the crop, besides giving a fine green or dried crop of tivo tons per acre. We saw many fields thus completely clear of foreign substances, which presented quite a different appear- ance from those not thus treated. We suggest atten- tion to that mode of treatment. — California Farmer. Cattle-feeders in Ohio. — The Sciota Gazette gives a list of 64 cattle-feeders in Ross county, who, it says, will averags 100 cattle apiece to the season ; and some so far exceed that, that the number an- nually fatted in that county may safely be set down at 7,000. At present prices they will average fifty dollars apiece, making the good sum of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars annually for the cattle sent from that county ! -^» »i July and August are the hottest months in the year. THE GENESEE FARMER. 251 CONDUCTED BY JOSEPH FEOST. HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS, &c., IN CAYUGA AND TOMPiilNS COUNTIES. On the 21st of June the members of the Cayufra County Horticultural Society held au exhibition in Auburn, which we had the pleasure of attending. The operations of this Society are quite in their in- fancy, as this is the second year of its existence — having been instituted in 1853 by the appointment of Harrison T. Dickinson, Esq., of Auburn, as its President, with the usual number of other oflieei's. This exhibition was held in a very fine and spacious hall, in the central part of the city, which was beau- tifully ornamented with varieties of evergreens and flowers. Extending nearly around tlie room were tiers of shelves, rising one above the other, pre- senting in the most favorable light the articles upon exhibition. This was protected by a slight guard, formed by small round poles. In the center there was placed a long table, containing the boquets and most of the pot plants; thus making the arrangement quite complete and simple, and evincing good taste. The articles presented were very choice, and of great variety ; and most of the plants showed good culture, which was quite noticeable and deserving of much praise, considering that the Society has been so recently formed. P. R. Frekoff, a florist and nurseryman, has been able to supply much that has been wanted in that vicinity, by keeping choice and good thinga A por- tion of the citizens manifested much zeal and spirit ; but with a large part there was displayed much want of appreciation of that which is good and beautiful, as those in attendance were fewer than we expected to see. The contributions were not only by the peo- ple of Auburn and vicinity, but we noticed them trom a distance. . Mrs. Henry Morgan, and Dr. A. Thompson, from that charming little spot, Aurora, situated on the east bank of Cayuga Lake, presented some very nice things ; the latter contributing a great variety of Roses, Verbenas and Fuchsias, as well as a quantity of well-grown strawberries. A. Frost & Co., of the Genesee Valley Nurseries, Rochester, had about two hundred varieties of Roses, besides a large collection of Verbenas, and twenty pots of superior herbaceous Calceolarias. As we were anxious to witness the first show of the Tompkins County Horticultural Society, which was recently organized, we visited Ithaca, at the head of Cayuga Lake, on the 22d of June. The premiums to be awarded were truly grand, which was quite a new feature in exhibitions of this sort. Among flowers and fruit nearly $200 were offered, distributed among thirty-one prizes. There were no- ticed five prizes at $1.5 each, one at SlO, three at $7 each, and others at a diminished rate. Owing almost wholly to the liberality displayed in the pre- mium hst, and not a little to the novelty of the exhi- bition for the town, the large hall in which it wa-; held was completely packed, so that it was quite dit- ficult to find standing room, without reference to an examination of the articles. The interest manifested did not abate till late in the evening, when the articles were disposed of at auction. The substantials, as strawberries and cher- ries, brought good prices, but the flowers were quite behind. The fruits of the season were very abun- dant, and in great variety upon the tables. The strawberries were as fine as we ever saw ; the size and weight of some of the bprries and bunches were truly astonishing ; but it will be seen that nature has done not a little to aid this. Mr. James M. Mattison, of Jacksonville, as well as James Welch, gardener to James McLallen, Esq., of Trumansburgh, were awarded some valuable prizes upon articles deserving of much credit. Mr, John Given, gardener to the President of the So- ciety, Herman Camp, Esq., of Trumansburgh, received a good share; a helmet and sash composed of flowers, brought in by him, attracted much attention. An honorable mention was given Mrs. Dr. Thomson, and Mi-s. Henry Morgan, of Aurora, for their con- tributions. The former presented, besides a large collection of Roses, Verbenas, Fuchsias, and other cut flowers, an exquisite basket of flowei-s, of the most delicate arrangement ; but as they were out of the limits, they could not compete. It is to be hoped that their future displays may not meet with less success than this their first attempt; but to make them interesting, instructive and beneficial to the parties interested, as well as to the whole com- munity, which we believe to be the object of these shows, they mnst be broad in their application, to include the whole country, and not be confined to the sole operations of a town or hamlet. We were sorry to see that this course was not adopted, but a narrow pohcy introduced by the management, allowing only those to compete who were residents of the county. We have since been assured that for the future a more liberal plan is to be pursued, which can not fail to insure a better result. The soil in and around Ithaca has been formed wholly by seven or eight streams, which have brought immense quantities of loam and vegetable earth, in seasons of freshets and at other times, from the hills and rising land about, and deposited it in the valley below, which has made the soil twelve to fif- teen feet deep, and account's somewhat for the large size of strawberries when grown in such soil. Peach trees seemed not to have suffered any by the curi, and we are assured that they produce large and regular crops. Strawberries. — At the recent fair of the Genesee Valley Horticultural Society, we were much pleased with the marked improvement of the strawberry, as compared with the exhibitions but a few years since. The mammoth Alpines, Jennet's Seedlings and Py- ramidal Chilians of Mr. Newland, of Palmyra, deserve a notice for the uniformity of size in the ap- pearance of the fruit, and the skill manifested by the intelligent cultivator. We understood Mr. W. to say, that after nine years experimenting he had reduced the growing of the fruit in question to a certainty with that of any crop cultivated ; and judging by the specimens exhibited, we aie inclined to think the same. 252 THE GENESEE J^AKMEJbL CLEMATIS AZUREA, OR LARGE BLUE- FLOWERED CLEMATIS. This Clematis, of which a cut is given in this ter, of a deep blue color, and has from seven to nine petals, making its outline like a star, from the base of which the leaves start. The stamens are curiously formed, very much resembling the Passion flower. It month's issue, v?e think the finest of the species. It has bloomed on our grounds the ])ast two seasons in the greatest profusion, for nearly two months. Its flowers are very large, being fuUy six inches in diame- CLEMATIS AZUREA. is perfectly hardy, having withstood, unprotected, our severe winters without the least injury. Being a climb- er, the flowers produce a fine effect, if the plant is al- lowed to run upon a wire trelhs or upright frame-work. THE GENESEE FARMER. 25S MEETING OF THE HORTICULTURAL SO- CIETY OF THE VALLEY OF THE GENESEE. The Summer Exhibition of the Horticultural So- ciety of the Valley of the Genesee, was held at Corinthian Hall, Rochester, on the 24th of June. The following are the Reports of the Committees : BErORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FLOWERS AND FLOWER- ING PLANTS. The display this season was very creditable to the So- ciety, though not in as great profusion as at some former shows, but tlie articles exhibited were choice and well grown. Cut flowers from out of doors, particularly Roses, were in great abundance ; but they were not in as good condition as they would have been, had not a heavy rain the day before materially injured many of the blooms. Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry contributed a superior collec- tion of Phloxes, Pfeonies, and other cut flowers. The dis- play of Koses, embracing 238 varieties, from A. Frost & Co., was very fine. The following are the awards of premiums : Amateurs' List. Roses — ^best collection, named, J. A. Eastman, $-3.00 2d best " " D. C. Greenleaf, Brockport,... 2.00 best 6 varieties, " D. P. Newell, 1-00 Verbenas — best collection, named, D. C. Greelea^ Brockport,. 2.00 Boquets — best table, C. F. Crossman, 2.00 2d best table, D. C. Greenleaf, Brockport, 1.00 best hand, Mrs. M. Jewell, 2.00 Nurserymen's List. Koses — best collection, Ellwanger & Barry, Dip. 2d best " Samuel iloulson, $2.u0 best 25 varieties, A. Frost & Co., 3.00 best 12 " A. Loomis, Byron, 2.00 Verbenas — best collection, named, A. Frost & Co., Dip. best 12 varieties, A. Frost & Co., 2.00 Boquets— be St table, C. J. Ryan & Co., 2.00 2d best, John DoneLlan & Nephews,... 1.00 best hand, C. J. Ryan & Co., 2.00 2d best, A. Frost & Co., 1.00 Floral Ornament— best, A. Frost & Co., 3.00 Green-house Plants — best collection, A. Frost & Co., Dip. best 12 specimens, Bissell & Hooker, 5.00 J. Fbost, Chairman of Com. REPORT OF THE FRUIT COM.MITTEE. The Committee on Fruits report that the exhibition of strawberries was very fine, though the exhibitors were few in number. The fruit well grown, but the flavor con- siderably injured by the recent heavy rains. In the amateur Mst, no collections were offered worthy a premium. In the professional list, Ellwanger & Barry exhibited 34 varieties of strawberries, including several seedlings of tlieir own raising. Bissell & Hooker, 17 varieties, very well grown. George Newland, of Palmyra, 15 varieties, well grown, and especially the Red Alpines, which were much larger than they are ordinarily grown. He had several varieties not in other collections. Among these the Pyramidal Chilian attracted much attention, both from its size and excellence. D. Soutliworth, of Penfield, presented Burr's New Pine, in very fine condition. Mr. Zera Burr, of Perinton, exhibited 18 varieties of seedling cherries, several of which gave promise of excel- lence. They are mostly early, and on that account valuable. Ellwanger & Barry exhibited 10 varieties of early cher- ries, including Governor Wood, Rockport Bigarreau, Burr's Seedling and Coe's Transparent — fine American sorts. T. A. Newton sent for exhibition a large number of quart boxes of Burr's New Pine, in beautiful condition. The following are the premiums awarded : To EUwanger & Barrv, for best collection of strawberries, $5.00 Bissell & Hooker,'2d best, 3.00 Geo. Newland, beet quart Pyramidal Chilian, '. 3.00 D. Southworth, 2d best. Burr's New Pine, 2.00 Zera Burr, a gratuity for his seedling cherries, 5.00 H. N. Langwokthy, Chairman of Com. REPORT OF the VEGETABLE COMMITTEE. The Committee regret that the show of vegetables was small, and their labors consequently light. The premiums awarded are as follows : Lettuce— best six heads, D. C. Greenleaf, Brockport, .?2.00 2d best, C. F. Crossman, l-0« Cucumbers — best six, C. F. Crossman, l-Ou Peas — best peck, D. C. (ireenleaf, Brockport, 2.0# 2d best, C. F. Crossman, 1-00 Rhubarb— best 12 stalks, John Uonellan, 1-00 H. N. Lanqworthy, Chairman of Com. DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW PEARS, CULTIV.\TED BY M. DE LIRON d'aIRNOLES, AT LA CIVE- LIERE, NANTES. Beurre Clair geau. — Tree remarkably vigorous, and soon forms a handsome pyramid ; succeeds well against a wall wth a south or an east aspect ; bears abundantly, and at au early age. Fruit variable in form, but generally calebasse shaped ; a superb fruit, weighing sometimes 20 ounces. It gained the first prize of the Horticultural Society of the Seine, in 1851. Its skin is fine, almost entirely covered with patches of reddish-russet when gathered ; but at its maturity, which occurs in November and December, it becomes richly colored with yellow and vermilion. Its flesh is fine, white, melting, very juicy, sugary, and perfumed. Raised by Pierre Clairgeau, a gardener at Nantes. Beurre de A''antes, or J\^antais. — ^Tree vigorous, adapted for a pyramid or for training against a wall ; it soon comes into a bearing state. Fruit large, ob- long, of the form of the St. Germain; skin light green, yellowish when fully ripe. Flesh white, melt- ing, very juicy, and perfumed. Ripens in September. One of the most handsome and delicious of the new pears. It was raised by Frakcois Maisonneuve, a horticulturist at Nantes. Beurre Delfosse. — Tree vigorous, suitable for a pyramid or standard. Fruit middle-sized, roundish ; skin yellowish-brown, slightly tinged with red next the sun. Flesh white, fine, buttery, and melting; very juicy and sugary, with a delicious, perfumed flavor, somewhat resembling that of the Passe Col- mar. Becomes fit for use in Belgium in December and January. Raised by M. Gregoire, of Jodoigne, Belgium. Bergamotie Hambourg.— Tree vigorous, forms a handsome pyramid, and is also adapted for a stand- ard ; an abundant bearer. Fruit large, bergamot- shaped, from 3 to 3^ inches in diameter; skin rough, green, changing to citron-yellow when ripe, dotted with brown, and tinged with red ne.vt the sun. Flesh white, very fine, somewhat buttery, juice abundant, sugary, perfumed like the Rousselets and Bergamots. Au e.xcellent fruit, ripening, in Belgium, in the first fortnight of October. Raised by M. Bivekt. Due d' Orleans.— The original tree has a magnifi- cent pyi-amidal form. The fruit is middle-sized, or tolerably large, obtuse-pyramidal, of a fine golden yellow, profusely sprinkled with reddish-brown, and dark specks ; the stalk is slender, woody, and about an inch and a quarter in length. Flesh white, fine, melting, very juicy and sugary, with a vinous per- fumed" flavor. Season, November and December. Raised by M. Alexander Bivert, and bore for the first time in 1847. £54 THE GENESEE FAR?.fER Beurre Sis. — Tree vigorous and fertile, but re- quires to be worked on the Pear stock and g^-own against a wall. It is not adapted for pyramidal training. Fruit large, pyriform ; skin smooth, light green, dotted mth deep green and brown. Flesh ■white, very fine, melting, buttery and sugary, with a delicious perfumed flavor. Its season of maturity is November and December, in Belgium. Raised by M. Six, nurseryman at Courtray. Duchcsse de Berry* — This is naturally classed among the Doyennes. In some catalogues it is con- founded with the Doyenne (TEte, from which, how- ever, it is very different. The tree is vigorous and very productive. The fruit is middle-sized, somewhat larger than the Doyenne (TEte or Doyenne de Julliet. Skin smooth, pale green, dotted with brown. Stalk short and thick. Flesh white, crisp, juicy and sugary. Eipens at Nantes between the 15th of August and the 15th of September. This variety was discovered by M. Becneau, nurseryman at Nantes. Among a number of seedling trees at a place called the Barriere de Fer, commune de Saint Herblain, he observed two trees, the fruits of which appeared to possess merit ; to one of them he gave the name of Duchesse de Berry, and to the other that of Saint Herblain d'Hiver, and introduced them into his nurserj' in 1827. Saint Herblain d'Hiver. — The tree does not suc- ceed well on the Quince stock, but on the Pear stock it is tolerably vigorous, and is suitable for standards or pp-amids. The fruit bears considerable resem- blance to the Easter Beurre, from which it has probably been raised, and at first sight might be mis- taken for it. It is of medium size, or rather small when the tree is heavily loaded. Skin smooth, green, sprinkled with small brown dots. Stalk short, deep brown. Flesh fine, white, juicy and sugary. Al- though the tree is not so vigorous as many others, yet it appears deserving of cultivation, as the fruit keeps till late in the season. Marie Anne de A'ancy. — Tree moderately vigorous, and likely to prove a good bearer. Fruit middle- sized, turbinate, about nine inches in circumference. SMa smooth, green, streaked and speckled with rus- set, becoming yellowish when fit for use. Stalk scarcely half an inch in length, clear brown, thick and fleshy. Flesh white, very melting and butteiy, with an abundance of sugary vinous juice. Ripe in September and October. From seed by Van Moxs. Doctor Trousseau. — The tree bore for the first time in 1848. It is entu-ely destitute of thorns, whicli is rarely the case with Pear trees that have recently been raised from seed. Fruit large, pyriform, broad near the eye and contracted near the stalk. It is four inches in height and three inches in diameter. The stalk is strong and woody, about an inch in length, sunk at its insertion. Skin green, spotted with red and sprinkled with gray dots. Flesh fine, white, melting, buttery, with abundance of sugary, perfumed juice. Ripe in November and December. Rai.sed by M. Alexander Bivert. — London Gardeners' Chronicle. * This ghould be called Duchesse de Berry dEte, to distinguisli ix from another pear lately sold under the name of Duchesse de Berry, and which has proved to be the Ucedale St. Germain. THE APPLE ORCHARDS. Much of late years has been wTitten and said about apple orchards and their cultivation. On most all farms of any extent in the Eastern or Northern States, there are more or less of old apple orchards. These, for the most part, have been left to grow up and take care of themselves, which, in the long nm, amounts to just no care at all. The consequence has been that they have become by this neglect unthrifty, scrubby trees, full of dead limbs, the trunk and limbs covered with moss and rough bark, presentiug an unsightly appearance ; and in eight or ten years, the farmer, in early spring, would mount the trees, axe in hand, and cut and slash oif large limbs an 1 small, leading the spurs sticking out from three to six inches long from the trunk, while the tree would be so much relieved from wood that it would take it ten years to get back to where it was at the time of pruning — so that, in the long run, we think the " let alone system " much preferable to the ten years' trimming plan, al- though both plans are what every good reasonable farmer should be ashamed of. Now what these old orchards want, is a thorough renovation in the shortest possible time. The first thing to be done is to cut off the old top of the growing trees, and set on a new one by grafting. This can be done best by the common mode of " cleft grafting." Those limbs that are the size of a " hoe- handle," or an inch and a half in diameter, should be selected, as they soon heal over, making the limb sound. The " grafter " should commence on the top of the tree to saw off the limbs, and so work down, taking care to graft every tier of under limbs at a longer distance from the trunk, so that the grafts will have plenty of room to grow and not interfere with each other. To have this work done in a business- like manner requires three hands — one to saw off the limbs ani pare the stocks ; another to set the scions, two in a stock; and the third hand to put on the wax. All old trees that have a good sound trunk, however many dead limbs they may have, should be sawed and grafted. But many old trees require different management. Some, by bad pruning, have grown their old tops up very high. To graft these old tops at such a distance up would be a difficult job; at the same time they would make an unsightly appearance ingrowing. Such trees should be "headed down" — that is, the large limbs sawed oH" at such distance down the tree, that when the new shoots put out they may form a handsome top. These sprouts, if they are of thrifty growth, may be grafted the second season, or " budded," as the case may be. Old, large trees of slow growth should not, in all cases, have their whole top taken off at once, as the shock might kill them. But in these cases the south half of the tree might be taken off first ; then say in two years after, the north half could be treated in the same way, and the tree saved. As to the time of pruning Apple trees, it may be done any time from May to October; but it should be done regularly every year, and then only small limbs will be taken off; but in the case of old, neglected orchards, more or less of large limbs must be removed. About all the tools wanted are a sharp hand-saw, a fine pruning-saw, and a pruning knite. It will be well to have the large THE GENESEE FARMER 255 woundg covered by a composition of gum shellac, dissolved in alcohol to the consistency of paint, and put on with a Ijiash. This, I think, is as cheap and as good a composition as can be had for closing the pores of the wood — also protecting it from the weather. The best grafting wax I have ever used is that made of four parts of rosin, two of beeswax, and one of tallow, melted together, and kept in an iron kettle. In an ordinary sunny day, the kettle, standing in the sun, will gather sufficient heat to keep the wax in good working order. This wax will not melt in the hottest weather; neither will it crack and come ofl' in the coldest weather ; but it will remain on the stock two or thi-ee years, or until it is entirely healed over. Another thing which should be done at the time of pruning is, the trees should be scraped entirely of moss and rough bark, by a " tree-scraper.'' This can be done best directly after a hea\y storm, as the bark and moss then will be in the right con- dition to come off. After this cleaning, a wash, made from wood-ash lye or potash water, should be put on the trunks and large limbs, which will kill all insects and larva?, giving to the bark a smooth appearance. The " scrapers " may be had at any of the implement stores at a cheap rate. If I were to advise whether to plant a new or- chard or renovate an old one, I should say, renovate the old one first, by all means, because your labor can be made to pay a great deal quicker on the old or- chard than on the new. In from three to four years' time your newly-grafted trees will begin to bear, and so continue to increase from year to year, while at the same time you have made a handsome improve- ment on the stock of your orchard. Old orchards that are kept permanently in grass should have the soil dug up around the trees every season ; and if done as fai- as the branches extend, it will be aU the better. Manure should be dug into the soil occa- sionally, as the case requires. Where orchards are near the " pigery," it is a good plan to let the swine have the run of the orchard through the warm sea- son, as they will eat and destroy most of the - wind- falls " under the trees, and also keep the soil stirred up in search of worms, &c. ISIuch is being done, at present, by farmers and cultivators, in setting out young orchards. This is a commendable work, and shows that the right spirit is at work among our farmers. But the setting out of a young orchard, and then letting the trees take care of themselves, is a " loose business," which too many cultivators still fol- low to their own loss. The soil in an orchard should be kept under culti- vation the whole time, until the trees shade the ground so much that it will not be profitable for hoed crops or grain. As to the distance apart the trees should st^nd, it will depend something on the trees planted. My observation tells me that, as a general thing, apple orchards are set too close on the ground. The trees should be set at such distance apart that the trunks will grow to at least eighteen inches in diameter be- fore the branches approach each other. Some six or seven years ago I set out a young orchard of Bald- wins, at a distance of forty feet one way by thirty the other ; and when the trunks reach the size of a foot and a half, I think that the ground will be nearly covered. An orchard of Rhode Island Greenings should be set at least forty feet each way, as this tree opens more like the umbrella in shape; the branches extending out horizontally from the trunk, it covers a large surface. There is nothing to be gained by crowding trees so that the branches will come to- gether when the trees are eight or ten inches in diameter at the trunk ; but much is lost in this way. The trees should have room to extend their branches, should the orchard live and thrive for an age or a century to come. The quality of fruit is much belter, also, when the trees have plenty of room and sunhght to mature it One word as to the over-supply of good fruit for market, which some cultivators seem to apprehend from the great attention given to this business. I have no idea that the supply will equal or exceed the demand for good fruit in this country in the next fifty years to come. Of course, prices will vary ac- cording to the amount of fruit grown in a season, and other circumstances connected with the business ; but good fruit of all kinds will always -bring a re- munerating price to the careful and patient culti- vator; and then we look for the cultivation of hardy kinds of apples for the " foreign trade," to become a business hereafter of which we know but little at present. Something has been done in this way al- ready; but that a great deal more will be done in the next half century, and that, too, at a large profit, we have no reason to doubt at present. Farmers and cultivators will continue to make all the improvements they can, both in their apple and other fruit orchards. — L. Durand, in tlie Horticulturist. THE RANUNCULUS. The Ranunculus is admitted to be the nephis ultra of floral perfection, and yet it is a singular fact that its culture is all but neglected by florists in general. Let us hope, howevei-, that its present limited culti- vation may soon be extended, and that all may become more familiar with its appearance. Few flowers can be grown in so limited a space and with so small an armnal cost; and when in bloom, what surpasses it in beauty ! Among southern growers, Messrs. Tyso, CosT.\R, AiEZEE, Reeves and Hook stand prominent; but these are not enough, and our midland florists seem to be quite as neglectful of its culture as our metropolitan friends. I trust that these remarks may be the means of inducing a few new growers to enter the field ; and with a view to accelerate this desideratum, I venture to point out to the uninitiated the best modes_ of cul- tivation, and which are to be found in Tyso's little treatise on this flower. I have carried out the fol- lowing instructions as to soil, fprmation of beds, and planting, fully, and with such excellent success that I feel convinced the drawing attention to them here will be doing a real service : " The foundation of all good culture is the adaptation of the compost to the natural habitats of the plant. Experience teaches .hat the Ranunculus delights in a rich hazelly loam. If, therefore, the natural soil of the garden be unfa- vorable, procure the top spit of a pasture, of rather hea%-y and tenacious but not clayey qualities, with the turf, and lay it on a ridge some months, and turn. it two or three times before use. To give precise- 256 THE GENESEE FARMER and accurate directions in print for selecting a soil is difficult ; but it is deserving of remark, that a pas- ture abounding with and luxuriantly sustaining the British varieties of Ranunculuses, or Butter-cups, as they are usually called, has also been found congenial to the Asiatic species. The addition of fertilizing agents to maiden soil is of paramount importance. Many composts have been recommended to the ama- teur, the proportionate ingredients of which have been prescribed with the precision of a physician's formula. The secret of vigorous foliage and enor- mous blooms has been a mixture of powerful chemi- cal stimulents, or a substratum of cow-dung a foot thick, or some other equally unnatural process. Our advice is to avoid quackery. Many valuable collec- tions have been ruined by excessive applications of suitable manures, or the use of such as are destruc- tive rather than nutritive. Decayed stable and cow- dung, in equal quantities, constituting together about one-third, added to two-thirds of loam, will, when mixed and thoroughly incorporated, form a compost for the main depth of the bed ; reserving a portion of loam sufficient to make a top layer of soil 2 inches deep, to which about half the above-stated proportions of well-decomposed manure may be added. It is of importance that the tubers should not be placed in contact with fresh manure, as it engenders disease in the roots, and consequent injury to the plants. Having chosen an open but not exposed part of the garden, which will admit of the beds being laid down about east and west, remove the earth a foot deep, and from 3 feet to 3 feet 4 inches wide, and fill the bed with the prepared compost to within 2 inches of the surface; leave it thus a month, and then add the reserved top soil. These operations are best done in autumn, that time may be allowed for the earth to settle. The surface of the beds should be level, and not more than an inch higher than the paths, in order that the roots may be kept regularly cool and moist; and as the Ranunculus thrives on a firm bottom, the compost should not be disturbed at the time of planting, more than is just needful for that operation. During winter the sur- face may be pointed up rough to take the benefit of frosts, but in no case should this be done more than 2 inches deep. The beds may be neatly edged with inch boards painted lead color ; and in case named sorts are planted, should be numbered with white paint to correspond with the numbers entered in the amateur's list. As a bed well constructed at the commencement will admit of several successive plant- ings, with an annual addition of fertilizing materials, it is worthy of the particular care of the cultivator, though the preparation at first may involve some little trouble and expense. The best season for general planting is the last fortnight in February — the plants have not then to contend with the severi- ties of the winter. In some favorable seasons roots may be planted with advantage in October; they will have more time to vegetate and establish them- selves— will make stronger plants, and will bloom more vigorously, and about a fortnight earlier than if planted in spring. Considerable hazard, houevcr, attends autumn planting, and it is not recommended, except by way of experiment to those who possess a large stock and can afford to risk a portion. In fine weather, toward the close of February, rake your beds perfectly level, and divide them into six longi- tudinal rows for mixed roots, allowing 4 inches from the outside row to the edge ; or for named sorts, mark your rows transversely at distances of .5 inches asunder, and plant six roots in a transverse row. Draw drills one inch and a half deep, and plant the roots with the claws downward, with a gentle pre&- sure to secure them in the soil, so as to be one inch and a half from the crowns to the surface. When planting on a small scale, a dibble with a shoulder at the precise depth may be used, but in large quantities it is an inconvenient method ; and planting at the bottom of a drill with slight pressure, and without disturbing the subsoil, is attended with similar ad- vantages to the use of a dibl^le, and iu practice will be found to have some points of preference. If the top soil is light after planting it may be gently beaten with the back of the spade; this operation, however, must be only done in dry weather." — C, in the Lovr don Gardeners^ Chronicle. KILMARNOCK WEEPING WILLOW. This beautiful weeping plant having lately attracted attention, its history may not be uninteresting. There lived, in a sequestered corner of Monkwood estate, near Ayr, an aged botanist named John yjiiTn, an enthusiastic lover of plants, and a zealous collector. From him Mr. Lang, nurseryman, Kilmarnock, pur- chased one plant, about ten years ago. Afterwards Mr. Lang procured a few more plants from Mr. Smith ; and as the old gentleman died shortly after, he never had an opportunity of ascertaining where he procured the variety. It is probable, however, that he found it growing wild, as the species, Salix caprea or Palm Willow, is one of the most common plants in the countiy. Mr. Lang has since been en- gaged in propagating the plant, and nearly 1000 have been sold. Sir W. J. Hooker received two plants of it in spring, 18o2, and having observed during last summer how exceedingly ornamental it was, he gave Mr. Lang a decided opinion, stating that he thought very highly of it, and that it was much admired in the Royal Gardens at Kew. The tree flowers freely in the month of April, has broad glossy leaves, every branch is curved gracefully downward, and it is as hardy as the most hardy plant we have, being in fact a native of the country, and not, like the Salix Baby- lonica, introduced from a foreign clime. The name of Kilmarnock Weeping Willow was bestowed upon it to distinguish it from the common Weeping Wil- low, the Napoleon Weeping Willow, and the Ameri- can Weeping Willow; it is quite distinct from either of these varieties, having leaves two inches broad. — Kilmarnock Journal. Second Crop of Strawberries. — Prof Page ex- hibited on Tuesday, at the Patent Office, some fine specimens of a second crop of strawberries, produced according to Mr. Peabody's method of continuous caterings. This variety was the favorite strawbeiTy known as the Alice Maud. This is a complete veri- fication of Mr. Pfabody's discovery of making straw- ben'ies constant bearers by constant waterings. THE GENESEE FARMER 261 MODES OF PREPARIVG THE PEACE. A WRITER in the JVeiv York Times publishes a long account of the peach — its uses, and the manner of preparing and preserving it. He concludes his article with the following recipes, which we commend to our female readers, if they observe any thing new in them, to keep until the proper time arrives to test their application: PEArHEs IN Brandy. — Wipe, weigh, and carefully select the fruit, and have ready a quarter of the weight of powdered white sugar ; put the fruit into a vessel that shuts closely, throw the sugar over it, and then cover the fruit with brandy ; between the top and cover of the pot put a piece of double cap paper ; set the pot into a saucepan of water till the brandy is quite hot, but not boiling ; put the fruit into ajar and pour brandy upon it, and when cold put a blad- der over, and tie it down tightly. Pickled Peaches. — Take a gallon of good vinegar, add a few pounds of sugar, boil it for a few minutes, and remove any scum that rises ; then take clingstone peaches that are fully ripe, rub them with a Hannel cloth to get off the down upon them, and stick three or four cloves in each ; put them into a glass or earthern vessel, and pour the liquor upon them boilmg hot ; cover them up, and let them stand in a cool place for a week or ten days ; then pour off the liquor and boil it as before, after which return it boiling to the peaches, which should be carefully covered up and stored away for future use. PEAfiH Preserve. — Take enough clarified sugar to cover the fruit, boil it till the syrup blubbers on the opposite side of the skimmer, and then put in the fruit and let it boil lively two minutes ; remove the same ; let it stand from the fire till the next day ; then take out the fruit, boil the syrup again, and as soon as the fruit boils take them from the fire, and when cold put into jars and keep free from heat or moisture. Peach Jam. — Gather the fruit when ripe, peel and stone them, put them into the pan, and mash them over the fire till hot ; rub them through a sieve, and to each pound of pulp add a pound of white sugar and half an ounce of bitter almonds, blanched and pounded ; let it boil ten or fifteen minutes ; stir and skim it well. Peach Jelly. — ^Take feeestones, not too ripe, wipe them, and cut into small quarters ; crack the stones and break the kernels small ; put the peaches and kernels into a covered jar, set them in boiling water, and let them do till soft ; strain them through a jelly bag till the juice is squeezed out ; allow a pint of white sugar to a pint of juice ; put the sugar and juice into a preserving kettle, and boil them twenty minutes, skimming very carefully; put the warm jelly into glasses or jars, and when cold tie up with brandied papers. Peach Wine. — Take nearly ripe fruit, stone it, and bruise the pulp to one quart of water, and let it stand twenty-four hours ; then squeeze out the juice, and to every gallon of it add two pounds of white sugar ; then put it into a cask, and when it has fermented and become perfectly clear, bottle it up and use at pleasui-e. m I m — — ■ CHEESE-MAKING. NoTicTNG A Vermont Farmer's Wife's desire to obtain information in regard to cheese-making, and having had some experience in that line, 1 venture to state the method which I have used. In very warm weather, I let the milk stand in the pails and cool a little before straining into the tub, care being taken to keep it perfectly sweet, as souring will cause the cheese to be hufty or hard. It should stand at least one hour after turning, before breaking up; and after this is done, it should stand an hour longer before dipping out to drain. Some let it stand in the tubs over night, but I think it more apt to sour ; extract the whey as much as possible. The morning's milk is prepared in the same manner ; slice both curds in the tub to scald together. Take two-thirds boiling water, one-third cold ; stir with the hand very care- fully while pouring in the water. Use water enough to make the curd as warm as new milk. Let it stand fifteen or twenty minutes, and when drained slice it up to cool before chopping ; use one ounce salt to three pounds curd. Pressing should be very light for the first three hours, and increase gradually. A cheese put into the press about noon may be turned the next morning, and taken out the next after. After the rennet is prepared, it should be kept from the air, or it will lose strength. This is the manner in which I have treated my cheese, and have had good success. Should the young wife hear of no better method, she can try the same. — M. W., in the Boston Cultivator. The Home of Taste, — How easy it is to be neat ! to be clean ! How easy it is to arrange the rooms with the most graceful propriety ! How easy it is to invest our houses with the truest elegance ! Elegance resides not with the upholsterer or the draper ; it is not put up with the hangings and curtains ; it is not in the mosaics, the carpeting, the rosewood, the ma- hogany, the candelabras, or the marble ornaments ; it exists in the spirit presiding over the chambers of the dwelling. Contentment must always be most graceful ; it sheds serenity over the scene of abode ; it transforms a waste into a garden. The home lightened by these, imitations of a nobler and brighter life may be wanting in much which the discontented desire, but to its inhabitants it will be a place far out-vying the oriental in brilliancy and glory. The following " epigram," which we find in an ex- change, was evidently written by some poor, forlorn bachelor : When Eve brought wo to all mankind, Old Adam called her wo-man ; But when she woo'd with love so kind. He tlien pronounced it woo-maii. But now with folly and with pride, Their husliand's pockets trimmiiig. The ladies are so full of whims, The people call them whim-en. 258 THE GENESEE FARMER. JSifolr'^ I^ble. Aqency in New York. — C. M. Saxton', Agricultural Book Pub- lisher, No. 152 Fulton street, New York, is agent for the Ge.vest-;k Farmkr, and subscribers in that city who apply to him can have their papers delivered regularly at their houses. AOK.N'CY IX CiN'cix.VATl. — R. PoST, No. 10 West Third street, Ciu- cinnati, is agent for the Genesee Farmer, and subscribers in that city who apply to him can have their papers delivered reguhxrly at their houses. TiiK Wheat Fly, or "Weevij.." — Tliis insect has caused great alarm in Western New York within the last six weeks ; nor are we able to indicate tlie probable exteiit of the injui'v done to the staple crop of our enterprising farmers. The damage, however, is so large that many will abstain from wheat-culture for a few years, until the pest shall have passed by. In a recent visit to Cayuga county, where the fly has prevailed longer than it has in the Genesee valley, we found the brown Mediterranean wheat nearly exempt from the attacks of this depredator, while the different varieties of white wheat were nearly destroyed. Plump Mediterranean weighs some four or five pounds more per bushel than either the white flint, blue stem, or Soule's wheat, and the flour of the former is .'stronger" — that is, it will imbibe per 100 pounds more water, and yield more bread than the flour of white wheat — and therefore bakers in cities, who sell bread by weight, like it. It has, however, a thick, hard bran, and the flour is comparatively dark colored. It is better than no wheat, but farmers in this region will reluctantly engage in its cultivation. Kollar thus describes the wheat midge : " The Mlieat Midge, or Weevil. ( Tipula tritici, Kirby. Cecidomyia tritici, Latreille.) — When wheat is in blossom, it is sometimes attacked by a small fly of an orange-yellow color, which lays its eggs by means of a long retractile ovipositor in the middle of the blossom. When the eggs are hatched, the larvae prevent the fructification of the grains, probably by eating the pollen, and thus frequently destroy some part of the harvest. The perfect insect has a distant resemblance to the common midge, but is smal- ler, being scarcely a line [one-twelfth of an inch] long. The body is an orange-yellow, the wings clear and trans- CECIDOMTIA TRITICI. parent like water, and hairy at the edges; t!>e eyes are black, the auteunce necklace-shaped, longer than the thorax, find the feet rather long. " The larvffi jump on being touched ; they have no feet- are of a citron' color, wrinkled or warty at the side edges ; the head terminates in a point, and the posterior end is truncated. The pupa is slender, pointed at both endn, and of a reddish color. "The extraordinary smallness of this insect, botli in its larva and perfect state, with the circumstance th.it the de- struction of the wheat takes place when it is in blossom, and that not all the ears on one and the same field are attacked, allows of but little that can be etfectcd by human aid against tins enemy of grain. The safest and almost only certain means of diminishing such an evil for the next year, consists in not sowing wheat again on the same field, nor in its neighborhood ; for in all probability the pupa; lie in the earth.* and will only become flies next year at the season when the wheat is in blossom." Cattle From Texas. — Mr. James Gilchrist, of Fan- ning county. Texas, lately delivered and sold 130 head of fat cattle in the city of New York. This drove started in April. 18.5:{, and consumed four months in reaching Illinois, where they wintered, and were then driven to Marius, Ind., and thence by cars to Cleveland, Erie, Dunkirk, and by the way of the Erie road. This made about 1500 miles on foot, and (100 miles on the railroad. The expense from Texas to Illinois was about $2 a head, the owners campiing out all the way. From Illiiiois to New York, the expense was §17 a head. The drove came 500 miles through the Indian country ; the owners purchased a part from the Clioctaws. Part of the route was through the Kansas Territory. The top of the drove, says the New York Tribune, are good quality of beef, and all are fair. A lot of twenty- one, short 8 cwt., sold to Weeks at $30, and a good many others sold at 18c. These cattle are generally 5, G and 7 years old, rather long-legged, though fine-horned, with long taper horns, and something of a wild look. Some oi them are the descendants of a most excellent breed of cat- tle for the South, originally imported by the Spaniards, and generally known in all the South-western States af Spanish cattle. It is said that the meat of this description of cattle is fine-grained and close, somewhat like venison, and apt to be a little tough cooked in the ordinary way, and therefore not so good to eat fresh as that of cattle ol a more dome.stic character. This wiU be somewhat changed by purchasing them young and feeding them two years as well as this drove has been fed one year. The owners are two youug men, who are entitled tc considerable praise for their enterprise, as well as bringing the first drove of cattle from Texas to the New York market. They first earned the money to purchase, .and have done nearly all the work themselves, and will make a handsome thing of the enterprise. The Practical Mechanic's Journal. — For solid learning and science in illustration of the mechanic arts probably no other work excels the Practical Mechanic's Journal, which is got up at no inconsiderable expense in England, and republished, with an " American Depart- ment," by Stringer & Towxsekd, New York. It is really cheap at £3 a year to any one who has a taste to study the principles of Mechanical Science. Civil Engineering re- ceives much attention, while no branch of mechanics ap l)ear8 to be overlooked. » Acnording to M. GoRRiE (Magazine of Natural History), aX\ the l.Tjva; h.ave quitted the cars of wheat and descended to the eMrlli by tlie first of Aujjust, going into the ground to about the depth of half an inch, where it is probable tliey pa.'vs tlie wintsr in the pupa atate. THE GENESEE FARMER 269 Mr. Emtou : — I herewith send you a sample of currant wine, made a year ago, in accordance with the recipe an- nexed. It deemed worthy of note, it is at your service: Select good ripe currants, and bruise theui tlioroughly ; strain the juice tiirougli a close bag ; to a quait of juice idd two quarts of water and three pounds of common brown sugar ; let the cask or keg be thoroughly clean, and (ill it full ; have a sufficient quantity of liquid to replace as the fermentaiion proceeds ; and when the scum ceases to rise bung the cask firmly, and in a few months you will have very pleasant, refreshing native wine. July, 1S54. The currant wine received with the above note is a capi- tal beverage for this hot weather, when properly diluted with cold water. Sweet black cherries make an excellent wine ; and the business is capable of indefinite extension. Sale of IIokses in New York. — A sale of valuable horses recently took place at the " New York Tattersall's," in Sixth avenue. Nearly a thousand persons were in at- tendance, and the bidding was active. From twelve to fifteen horses were up during the early part of the sale, and were bid off at prices varying from $200 to $250. The main interest that attached to the sale was the an- oouncement that the celebrated trotters, Mac, Tacony, Frank Forrester and Barnum, would be sold under the hammer. Mac was struck off at $4,100, to Mr. Mann, of Baltimore ; Tacony was sold for §3,700, to Mr. J. G. Be- VENS, of New York ; Frank Forrester was sold to Mr. SfAXN also, who paid §2,350. Barnum was withdrawn from the auction, he having been sold at private sale during the morning for the sum of $2,850. Sheep from Ohio in Illinois. — A couple of our ac- quaintances, residing in Cadiz, Ohio, purchased last Feb- ruary a year ago, 5OU0 sheep in that vicinity, for $3 per head. They sheared them, and sold the wool at fifty-seven cents per pound — or $1.75 per fleece. This left the sheep at $1.25. These they drove to near Springfield, Illinois, where tiiey summered them on cheap pasture, and corn that cost them about seven cents per bushel, and hay in the same proportion. They lost but few by death, and this spring, in addition to their old flock, they will have 2,000 lambs ; and their crop is almost as near market at Spring- field as though it were in Cleveland or Boston. It is easy to figure up the profits of such a business, and they are sure for years to come. — Ohio Farmer. The above looks well on paper — all but the purchase of corn near Springfield at " seven cents a bushel." Illinois ought to be a great wool-growing State, and we trust that it soon will be. The Cashmere Goat. — The Philadelphia Ledger says: " We have heard a great many guesses and opinions whetfier the goat that produces the fine hair, out of which are manufactured the justly-celebrated Cashmere shawls, can be propagated in this country ; and we are happy to announce to our countrymen that it can be done. A friend has deposited with us, for a short time, three specimens of this hair — one of a buck, one of a ewe, and the third of a kid, nine months old, all of the pure breed, which are now being bred and are in a thriving condition in the western part of the State of Georgia." God never designed this world for our home ; it is only the place where we are educated for eternity. A New Useful Metal. — The existence of the metal aluminum, the base cf alumina, has been long knovvn. M. WoHLER obtained aluminum in the state of powder, by treating the chloride of aluminum with potassium. M. H. St. Claire Deville, of the Normal School of Paris, has been conducted, by a careful study of this body, to the discovery of a process, comparatively simple, by which this metal may be obtained. If a mass, composed of the chloride of aluminum, and some metal, is taken and heatd in a porcelain crucible to a bright redness, the chloride is decomposed, and there remains a saline mass, in the mid- dle of which globules of perfectly pure aluminum are stated to be found. This metal is as white as silver, and in the highest degree malleable and ductile. It is completely unalterable in either dry or moist air, retaining its brilliancy under conditions in which zinc and tin tarnish. It is quite unaffected by sulphurated hydrogen gas. Cold water has no action on it, and it remains untarnished in boiling water. Several of the acids only attack it with difficidty. but it is readily dissolved in hydrochloric acid, forming a sesquichloride of aluminum. The specific gra- vity of this metal is stated to be 2.56 ; therefore it is not heavier than glass. This metal, existing most abundantly in nature, every argillaceous compound containing it, must become of remarkable value in the arts. The Poetry of Physic. — Doses have always been as- sociated in our minds with wry faces, and medicine has seemed, from the days of childhood, another word for nau- sea and disgust. Its remedies are the worst part of sick- ness, and pain was not so hard to bear as the revolting po- tions we were compelled to swallow for its relief. Dr. Ayer's preparations herald another era. His Cherry Pec- toral is like honey on the tongue, and healing balm on the stomach. His Pills! Try them — they are sweet morsels to the taste, and glide sugar-shod over the palate, but their enerary, although wrapped up, is there, and strikes with telling force to the very foundation of disease. — Cincinnati Citizen. English Reviews and Blackwood's Magazine. — "We have frequently commended these valuable periodicals, which command the best talent in the British empire ; and we now allude to them merely to call attention to the fact that the London, Edinburgh and Westminster Reviews, and Blackwood, commence new volumes in July, so that the present is a favorable time to subscribe for any of these standard works. The North British begins a new volume in May. The postage on the four Reviews and Blackwood is only 80 cents a year, viz. : 14 cents on each Review, and 24 on Blackwood. Price of the whole, $10 a year. Sheep-raising in Illinois. — A single family in Sanga- mon county, says the Register, have seventeen thousand sheep, and all of good blood. The yield of wool is larger than the finest in Ohio. It is a fact that there is no better country on earth for wool-growing than Illinois. Every farmer who has tried the business has amassed a fortune at it. The expenses are less, and the profits three times larger than in any other State in the Union. 280 THE GENESEE FARMER. STATE FAIRS FOR ISoi. niiaoia, at Springfield, Sept. 12 to 15 Vermont, at Brattleborongh, " 13 to 15 Ohio, at Xewirk, " 19 to 22 Michigan, at Detroit " 26 to 29 Pennsrlvania, " 27 to 29 IBfflonri at Boonville, Oct. 2 to 6 Xew Tork, at Kew Tork city, " 3 to 6 Kew Hampshire, " 3 to 6 Marrland, at Baltimore, " 3 to 6 Indiana, at Madison, " 4 to 7 Wisconsin, at Watertown, " 4 to 7 Connecticnt, at Xew Haren, " 10 to 13 Georgia, at Angusta, " 23 to 23 Iowa, at Fairfield, " 25 Lower Canatia, at Quebec, _.. Sept, 12 to 15 Springfield Cattle Sho-r, Ohio, Oct. 25 to 27 Chaeitt is the affection of good, and faith the affection of truth. m »■»»- Pleascbz, like an over-fed lamp, is extinguished bj the excess of its own aliment. Inqutrus ani SLnsbtts. As I stand in need of important information in agricultural matters, and as I do not know where else to get it, I have deter- mined "to seek where it can be found." I want to know whether or not there is any method of reclaiming what we call " post oak glade," which is a kind of wet land, of a whitish or ashy color, most of the growth being post Oak, with a few scattering Pines. Such lands are apt to bake after heavy rains ; they never seem meilow and loose like the lands adjoining. Some of these glades hare sand in them, and some do not. I also want to know whether Euch lands will grow grass, either for grazing or for the purpose of making hay ; and if they will, what kinds suit best, and the mode of tr«atmeat. Our common woods grass grows finely on snch laodai, where it is not drowned' out by the water standing on it. I am a novice in Arming, this being my first year ; and as I have no experience of my own I want that of others, so please inform me for what amount you can send me the first eleven volumes of your excellent paper, postage paid. It is a paper that, I think, ought to be read by every farmer. I have several other subjects that I want information on, but will defer it until some future time. A Sxra- BCBIBSB. — Clinton, Texas. Wet post oak land is generally better adapted to grass than anv other crop, but nsnaUv needs some artificial pro- vision for the removal of stirface water. ASTiere there is an outfall, ditching is the proper remedy. The excess of water being disposed of, the due amendment of the soil comes next in order. The soil is usually a tenaciotis clay, which, when cultivated, b much inclined to run together, and soon bake into a solid mas?, instead of remaining fria- ble and pulverulent. Lime tends to counteract this evil, and win generally improve the land for the growth of grass and grain. The cost of lime and the natural wants of the soil must regxslate the amount to be applied per acre. In a limestone rejrion, where spring water is calcareous, liming may not be necessary. In such districts, which are not un- common in some parts of Michigan, the kind of land re- ferred to by our Texas correspondent makes excellent meadows ; bnt in the granitic and freestone districts in the Southern Atlantic States, marling or liming is almost indis- pensable to render the land worth cultivation. Wherever much water evaporates, it is apt to leave poisonous salts, or acids, or both, behind, to injure the growth of nutritioua grasses, either for pasture or meadow. Drainage washes away most of these ; but very compact clay often retains too much for the good of the soil, and marling will correct the acidity, and render the land more friable, and open it to the meliorating influences of solar light and heat, and atmospheric gases.- Experienced stock-growers and planters in Texas will inform our friend what grasses he had best produce. It ia doubtftil whether .i;iy Northern variety wiU succeed so well as some of the indigenous grasses of the South. Any Southern leader will confer a favor on the Geneseb Faemeb by describing in a letter the kinds of grass best adapted to grazing and mowing in the Gulf States. We cannot furnish the first eleven volumes of the Farmeb. HOP-TIC ULTUEAL. I would be glad if you would inform me what would be the most suitable hedge plant for a garden, where it is desirable to take up as little space as possible. I see Privet is called an evergreen in an English work, bnt not in a Rochester nursery catalogue. Are there two kinds? Jows WrLKKS. — Terre Haute, Ind. Yon have not stated whether you wish the hedge as an ornamental one for the lines of your garden, or as a thief- proof protection to its fruits. .\s an ornamental hedge, the Privet answers very well, and presents a very pretty appearance when properly trimmed : as a protective hedge against marauders, we know of nothing equal to the Osage Orange. There are two kinds of Privet, one of which re- tarns its foliage nearlv all winter. ADVERTISEMENTS, To secure insertion in the Fapjiee, must be received as early as the 10th of the previous month, and be of such a character as to be of interest to farmers. Teems — Two Dollars for every hundred words, each insertion, paid rs advaxcb. SEED WHEAT Am) EYE WANTED. THOSE haring superior kinds of tlie above, wiU please address the Eubscriljer with samj.les and prices. R. L. ALLEN, July 1, 18M.— 2t 1S9 and 191 Water st, New Tort CUTTEE EIGHTS EOE SALE WE will test our Hay, Stalk and Straw Cutter, patented Novem- ber 8th, 18-53, for speed, ease and durabilitv, aaainst any other in the United States. J. JONES k A.^LYLE. l^ For further information, address JONES & LYLE, Roch- ester, N. Y. February 1, 1854.— tf GEIfESEE VALLEY NTjESEEIES. A. FEOST & CO. ROCKESTEK, N. T., OFFER to the public the criming spring one of the largest and 5ne>t stocks of Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Roses, fcc, in the country. It in part consists of standard Apple, Pear, Chen-v, Plum, Peach. Apricot, Necta-ine and Quince Trees. Also, Dwarf and Pvramid Pears and ArT'le^. SMALL FRUn^. — Native and Foreign Grapes, old and new sorts nf Ciirrants, finest Lanca-shire Goosttierries, Strawberries, Rasp- bo-rif-=, fcc. &c. Tlip ORN.VilENTAL DEPART5IENT comprises a great variety of Pftcidunus and Evergreen Trees, Shrubs, Tines and Creeper^ whi'-h includes upward of of 300 varieties of the Rose. BEDDING PLANTS. — 150 varieties of Dahlias, a large collectioii ^ nf Verbenas, Petunias. Helictropes, Arc. ic. Priced Catalogues of the above will he mailed to all apphcanti enclosing a postage stamp for each Catalocrue wanted, viz : Ko. 1. — Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits, Ornamental Trees, Shrubc-. &c. Xo. 2. Descriptive Cata'.nzue of Green House and Bedding Plants of every description, includin? every thine new which may be ia- j trodnced nr to its season, will be puVIi-hed in March each year.j ' Xn. .3. — Wholesale Catalogue, published in September. Tebrriary 1, 1S54.— tf THE GENESEE FARMEPw. 261 hussp:y's combined reaper and mower, MANTJFACTUEED BY T. R EUSSET & CO., ATJBUEN. CAYTJGA COUNIi!, N. Y. THE perfect satisfection which the above-named Machine gave to every fanner who nsed one, both in Reaping and Mowing, last sea- son, gives us renewed confidence in vtarranting them to be the best ilachine for the purpose intended ever maniifacrured : and m c^r Bideraaon of the uneqoaled success attending" the operation and sale of them last season, we hare gone more extensively in;o to* manufacture of them, and have a lot now oq hand, REAX>T TO SrPPLT ORDERS. All Machines sold by us ai-e warranted to be built of the best materiaU, and warranted to work well, both for REAPLVG AND MOinXG. _ We could append any number of certificates as proofe of the well working of the Machine, but we flatter ourselves tliat the rejrita- tion of them is so well established among the farming community that they are not required. J3*" All communications sent to us on the subject of Mowers and Re-apers, will receive prompt attention. July 1, 1S54.— tf T. K. HrsSEV i C0„ Auburn, K. T. PERUVIAN GUANO. WE are receiving our stock of Peruvian Guano, for summer and fall supply, per ships Xorthern Crown. Leavanter and Antelope, and are now prepared to supply ail that may be in want of this raluable manure, and request early application. Price, $•« jier ton of 2000 lbs. When taken in lots of fire tons and upwards, a discount will be made. There are various substances now offering in this market for Pe- ruvian Guano. To avoid imposition, be particular to observe that the genuine Gu.ono has branded upon each bag — No. 1. PERUVIAN' GUAN'O. Imported by F. Barrkda Brothsks. I.OXGETT & GRIFFIXG. State Agrioultural Warehouse, '25 Cliff street, New York- Juljr 1, 1854.— tf NEW BOO^BY MAIL D. M. DEWEY, ROCHESTEPv X. Y_ WELL send any Book, Pamphlet, Magadae, Cheap Fablication. Map, i:o. io^ vou see advcriivd nr r.'.>!iceJ anywhere, by m.xil, fc-ee of postage.'on the receipt cf tlie pri.-e of the book, to my address. AU the Xew Books of the day on sale at mv counter at Publishers- prices. Address D. M. DEWEY. Bookseller, Arcade Hall, Rochester. X. Y. N. B.— AGENTS WANTED, to sell N'ew PaMications, \raps. &c- fcc, to whom a liberal coniraissioa will be allowed. Addrt-ss ao above. July 1, 185*.— 2t FEBTTT.T7FBS. Q rPERPHOSPHATE OF LIMF, N'o. 1. of the best m.inn£wtupe. O Peruvisu Gn.ino, best X.>. 1. PoudreUe. Plaster of Paris, tc. R. L. ALLEN. March 1, 155*.— 3t 189 and 191 Water street, N'ew Yori. 262 THE GENESEE FARMER. McCORMICK'S REAPING AND MOWING MACHINE IA.\[ manufacturing 1500 Reaping and Stowing Xfachines for 1854, and farmers who want Machines are requested to send in their orders early. Last year I had not a supply, although I had 1500 in the market. I offer my large experience (both in this country and in Europe) for the last fifteen years and more in this business, as the safest guarantee the farmer can have in the purchase of a JIachine of this liind. Deeming it useless to insert long advertisements in the newspa- pers, I shall be pleased to furnish appliamts with my printed Cir- cular. Some importiint improvements have been made, while the Ma- chine will be found as simple and efficient as a Machine of the kind can be. The important points that will present themselves in these JIaohines, will be Perfect Simplicity, Ease of Repairing, Durability, and Adaptation to the Wants of the Farmer as a Reaper and Mower. I shall continue the use of the Wrought-iron Beam, which will be found very important in mowing, because of the friction upon the ground, and liability to tear and wear a Wooden Beam, or any sheet-iron lining that may be used upon it. Another very important advantage which I claim for my Combined Machine is that it can be readily changed so as to cut any desired height of stubble as a Reaper or Mower by simply removing three bolts. This principle will be found wanting in other machines, though valuable upon rough ground, or for mowing barley or lodged oats, timothy seed, clover seed, &c., or where the ground may not be firm, and there be liability in the wheels to sink and the cutter to be brought in contact with the ground, sand, gravel, &c. With my Combined Machine the farmer has the advantage of a Reel in mowing, which admits of a slow walk to the horses, and is es- pecially valuable when the wind interferes with the successful ope- ration of the Machine. I have no fear of the result upon trial of the Machine with others ; it has no superior as a Reaper or as a Mower. The public are now especially cautioned to beware of Seymour & MoRG.vx's " New York Reapkr." These men have been selling my Machines, tlunigh under an i7ijunciion the second time since the re-issue of my Patent in April last, in addition to a veniict of $20,000 for past infringements. l[^° Sundry other parties will soon be held to strict account for their infringements under this Patent, which makes them just as liable to be enjoined as Seymour & Morgan. The Machine will be warranted equal to any other, both as a Reaper and as a Mower; and it will be forwarded to any part of New York or Canada, if ordered of THOS. J. PATERSON, at Ro- chester, N. Y., who wants Agents to sell it in some of the unoc- cupied wheat districts. C. H. McCORMICK. May 1, 1854.— tf MANSFIELD'S PATENT CLOVER HULLING AND CLEANING MACHINE WAS awarded the first premium at tlie World's Fair, New York. Also, at the Ohio Stale Fairs for three successive years, and all other places wherever exhibited. Warranted to Hull and Cle.an from twenty to forty bushels per day, and with a new improvement to be attached to the Machines made in 1S54, they will Hull and Clean one-fourth more in the same time. Cash price, $100. For sale by M. H. MANSHELD, Sole Manufiicturer, Ashland, Ohio, N. B. — Prosecutions will be promptly commenced for any in- fringements of the rights of the patentee. July 1, 1854. — ^2t* CIDER MILL AND PRESS. HICKOK'S Cider Mill and Press is considered now the best in use; simple in construction, portable Cweighing but 275 lbs.), and not liable to get out of order. Warranted to work well, and give satisfaction. The first premium of the American Institute and Crystal Palace has been awarded to this machine. Drawing and description will be sent by addressing the agents for the sale, in New York. Price of mill and press, $40. LONGETT & GRIFFING, May, 1854.— 4t 25 CliCf street, near Fulton, New York. THE GREAT RED DRAGON. OR THE MASTER KEY TO POPERY, By AXTnoxY Gavin, Catholic Priest, of Saragossa, Spain. BOOK AGENTS WANTED, TO sell the work which is now ready, and surp.osses in detail and interest any other work ou the subject of Popery ever issued. The terriMe revelations which it contains will startle every Protest- ant with horror, as coming from one who was a participator in the bloody deeds, and who h;us had the best opportuoity ever possessed by any man to unveil the mvsteries of the Great Babylon of Po- perv. Finely illustrated. Address, immediatelv, SAMUEL .JONES, Publisher, August!, 1854. — 3t 86 Washington street, Boston, Mass. ROCHESTER AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY. THE undersigned, wlio has been many years engaged in the ex- tensive niauuftcture of v.arious kinds of Agricultural Machin- ery, particularly Horse Powers, Threshing iiachines. Separators, &c., h:is now added to his business the manufacture of several valuable implements — 1st. ATKINS' AUTOMATON OR SELF-RAKING REAPER .\NI) JIOWEK; an implement well known at the West, which has been advertised for the last three months by Mr. Wright of Chi- cago, in the Genesee Farmer, to which the reader is referred for particulars. Atkins' Self-Raking Reaper. — This machine was in successful operation on the farm of B. B. Kirtlaxd, Gieenbush, on Wednes- day and Thursday of last week, and elicited the approbation of every one win saw it. It is impossible to convey in words any idea of the mechanical construction of the raking attachment. The cutting apparatus does not differ materially from that of other reapers, but at regular interviJs an arm, to which a rake is attached, extends itself to the farther part of the apron, slowly draws itself the length of the apron, pressing the grain against a plate, where it holits it till it swings around a quarter of a circle, clear of the machine, and coolly deposits its neat sheaf on tlie ground, when it immediately returns to repeat the process. Tlie machine is not of heavier draught, apparentl}-, than other machines — and it does its cutting fully equal to any we have seen work. While it has no superior as a practical thing, it is a curiosity worth quite a pilgrim- age to see. It comes the nearest to being instinct with life and manifesting signs of intelligence, of anv piece of mechanism, not excepting the steam engine. — Country Gentleman. 2d. BURRALL'S GRAIN REAPER.— At the great tri.al of Reapers in the harvest field, at Geneva, N. Y., in July liust, the Committee appointed by the State Agricultural Society, took into consideration its simplicity, duratjility, the manner in which it performed its work, and the ease with which it can be managed, when, in com- petition witli eleven other Reapers, they unanimously awarded it \.\\e first prize of .$.50 and diploma. The Committee in their report remark that "T. D. Burrall'S Machine performed its work in the most admii able manner ; the gavels were well laid ; the workman- ship and materials were excellent; the circular apron for side de- liver.y, the balance wheel and an arrangement to elevate the exte- rior edge of the apron, are valuable features, &c., &c. This Reaper has been thoroughly tested practically, during the last two years, in Western New York. All the Reajiers sent out have given complete satisfaction. We would say to those who are not convinced of the superiority of this Reaper over all others, that we have still more facts which we could not exhibit for want of space, and which we would be pleased to exhibit to all such as may call upon us. We would obsei-ve that experience with this Reaper will bear us outjin saying that 1. It cuts grain of all kinds, in all conditions, without clogging, and may be worked by oxen or horses. 2. It cuts at any height required, by a few moments' change. 3. It discharges the grain in the rear, if preferred, like Hussey's; or at the side, like M'Cormick's; le,aving room for the team and machine to pass again without treading on the grain. This change is made by means of an extra apron, (attached in a moment,) from which the grain is laid in a better condition for drying and binding, and with much less labor to the raker than has ever been done before. 4. It hSFI LOANS, for 100 vears each, 30,000 REAL ESTATE, ". 84,000 Total, $250,000, The AiTERic.vN Artists' Union would recpectfully announce to the citizens of the United States and the Canadas, that for the pur- pose of the advancement and extension of the Fine Arts, aud niili a view of enabling every family throughout the length and breaulli of the land to become possessed of a gallery of pictures, many of them the ■nnrk of master minds, and finally, for the purpose of giving a world-wide circulation to DARLEY'S GREAT PICTURE OF \VYOMIi\G, they have determined to distribute among the purchasers of this work, Price $1.00, 260,000 UIKTS, of THE VALUE of $250,000. LIST OF GIFTS. * Marble Statuary, $40,000. 100 elegant busts of W;uiliington, at $100,. .$10,000 100 " " Clay, at $100, 10,000 100 " ■« Webster, at $100, 10,000 100 " " Calhoun, at $100, 10,000 Oil Paintings and Colored Steel Engravings. 50 elegant Oil Paintings, in splendid gilt frames, size 3 X 4 feet, each $100,.. $5,000 100 elegant Oil Paintings, 2x3 feet, each $60, 5,000 500 steel plate Engravings, brilliantly colored in oil, rich gilt fi-ames, 24 x 30 inches, each $10, 5,000 10,000 elegant steel plate Engravings, colored in oil, of the W.iSHiXGTO.v Mo.M'ME.N'T, 20 by 2'j, each $4, 40,000 237,000 steel plate Engravings, fiom 100 different plates, now in possession of and owned by the Artists' Union, of the market value of from 60 cts. to $1 each, 41,000 Eeal Estate, $84,000. 1 elegant Dwelling in 32d street. New York city, $12,000 "22 Building Lots in 100 and 101st streets, New York city, each 25 x 100 feet deep, each $1000, 22,000 100 Villa Sites, containing each 10,000 square feet, in the suburbs of New York city, and commanding a mag- nificent view of the Hudson River and Longl.sland Sound, each $500, ._ 50,000 Loans of Cash, $30,000. 20 loans of ca.sh, for 100 years, without interest or secu- rity, $260 each, $5,000 60 do. ■ 100 " 6.000 100 do. 50 " 5,000 •250 do. 20 " 5,000 •2000 do. 5 " 10,000 The holder of each ticket is entitled, first, to a steel plate En- gni^ing (size 25 x 30 inches) of the GREAT AMERICAN HISTORICAlj WORK OF ART, WYOMING, a copy of which may be seen at the office of this paper ; and second, to One of the 850,000 GifU, which wiU be distributed on the completion of the sale of the tickets. The purcha-ser of FIV^E TICKETS, on the receipt of his order, will be forivarded, carefully packed, either one copy of the " Wy- oming," plain, and one copy of each of four other engravings, equal to it in value, and is entitled to five gifts. The )iurcha.scr of more than five tickets can have hi.s choice out of 100 different sub- jects, from steel plates owned by the Artists' Union, each picture being in value equivalent to the " Wyoming," aud Ls entitled to one gift for each ticket he holds. A list of the subjects c^in be seen at the office of this paper. AGENTS. — Persons desiring to become Agents for the sale of tickets, by forwarding (post paid) $1, shall be sent a Gift Ticket, a copy of Wyoming, and a prospectus containing ail neces.sary infor- mation. It 19 confidently believed that the tickets will be disposed of by the first of July, when the distribution of Gifts will be entrusted to a COMMITTEE APPOl.VTEl) BY THE TICKET-HOLDERS. The steeJ plates from which the engravings are printed can be Been at the office of the Artist.s' Union,_ and cost $100,000. Sj>eci- mens of the Oil Paintings and Engravings are also on view at the toom.s. REFERENCES IN REGARD TO THE PROPERTY. W. C. Barrett, Esq., Counsellor at Law, 10 Wall street, N. Y. F. J. VisscHER & Co., Real Estate Brokers, SO Nassau st., N. Y. ALL ORDERS FOR TICKETS must be addressed, post paid, wiih the money enclosed, to J. W. HOLBROOKE, Sec, June 1, 1S54.— 3t 605 Broadway, New Yoric. AYER'S PILLS. FOR ALL THE PURPOSES OF A FAMILY PHYSIC. THERE has long existed a public demand for an effective pur- gative pill which could be relied on as sure and peifectly safe in its operation. This has been prepared to meet th:ii dem:uid, and an extensive trial of its virtues luis conclusivel\ ^'aij.vu wUii what success it accomplishes the purpose designed. It is easy to ra;ike a physical Pill, but not easy to make the best of all Pills — one which should have none of the objections, but all the advautafits, of every other. This has been, attempted here, and with what success we would respectfully submit to the public decision. It has been un- fortunate for the patient hitherto that almost every purgative medicine is acrimonious and irritating to the bowels. This is not. .Many of them produce so much griping pain and revulsion in the system as to more than counterbalance the good to be derived from them. These PilU produce no irritation or pain, unless it arise frt'm a previously existing obstruction or derangement in the bow- els. Being purely vegetable, no harm can arise from their use in tiny quantity ; but it is better that any medicine should be taken judiciously. Minute directions for their use in the several di.seases to which they are applicable are given on the box. Among the complaints which have been speedily cured by them, we may men- tion Liver Complaint, in its various forms of Jaundice, Indigestion, Languor and Loss of Appetite, Listlessness, Irritability, Bilious Headache, Bilious Fever, Fever and Ague, Pain in the Side and Loins, for, in truth, all these are but the consequence of diseased action in the liver. As an aperient, they afford prompt and sure relief in Costiveness, Piles, Colic, Dysenterj', Humors, Scrofula and Scurvy, Colds, with soreness of the body. Ulcers and impurity of the blond'; in short, any and every case where a purgative is required. They have also produced some singularly successful euros in Rheumatism, Gout, Dropsy, Gravel, Erysipela-s, Palidtation of the Heart, Pains in the Back, Stomach and Side. They should be freely taken in the spring of the year, to purify the blood and prepare the system for the change of seasons. An occasional dose stimulates the stomach and bowels into healthy action, and restores tlie appe- tite and vigor. They purify the blood, and, by their stimulant ac- tion on the circulatory system, renovate the strength of the body, and restore the wasted or disea-sed energies of the whole organism. Hence an occasional dose is advantageous even though no serious derangement exists; but unnecessary dosing should never be car- ried too far, as every purgative medicine reduces the strength, when taken to excess. The thousand cases in which a physic is required cannot be enumerated here, but they suggest themselves to the reason of every body ; and it is confidently believed this pill will answer a better purpose than any thing which haj hitherto been available to mankind. When their virtues are once known the public will no longer doubt what remedy to employ when in need of a cathartic medicine. Being sugar wrapped, they are pleasant to take ; and being purely vegetable, no harm can arise from their use in any quantity. For minute directions, see the wrapper on the box. PREPARED BY JAMES C. AYER, PRACTICAL AND ANA- LYTICAL CHEJnST, LOWELL, MASS. ^^° Price 25 cents per Box. Five Boxes for $1. rS^ Sold by LANE k PANE, and W. PITKIN & SON, Roches- DEMARE3T & HOLMAN, Buffalo; and by all DrugoriRts ter every where. July 1, 1854.— 2t AGENTS WANTED. CHANCES FOR MAKIN',; MONEY! THE publishers of a large list of highly entertaining, useful and popular Books, offer great inducements to SilO eneit,etic and thorough-going business \ oung men, to engage in the sale of these publications, in which auv young man of good busine.ss habit* may make FIVE TIMES the a'm'nunt, over and above all expenses, of the average wages of Common School Teaehers. The MOST LIBERAL discounU"-- are made to Agents from the list of prices. The books command ready sales wherever tliey are introduced. None need apply unless they wish to devote their whole atten- tion to the business, and who cannot command a CASH CAPITAL of from $25 to $1W), or give undoubted security for the amount of goods entrusted to them. Full particulars in regard to terras, &c., will be fujnished by c;illing on, or addressing, post paid, '' WANZElt, BEARDSLEY & CO., 04 Buffalo Street, Rochester, N. Y., Or, ALDEN, BE.AKD.-LEY & CO., June 1, 1864.— tf Auburn, N. Y., Publiflhera. 264 THE GEXESEE FARRIER CJonltttts of ttis Jfuniitr. C^:e-:iar Hinis for August, - -■ ir of Soils, -,« 4 ^-.,f-^«— /-.f Gr-^sg 5dP*j - -a in rhili 2*S - 235 THE GENESEE FAEHEE, A M'-.VTHLT JOCPJaL OF AGBICULTUEE i HORTICULTUKE. VOLCSIE XV^ SECOND SEIRE5. 1S5*. -iWe, _ - 241 . Palatine, --^ EACH NTMBER CO>TArN"S 32 EOYAL OCTATO PAGES, IN DOUBLE COLU>rS'S. AST) TWELVE NTilBEP^ FORM A VOLOIE OF SS4 PAGES IX A YEAR. _ - . -.^r,^ njSaine, -i Manures,.. >r-; ^--i..- ^o^- .vr '.^eat, Gain of Weiiht in 'Ilattle Fee<3iiig, r>~ims for CluLrehes, Slaving of Cows, GrakhSpper Food,... SiOTell Com, Horrors of the Goano Trade, Improring Wheat, CatEle-feSers in Ofajo, 243 243 I 2441 245 245 2W 247 : 249 249 I 250 , 250 230 . 250 . 250 HOKTICCLTTRii DEPAETl£E3fT. Hort. ExhilxtioDS, tx~, in Caroga and Tompkins Countxea, Straw-berries, -- ,- Gemaij Azorea, or Large Blue-flowered Clematia, M-=";-r of •:-.= Kort. Society of the Valler of the Genesee, .. ; ' " ;r Pears 'caltJTaled by'M. de Liron d" Air- re, Kantes, Terms. Sinde Copy, 50..':c"s >roumal, 235 arrant Wine, 239 rirYork, -259 . Illinois 2j9 259 . _ 259 . Blaekirood'g Magazine, 259 'liois, 2-39 ^,.., ,.-.- . . .>:4...... 260 fiw^niricg ano. AnsweT3, . - 260 jLLrsTaATioxa. Vir^, . 233 Design for Carriage-iiotise and .Stable, 241 Cborcb in the Bomaoesqoe Style, 248 CJematia Ararea, 232 Oeadomria tritid (Wheat Fir), 249 CHEAPEST AND BEST. LEE, MAUTT & CO., ROCHESTER, N. T, Are the Publishers of one of the Largest and Cheat ert Xewspapers in the countrr. THE WEEKLY AIOIRICAN Is a paper of large size, containing 36 c^'lnmn?. It contains the Latest Xews up to the day of publication. Important Public Intel- ligence, a weU- selected Miscellany and General Reading page. Grain, Cattle, Wool and Iron Markets to the latest dates from Bos- ton, Xe-sr York, Albany, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Troy, Baltimoie and Rochester. This ^per is published ercrr Thursday, for OXE D0LL.4R A YEAP^ LSTAPJ-ABLY IX ADVAXCE. It is the best and cheap- est paper for ^rmers and others in this and the Western States. They also publish 1-HE THI-WEEKLT AMERICAN Price- $4 per annum, and THE DAILT AMERICAN, Price S^ per annum, to mail subscribers. LEE, MAXX k CO. have in operation SIX STi:-A3r AXD THREE HAXD PKEiSSES, by means of which thev can gire all orders for BOOK OB JOB WORK ixmediate dispatch, while their large assortment of TYPES, BORDERS and OBXAMEXTS, enables them to execute orders in the BEST STYLE. Railroad Companies, Banks, Insurance Offices, Jlannfacturing Establishments, Forward- ers. Sbipi^-ers. Merchants and Lawrers, can have their work done with PCXCTCALrTY and ELEGaS'CE, and their Books ruled and bound in anv desired patterns and in the best manner. Address LEE, MAXX k CO., Pvochester, X. Y. Office on Bufialo street, opposite the Arcade. May 1, lS-34.— :i HOME PEOTECnOH. TEMPEST IXSrR-A.XCE COMPANY. CAPITAL, S250.000. Organized De^mber 24, li-32— Chartered March 1, 18.>3. HOMES OXLY IXSCBED BY THIS COMPAXT. No one Ri=k taken for more than S3WW. Hoke Omcz, MBErDiA.t, X. Y. Many ffistinznUhed person? have insured their homes to the amoant of 53O0O ea/;h in thU ComsanT. among whom are El- PreradentVAX BCREX. Kinderhook ; Ex^vemor SEW.A.RD, Au- bom; D.VXIEL S. DICKIXSOX, Ei U. S. .Senator, Binghampton, To tcJvrm it ma>! rynuxm : Ac^rR-f , May 16th, 1%.33. We are i/rr-^-i^:!- aciiainted with many of the OfBcers and Di- rectors of t'ri^ T'Oi-e^t la^arance Company, located at JJeridian Cayasa county. X. Y. In oar opinion they are among the most wealthy and cabetantial dasa of Earmer; in this countr. J. X. .ST.ARLV,' ELMORE P. P^S3, THOM.\,S Y. HOWE, Jr. The abore genflemen will be recognized as the Cashier of Cayuga Cotjr.ty Bank, Aub-im; Postmaster, Auburn; and Ex-Member of Conr-«=. .\ubum. Cavuga county, N. Y. FeiiTTiary 1, 1854— 1> ipKEMniM STEAWBEREY PLAIITS. WM. R. PRIXCE & CO., lannaan Garden and Xurseries, Flush- inz, X. Y., will supply assortments of their unrivaled col- lection of Strawberries, at the reduced prices stated in their Cata- logue for lS-54-5, the most of which are described in the April, May and Xovember numbers of the Hortictilturist of the last year. The months of July, August and September are the beat for plant- ing them, to insure a good crop the ensuing spring. X. B. — ^Tulips, Hyacinths, and other hardy Bulbs, can be supplied from July to October. .\ugust 1, 18-34. — It STEAWBEREY PLAHTS. THE Bubecriber can furnish any quantity of "Early Scarlet," "Hovey's Seedling," and "Burr's Xew Pine" Strawberry Vines, for this fall's p'.anting, and will deliver them well packed at the Express Office in Pux-hester. Price for two first named kinds, $4 per thousand ; and for Burr's Xew Pine, $6 per thoosand. f^^ Orders raav be sent to me at PenSeld, Monroe Co., X. Y. August 1, 18-54.— It GEO. D. SOCTHWORTH. MELENDTS PATElfT TETJIT-PICZEE.l Patested JcyE 27, 18-34, IT the only implement yet invented with which Applea, Pears, Peaches, Cherries, ic, can be picked faster than by hand-picking, and without the lea=t injury to the fruit. Respoix.=ihile Agents for the sale of the implements wanted in all parts of the country. Descriptive circulars, with cuts, mailed to all post-paid applications. NLanufaclured and sold at wholesale and retail by J. MELEXDY, pATZ.vTtE, and sole proprietor, Southbridge, Uaas. Angurt 1, 1864.— 2t,^ Voi. XV., Sec»m) Series. ROCHESTER, N. Y., SEPTEMBER, 1854. Xo. 9. THE GENESEE FARMER, A MOXTHLT JOCRXAI. OF AGEICULTUEE &: HORTICULTURE. VOLUME XV., SECOVD SEIRES. 1854. EACH NXifBER COXT.UXS Si! ROY.iL OCTATO PAGES, IX DOUBLE COLUilXS. AXD rtTELVE yOLBEKS FORM A TOLITME OF 3S4 PAGES IS' A TEAH. Terms. Single Copy, - 50.-50 Fire Copies, 2.LX1 ] Eight Copies, 3.00 And at the same rate for any larger number. Z^° Remittances properly mailed, and postage paid, at the risk of tiie Publisher. C^ Postmasters are lespecttnlly reqiiested to act as Agents. DA2VIEIj lee, I Publisier and Proprietor, RocMester, S. T. I MURRAIN" IX CATTLE. ! A GENTLEMAN- in RossTille. Indiana, asks for infor- 1 mation concerning ■• Bloody Murrain in Cattle," and j desires a remedy for the same. It is a disease of va- rious degrees of malignancy, which assumes at differ- ent times and places many types, trom that of a mild , distemper to an epizootic plague, characterized by ul- cers, pustules, and gangrene, from which recovery is hopeless. Bloody evacuations from the bowels, or kidneys, or both, are but symptoms of the malady, — not tlie disorder itself, in a pathological point of view. ! Murrain was well known to the ancients; and it has never ceased to prevail to a greater or less extent in aU civilized nations. It was one of the plagues that fell upon Egypt before the exodus of the Israelites. — '• If thou refuse to let the Hebrews go, and wilt hold them still, behold the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep; there shall be a grievous .Murrain; and the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt; and there shall be nothing die of all that is the chUdren's of Israel" This is perhaps the oldest historical allusion to this complaint, although it is described by Ho.ver. and subsequently, by Hip- pocKATES, PiJcTARCH, LivY and Tirgil. All ancient and modern authors who have treated of the subject, lead us to infer, when they do not expressly state the fact, that the disease has its origin either in marsh miasma or other poisonous elements developed by vegetable decomposition. In Italy, Greece, Spain, Egypt and in all those districts which have been most subject to plague, yellow fever, and ague and fever, among the human species. Murrain ia cattle has most prevailed. Xew England and Xew York, be- ing little subject to pestilences of this character in the genus homo, from the general absence of the causes that produce them. Murrain, as a mahgnant distemper, is little known in the region named. In the more fertile States at the West," and Southwest where vegetation is more luxuriant and surface water more stagnant, both man and beast are afflicted to a greater degree with miasmatic diseases. To do fuU justice to this theme, we should require the space of a volume of our paper instead of the one or two pages we can devote to it. Many of the veterinary colleges now existing on the continent of Europe were founded in consequence of the immense losses sustained ia the last century by Murrain in cattle. like cholera, yellow fe\er'and milder bihous disorder;, Murrain obeys great natural laws which are very imperfectly imderstood, if they can be regarded as known, at alL In the fourth cen- tury, all Europe was desolated by this distemper among cattle; in the ninth century, the extensive do- minions of Charlemagne were scourged in a similar manner: and in the sixteenth century, two visitations of Murrain desolated the states of Venice. During a period of twelve years, commencing in 1745. there was a continued prevalence of Murrain in Britain, which swept away prodigious multitudes of cattle. — In one year alone 30.0u6 died in Cheshire, and 40,- 000 in Xottingham shire. Modem improvements in agriculture by drainage. thorough tillage, and the better condition of all graz- ing lands, have done much to prevent the frequent recurrence of tMs pestilence among the bovine gentis of domestic animals; and prevention is the true rem- edy to be commended to the best attention of the enterprising stock-growers of the West. Cattle run- ning much in the woods, in swamps, and never or rarely salted, are most likely to have the Murrain. — Tor ATT gives a lengthened description of the tisual symptoms of this disease, which we deem it unneces- sary to repeat. In the first stages of the complaint he recommends bleeding and cathartics; and subse- quentiy aromatic anodvnes, good nursing, and nothing more. Boils and purulent tumor? often appear; the breath is ofl5?nsive, and the poor beast rarely recovers. A weU-cooked gruel, made of com meal, would be st 266 THE GENESEE FARMER. once an aperient and nourishing. Separate the dis- eased from the herd, and see that the latter are regu- larly salted. Treat cattle having bloody discharges on the same principles you would a person afflicted with dysenteiy. There is no specific apphcable to such caaes. sometimes till December. As a general rule, early sowing gives the best crops, other things being equal. Every farmer should use a drill who can conveniently do HO ; for less seed will answer his purpose ; it can be covered at a more uniform depth; and with a good machine, it will bo more evenly distributed over the HINTS FOR SEPTEMBER. In the Northern, Middle and Western States, it is the common practice to sow winter wheat in the month of September ; in the cotton-growing States, seeding is delayed till October and November, and gi'ound. "Wheat threshed with^a six or eight horse power apparatus is usually so mu ;h broken that many farmers in Western New York sow two bushels per acre, and few less than one and a half bushels, when not put in with a drill. Such a i use that implement find four or five pecks sufficient to seed an acre. THE GENESEE FARMER. 267 la some districts, corn will be ready to cut up at the roots by the last of this month ; and wherever fodder is au object, the operation should be performed before frost shall damage the green plants. After the kernels are well glazed, the grain ripens without much, if any, shrinkage, where corn is cut at the ground and set up in small stacks to cure. These ought not to stand too long single, and exposed to the weather, for such exposure to the fall rains injures the stalks, and sometimes the corn. Forage of all kinds needs shelter ; and it is the part of wisdom to have a plenty of barn and shed room on every farm. Husk corn early, and put up the stalks and husks in good stacks, where they cannot be housed. Long-continued dry weather has nearly destroyed the potato crop in the vicinity of Rochester, which is a pretty serious misfortune to both cultivators and consumers. Such as have fair crops of this important vegetable, will do well to take the best of care to save them from rot, or injury of any kind. They will doubtless sell high before the next harvest. Apples are not very plenty tliis year; and the crop is likely to pay liberally for all the attention bestowed in saving them in good condition. Every year's ex- perience serves to satisfy farmers more and more of the importance of fruit- culture. Skill and capital are, however, quite as necessary in this branch of ru- ral industry as in any other. Good fruit of all kinds sells readily and at remunerating prices. Give your fruit trees the benefit of some manure, and strengthen the soil by a dressing of lime and ashes. Apjile or- chards in particular are often cropped with grain or hay to the injury of the land ; and as the annual gi'owth of leaves and fruit rarely rots under the trees, the soil needs considerable manure to maintain its fertiUty. HOW TO CONVERT STRAW INTO MANURE. Having spent some time in the country among wheat-growers, and noticed numerous huge piles and stacks of straw, our attention has been called to the ways and means best adapted to transform this pro- duct into manure. Its speedy decomposition is the object to be attained, M-here one does not wish to feed straw to his stock, nor use it for bedding. It is proper to remark that by many good farmers it is often dis- tributed over land about to be plowed, and raked into the furrow and covered 's\ith earth as the plow ad- vances. On clay land, this practice is judicious ; for straw rotted in this M'ay renders a compact soil more pervious to rain water and salutary atmospheric in- fluences. On light loams, sandy and gravelly land, straw covered with earth in the manner indicated is of doubtful utility ; for being too open already, it needs more compact fertilizers, and rolling, or treading by sheep or young stock. To hasten the decomposition of straw, care must be taken not to permit the water that falls on the mass in rain or snow to run off. Dry straw decays very slowly, as is seen in the durability of thatched roofs on sheds, bams and houses. To rot soon, straw must be kept moist ; and the breaking down of the tissues and stems of this and other cereals, like large corn-stalks, is promoted by adding either quick-lime, or that which has been recently slaked, to the mass. Both Hme and ashes favor the solution of the hard, glass-like flint so largely deposited in the culms of cereal grasses, which gives them strength and duror bility. AVater charged with carbonic has its solvent power much increased — robbing silicic acid of its bases to form carbonates. By tramping straw in a yard with stock, breaking it up, and adding to it the liquid and solid droppings of domestic animals, it rots sooner than when it lies in a heap undisturbed. The dung of cattle, sheep and swine yields both ammonia (a powerful alkali) and free carbonic acid, which assist the rotting of straw. Hence, where one raises a good deal of grain, he should bed all his stock well during the winter. A correspondent, writing from AVayne county, Ohio, suggests that gypsum as well as lime is an important ingredient in "the rotting of whole straw." Such is not the fact. It improves the manure, but does not aid in the decomposition of straw. SPRING AND RIVER WATER — IRRI- GATION. Spring and river water hold in solution every thing of a soluble nature contained in the ground from which agricultural plants derive their sustenance; for the water that flows from springs and in rivers has washed over or passed through a good deal of earth. If this abound in the elements of crops, water that has washed it will contain them ; so that the careful analysis of clear spring and river water gives us a valuable insight into the natural resources of the soil. A few analyses of natural waters, taken from reliable works, will show how intimate is their relation to agriculture as a scientific profession. A gallon of fresh spring water from Sycamore HiU, near Cincinnati, or within the limits of the city, gave Mr. Locke (a chemist of that city) the following re- sults, on analysis: Chloride of sodium, 1425 grains. " calcium, 2.1153 "_ " magnesium, .7915 " Sulphate of lime, 10.5500 « " magnesia, 1.1968 " Silicic acid, 7208 " Carbonate of lime, 15.0067 " " magnesia, 4.5553 " Total of solid matter, 35.0788 " Carbonic acid g;is, _ 39.1978 cub. in. Of the 35 grains of solid matter dissolved in a gallon of spring water, it will be seen that 15 are carbonate of lime (common limestone), and 10.55 gypsum, or sulphate of lime. It is plain that rain water in passing from the surface of the ground to this spring had percolated through earth that abounds in salts of lime. Suppose this spring water, after flowing several hundred miles in a river toward the ocean, should be pumped up to irrigate a field which lacked lime. If not much more diluted than when it left the fountain, a few thousand tons would impart to the needy soil in great abundance, every ingredient that the river and spring water held in solution. Sulphate of magnesia (epsom salts) and common salt (both valuable fertiUzers) would be amply difl'used through the irrigated earth. Had several gallons instead of one been evaporated, we doubt not salts 268 THE GENESEE FAEMER of potash, aud i^hospbate of soda or lime, would have appeared among the minerals found. Geologically speaking, Cincinnati stands in a basin, which has lime rock over much of its surface ; while the extreme ft'uitfuhiess of the region is proverbial, securing an unparalleled growth to perhaps the largest inland city on the continent. An imperial gallon of the water supplied by the Hampstead Water Works for the use of the city of London, as given by Mr. Mitchell, gave 40 grains of dry matter, having the following constituents : Carbonate of lime, 3.83 graina. " magnesia, 3.-H " Phosphate of lime,.. 0.28 " Sulphate of lime, 4.42 " " potash, 3.28 " " soda, 4.81 " Chloride of sodium (common salt), 17.73 " Silica (soluble), 0.23 « Crenic acid, 0.17 " Apocrenic acid, 0.08 " Other organic matters, 1.72 " Oxides of iron and manganese, traces. 40.04 By properly using the water above analyzed for ir- rigation, every imperial gallon would impart to the soil 17^ grains of common salt. It holds in solution eveiT element (organic and inorganic) which is neces- sary to form tne farmer's crops ; but not in due pro- portions. When searched for with due care, river water is almost always found to contain both ammo- nia and nitric acid The mud sediment of the Meri- mack, deposited in the freshet of July 7, 1S39, gave Mr. D.AJN-A, of Lowell, 8.80 per cent, of soluble or- ganic matter, and 6.30 per cent, of insoluble organic matter. This sediment also contained 3.20 per cent, of gypsum, and 0.60 per cent, of phosphate of lime. The Merimack river flows from a granite region; and yet its washings from the earth gave 0.51 per cent, of lime and 0.10 per cent of magnesia. The facts already cited are deemed sufficient to satisfy the reader that both river and spring water dissolve out of the earth its essential food of vege- tables; and we proceed to consider the practicability of supplying this food to cultivated plants. In some way the water which contains it must be made to flow over the ground to be improved. In many places this may be done by turning small streams of water out of their natural channels for a few miles (more or less according to the circumstances of each case), into ditches and canals made for the purpose. Irrigation of this cheap kind is practiced e.xtensively in Europe, where it is not so necessary as it is in the hot, dry climate of the cotton-growing States. With suitable reservoirs, and the use of steam power, this system of manuring is capable of almost univeraal adoption. It wiU require some capital at the begin- ning to put up the needful apparatus ; but if the money be wisely expended in the matter, it will pay a high interest on the investment. Improvements of this kind, however, should be gone into with gi-eat caution, especially by persons not acquainted with steam machinery and hydi-aulics. Farmers need not fear to dig ditches, aud flood occasionally all the gi'ounds low enough to be overflown by the water which they contain. The peculiar productiveness of land lying contiguous to rivulets and creeks has probably been observed by every reader. Distribute this fertilizing water over hundreds of acres through artificial channels made for it to flow in, and it will soon fill the soil with fatness. The water may be drawn out of the canals or ditches through small plank raceways or flooms, with gates that may be raised or closed at will. It is the leading object to obtain perfect command of all the water in the ditch, so as to use it tvhen it is needed, and ivhere it ia needed. Irrigation is a rural art to be learnt, like all others, by study and experience. The operation ought to be so conducted that a hot sun will not bake the ground immediately after it has been covered with water. It should be let on in cloudy weather, if practicable, unless it be cool as in early spring, fall and winter. Irrigation in the evening, as in watering a garden, so that the water will soak well mto the ground be- fore the sun is far up the following day, is a common practice. Where the main object is to fertihze a soil by conveying into it such soluble matter as it may need, irrigation in autumn, after crops are harvested, or in winter, is preferred. Before any considerable expense is incurred, an analysis of the water to be used ought to be made, that the ooerator may know what ingredients, and how much of each, he is about to give the irrigated land. Nothing will benefit American agriculture more than the formation of good pastures aud meadows ; aud nothing is needed to jjroduce these but a wise use of rain, river and spring water. Cattle, horses, hogs and sheep find fresh herbage by living springs aud rivulets, after naked uplands and sorry old fields are sunburnt and desti- tute of all nutritious vegetation. What we recom- mend is the organization in valuable plants of those salts of potash, lime, soda, magnesia and ammonia which rain water takes from the atmosphere and the earth, in passing through aud over the latter. The great ocean itself is made salt because all the streams running into it for indefinite ages carry down into its vast basin various kinds of earthy salts ; while the water which escapes from the ocean by solar evapo- ration, and falls partly on continents and islands in rain, snow and dew, leaves all these mineral salts be- hind. The stream of water that flows out of the ocean in forming rain-clouds is nearly perfectly free from those salts of soda, lime and magnesia contained in the spring and river water flowing forever into the great deep. Instead of buying these elements of fertility in guano at $60 a ton, when taken out of the ocean, let us save them before they leave our farms. BED WATER. This is a common, severe, and untractable disease in cattle and sheep. Red water in cattle is also called haematuria, moor- Ul, darn, bloody urine, foul water, and, in its last stage, black water. In has been the subject of much discussion, both in Britain and on the Continent, both among practical observers and scientific men ; and it continues, in a considerable degree, to be the toi)ic of diversified and conflicting opinion as to at once it causes, its nature, and its proper treatment. — Seven select essays on it may be seen in the 9 th vol- ume of the Highland Society's Transactions; and THE GENESEE FARMER. 269 discussions of it, more or less valuable, occur in the Veterinarian and in all the best treatises on veteri- hary medicine. Ked water is sometimes accute and sometimes ihronic, sometimes isolated and sometimes epizootic, sometimes apparently connected with particular kinds Dr states of pasture and sometimes apparently un- connected with any particular kind of pasture, gene- rally irrespective of any distinctions of breed or sex )r age or condition of cattle, and occasionally pecu- iar to cows immediately after parturition ; and it may, therefore^ be in some sense regarded, not as strictly one disease, but as a group of nuitually re- lated or mutuall}- similar diseases. When it attacks newly calved cows, it probably arises from change of food about the period of par- turition, or from want of sufficient cleansing, or from previous fullness of the blood, or from all these causes or any two of them combined ; when it attacks cat- tle on particular pastures, and does not attack cattle on immediately adjacent ones, it probably arises, wholly or partly, from the eating of acrid j^lants, such as Ranunculus acris, Ranunculus Jlammula, .Anemone nemorosa, and Anemone ranunculoides ; but when it makes its attacks in other circumstances, or docs not appear to have any traceable connexion with peculiar states of herbage, it probably arises from such a complication of causes as cannot be eas- ily or very certainly explored. Mr. Robert Thom- son, the first of the Highland Society's essayist?, says: "It is most prevalent in foggy pastures. It is seldom seen in hill pastures, or in new sown pastures, in which there is abmidance of clover ; but it some- times happens at the stall, where the animal has no other allowance than straw, turnips and potatoes.— It usually makes its appearance after a few days of rain, followed by cold dry weather." Mr. William Laixg, another of thee ssayists, says: " I am led to infer that close confinement in winter is one predominating cause, the cattle being thus deprived of the necessa- ry exercise, fresh air, and access to earth, which seems to be useful in correcting the acidity produced in the stomach by costiveness and obstructed bile. — Frosty water is also another cause, as it tends to produce indigestion, bad chyle, and consequently bad t)lood. Barley chaff, given in its natural state, but more particularly when boiled, may also occasion it, by destroying the sensibility of the villous coats of the stomach. It occurs most frequently in the end of autumn, in winter, and more particularly in the early part of spring." Mr. A. Watt, a third of the es- sayists, says: " It is produced by dry food, difficult of digestion, and is always found among cattle that are fed off newly improved lands, and on turnips and straw that have grown on poor ground. Neglect of proper watering, and feeding on turnips after they have begun to grow in spring, are also causes." And Mr. Andrew Henderson, a fourth of the essayists, states, as the result of extensive observation during twenty yeai-s, that " upon a light soil, liable to be soon burnt up for want of moisture, he found ten at- tacks of the disease for one upon any of the neigh- boring farms which might happen to have a deeper soil," — that " the prevalence of the disease in such a situation was solely regulated by the state of the season, for in a moist season not a single instance perhaps would occur, while in a dry one numerous cases would appear," — that, while passing by stock who were stationary it occasionally attacked cattle which experienced a change of pasture, particularly when the change was from fine to coarse herbage, — and that, in the course of most journeys of di'oves of cattle from Scotland to the markets of the south of England, many ^•iolent attacks occurred ; and in reference to the last of these facts, he says: "I have observed, that twenty females for one male were at- tacked, and more especially such as had had calves, —that at the commencement of the journey, the dis- ease was' not prevalent, provided there was a con- stant supply of water, and the weather proved steady, —that during a long continued drought, the cattle were very subject to the disease, especially when pure water could not be had, — that sudden changes of weather were also apt to induce the disease, — and that at the commencement of the journey, some of the cattle were generally affected, although no per- ceptible change had taken place in the quality of the food, and although the cattle had not been exposed to any of the above causes. This must have pro- ceeded from inflammation induced by sprains, bruises, or over-heating, caused by the cattle fretting and riding upon each other, as well as by the unmerci- ful strokes of the drivers." These details of observed causes in the course respectively of calv- ing, of depasturing, of farm-yard feeding, and of journeying, ought to suggest to all proprietors of cattle-stock the several and most effective means of prevention. " The first symptom of red water," says Mr. Thom- son, " is the a23pearance of something like blood mixed mth the urine. So trifling is the complaint in some instances, that no inconvenience seems to be felt by the animal, which eats and drinks as usual, chews the cud, and is free of the disease in a few days. In such cases, a natural diarrhea comes on, to which the cure may be attributed. In general, how- ever, the disease is not observed until the animal re- fuses food, separates from the rest of the herd, ap- pears dull and heavy, and manifests great languor and apathy. The ears droop, the urine is of a red- dish or brownish color, and il' it be a milch cow, the milk is often similarly tinged. The pulse ranges from 60 to TO; there is obstinate constipation of the bow- els; the urine is discharged in moderate quantity, and apparently without pain. If relief is not afforded l)y some brisk purgative, at the period M'hen the urine changes color from red to brown, the pulse be- gins to sink; and if a little blood be drawn at this time, its surface assumes a brownish color; the eye appears of a yellowish brown tint ; the urine ac- quires a darker hue ; the anjmal refuses to rise ; the pulse sinks; the legs, tail, and horns turn cold; and the animal dies, to all appearance perfectly exhaust- ed, although it has manifested no symptoms of acute pain during the course of the disease. On removing the skin in animals which have died of thLs disease, the subjacent parts have a peculiar dark yellow ap- pearance. The abdominal fat has the same color. The first and second stomachs are generally pretty fuU of food. The third stomach, or manyplies, is dry; its ruga; are inflamed; its contents compressed as by general spasm. The fourth, or true stomach, is near- 2V0 THE GENESEE FARMER. ly empty; its gastric juice tinged of a dark yellow color. The small intestines show no marks of inflam- mation, but their mucous coat is tinged of the same color. The rectum contains indurated fieces covered by brownish slime. The liver is of a darker color than natural, but does not appear to be diseased in Btructure. The gall-bladder, in all cases that I have seen, is full of black, thick bile, somewhat resembling lamp-black and oil. The ductus communis choledo- chus does not appear to be obstructed, or if it is, this is effected by the presence of the neighboring viscera. The fat surrounding the kidneys is healthy, but of a dark yellow tint. The kidney shows no ^pearance of disease, and, on being compressed, emits a few drops of urine similar to that iu the bladder. The latter organ is healthy, but full of dark-colored urine, resembling the thinner parts of the contents of the gall-bladder. There is no accu- mulation of fluid in the cavity of the peritonieum. — The thoracic viscera are healthy, but tinged with yellow, as are the liquor pericardii, and the cerebral fluid. The contents of the lacteals and thoracic duct are of a dark brown color. From the above ap- pearances, the third stomach might seem diseased, but if water or liquid drinks be given plentifully be- fore death, this appearance of dryness of the con- tents and inflammation will not take place. We must, therefore, seek the cause elsewhere. The kid- neys are healthy, but the urine is tinged brown. The whole secretions are also more or less tinged. Shall we suppose, then, that the whole apparatus of secre- tion is diseased, or that the absorption of black in- spissated bile into the blood colors all the secretions, as jaundice does in the human subject? This seems the most reasonable supposition. Bile regurgitated into the substance of the liver, can be taken up by the absorbents and patscd into the blood, causing derangement of the functions of secretion, and giv- ing a red appearance to the urine, milk, &c. If con- Btipatlon of the bowels be present, the bile may be taken up by the al)sorbents of the mesentery, and in- troduced into the circulation; and, if continued for some time, the whole blood will become poisoned as it wt!re, and unfit for the support of animal life, al- though there is no appearance of mortification in any part of the system, but all the secretions, together with the fat, are more or less tinged with a dark brown or yellow color." The empirical treatment of red water, on the part of stock-farmei-s, cow-doctors, and veterinary quacks, exhibits the most astonishing variety, and comprises almost a museum of absurdity, and might be instruc- tively detailed, through scores of grotesque and mon- strous particulars, in illustration of human ignorance and folly. Even the professional treatment of it on the Continent has a strong dash of the vague and the ridiculous. But the treatment recommended by all the best British veterinarians is intelligible and simple, and consists mainly in purgation, accompanied with the administration of subordmate remedies suit- ed to the secondary or adventitious symptoms. Mr. Thomson's prescription is one of the clearest, and is declared by Tou.\tt to " comprise the substance of that treatment which is founded on principle, and will be attended by success where success can be attain- ed," and is stated in the following terms: — " Purga^ tives of any kind, if given in large quantities of wa- ter, are found to be the best medicines that can be employed. Medicines given to cattle that have lost the power of chewing the cud, generally pass into the first and second stomachs, and if a good draught of water is not given to wash them fruui thf-nce, if the animal dies the greater part of the medicines will be found in these stomachs; and upon this principle, common salt, if properly managed, will be found among the best. Dissolve the quantity to be given in as much water as will enable it to pass freely from the bottle or drenching horn, and let the animal have plenty of water to drink afterwards. Should it re- fuse to drink, no time should be lost in drenching it profusely with water. Without a plentiful dilution, there is no certainty of purging cattle that have lost their cud. If purging does not commence in from 12 to 24 hours, a second dose should be given. In- jections of soap and water should also be tried if the case is obstinate, and when they operate, a pint of linseed oil should be given as a laxative. So obsti- nate is the constipation in some cases, that the salt acts only as a diuretic, causing a plentiful discharge of urine. Diuretics and astringents combined seem only of service when the bowels are open, and their improper administration often cau.'-es inflammation of the bowels and kidneys. If, after purgation, the bowels are kept open by laxatives, such as linseed infusion, the disease will gradually disappear without their use. In the last stage of the disease, when the urine assumes a dark-brown or black color, no reme- dy seems to have any efficacy, the animal is sunk be- yond recovery, the bowels lose their action, suppres- sion of urine follows, the animal stretches itself out and dies, as if perfectly exhausted. It is the duty of the owner, then, to attend to the disease at its com- mencement, and pursue a determined course of prac- tice. Whether the disorder be owing to absorbed inspissated bile, diseased manyplies, or disease of the secerning glands, purgatives of any kind, profusely diluted with water, almost always effect a cure." — Some good practitioners, especially when constipa- tion and excitement have occurred before they can prescribe, begin with letting blood, and purge with a mixture of Epsom salt, flowers of sulphur, powdered ginger, and carbonate of ammonia, and, after purga- tion is fairly established, administer miid stimulants or nourishing drinks. Red water, both in cattle and in sheep, is often popularly confounded, both in name and in symptom, with inflammation of the kidneys and inflammation of the urethra or of the mucous membrane of the bladder. The urine discharged in these diseases is mixed with blood, but not so intimately as in red wa- ter, and generally with more or less accompaniment of mucus. Inflammation of the bladder or of the kidneys may easily be distinguished by this difTerence in the bloodiness of the urine; and, hke eveiy other case of acute inward inflammation, must be attacked with copious bleeding and with purging, yet must either not at all or veiy cautiously be assailed with counter-irritation. A Buffalo wheat-buyer, who invested ^3,000 in wheat, with the design to give the profits to the cause of rehgion, has handed over §1,500 as the result. THE GEKESEE FARMER 271 ROT IN SHEEP. YouATT says: — -"The rot in sheep is probably the produce of ground whivh has been lately wet, and then the surface exposed to the action of the air. — The grass and other plants, previously weakened or destroyed by the moisture, become decomposed or rotten; and in that decomposition certain gasses or miasmata may be developed that cannot long be breathed, or scarcely breathed at all, by the sheep without producing rot." Hogo says: — " Feeding on land which has been formerly or is at the time pas- tured by cattle, is an exciting cause of rot; and the rank grass of a deep green color, springing from the spots on which they drop their dung, is likewise vast- ly deleterious; as is also that kind which rises round the borders of their foot marks, after being soaked in stagnant water. This last cause aflects, not indi- viduals, but whole parcels; and in general, any mis- fortune or shght disease which has for a while inter- rupted the animals thriving on all soft tathy pastures Ls almost sure of introducing the rot" And Clater says: — " Rot prevails, or rather is found, only in bog- gy, poachy ground. On upland pasture, with a light sandy soil, it is never seen ; and in good sound pas- ture in a lower situation, it is only seen when, I'rom an unusually wet season that pasture has become boggy and poachy. It is also proved to demonstra- tion, that land that has been notoriously rotthig ground, has been rendered perfectly sound and heal- thy by being well under drained, that is, by being made dry. There are hundreds of thousands of acres, on which a sheep, forty years ago, could not pasture for a day without becoming rotten, that are now as healthy as any in the kingdom. We can also tell the kind of wet ground which will give the rot. Wher- ever the water will soon run otl" there is no danger; but where it lies upon the surface of the ground, and slowly evaporates, the rot is certain. One j^art of a common shall be enclosed ; or if it has not been drained, at least the hollows in which the water used to stand are filled up, and the surface is leveled; no rot is caught there. On the other side of the hedge there are these marshy places, these little stagnant ponds, where evaporation is always going forward, and the ground is never dry — a sheep cannot put his foot there without being rotted. These are plain, palpable facts, and they are sufficient for the farmer's purpose, without his puzzling his brains about the manner in which wet ground produces diseased liver." The prevention of the rot is of prodigiously more consequence than the cure; and must be achieved by every method which will render the soil dry and the herbage sound. Whatever tends to improve the value of pasturage, and the general health of sheep, tends also to prevent the rot Thorough draining, the extirpation of weeds, the increase of the choicest grasses, the reclamation of all waste corners and bog- gy spots, the promotion of uniform cleanness and sweetness throughout all the area of a farm, the care- ful exclusion of sheep from eveiy field and lane where they might be likely to encounter dead herbage or putrid puddles, and the keeping of cattle stock to eat all the aftermath of low and dangerous pastures, and to consume all esculent herbage anywhere which might be Bomewhat hazardous for sheep, are eminent preventives, and may be regarded tis essential to suc- cess. Draining alone, without due regard to the dry- ing of the deep suh.soil and of every nook andsquare- y.'ii'd of the ground, may not, in even the most favor- able situations, be sufficient. A very httle more than the average amount of rain upon heavy and tenacious land, no matter how regularly underlaid with ordina- ry drains, or only a few minutes' tramping upon some undrained or neglected nook of a field, all whose oth- er area is perfectly dry and sound, may defeat very elaborate precautions, and give rise to very disas- trous rot. " It is surprising,"' remarks Ci.atek, "how soon the animal is infected. The merely going once to drink from a notedly dangei-ous pond has been suOicient, — the passing over one suspicious common in the way to or from the fair, and the lingering onlj for a few minutes in a deep and poachy lane. Then it can easily be conceived what mischief one or two of these neglected corners, in which there may be little swamps perhaps on'y a yard or two across, may do in a farm in other respects well managed, and per- fectly free from infection." One of the best known means both of prevention after contact with infected ground and of cure in the early stages of the actual disease, is the use of com- mon salt. This substance, besides ^''I'omoting the general health of domesticated animals, and aiding the salubrious qualities of their sound food, both counteracts the putrefactive tendency of dead and fermenting herbage, and kills the eggs and the young of all such small animals as flukes. The natural pres- ence of salt disarms wet pastures of all the power which they would otherwise posse.-s to create the rot; and the artificial administration of it, regularly and judiciously along with food, protects sheep from dan- ger in many an occasional situation or during many a critical season in which they might otherwise be over- whelmed with infection. "Salt-marshes, or lowlands by the sea-side or on riversides near the sea, which districts are alternately waslied by high-tide sea war ter, and flooded with foul inlaiid water charged with flukes' eggs, are proverbially sound sheep-walks. — Situations which, further inland, would be regarded as the worst or the most sure kind of rotting land, become, from being washed occasionally with sea war ter, not only perlectly sound sheep-land, but are some- times said to benefit animals already diseased. The salubrity of such situations is presumed to depend upon the action of sea^salt, of which a small deposit will be left upon the grass, as, after the subsidence of the last tide, the aqueous part of sea water is evapo- rated by the wind and sun. Any small impregnation of iodine in the sea water is not looked upon as ope- rating in the case. It would seem, therefore, desirable to keep a moderate supply of common salt in the stomach of sheep, whilst and for a few days after they are using unsound or suspicious pasture. The practical herdsman would probably do well, when his flock may have accidentally or unavoidably grazed upon rotting land, to give his sheep an hour's run, twice or thrice a daj', upon acknowledged sound pas- ture of the most commingled herbage, that the ani- mals may pick up some plant which stimulates their digestive organs. If he would improve upon this, he might give, with some prospect of advantage too, a» often as twice or thrice a day, a little bailey meal, 372 THE GENESEE FARMER with chaff and salt, or good hay wetted with strong brine as food, or bay tea with salt for drink." A cure is seldom effected when the disease has ad- vancctl far, but may be very hojiefully attempted when the disease is only in an early stage, and espe- cially when it is detected through the internal ap- pearance of a killed sheep, and has not yet shown itself in any very perceptible external symptom. The infected flock should be removed either to a good salt marsh or to an artificially salted dry pasture. A piece of pasture, of sufficient extent to allow one acre to every ten sheep, may be hurdled off, and sprinkled equally with salt at the rate of one bushel for every sheep; and the flock may be turned into it about three weeks after the sprinkling, and may continue in it till they eat the grass quite close ; and another piece of the same size, and similarly prepared, ought then to be ready for their reception. As much salt as they are disposed to take may be given also with their hay or their other food. An aperient of two ounces of Epsom salt in warm gruel or water must be given to each sheep at the commencement of the treatment, and should afterwards, at some distance of time, be once or twice repeated. Food of as nutri- tious a kind as convenient, such as a pint of beans daily, and a large allowance of good hay, and a quan- tity of good gruel, ought to be constantly allowed. — Many kinds and combinations of medicine, compris- ing mercurials, balsams, essential oils, anodynes, ton- ics, aromatics, and miscellaneous drugs, have been recommended; but, for the most part, are either use- less or positively objectionable. Calomel, at the rate of 4 grains or so a day to each sheep, is confidently prescribed by some veterinarians, but pronounced valueless or worse by others. A daily dose of half a drachm of sulphate of iron and the same quantity of powdered ginger in gruel, is one of the simplest and least objectionable of the prescribed aromatic tonics. A table-spoonful of oil of turpentine, mixed with two of water, and twice administered after an interval of three days, is said, in the Jlgricidtural Report of Staffordshire, to have cured five out of six rotted sheep. And the following recipe is given by Mr. Clater, and is said by Henry Ci.eeve, Esq., to have been used with very salutary effects: — 6 ounces of powdered saltpetre, 5 ounces of fresh powdered gin- ger, 2 ounces of finely powdered red oxide of iron, 3J lbs. of common salt, and 3 gallons of boiling wa- ter,— ^the water to be poured on the other ingredients, the mixture stirred, 14 ounces of oil of turpentine to be added when the mixture becomes lukewarm, the whole to be now put into bottles, and three doses, of 4 table-spoonfuls each, to be given at intervals of four days to each sheep fasting. Rotted sheep, however, no matter how slightly in- fected or liow promptly cured, always retain a taint of the disease, and are peculiarly liable to be rein- fected with it. and never attain restoration to com- plete vigor and perfect health, and, in many instan- ces, fall victims, some 6 or 12 months after, to an at- tack of hoove or of intestinal inflammation. Lambs have occasionally been produced by cured ewes, — but they are feeljle in constitution, and sickly in habit; and any sheep which have had rot, no matter how seemingly well recovered or how eventually high in condition, are readily known by a butcher, from the appearance of the liver, to have been diseased.-— Sheep-owners, therefore, will generally find it for their interest, not only to cure and fatten up infected sheep with all possible promptitude, but to sell them a,s soon as they are fattened. ■■ I m RUMINATION. This is the remastication of food by a ruminant animal. Liquid or attenuated food passes at once into the third and fourth stomachs, and is not remas- ticated; but all other food, particularly such as con- sists of comparatively dry and solid vegetable matter, descends into the rumen, is there slowly macerated, passes by Uttle and little into the second stomach, and is there separated ]\y compression into a liquid and a solid jiortion, — -the liquid to pass on to the third and the fourth stomachs, and the solid to be re- turned in pellets up the gullet for such remastication as shall reduce it to a pulp, and fit it to pass direct, by re-deglutition, into the third and the fourth stom- achs. The remastication is effected while the animal lies at ease, — and constitutes what is popularly called " chewing the cud," — and takes place only upon mat- ter which nothing short of an operose process can re- duce to perfect pulpiness or liquidity; and the re- gorging which attend it differs widely from the belch- ing or vomiting of a non-ruminp.ut animal, and is as regularly conducted by a specially constituted organ- ism as deglutition or absorption or secretion or any other ordinary act or function of the animal system. In order to understand the process of rumination, we must advert to the manner in which the four stomachs communicate with the guUet, and with one another. The gullet is an extensile membranous tube, much more complicated in ruminating quadru- peds than in man, the muscles which surround it be- ing strong, and consisting of two rows of fiber's, crossing one another, and rumiing spirally in opposite directions; and these muscles, by their contractions, so powerfully force the morsel of food begun to be swallowed onwards into the inlet of the stomachs, that the process of deglutition once commenced cannot be stopped, even by the will of the animal. The gullet enters just where the first, second and third stomachs approach one another, and discharges itself almost equally into the first and second. Connected with it is another organ which may be termed the cud-duct This is sometimes a groove and sometimes a tube, ac- cording to its action ; and runs from the termination of the gullet to the third stomach, with the first stom- ach on the left, and the second on the right, and discharges itself almost equally into the second and the third. It has thick prominent margins, which can be brought to meet so as to form a complete canal, and thus constitute a continuation of the gullet across the second stomach into the third. All these parts, the gullet, the cud-duct, the first, the second, and the third stomachs, not only communicate with one another, but all communicate by a common point, the point where the gullet terminates, where the cud- duct commences, and towards which the three stom- achs open or end. Now in the process of returning the macerated food for re-mastication, it is the cud- duct, together with the shut termination of the gul- let approached to the shut inlet of the manyplles, THE GENESEE FARMER 273 whicli forms the pellets. To understand the mechan- ism by which these are mokled, let it be marked, first, that tlie ciid-duct extends from the termination of the gullet to the inlet of theniauyplies, — secondly, that when it contracts, it approaches one or other of these apertures, — thirdly, that of these two apertures, the termination of the gullet is habitually shut, and the inlet of the manyplies, naturally straight, can be so narrowed as almost to close by its own contrac- tion,— and fourthly, that when the first two stomachs, compressed by the abdumiual muscles and the mid- riff, contract, they push in consequence the materials which they contain both against the two apertures opposite to each other, and against the cud-duct op- posite to the two stomachs. The two stomachs, in this manner, in proportion as they contract, push the materials contained in them between the margins of the cud-duct, and the cud-duct also contracting, causes the two apertures of the gullet and of the manyplies to approach, while the two apertures being closed and brought near together, seize upon a por- tion of the ahment, and detach it in the form of a pellet. The aperture of the gullet is closed during the act of detaching the pellet, because at that in- stant the midriff is contracted, and it only opens when the midriff is relaxed; and the aperture of the raanypUes is closed, because at that instant the ma- nyplies, as well as other stomachs, is contracted. — From these circumstances, it is obvious that the pel- let must be detached, as it could not otherwise be seized by the two approaching apertures, — that the pellet must be round, for this is the form of the cavi- ty formed by the parts of the organ employed in the process, — and that the pellet must be about an inch in diameter, for the cud-duct, when contracted in the act of forming the pellet, is about an inch in length. How beautiful a contrivance, — ^how exquisitely adapt- ed to the structure and wants of the animal, — and how minutely and highly illustrative of the all-per- vading beneficence and skill which everywhere shine out in the works of the Creator ! One important practical lesson suggested by the nature of rumination, is the proper feeding of cows, in order to produce the greatest quantity of milk. — If they are fed on very dry food, such as hay, the greater portion of fluids in the blood will be spent in the process of rumination and digestion, and the milk will be scanty; but if they be fed on aliment which abounds in liquid, such as mangel wurtzel or brew- er's grains, and distiller's wash as in Holland, they will ruminate much less, a less quantity of saliva will be wanted for chewing the cud, and a large proportion •will go to the production of milk, though this will be thinner, and not so rich in cream as the milk produc- ed from drier food. It is questionable whether cows fed wholly on distiller's wash would ruminate at all any more than calves, which so long as they suck, hever ruminate. Another important practical lesson has reference to the giving of medicines, and is stated a-s follows by Clater: — "We may, to a very great extent, send medicine into what stomach we please. We may give it in a ball, and it will fall into the paunch, and thence go the round of all the stomachs; or it may be exhibited in a fluid form, and gently poured down, and the greater part of it passed at once into the third and fourth stomachs. That which is meant to have a speedy action on the constitution or the dis- ease should be given in a fluid form. That also M'hich is particularly disagreeable should be thus given, oth- erwise it will enter the paunch and be returned again in the process of rumination, and disgust the animal, and, perhaps, cause rumination to cease at once. — This would always be a dangerous thing, for the food retained in the paunch would soon begin to ferment, and become a new source of irritation and diseasa* A third important practical lesson has reference to the sweating of the domestic ruminants, particularly sheep. Sweat is a production of the fluid portion of the blood, or arises from the same source as the sali- vary secretion employed in rumination; and hence the flow of it is more to be dreaded in ruminating animals than in othere, inasmuch as it greatly dimin- ishes the supply of fluid which ought to be employed in rumination. If sheep are sweating while they rumi- nate, there will be two evacuations of fluid at the same time, the body will be dried, and the blood exhausted and heated by the loss, while thirst will supervene, so as to make them drink till they are incommoded and their temperament altered. Sweating is also hurtful to sheep in other respects; for the fibres of their wool are thereby deprived of a part of their nourishment, which the sweat carries out of their body, while the heat which occasions the sweat causes the wool to grow too rapidly to acquire sufficient consistence. RAIN-GAUGE, OR PLUYIOMETBR. This is a machine for measuring the quantity of rain that falls. There are various kinds of rain- gauges: one of the best is a hollow cyhnder, having within it a cork-ball attached to a wooden stem, which passes through a smaU opening at the top, on which is placed a large funnel. When this instru- ment is placed in the open air, in a free place, the rain that falls within the circumference of the funnel will run dowTi into the cylinder, and cause the cork to float ; and the quantity of water in the cylinder may be seen by the height to which the stem of the float is raised. The stem of the float is so graduated as to show, by its divisions, the number of perpen- dicular inches of water which fell upon the surface of the earth since the last observation. It is hardly necessary to observe that, after every observation, the cylinder must be emptied. A very simple rain- gauge, and one which answers all practical purposes, consists of a copper funnel, the area of whose open- ing is exactly ten square inches. This funnel is fixed in a bottle, and the quantity of rain caught is iiscer- tained by multiplying the weight in ounces by 173, which gives the depth in inches and parts of an inch. In fixing these gauges, care must be taken that the rain may have free access to them. Hence the tops of buildings are usually the best places. When quantities of rain, collected in them at different places, are compared, the instruments ought to be fixed at the same heights above the ground at both places, because, at different heights, the quantities are always different, even at the same place. Don't over-work your cattle in hot weather. 2U THE GENESEE FARMER. FALLOWING AND WHEAT-SOWIXG. Mb~ Editoe : — The question of naked fallows in connection with wheat-growing is one which is of great practical importance to the farmer, and respect- ins which much may be said, for and against If cisely as our existence ceases when one of the con- ditions of existence is inoperative, or as a clock would stop if a single wheel is taken from it The next point of interest demanding our notice is to inquire, What are the elements of our crv^p?, ami in what proportion are they removed by cultivation land designed for wheat is infested with weeds, such from the soil ? We find by analysis that they con- as dock, thistle, red root, &c., no substitute so eco- 1 sist chiefly of potash, soda, lime, magnesia, and sesqui- nomical in time and labor for a good thorough fallow ! oxide of iron, combined with carbonic acid, sulphuric can be easily found — the ground to be worked with ! acid, muriatic acid, or chlorine, and ammonia. Some the plow or cultivator as often as weeds shall have fiurly commenced growing ; but the work must be thoroughly done if you wish to clean your ground — no half-way work will answer. To know when to fallow to advantage, presupposes a knowledge of the elements of soils and plants, and the effects of disintegration and pulverization of the soil. All lands are not equally benefitted by this process — Nature never fallows her ground unless all the elements of fertility are exhausted or absent Some plant is growing on nearly every soil, which, by its growth, decay, and ultimate decomposition, fits the land for a different growth of vegetation. It is a fact known to all, that, with hardly an ex- ception, the constant growing of a wheat or grain crop in any given locality for a term of years, causes of these compounds are soluble in water, viz., the al- kaline salts. The earthy salts are soluble in diluted muriatic acid. The silicates are mostly insoluble in either water or acids. Sor.LT, in his Rural Chemistry, estimates that in a crop of Hopetou wheat, averaging 20 bushels to the acre, there are removed from the soil, in the seed, about 10 flj-s. of phosphoric acid, 7 lbs. of potash, I ft), of soda, and a little more than 2 lbs. of mag- nesia ; in the straw, about 60 lbs. of silica, 6 lbs. of phosphoric acid, 5 lbs. of sulphuric acid, 9 lbs. of pot- ash, 3 lbs. of magnesia, and nearly 1 lb. of soda. From the above estimate, we can easily see how com- paratively easy is the cultivation of wheat on a virgin soil, compared with one that has long been tilled. In the one case, all these elements are present ; in the the return of seed to become steadily less and less — ! other, many have been entirely removed. But good the rapidity of decrease depending much on the I husbandry will restore these needful elements as fast original fertility of the soil, and the kind of grain [ as economy and prudence will allow. Many good sown. This fact was known for thousands of years j cultivators manure the ground liberally for hoed before the reason why was discovered ; and it was crops the year previous to the rotation for wheat ; only by the application of inductive chemical research then by piowin? deep, and turning under aU the that the cau.se became evident AU cereal or grain surface vegetation, with the cultivator and harrow crops are composed of certain minerals and certain pulverize and render friable the soiL gases, the proportionate quantities in combination In many sections of the country, a serious obstacle varying with the kind of grain. All fertile soils con- 1 to the growing of wheat is found in the ravages of tain the same mineral substances ; and it has been I the fly ; and it has been feared by some that the proved by repeated experiments that if these mineral j wheat crop must be abondoned for a while, until the substances are wanting in any soil, the proper growth | insect shall have disappeared. Late sowing is gene- of the plant, and perfect development of the seed, ' rally recommended by tho.se who have the best cannot take place. We also know that Vjy the | knowledge of its habits. Mr. Charles TAXcy, of agencies of heat, light and moisture, the seed be- 1 Buckingham county, Va, in the Patent Office Report comes a plant: and that the plant, by means of its ' for 18.51, .snys "that of late years the He.ssian fly is spongioles, or absorbent vessels at the extremities of \ scarcely dieaded. The improvement of our lands its roots, selects from the materials present in the soil | and better tillage, with a little later sowing, has tho.se appropriate to its own growth and develop- j le.ssened their damage greatly." The experience of ment It is also found that these elements must be I the present year, however, seems to negative the con- in a soluble state. By the influences of heat, light, moisture, and the presence of the atmosphere, these inorganic elements elusions of former years; for in many parts late-sown wheat has suffered most. So that we are stiU de- pendent on a more exact knowledge of the habits and are constaiitly being decomposed, and becoming fitted | instincts of the iasect in question. Dr. Harris urges for the food of plants. When v.e wish to analyze } the importance and necessity of destroying the larvje, any snSstanc^r-, of whatever description, we reduce it or maggots, of the wheat insect left in the chaff! to a state of powder, if it can be so reduced, or dis- ' He says : "It may be found expedient to reap the solve it in liquids, before we apply our tests and re- 1 wheat early, or before the maggots have left the agents. Precisely the same thing is accomplished ears. Theiusects will then remain in the chaff and by the pulverization of the soil. By the agencie- before rnentionefl the organic or vegetable matter contained in a soil decays, the inorganic is decom- dus-t after the grain is threshed and winnowed — with which they should be burnt. If this be neglected, and the maggots are left to descend from the grain po.sed ; and the greater the degree of pulverization, 1 in the field, or are scattered with the chaff and dust and the greater the extent of porous surface, so to I around the barn-yard, the ground will be well seeded gpeak, the more rapidly are these changes induced ' for a plentiful crop of the insects in the following We should all take notice that these various sub- 1 year." stances mast be offered to the growing plant simul- \ To prevent smut, soak your seed over night in taneously; for the perfect development of the plant | strong brine; dry it with slaked lime or strong ashes, is checked if either of these elements is wanting, pre- and sow the same day. In conclusion, I wodd tirge THE GENESEE FARMER. 275 the great advantage of experiments in steeps, for the purpose of acceleratincr the growth of plants in their early stage, and a publication of the same in your columns ; for facts are the basis of all correct agri- cultural practice. Yours, Ccltor. IRRIGATIOX. Mr. Editor : — The present season of drouth is a connncing illustration of the n(?cessity of pro\nding. wherever ^practicable, some means for the irrigation of cultivated crops and vegetables. The wilted leaves of our garden vegetables, and their entire cessation from growth for the past few weeks, tell more forcibly than words can do of the importance of the presence of water in the elaboration of the juices of plants, and its aid in the supply of food to the thirsty root- lets. The thanks of all cultivators of the soil vnW be eminently due him who shall devise a systematic and efficient means of enabling us to avert the effects of the protracted drouths from which we suffer every season, and which every year seems to be of longer duration ; and we have every reason to expect that as long as the felling of our forests shall continue, and the earth be shorn of these great condensers of atmospheric moisture, these periods of drouth will continue to increase in duration and extent. Such has been the case in countries which have been de- nuded of their forests, and such is the experience of observers here. It follows, then, that we must direct our minds to the best means of averting the same. In hilly coun- tries, that are supplied \^"ith springs and runninir brooks, the water-ram will eventually be found to be of great service ; for by its aid, with but a few feet fall, we can elevate a perpetual stream to a height many times the fall of the driving stream. But in Western New York, and on the prairie lauds, water- rams will not answer, for the simple reason that most of our streams become dry during the summer months precisely at the time when most they are needed. We must then resort to animal, wind, or steam power, to raise the water of irrigation from beneath the surface to a height sufficient to flow over our fields. In most sections of our country animal power is too expensive, and the same objection aj> plies to steam power. Then there remains the wind — the unseen power, every where present, and for which no expense is incurred except to provide the means of use. We see it stated in the Springfield (Mass.) Re- publican, that an ingenious mechanic of EUiuglon. Conn., has invented and put in successful operation a self-adjusting wind-mill, which furls its own sails at the proper time, stops when the wind is too high, and starts upon its steady round again when it returns to its appropriate degree of force. It has been in ope- ration six months, without requiring a hand to regu- late the sails — has run fifteen days and nights con- secutively without stopping — has drawn ^^a•er from a well twenty-eight feet deep and one hnnditd feet distant, and forced it into a reservoir in the upper part of a barn in sufficient quantities for fai'm and garden irrigation — and cost but 850. If the inventive genius of our mechanics has pro- duced a machine answering to the above notice, then j the great difficulties in the way of irrigation have been mostly removed ; and whoever will first apply the same in practice will reap a generous reward. Yours, CcLTOR. CROPS IX SEXECA COUNTY. N. Y. Mr. Editor : — The crops in Seneca are very un- equal. The well-tilled, manured, and drained fields have given crood crops of every thing but timothy 1 ay. while all slack farming is pinched by drouth. I Potatoes are backward. Le.=^s wheat wa-; injured by I the insect than by the snowless winter. More com i is now growing here th:ui ever before ; the early I planted never looked better. More flax than usual i will be grown this year, as the threshed stalk is con- tracted for at $6 the ton — seed at S1.50 a bushel Tery respectfully, S. W. Waterloo, Seneca Co., X. Y. THIN SEEDING. 1 WISH to a.-k '• J. B.," who has written such an excellent account of my friend Mr. Meoiu's farming, but who disapproves of what he calls Mr. Mechi's too thin seeding, whether he himself has ever fairly tried half a bushel of se?d wheat or of seed barley against twice as much, three times as much, cr four or five or six times as much. If he has not, I should also wish to ask him what he would think of one peck of wheat or even of half a peck, or of one or two pecks of barley only. Of course, if "J. B." condemns Mr. Mechi's four or five pecks of seed wheat, he would more than coadenm my two peeks or one peck, and especially my half peck, and my two peclis of barley ; and yet I produced on the same field, on an average of four years in succession, 8^ C|rs. of wheat, and my quantity of seed never ex- ceeded two pecks, but I varied it from half a peck to two pecks; and what will, I have no doubt, astonish " J. B.," and perhaps nine-tenths of farmers besides, still more, my crops from the half peck and the one peck of seed wheat per acre were better than those from the two pecks. Let it always be undei"stood, also, that I always sold my wheat at the very highest market price. And as for my barley, the lowest crop I ever had was 4^ qrs. per acre, and the highest 8 qrs, within one bushel ; and these crops I sold every year, except one. for seed : and that one, which waa "last year, the barley grew in the same field which had been wheat four successive times before ; I sold it at a dechning market, at 44s. a quarter. Nay, I go still further; 1 am now cutting a crop of clover in the same field, which for weight and quality I will baci against any crop in England, however it may have been produced ; and I intend to mow it again, and then I will drill the field with wheat, with the drill I used and invented myself, and which deposits just as many seeds as I wish and no more ; and the highest quantity of seed I will drill shall be two pecks, and the lowest quantity half a peck; and I will even now back the produce next year against any one bushel, two bushel, or three bushel seeder in the kingdom. Why, then, should I use more seed ? Will any gen- tleman point out to me why I should throw into my 276 THE GENESEE FARMER land 64 or even 96 quarts of seed per acre, when I can produce, as I have done, nearly 7 qrs. of fine wheat, and nearly 8 qrs. of fine barley, from quanti- ties of seed ranching from 4 to 10 (juarts an acre only ? And I do still more ; for while the thick seeders exhaust their soils with every crop they pro- duce, rendering their operations a continual series of exhaustings and repletions, my laud always improves under my system, from its never being impoverished. But, according to my friend Mr. Mechi's showing, he himself puts into the ground from 12 to 15 grains of wheat to every square foot, and of this quantity " J. B." complains that it is too small; whereas, for some parts of the crops I have referred to, I used only one-eighth or one-tenth as much, nnd for none of them did I use more than one-fifth or one-sLxth; and let it be bore in mind always that I produce crop of wheat after crop as long as I please, and then barley ; and now this year, as I have stated, I will back my clover, for quantity and quaUty, against any crop in MESSINA- -A COUNTRY SEAT OX THE HUDSON. Whoever has not seen the country seats on the upper side of the Hudson, knows nothing of the finest specimens of rural residences in America. There are in the neighborhood or Boston, many beautiful villas and cottages, designed in admirable taste and kept in the highest order, that are indeed admirable in ev- ery respect; but they, like more solitary specimens of the same kind, in the environs of many of our cities, are only suburban residences of a few acres. There are, in various parts of the country, many gentlemen's large seats, well laid out, with lawns, pleasure grounds and gardens, in a simple and unpretended manner, highly creditable to the possessors. But nowhere in America, are there to be found country residences, where nature has done so much to assist man in his attempts to create a beautiful home, as in what may be called the upper terrace of the Hudsoa This m- ^S^FKSOflJe. MESSINA A COUNTRY SEAT ON THE HUDSON. England ; and " J. B.," if he will take the trouble, shall be the judge. But perhaps I shall be told, as I often have been, that this is garden cultivation ; and if so, so much in commendation of it ; but no such thing, I cultivate with the plow, roller, harrows, scarifier, and horse-hoe alone ; and, as I have stated, I put my seed in with a two-horse drill, invented and made by myself, and with which I can put in half a pint of seed with as much regularity as I can two pecks, or a bushel or more. "Where, then, I may per- haps be asked, is the secret ? And if so, I answer — in deep and thorough draining, the best plowing I can give, never exhausting, and the feeding of my crops with such food as is proper for them. — George Wilkins, in the London Agricultural Gazette. Burdock leaves will cure a horse of the slavers in five minutes; let them eat two leaves. I have tried it many times. My horse will always use them when the slavers are bad, — Ploughman. eludes a hill of land on the eastern shore, extending from Hyde Park to Hudson city, a distance of about 50 miles. The peculiar advantages of this part of the river are these: First, the finest mountain and river views in the country — the river being the Hudson, in its loveliest portion — sometimes two or three miles wide — indented in outUne, and varied by numerous isl- ands; the mountains being the Catskills — their high- est summit 3,000 feet high — near enough to give a character of grandeur to the scene, and distant enough to possess that blue haze of atmospheric dis- tance, which makes a mountain a bit of poetry, in- stead of a bare reality of rocks and trees in the land- scape. Second, they have the advantage of having been held as country seats since the first settlement of the river — with much of the fine natural beauties of wood and water preserved and heightened by the fos- tering spirit of taste, rather than despoiled by the avaricious spirit of the mere tiller of the soil THE GENESEE FARMER 21*1 For almost the entire distance of this fifty miles, the east bank of the Hudson is one line of country seats — vaiying in extent from 50 to 500 or COO acres. Instead of having the same general features of inte- rest and beauty, nothing is more striking to the pic- turesque tourist than the highly varied character of these places. Every mile seems to present new groupings of headland and foreground, some new combinations of wood, water, and mountain — so that no one who has seen one or two jjlaces can imagine with certainty what will be the aspect and picture.sque character of the next residence. The enchanting beauty of the Hudson itself is varied and heightened too by its peculiar life and animation. Snowy sails, sometimes singly in calms, and sometimes floating along in the light breezes like troops of white swans; swift steamers freighted with throngs of busy and curious people; huge clusters of freight barges, loaded down with the produce of whole countries; and finally, steaUng along under the high wooded banks, the river railway, whose trains fly along be- tween the commercial and political capitals of the State at the rate of thirty to fifty miles an hour — all of these gives to these finest seats on the Hudson a completeness of interest which the traveller looks in vain for anywhere else in America. Among the finest of these residences, Montgomery Place, Blithewood, Ellerslie, Hyde Park and others, have been already described, and some of them illus- trated in various other works of ours. Persons wish- ing to see the finest specimens of landscape garden- ing in the country, naturally go to these places, to study them as the best examples of the art, and there are few 2)laces, out of England, where the lover of embellished home scenery can find so much gratifica- tion and instruction. About the center of this upper terrace, lies Messi- na, the seat of the late John R. Livingston, Esq., a sketch of which we present our readers this month. This house is one of the noblest in its pro- portions on the whole river, and is worth an exami- nation as a specimen of a first class mansion in the country. It was built by Mr. Livingston, after his return from France, some years ago. He was so much pleased while there with the residence of Beau- MARCHAis, near Paris, that he determined to model his own home upon it. This accounts for the air of a French Chateau, which we discover in some of its features. The design was, however, really drawn by an English architect, Brunel, the celebrated archi- tect of the Thames tunnel — who came out to this country and erected two or three residences for differ- ent members of the Livingston family. The plan of the interior is spacious and elegant — the rooms large and finely proportioned, uniting some of the best fea- tures of both the English and French residences. Finely varied and extensive grounds surround the mansion at Messina. There is an abundance of fo- liage and fine old trees, the scenery is beautiful, and the neighborhood most picturesque and interesting. Though not at present in the high condition of some of the places we have just mentioned (owing to the want of personal interest, consequent upon the de- clining health of the late proprietor), it could readily, in the hands of a person of taste and fortune, be re- Btored to its former high keeping. As it is but rare- ly one of the firet class residences is to be obtain- ed, we believe we shall render a service to some of our numerous readers who are annually settling in the country, by drawing their attention to a site that has long been considered one of the best in the Union. — Horttculhirist. CHEESE-MAKING. Mr. Hayward, of Frocester Court Farm, has given his experience as a cheeso-maker in the Vale of Berkely ; it is a valuable document. Management of Coivs. — The cows are generally turned out to grass in the end of April or beginning of May, upon those gi-ounds which Mr. Hayward has found, from experience, to produce the most and the richest milk. These grounds are nearest to the homestead, and have always been pastured. The driving of the cows before milking, and the carrying of the milk to any considerable distance, are found to injure the quality of the cheese; and to avoid this consequence, the pasture grounds should always be, as on this farm, near the homestead. The cows on this farm are divided into three lots, the young and weak ones being in one lot. Each of these three lots has two fields of pasture, and they are generally kept a week at a time in each field, so that they have fresh pasture every week — an advan- tage much greater than most farmers are aware o£ Great care is taken never to over-stock the pastm'e of the cows. They ought, at all times, to have a full bite of close, short fine grass. Long over-grown grass gives a rank flavor to the cheese, and should always be avoided. In dry seasons, when the pasture has got too shorty some of the fields that were intended for mowing are given up to the cows for pasture. When the hay is all cleared off the mowing grounds, and the after- grass begins to grow (it generally takes several weeks to make much appearance), the cows are shifted into these grounds. Land which is long pastured by any animal gets foul and unsound for it, and the after- grass always makes the cows spring their miOv. They are, therefore, generally moved from the pasture grounds into the after-grass before there is much of it for them. It is very essential for cows to have a shade and water in every field. The shade of trees, however, is the only shelter from sun and storm which they have on this farm, and indeed in the whole vale. Pigs. — Upon this and every dairy farm a number of pigs is necessary to consume the whey — one pig to two cows in summer, but not so many in winter. Their food in summer is grass, clover, vetches and hay; in winter, raw potatoes, with tailing corn, whey and skimmed milk. When they are being fattened, bean or barley meal is mixed with boiled or steamed potatoes, in the proportion of a bushel of meal to two cwt. and a half of potatoes. The breed of pigs kept on this farm is the Berkshire, with a small mix- ture of the Hereford. Some of them are sold in a store state ; most of them are fattened. Five or six breeding sows are always kept, which are regularly fattened off, when one year and a half old, and fed to about three cwt. Management of the Dairy. — It is acknowledged 278 THE GENESEE FARMER by every one at all acquainted with the subject, that the quality of cheese does not dej^eud upon the su- perior richness of the soil or the fineness of the herbage ; for cheese of the first (juality is frequently made from land of an inferior description, and from herbage of a coarse nature. Nor does the quahty of the cheese depend on the breed of the cows ; for cheese of the best quahty is made from the milk of cows of all the different breeds that are to be found iu the country. We think it principally depends on the management of the cows as to their food, etc., of the milk in converliug it into cheese till it is fit for market. The following circumstances are injurious to the quality of cheese: Allowing the cows to get rank or ill-flavored grass or hay, these conveying a bad flavor to the milk and cheese; allowing the cows to run and heat themselves; driving them far to be milked, which makes the milk froth much in milking ; carrying the milk from the place of milking to the dairy ; and al- lowing it to remain long after it is milked, before it is set with the rennet. The greatest dependence is upon the daiiy-maid ; and the chief art of making cheese of the finest quality lies in her management. The superintendence of the dairy invariably devolves upon the farmer's wife. Mrs. Hayward attends to every minute cir- cumstance in this department; and the following is a report of the information she has obligingly commu- nicated to us respecting the whole economy of the dairy of this farm. The management of a dairy should be conducted with the greatest regularity. Every operation should be performed precisely at the proper time. Either hastening or delaying the execution of it will cause cheese of an inferior quality to be made of milk from which the best may be obtained. A dairy-maid is selected for skill, cleanliness, and strict attention to her business. Her work commences at four o'clock in the morn- ing, and continues without intermission till bed-time. Dairy-house. — The dairy-house should be kept at a temperature of between 50 and 60 deg.; and the dryer it is kept the better, as both milk and cream retain their sweetness much longer in dry than in damp air. Every time, therefore, the dairy is washed, it is dried as quickly as possible. Around two sides of the dairy there are broad shelves, made of elm, for putting the vessels that hold the milk and cream, and the newly-made cheese upon. On another side there is a fi-ame with three large stone cheese-presses. In the middle of the north side is the door; and in the corner, on the left, is the stair leading up to the cheese-lofts ; and behind the door is a single cheese-press, which is generally used in pressing the cheese the first time, before it is cut down and put through the mill. In the mid die of the floor stand three leaden vessels, large enough to hold the whey of one "meal," or milking; and by the side of these stands the cheese-tub. Above the daiiy there are two cheese-lofts, around the sides of which there are broad shelves for holding two rows of boards, called here " cheese-taclv," which being only about eight inches apart, contain a much greater quantity of cheese than could be disposed on the floor. The stair to the cheese-lofts is of oak, and seems to be the pride of the dairy-maid, for it is dry- rubbed and polished so smooth that it is dangerous to walk upon ; but this sort of pride is encouraged, as evincing an attention to cleanliness. Along the north side of the daity there is a shed, which communicates with the dwelling-house. In this shed the utensils are kept upon a stand for the pur- pose, the cream is churned, and other work performed, nothing being done in the dairy but the making of the cheese and the making up of the butter. Opposite the door of the dairy, and detached from the shed, is a wash-house with a pump-well at the door of it. In this wash-house the water and the milk are heated iu boilers for the purpose, and all cleaning work is performed. Utensils. — The milking pails are made of maple, on account of the lightness of the wood and its clean- liness of appearance. They hold about six gallons each, and the cheese-tub is of a large size enough to hold the whole of the milk. The ladder, the skim- ming dish, and the bowl, are of maple. The sieve for straining the milk is about fifteen inches in diame- ter, and has a hair-cloth bottom. There are a number of cheese-vats, sufficient to hold all the cheese made in four or five days. They are made of elm, and turned out of the solid. That which gives five cheeses to a cwt. is considered the best size for double Gloucester, the inside diameter of which is fifteen inches and a half, and depth four and a quarter ; and this is considered the best for single Gloucester which gives eight to a cwt., the diameter within being fifteen inches and a half, and depth two and a half. Round boards, called " suity boards,"' made of elm, of the diameter of the cheese- vats, and thicker in the middle than at the edges, are occasionally necessary to place on the cheeses when in the press, if the vats are not quite full. Without the assistance of these boards, the cheese will be round in the edges (a proof of not being well pressed), and not so handsome. The cheese-presses are made of stone, as being the cleanest material for the purpose, and of steadiest pressure. They weigh about 7 cwt. each ; they are raised by a block and takle, and the whole apparatus is painted white. From the whey leads, which are oblong, and about eight inches deep, there are leaden pipes which con- vey the whey into an under-ground cistern, near the pigs' houses, where by means of a pump it is raised when Manted for the pigs. Leaden keep the M'hey longer sweet than wooden vessels, and are much easier kept clean. This is done by scouring them with ashes of wood, and washing them well every time they are emptied, which is every thirty-six hours. Tin vessels are used in preference to earthenware for holding the milk that is set for cream, and also for holding the cream. Those used for the cream hold about four gallons each, and are made with a lip for the convenience of shifting the cream from one of these vessels into another. This is done once every day during summer ; and there is a Moodcn slice or knife always kept in the cream vessel, with which the cream is frequently stirred during the day, to prevent a skin from forming on the top of it, which is inju- rious to the quality of the butter. The skimming dish, used for taking the cream off the milk, differs THE GENESEE FARMER. 279 from that used in cheese-making, being made of tin, with holes in it to let the milli run out that may be taken up with the cream. The butter-scales, prints, and butter-boards, are of maple. The boards for making up the butter in half-pound rolls are about one foot long and nine inches wide. The barrel-churn is made of the best oak, and great attention is paid to its cleanliness. The butter-milk is never allowed to remain in it, but it is washed, scalded and put up to dry as soon as the butter is taken out. Milking. — This is performed in three separate courts, to which the cows come from their several field.s. The milkings should be as near as possible at equal divisions ot the day, commencing at about four o'clock in the morning and three in the afternoon. To each milker eight cows are assigned, and one man carries the milk from all the milkers to the dairy. The milking should be finished in an hour. The dairy-maid sees that the milkers do their duty, and that all the cows are milked clean ; for the milk that comes last is the richest ; and besides, if the cows are not clean milked, there v,^\\ be a gradual diminu- tion of the milk perceptible daily ; for these reasons, the greatest care is taken that the cows are clean milked. Cheese-making. — The cheese-tub being put in its place in the dairy, the ladder is put across it, and a large thin canvas cloth covers the whole tub and ladder to catch any of the milk that may drop from the pail, and to prevent dirt from falling into the tub- Above this and upon the ladder is placed the sieve, through which the milk is strained. If the milk should not be of the temperature of 85 deg., a por- tion of it is put into a deep tin, kept for the purpose, and placed in a furnace of hot-water in the wash- house, by which means the whole is warmed to a proper degree. It is of the utmost moment to at- tend to this ; for if the milk is not warm enough when the rennet is put into it, the cheese will be " tender," and will bulge out in the edge, which spoils its appearance ; and a great quantity of sediment of small curd will be found in the whey leads, which is so much curd lost. If, on the other hand, the milk is too warm, it will cause the cheese to "heave," or ferment, which injures both its appearance and quality. When the milk is sufficiently warm, the coloring and the rennet are put into it. The coloring anatto is put in by rubbing a cake of it on a plate among the milk, until, from its appearance, it seems colored enough. One pound of anatto, at five shillings, is sufficient for half a ton of cheese. The rennet being added immediately after the anatto is put in, the tub is covered with a woolen cloth for at lpa.st an hour. Rennet, or runnet, is made from the stomachs of calves, called here " veils." Irish veils are the best ; they are cured and sent to England, and sold by the grocers to the dairy-farmers. Mrs. Haywaro never uses them till they are twelve months old ; for, if they are not old, the rennet made from them causes the cheese to " heave," and to be- come full of " eyes," or holes. She prepares the ren- net from them by adding to every sLx veils two gallons of brine and two lemons. The lemons do away with any disagreeable smell, and give the rennet sweetness aa'd agreeable flavor. Twenty or thirty gallons of it are made at a time, and it is found to be much better when made in large quantities. It should never be used until it has stood for at least two months. When the curd is sufKciently firm for breaking, it is g"cntly and slowly cut with a three-bladed knife, down to the bottom of the tub (the knife being about fourteen inches long), both ways or at right angles, and around the sides of the tub. The cuts should be about an inch apart. When it has stood five or ten minutes to allow it to sink a little, and the whey to come out as clear as possible, some of the whey is dipped out of it with a bowl, and the curd is cut a second time with the three-bladed knife — very slowlj to begin with, for if the cutting is done hurriedly, a great sediment of a very small curd will pass through the sieve, and be found in the whey-leads, and there will also be an increase of the quantity of whey -but- ter which should have been in the cheese, and the value of the butter, thus obtained, will noC compen- sate for the waste of curd, and for the loss of credit which the cheese will sustain from the abstraction of butter from it. The cutting being, therefore, per- formed very slowly at first, and with the strokes of the knife at a considerable distance from each other, is gradually quickened, and the strokes are taken nearer and nearer every time. At last one hand with the skimming-dish keeps the whole in motion, turn- ing up the lumps suspended in the whey, while the other, with the knife, is in constant motion, cutting them as small as possible ; and this operation is con- tinued till no more lumps are brought to the surfiice; and the whole mass is reduced to one degree of fine- ness. This process may occupy a quarter of an hour. The curd is now allowed to stand a quarter of an hour, and being thus sul!icieutly settled, the whey is taken from it with the bowl, and poured through a very fine hair sieve, placed over the whey-leads. When the greatest part of the whey has been separated from it, the dairy-maid, folding over a portion of it, and beginning at one corner, goes around the tub, cutting the curd in lumps, and laying them on the principal mass, by which operation the mass is carried all round the tub, and most of the remaining whey escapes between the cut fragments, as they lie and press upon each other. From time to time the whey is taken from the tub, and put through the sieve into the whey-leads. The curd is then put into vats, and pressed down with the hand. The vats, being covered with cheese cloths about one yard and a quarter long, of fine canvass, are placed in the press for half an hour, when they are taken out, and the curd cut into slices, and put into a mill fixed on the top of the tub, which tears it into verj' small crumbs, as small as vetches. This mill, which is of Mr. IIaywaro's construction, is a great improvement in the making of cheese, not only as it saves the dairy-maid the most laborious part of the process, that of squeezing and rubbing the curd into small crumbs with her hands, but as it allows the butter to remain in the cheese, which the hands squeeze out. In its pulverized state, it is customary with most daiiy-raaids to scald the curd with hot whey, but Mrs. Hayward considers cheese richer when made without scalding the broken curd, this washing the fat out of it. She therefore, without scalding it, puts it into 280 THE GENESEE FARMER. the vats, and presses it closely together with the hand in filling them. In making double Gloucester cheese, particular care is taken to press any remaining whey from the curd as the vats are being filled, and they are filled as compactly as can be done with the hand, being rounded up in the middle, but just so much so as that the whole can be pressed into the vat. Cheese cloths are then spread over the vats, and a little hot water is thrown over the cheese cloths, which tends to harden the outside of the cheese and prevent it from cracking. The curd is now turned out of the vats into the cloths, and the vats being dipped into the whey to wash away any crumbs of curd that may cling to them, the curd, inverted and with the cloth around it, is again put into them. The cloths are then folded over and tucked in; and the vats, as they are filled, are put into the press one upon another. — The bottom of the vats are smooth and a little romided, so as to answer the purpose of cheese- boards, which, therefore, are only wanted for the uppermost vats, or when the other vats are not quite full. The vats are allowed to remain under the press about two hours, when they are taken out and dry cloths are ajjplied, which with double Gloucester cheeses should be repeated some time in the day. Salting and Salthig-presses. — The vats, when the clean cloths are given, as just mentioned, are chang- ed from the single press to the one next to it, and placed in it, one upon another, as before. They re- raam in this press till the cheeses are salted, when those made in the evening take the place in the press of those made in the morning, and those made in the evening are, in their turn, displaced by those made the foUowing morning; the cheeses of the last mak- ing being alway placed lowest in the press, and those of the other makings rising in it according to the priority of making. The same order is observed in the other two presses, the last or newest making in each being lowest, and each making having next above it that which was made last before it The cheeses pass through the three presses in this order, advancing a step in their progress at each "meal" or making, till, at last, in four or five days they come out of the presses and are put upon the shelves. — They are generally salted at the end of twenty-four hours after they are made, though this is done by some at the end of twelve hours. The salting should never be begun till the skin is all closed; for, "if there be any crack in the cheese at the time of salting, it will never close afterwards. The salting is performed by rubbing with the hand both the sides and the edge of the cheeses with finely powdered salt. The cheese, after this, is returned to the vats, and put under the press, care being always taken, accordino- to what has been said, to put the newest cheese low- est in the press, and the oldest uppermost. The salt- ing is repeated three times with the single, and four times with the double Gloucester, twenty-four hours being allowed to intervene between each salting. Af- ter the second salting, the cheeses are returned to the vats without the clolhs, that the marks of the cloth may be effaced, and the cheese may get a smoothness of surface, and keenness of edge, which is a pecu- liarity of Gloucestershire cheese. The double Glou- cester remain in the presses five days, and the single four; but in damp weather they should remain lon- ger. The quantity of salt generally used is about three pounds and a half to a cwt. of cheese. The Cheese-room. — When the cheeses are taken from the salting-presses, they are put on the shelf in the dairy for a day or two, where they are turned once in twelve hours. They are then taken to the cheese loft, to make room for the new ones. In the cheese-room, either on the floor or on the cheese- rack, they are turned once every day; and in gene- ral, in a month from the time they were taken out of the vat, they are ready for cleaning, which is done by scraping them with a common knife. The dairy- maid, in doing this, sits down on the floor, takes a cheese in her lap, and with the knife scrapes both sides and edge clean, taking oS" scurf they may have contracted. The cheese, if intended for the London market, as is generally the case when it has been thus cleaned, is rubbed all over with a paint made of In- dian red, or of Spanish brown, or of a mixture of both and small beer. It is rubbed on with a woollen cloth. After being painted, it is turned over twice a week, and oftener in damp weather; and as soon as the state of the paint will permit, the edges of the cheese and about an inch of each side is rubbed hard with a cloth at least once a week. Characteristics of true Gloucester. — The mark of true Gloucester cheeses are " the blue coat," which arises through the paint on their sides, and which is a sure sign of their richness and sweetness ; the yel- low, golden hue of their edges ; a smooth, close, and wax-like texture; a very mild and rich flavor; not crumbling when cut into thin slices, nor parting when toasted, with the oily matter they contain, but soft- ening when burning. If cheese has been soured in the making, either from being too long in hand, or from want of attention in scalding the utensils, no- thing will cause it to assume the blue coat. If the curd is salted when ground down, before being put into the vats, the salt has the effect of gi'^'ing a skin to each of the particles of the curd it comes in con- tact with, which prevents them from intimately unit- ing; and, although the curd maybe pressed together and become good cheese, yet it never becomes a smooth, close and solid mass hke that which is salted after it is made, but is of a loose texture, and crum- bles when cut; and although it may be equally fat, yet in toasting the fat melts out of it, and the cheesy part burns. The skin of the cheese, too, is not tough and solid, but hard and brittle, and when examined, seems to be formed of many irregular portions, some- thin": like mosaic work. — Farmers^ Magazine. Pkesekving Potato Seeds. — C. S. Jackson, of London, patentee. This invention is to preserve po- tato and other roots to be used as seeds, and to pre- vent them from being injured by rot, fungus, or worms. To do this, a solution of the sulphate of zinc is made up (about 1 lb. for 30 gallons water), and when cold the potatoes are steeped in it for a few minutes, then taken out, dried, and put past till spring, in a diy, cool place. This information may be very useful to many of om- gardeners and farmers this year, in the preservation of choice seeds and roots. ^ I ^ A BAB man's dislike is an honor. THE GENESEE FARMER 281 WHAT SHALL WE EAT? If meat were furnislied as cheap as water, it would be esteemed too severe a task to eat it dm-ing this hot weather. But when it costs so enormously, and has no special merit of wholesomeness to commend it, we certainly should be excused from its use. Still, if one has the money to spare for it, we will not ob- ject to its answering very well to keep the body in respectable condition. Beef, more than any other meat — providing it is from a healthy animal, and is not too tough — is wholesome. But then it is not needed by most people in summer. On the other hand, the meat-eater must sleep longer than the one who lets it alone. We doubt not that men who eat no meat get as much good out of six hours' sleep as they who eat it do out of seven, If so, here is a double waste — of money for the article, aud of time to get over its effects. But there is a class of alarmists who ciy out against vegetables whenever an epidemic threatens to ap- proach. They are strong enough in some cities to have secured the prohibition of the sale of vegetables in the markets and groceries, while the cholera pre- vailed. Their intentions were good, of course ; but we shall not believe that ripe, fresh vegetables will prove injurious to mortals any more during an epi- demic than at other times. Of course, unripe fruit, wilted and decaying vegetables, or unseasonable ones, win not be consumed with impimity ; but we speak to sensible folks. Potatoes that are potatoes — we mean potatoes that are not made up simply of a squashy pulp, with half their weight in water, surrounded with a dirty peel ; but such as we occasionally find in market under the name of Pink Eyes, or Bermudas, which are plenty now, aud the Mercers, which are always so — are good enough for the best conservative in town. Turnips are good, though there is not much nourishment in them. Cabbages, spinach, and " greens," of all sorts, are good only for those who never have found them indigestible. They should be eaten only under protest. Rice is excellent, in milk or with sugar. Do not hinder the children from using the sugar freely. It fattens the slaves of the South, and will fatten them. Never believe that their teeth decay in consequence. Milk is excellent. It satisfies the appetite, is light, wholesome and cheap. Boiling the milk improves its flavor, ripens it, and makes it easy of digestion even for the sick. Simple puddings, fruit puddings, and pies, if not too rich, are economical and good. Then fruit in its season is worthy of thanksgiving. Straw- berries are so plenty that they can better be afforded than meats, and they are as wholesome, as refreshing too. Bananas that are perfectly ripe, and not at all decayed, are safe. Pine apples furnish the palate with a perpetual illusion. You lay hold of one, and its delicious flavor promises great pleasure to the palate, but it seems to fail of meeting the demand exactly ; and though you stuff with the woody, fi- brous body of the apple till your judgment forbids any more, you still experience a craving lor it. They are not worth what they cost to common folks. Flour is the staple, after all. In bread and bis- cuits, cakes and puddings, the good housewife can manage to give flom- a relishing and wholesome form, though varied daily. Moreover, it is about as cheap as anything we eat, in spite of the high market prices. Corn as Indian, corn as hominy, or corn as samp, is a national dish. Patriotism, economy, health, and a Yankee education, all combine to recommend it in all its forms, excepting perhaps that very delectable combination of it with beans, which men, in honor of the aborigines, still designate succotash. Given in a desert, corn enough, and the usual facilities for preparing it for the table, and no man has a right to ask for manna or quails. Cucumbers and their kind are very dubious ; never should one eat freely of them — and it they ever have played a person a trick, he will do well to avoid them utterly. It is a great pity that their very pleasant flavor could not be ex- tracted and communicated to some such harmless medium as mush, rice or Indian meal. If the Crys- tal Palace does well in its legitimate and promised work of stimulating human industry in all directions, perhaps it may be yet. We shall not patent the suggestion. Eggs fortunately fetch prices that can be afforded. They are very nutritious and very di- gestible, unless cooked to the consistency of bullets. We suspect that egg-fed men make the best thinkers, meat-eaters the best fighters, and strict vegetarians the whitest and most delicate members of society. Physiologists say that the human brain hungers al- ways for phosphorus, and that when it is plentifully supplied, thinking comes easy. Now, phosphorus is plentiful in eggs, whence it seems to be a legitimate deduction that our suspicion is the truth. Fish are for the edification of men in hot weather; but they must be fresh fish — as recently as possible from the water. Look sharp before buying them on Mondays, and on Saturdays too ; they are apt to be the unsold remnants. Some citizens make free with salt fish in hot weather. It is a grave objection to them, however, that they provoke thirst, which must be quenched with immoderate draughts of cold wa- ter.— JVew York Times. Cultivation of Tobacco in Africa. — The cul- tivation of tobacco continues to increase in a remark- able manner in the African possessions of France. — It results from the report of the Special Inspector of the tobacco manufactory to the Minister of War, that the deliveiy of the crop of 1853 amounted to 1,637,523 kilogrammes, valued at l,436,926f., being an average of 87f. 78c. the 100 kilos. The impor- tance of these returns will be seen by comparing them with those of tlie preceding year, which had already exceeded that of 1851 by 500,000 kilos., and was only 904,000 kilos.; so that there was an increase in 1853 of 733,000 kilos., nearly 100 per cent. The quality has moreover improved almost as much as the quantity has increased. In addition to the quan- tity above mentioned, received on account of the State, there have been consumed in the country 317,- COO kilos., and exported 107,787 kilos., making the total production amount to 2,063,000 kilos. None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them ; such persons covet secrets, as a spendthrift covets money, for the purpose of circii- lation. 282 THE GENESEE FARRIER. PINE WOOD IN EASTERN VIRGINIA. A correspondent of the Richmond (Va.) Enquirer ■writes as follows, in relation to the trade in pine wood in Surry county, the quantity shipped North, and the future 2)rospects; " Much has been written and said lately about the various resources of our State, its great agricultural resources, its iron, coal, gypsum, &c., &c And even our Norfolk friends, perhaps ashamed of their want of enterprise and a proper commercial spirit, have been boasting much lately about 'feeding the North.' Instead of having ships from every clime riding in their harbor, they abandon their noble port and turn their attention to ' trucking,' raising peas and toma- toes for the Northern cities. Well, our wise law- givers have much to answer for this state of things.-^ But to my subject. I propose to write you some- thing about the trade that is carried on between us and the North in pine wood. This business has be- come of considerable importance, employing a great many laborers, thereby enhancing the price of labor, and injuring to some extent the agricultural interest, which is to be regretted. Let me tell, in the briefest manner possible, how it is carried on, hoping it may be interesting to some of your readers at least. The trees are felled and their trunks cut into pieces three feet ten inches long, which are mauled up and put in square pens to dry or season. Five of these pens, seven feet high, make a cord of wood, which is the slave's day's task, and all he chooses to cut over task he is paid for. After the wood is sea.soned, it is then hauled to the river, whence it is shipped to the Nor- thern cities, andnineteen-twentiethsof it in Northern bottoms. We get three dollars and seventy-five cents per cord, delivered on board the vessel; all the wood is carried north of Baltimore — a vast quantity to the city of New York. From the best data to be had, there are more than a hundred vessels engaged in this trade, in James river alone, which are mostly schooners, carrying from eighty to two hundred and thirty cords at a load — averaging, perhaps, about one hundred and thirty cords. They make the round trip in a fortnight. Now, one hundred vessels, carrying a hundred and thirty cords each, and making twenty five trips a year, one would think it would take but a short time to exhaust the pine timber, but it is not 80. There are millions of cords yet to be cut, the best timbered lands yielding as much as seventy-five cords of split wood to the acre. We should also re- member that the pine is of rapid growth. Pine wood has been cut and shipped to the North which was scarcely twenty years old. So, if no substitute for wood be found, it will be fair to infer that this trade will be carried on for many years to come. The ves- sels generally return in ballast, but sometimes they bring on a cargo of hay, to feed the teams engaged in hauling the wood. Some will sneer at this, but free trade is my motto, not only between the States, but with the whole wide world. So, if they choose to buy our wood, and we their hay, let no one say aay." -m^,-t,m. — . FooT-ROT IN Sheep. — The application of double- distilled vinegar and sublimate of mercury, is said to be a remedy for foot-roi in sheep. THE CALIFORNIA CROPS. We venture to assert that the potatoes that will lay upon the ground and rot in the San Jose Vall'.'y the present year, will count in bushels by million--. We saw one pile that was the length of eighty raib of a fence, ninety-six feet, about thirty feet wide, and some two feet above the fence, seemingly enough to supply the State. These, with vast quantiues all over the county, and other counties also, will be lost. unless some plan is devised for using them. — Califor- nia Farmer. Barley. — This article, new crop, says the San Joaquin Republican, sold yesterday in our market at one and a half cents per pound, and we hear of sale.^ being made at less than this figure. Wheat. — Mr. J. M. Horner, of Alameda county, has 200 acres planted in wheat, which will yield nearly forty bushels to the acre. His threshing ma- chine, which harvests twenty acres a day, -will com- mence operations in a day or two. The wheat crop in Los Angelos county is remark- ably fine, and will yield much more than an averase crop for several of the past years. Mr. Reed, of the Puente, has an excellent crop of eighty acres of Aus- tralian wheat. We hear of no smut in the wheat in this section, and but little rust. Oats. — In Eldrado county, in some cases the head:- measure 28 inches in length, and has over six hn-i- dred kernels. These specimens were taken from c field on Dix's Rancho, and it is said that the entire crop is unsurpassed in size by any that has been here- tofore noticed. Another sample, taken from the Somerset Ranch, measures over seven feet in length. The heads are twenty inches in length. Sheep Raising in Virginia. — ^The Charlottesville (Va.) Advocate learns that many of the Piedmont larmers have determined to sow only small crops oi wheat until the joint worm is eradicated, and to oc- cupy their lands with raising sheep and growing wool. The demand for sheep in Eastern Virginia will afford a good market for the great surplus of the western and southwestern counties. Feeding Farm Horses. — Sir John Conrey, a large farmer near Reading, England, it is said feeds his farm horses as follows: 8 lbs. hay, 10 lbs. straw cut into chaff, .5 lbs. oats, 1 lb. bean meal, 1 lb. bruized flax seed steeped 48 hours in 15 pints of cold water. This quantity constitutes the whole food of each horse for twenty-four hours. A Cincinnati paper states that several thousand barrels of swine's blood are used in that city every year for making sweet wine. "Sweet wine," forsooth! — may it not more proper- ly be called soiv-er wine — or, if you please, what a Dutchman would call " hock." — JV. O. Bulletin. Never trust a man for the vehemence of his asse^ vations, whose bare word you would not trust; a knave will make no more of swearmg to a falsehood' than of affiraing it. THE GENESEE FARMER. 283 CONDUCTED BY JOSEPH FROST. THE SHELDON PEAR. This pear has been cultivated iu the vicinity of Rochester a number of years. It has been sold under different names, but was more widely disseminated as the Osivego Beurrc, which is similar iu appearance, in its wood and fruit, to the Sheldon. Both were believed to have originated in the same locality, as the scions were first brought from the East, and near the city of Oswego. The mistake was soon corrected, however, as it was found that one sort, the Oswego Beurre, grew finely upon the Quince stock, while the Sheldon would not succeed, and could only be made to grow upon the Pear stock. This led to an examination; and it was ascertained that there were two distmct kinds, and THE SHELDON PEAR. the quality of one far superior to that of the other — the better one proving to be a new sort, and was named the Sheldon, from the name of a farmer living in the neighboring town of Penfield, who had grown considerable of the fruit. AVe have eaten of the fruit in its season the past four years, and think it to be "best." Many who have seen it, and who are well acquainted with the White Doyenne, Seckel, Bartlett, and other fine kinds, prefer it to any of these. Should it do as well in other locaUties as in this, it is deserving of extensive cultivation. Being an American seedling, it deserves to be commended far more than many European kinds that come to us with extravagant names and glowing descriptions. In the Horticulturist we fiiid the following good description of the fruit : "Fruit — medium, or rather above medium size. The engra\ing is from a specimen of the average size. "Form — generally roundish, but varying much; sometimes quite round, others obovate or inclining to oval ; some taper to a point at the stalk, and others are as broad at the stalk as at the eye. "Stalk — short, sometimes set on the surface, but generally sunk slightl}', as in the outline. " Calyx — medium size, in a smooth, round, rather shallow basin. "Skin — smooth, usually of a greenish-russet; some specimens are tinted with light-red on the sunny side, some slightly bronzed, and others without any color. " Flesh — remarkably melting and juicy, sugary and rich, with a sprightly and peculiar flavor, that is to- tally distinct from all other pears we have tasted. It is rather gritty at the core, and ripens and keeps re- markably well in the house. " Tree — erect in its habit, and quite vigorous, with light yellowish shoots and prominent buds, much like the wood of the Ostvego Beurre. It is hardy and a good bearer, but has not yet succeeded on the Quince." NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. Elliott's Fruit Book : or, the American Frnit-grower'9 Guide in Orcliard and Garden. By F. R. Elliott. This work of Mr. Elliott, of Cleveland, Ohio, has been promised some time. It appears in the form of a volume comprising more than 500 pages, nu- merously embellished with wood cuts. It is pub- lished in good form, by C. M. Saxton, New York. A new feature has been employed, by giving the characteristic and distinguishing forms of the seeds and seed vessels of the apple, pear, quince and cherry. This appears to us valuable, and promises to confer another method by which we may be able to ascertain the names and correctness of varieties. Fm'ther than this we cannot see that the least ad- vancement has been made upon the works before published. It was expected that he would pursue a different course, and not follow in the well-explored path of other authors, but make it one of character. Being more of a Western man than any other author, it was presumed he would present much from that section, and give descriptions of the new Western fruits, which are in such great abundance, and the characteristics of the respective kinds, as well as the peculiar treatment they deserve in different localities. But we have nothing of the kmd, excepting com- paratively a very few instances. Among Class 1, or hst of fruits for general culti- vation, we find in apples 74 varieties, among which are 10 Western sorts. Pears, 56 kinds for general cultivation, only 4 of them produced at the West, and those in the State of Ohio. Of cherries, in the same class, there are 30 sorts, 19 of which are new Western varieties, and all were produced in 1842, except in one instance, and that was not desciibed till 1849. These 19 new kinds did not originate at various places throughout the West, but all in the garden of Prof J. P. Kirtlaxd, an intimate friend of Mr. Elliott. Among peaches, there does not appear to be any in the class for general cultivation from the West; the same with plums, apricots and uectariaea. 284 THE GENESEE FARMER. Among the smaller fruits there are strawberries ; 6 ouly are suitable for general cultivation, and one is a seedliug of Prof. BIirtland. Of raspberries, 17 va- I'ieties are in Class 1 ; 9 are seedlings produced by by Dr. Brinkle and Col. Wilder. In the class of fruits, there are many which are noted as being well adapted for general cultivation that are new, and it is quite doubtful if they have been fruited in half a dozen localities ; while others, of the most reliable kinds, having been cultivated in all sections for many years, and have proved them- selves to be first class in every particular, are placed as unfit for general cultivation, and worthy the atten- tion ouly of the amateur. Upon this point Mr. Barry says: "It strikes us as rather strange- that such varieties as Bethlehemite, Challenge, Cornish Aromatic, Fallenwalder, Fort Miami, Golden Ball, London Sweet, Melting, Rich- mond, Rome Beauty, and many others as little known as these, should be published as worthy of general cultivation, while such well-known sorts as William's Favorite, Summer Queen, St. Lawrence, Keswick Codlin, Holland Pippin, Pumpkin Sweet, 131ue Pear- main, Twenty Ounce, &c., are classed as new and un- tested, &c., in Class 2." Of pears, he says : " In the first class we find such varieties as Beurre Langelier, Brandywine, Black Worcester, Coit of Ohio, Doyenne dAlengon, Honey, Kirtland, Knight's Seedling, Nouveau Poiteau, Soldat Laboureur Van Assche, and many such new and little- known sorts, while in the second class we find An- drews, Bloodgood, Paradise d'Automne, Bergamot Cadette, Beurre d'Amalis, Capiaumont, Duchesse d'Angouleme, Henry IV., Napoleon, Summer Franc- real, and several others of the very best and most widely-kuo\vn varieties in cultivation." Among cherries for general cultivation we find Dr. Kirtland's new kinds — Black Hawk, Brant, Cleve- land, Doctor, Delicate, Early Prolific, Governor Wood, Joc-o-sot, Kirtland's Mary, Kirtland's Mam- moth, Late Bigarreau, Logan, Osceola, Pontiac, Powhatten, Rockport, Red Jacket, Shannon and Te- cumseh — to the exclusion of the world-wide known sorts, such as Black Eagle, Tellow Spanish or Bigar- reau, Holland Bigarreau, Knight's Early Black, May Duke, Napoleon Bigarreau, Elkhorn, and many others. In the first class he enumerated no peaches, plums, apricots, &c., but those of Eastern origin. Every one must view it as very singular, and fancy at first that some mistake was made in its arrange- ment when printed ; but upon a careful examination we are led to believe that these are the sentiments of the author. Unless this work is speedily altered, it will produce much mischief that wiU take years to correct At the West, where less opportunities have occurred to become acquainted with fruits, it will be viewed as authority, and the greatest mistakes may arise from it. In its present state, it would be far better for every planter of trees if such a work had never been published, as it is so full of errors and egregious blunders. Already a correspondent of ours, from the interior of Indiana, has wi'itten us desiring a few hundred Cherry trees to plant, wishing to grow the fruit for market. He had in his possession this book, and had selected three-fourths of the quantity from Dr. Kirtland's seedlings. We advised him at once of the error he had been led into, and the liability of others to follow the same course. We suggested the utter impracticability of a man producing nineteen varieties of cherries in one year which were worthy of general cultivation, while the same party could find only eleven out of two hundred sorts or more, which originated with others and at other localities, that were fit to be placed with his nineteen. It would be quite immaterial, though these two hundred kinds had been the united production, aided by the experience, of eminent horticulturists of America as well of Europe, for the past fifty years, and had been tested in nearly every locality in the United States and Canada. This is truly a fast age, far out-stripping anything that our fore-fathers wit- nessed; therefore it is well for no one to be surprised at whatever may appear now-ardays. It is quite probable that Mr. Elliott could produce in another year eleven more sorts, so that the only cherries fit to grow in the United States would all have origi- nated under his fig tree, which would be truly honor enough to shine upon one man. As a suggestion, would it not be well for the va- rious Horticultural Societies in the United States to secure Mr. Elliott's services at once, thereby saving much time, labor and expense, and have him try his hand at apples the coming season, the next year pears, then peaches, and so on through the catalogue? Then we should have truly a fine array of fruits ; it would also obviate the necessity of importing any further from Europe, as we would have a source that could be available at any time, by merely drawing for what was wanted. However fertile his imagina- tion might then be, he would have enough subjects to which he could apply his Indian and other proper names. The following we find in the August number of the Horticulturist, which was cut from the Inde- pendent, a popular newspaper in New Tork, edited by Mr. Beecher, which touches some other points. After treating upon other matters connected with this publication, it says: " We should be glad to let the matter rest hera But American horticulture and pomology suffer for lack of firm and just criticism. " 1. Mr. Elliott has been led to make his book cover a larger ground than was needed, except for bookseller's reasons. Had he given a monograph on apples, or a thin volume devoted chiefly to the apple, the cherry, and the pear, and as a catalogue 7-aison- nee, he would have shielded himself from just criti- cism ; but there is no advance on Mr. Downixg's work which justified so large an undertaking, and in a literary view it falls far below it. " 2. For Mr. Elliott has the unpardonable vice of fine writing — unpardonable in any body, and in any department of literature ; but to the last degree un- becoming in a practical and scientific work ; and ren- dered more r idiculous when attempted by persons who can not even write grammatically. Fine writing is the scrofula of literature. The only way to cure it is for the author to burn his manuscript. "We are surprised that Mr. Elliott's publishers should not have urged him to entrust his MSS. to THE GENESEE FARMER. 285 ;onie literary hand, to comb its tangled sentences, and ■iluik out its artificial flowers, and gaudy tail-featli- jrs, .stuck in without taste or conscience. 'A little of this tendency is to be found in Mr. DdwxiNG's work. Sentimental sweetnesses are quite n ])lacein a treatise on the beautiful, and in works rtating of landscape gardening; but the utmost fru- -jality should be practiced in a treatise upon fruits. And if, in any degree, Mr. Elliott has sinned under he influence of Mr. Downixg's gonial and flowing tyle, it is time that the pomological world should jronounce its censure so distinctly upon such efforts, IS shall create a law of propriety hereafter, otherwise Garden, where it has been merely known as a per- fectly hardy " Caprifolium." In January, 1833, it blossomed in the garden of the Marquis of Salisbury, at llatSeld, whence Mr. "William Ingram, the gar- dener there, sent us specimens, with the followmg note, on the 13th of April: " The plant which afiords me these flowers has been in bloom since January. It occupies an east wall, and has enjoyed no particular advantages of soil or treatment. The flowers appear with the earliest de- velopment of the leaves ; and although not large or otherwise striking in appearance, compensate for any deficiency by their exceeding fragrance, combinirsg ,»s^-'-;- 'i\J /: ne shall have books of fruit stuck all over with mer- itricious ornaments, like a confectioner's gewgaw at in absurd municipal dinner." LONTCERA FKAGRANTISSIMA. LONICERA FRAGRANTISSIMA. Tttis is a sub-evergreen hardy shrub. Flowers vhitish, very sweet scented. Native of China. Be- ongs to Caprifoils. Introduced by the Horticultural Society. This is one of the plants obtained from China by Mr. Fortune, while in the service of the Horticultu- ral Society, but has not flowered in the Chiswick the richness of the perfume of orange blossoms with the delicious sweetness of the honeysuckle." Its evegreen foliage distinguishes it from all tuc previously-known species of the Chama^cerasus di- vision of the genus. — Paxtons Flower Garden. Grafting Pevrs on Mountain Ash. — A corres- pondent of the Maine Farmer says, that five years ago he grafted several Bartlett pears on Mountain Ash stocks. Last year one of them bore very full, more so than is usual on Pear stocks. The flavor of the pear is excellent, and not at all changed by the stock. 286 THE GENESEE FARMER. THE VICTORIA REGIA IN OPEN PONDS. A SUCCESSFUL attempt has been made by Messrs. John Wkeks & Co., King's Road Nursery, Chelsea, to grow this magnificent plant in the open air. _ For this purpose was prepared a pond 21 feet in diame- ter, and 3^ feet in depth, wherein the lily was plant- ed in loam and river sand, on the 3d of March, twelve feet in length, throwing them a considerabla distance from the base of the plant. The first flower partially expanded on the evening of the 16th inst.: for some hours ])reviously it gave out a very rich and powerful fragrance, which could be perceived at a considerable distance. The flower became fully expanded on the following evening, and displayed all its beauties to an admiring company, when it had three leaves, the largest being 18 inches in diameter. The plant has since increased m size, and has a robust and healthy appearance: the num- ber of leaves upon it at present is seven, varying from 3 1 to 4 feet in diameter; and, as the season increases in warmth, they will attain to a much larger size. The petioles of the leaves are from eight to who had been for a consideiable time watching itf development. The colors of the lily are white anc pink; the outer rows of petals being white, and tlu inner a rich pink. The entire flower is from mm inches to a foot in diameter: it is of short duration openino- only on two successive evenings; but then is a constant display of flowers throughout the sea soa The plant has a more noble appearance in thi THE GENESEE FARMER 287 open air, than when growing in the hot-house aqua- rium—the leaves becoming hypocrateriforni, a natu- ral desideratum of much interest. The pond in which the plant is growing is heated by hot water pipes, of which there are' two rows placed at the bottom, communicating with a boiler which heats, besides, a range of houses, the tempe- rature being thereby kept at from 75 to 90 degrees i Fahrenheit. There is a constant flow of clear water into the pond, and a waste pipe to carry oif the su- perabundance and keep the surface clear. A margin of blue, j-ellow and white water-lilies, is placed round the Victoria Regia, and tends to show well their lovely and truly regal Sovereign in all her ma- jesty. A temporary covering is placed over the plant at night to protect it from storm and cutting winds. The Victoria Regia has been an oliject of un- ceasing interest from the moment of Sir Robert ScHOMBURGK, iu 1837, finding this niagniiicent plant in one of the rivers of British Guiana. In England the Victoria Regia first flowered in 1849, and the spectacle was engraved in the Illustrated London JVews for Nov. 17. A leaf and flower of this plant, it will be recollected, was presented to her Majesty and Prince Albert, at Windsor, by Mr. Paxton; and the train of circumstances by which this very plant was mainly contiibutaiy to the success of the great exhibition is so interesting as to merit recapit- ulation. We give it in Mr. Paxton's own words: — « Having in contemplation the erection of the great conservatory at (Chatsworth) in its present form, it was determined, in 1836, to erect a new curvilinear hot-house, 60 feet in length and 26 feet in width, with the elliptical roof on the ridge and furrow prin- ciple, to be constructed entirely of M-ood, for the pur- pose of exhibiting how roofs of this kind could be supported. The plan adopted was this — the curved rafters were composed of several boards securely nailed together on templets of wood cut to the exact curve; by this means a strength and firmness was , obtained sufficient to support an enormous weight. — .: This house was subsequently fitted up for the Victo- 1 ria Regia ; and it was here I invented a water wheel to give motion to the water in which the plant jrew; and here this singularly beautiful aquatic flow- Bred for the first time in this country, . on November 3, 1849. You will observe that i%ature tvas the •mgineer in this case. If you examine this, and compare it with the drawings and models, you will oerceive that nature has prodded it with longitudi- lal and transverse girders and supporters, on the jame principle that I, borrowing from it, have adopt- id in this building." — Illustrated London JVetvs. It is estimated that the grape crop of Ohio and Pierce Townships, in Clermont county, Ohio, reaches )etween fifty and sixty thousand dollars annually. — Last year is the only one which proved entirely suc- ^essful in the culture of the grape, but the prospects ire quite fair for the present season. Mr. Weir, the argest grape grower in the vicinity of New Rich- nond, infurms us that he made thirty-three hundred gallons of the juice, in 1853. Candoe and open dealing are the honor of maa BLACK AND WHITE "BLACKBERRIES." The following article, relating to the A'ew Roch- elle blackbenj, is probably mistaken iu calling a dis- tinct species. Most likely it is merely a peculiar va- riety, no niore dificient from the ordinary varieties than a winter from a sunmier pear. It is well known that in its wild state the fruit of the blackberry nat- urally runs into varieties, a circumstance which p'oints it out as hkely to be easily improved by a selection of seedlings. On some bushes the fruit is found with large grains and of an acid taste; on others it is long, like a mulberry, with small grains and very sweet. — We have seen a bush growing wild, with fruit quite white when ripe. The blackberry is cultivated with success in the neighborhood of Boston. In Illinois they transplant the blackberry from the river bottoms to the gardens on the uplands, where it produces abundantly. — TV*. Y. Post. ' "New RocHELLE Blackberry. — We saw yesterday a specimen of this delicious fruit — the larger circum- ference of which sometimes reaches four inches, and the smaller three. It is more delicate than the wild variety in substance and flavor, and as a table fruit we know of nothing in its season that surpasses it. — It is not the ordinary wild blackberry improved by cultivation, but a distant species, producing in its natural state a much larger and more palatable fruit. It was first discovered in 1834. near J\'etv Rochelle, but not transplanted to the garden till three or four years later, since Avhen it has continued to produce profusely the remarkably large berry above described. The })lants are for sale, at fifteen cents a hundred, by Mr. Isaac Roosevelt, of Pelham, Westchester co." — Jounal of Commerce. London Currants. — A writer in the Horticxdturist speaks of the fine currants of the market-gardens near London, which are grown in the following man- ner: They are planted in rows, twenty or thirty feet apart, and three or four feet apart in the rows; the ground, which is naturally good, is highly manured, and cropped between with vegetables. When the plants commence bearing, they are pruned very hard; the greater part of the young wood is thinned out, and what is allowed to remain is shortened back to two or three inches. By this means the trees are al- ways kept short, never attaining a greater height than two or three feet. These strong manured and well- pruned trees produce magnificent fruit, and in great abundance, well remunerating the market gardener for his trouble. Diseased Apples. — A writer in the Maine Farmer describes a new disease which has destroyed his ap- ples for same years. When they are the size of robins' eggs, a black mold seizes upon them and spreads over them, stopping their growth. A few escape alto- gether. We judge it to be some microscopic fungus; but why does it attack this orchard and not others? Have any of our readers ever seen the like ? — Farm- er's Companion. He who would be wise must atrive to leanL t«8 THE GENESEE FARMER DOMESTIC EECIPES. Tomato Pickles.— Take tomatoes two-thirds ripe (when they begin to turn a little red), prick them with a fork, put them in a strong brine, and let them re- main eight days ; then put them in weak vinegar to remain twenty-four hours; remove them from this, put them in stone jars; and to a peck of tomatoes add a bottle of mustard, an ounce of cloves, and an ounce of black pepper ground, laying alternately a laver of tomatoes and spices. Then pour on strong vinegar cold, and they will be found to be dehcious. The brine should be prepared by boiling and putting in as much salt as will dissolve, then suffered to cool. For anykmd of pickles it is best when prepared xn this wav. A^-oTHER. — Take the small round tomatoes, let them lay in weak vinegar two or three days; then prepare the best of vinegar by putting in cloves, all- spice, pepper, cmnamon, and such spices as one may fancy, and then scalding it well When entirely cold, pat In the tomatoes, and if there is sufBcient body to the vinegar, your pickles will never require any fur- ther trouble, providing they are kept from the air. Greek Corn- Soup.— Cut the com from the cob (sweet corn to be preferred) ; put it into a stew-pan, with a quart or more of sweet milk; add a teaspoon- ful of salt; let it boil gently for half an hour, then add a bit of sweet butter the size of an egg, and pep- per to taste; and serve with rolls or toast. _ This may be eaten -with nutmeg or mace, to flavor it. To Keep Greex Corn.— Take ears of a right age for boihng; pull off' the outside husks, leaving onlv the thin one next to the corn. Tie the husks over the end with a thread, pack the ears in salt, and set them in a cool, dry place. They will keep till mid-winter. Ginger Snaps.— Beat together half a pound of butter and half a pound of sugar; mix with them half a pint of molasses, half a tea-cupful of ginger, and one pound and a half of flour. Cxjp Cakes.— Mix together five cups of flour; three cups of sugar; one cup of butter; one cup of milk; three eggs, well beaten; one wine-glass of wine; one of brandy, and a little cinnamon. Gingerbread.— Mix together three and a half pounds of flour; three-quarters of a pound of butter; one pound of sugar; one pint of molasses; a quar^ ter of a pound of ginger, and some ground orange peeL Ju5n?LES.— Take one pound of loaf sugar, pound- edfine; one pound and a quarter of flour; three- quarters of a pound of butter; four eggs,_ beaten light, and a little ro.se-^Yater and spice; mix them well, and roll them m sugar. Sponge Cake.— Take the weight of the eggs in suo-ar; half their weight in flour, well sifted; to tw'elve eggs, add the grated rind of three lemons, and the juice of two. Beat the eggs carefully, whites and yolks separately, before they are used. Stu: the materials thoroughly together, and bake in a qmck oven. Substitute for Cream.— If you have not cream for coffee, it is a very great improvement to boil your milk, and use it while hot. ^ _ les only in wood ^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^f a maiden; it attracts the pai or stone ware; anything that has held gjease will | ^^^^ ^^ but all know the drug they advertise. To Keep Pickles. — Keep pickles only in wood ; anything that has held grease will spoil pickles. Stir them occasionally, and if there are soft ones take them out and scald the vinegar, and pour it hot over the pickles that are in a sohd state. Always keep enough vinegar on them to cover them well. If it is weak, take fresh vinegar and pour it on hot. Do not boil vmegar and spice over five minutes. To Make Fine Pancakes, Fried without But- ter OR Lard. — Take a pint of cream and six new- laid eg,?s; beat them well together; put in a quarter of a pound of sugar and one nutmeg or a little beat- en mace — which you please, and so much as will thicken— almost as much as ordinary pancake flour batter; your pan must be heated reasonably hot, and wiped with a clean cloth; this done, spread your batter thin over it, and fry. PtOCK C.iKES.— Mix together one pound of flour; half a pound of sugar; half a pound of butter; half a pound of currents or cherries, and four eggs, leav- ing out the whites of two; a little wine and candied Eeiaon-peel are a great improvement PEOVEEBS ON WOMAN. When cats wash their faces, bad weather is a hand; when women use washes to their complexions it is a true sign that the beauty of the day is gone. Choose not your wives as you do grapes, from th bloom on them. How many women have been ruined by diamond; as bkd catchers entice the lark from heaven to eart with sparkling glass. Like the colored bottles in a chemist's window, i sers by, but all know the drug they advertise. He who marries a pretty face only, is like a buyer ( cheap furniture—the varnish that caught the eye wi not endure the fire-side blaze. The girdle of beauty is not a stay lace. This is th excuse for tight lacmg: a good housewife should ha\ no waste. When a maiden takes to spaniels and parrots, means that her beauty has gone to the dogs, ar henceforth her life is a bird^n to her. Many powder their faces that their skins may see white; it is as a poulterer flours an old hen, that mav pass for a tender chicken. The stepping stoi to fortune is not to be found in a jeweler's shop. An Agricultural Princess.— Princess Mura wife of AcHELE MuEAT, son of King Joaquin, at Is pies has a residence near Talahassee, Fla., when she recently sent the Florida Sentinel a new pota weighing fifteen ounces. Her husband is a Flondi; by choice, but we believe is now in Paris. THE GENESEE FARMER. 289 gSifoi-'^ I^ble. Agejjct nf New York. — C. il. Saxtos, Agricultnral Book Pub- tisher, No. 152 Fulton street, New York, is agent for the Gen-esee Farmer, and subscribers in that citr who apply to him can have their papers delivered regularly at their houses. Queer Logic fob ak Editor. — Uuder the above heading the Country Gentleman of August 17th devotes something over a column to comments on our remarks on what its correspondent, Mr. S. W. Johxson, said about the worthlessness of soil analyses for practical purposes. "We copied two consecutive paragraphs from Mr. J.'s arti- cle that no injustice should be done to him by a misstate- ment of his views — allowing him to state his facts and opinions in his own words, to all our readers. The Conntry Gentleman has treated us with no such fairness. It denies both its readers and " Dr. Lee" the benefit of seeing in that print so much as one whole sen- tence of what we did say. Such conduct is generally re- garded as dishonorable in editorial discussions. Nothing that we said is disproved; nor is the palpable self-contrac- tion by Mr. Johnson explained so as to make his article consistent with itself. "We are well aware of the existence of much humbug and error in the analyses of soils and manures; but this fact no more detracts from the true merit and value of such chemical researches than the ex- istence of hypocrites in churches detracts from the impor- tance of true piety and genuine Christianity. To condemn a whole religious society en masse for the offence of one of its members is as illogical as it is unjust. Let every thing that is erroneous and wrong in soil analyses he exposed and corrected; but do not hastily condemn and repudiate all investigations of this character. The Country Gen- tlemari says: "A young farmer lately informed us that he had lost seven hundred dollars by /aisf expectations held out to him through the teachings of the Ge.«vESee Farmer under the auspices of Dr. Lee." "Will the C. G. be so good as to give us the name and residence of this unfortunate " young farmer," that we may learn the exact language in this Journal on which he based his " false expectations?" It may turn out that he was over-sanguine — that a lack of experience and sound judgment was the true source of his loss — not '• the teach- ings of the Genesee Farmer." ^Yhe^e one imprudent man has suffered loss by following its advice, a thousand wise men acknowledge tliemselves gainers bv so doing. in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, or Iowa. They may have fat land — pork and tallow land — but not land adapted to the production of butter I This nice dis- tinction reminds us of a meeting at the Court House in Buffalo, at the time the State Fair was held in that city, at which the Hon. A. H. Tracy presided, and Prof. Norton, of Yale College, delivered by request a very instructive lecture on the principles of agriculture. Every one ap- peared to like the clear and sound teachings of the college gentleman but Mr. A. B. Dickinson, who assailed !Mr. Norton in a rude and most offensive manner. Instead of understanding the subjects which he undertook to dis- cuss, it was a marvel to all who heard him how it was possible for any man in this State to accumulate, in one short life time, such a mass of unadulterated ignorance as he displayed on that public occasion. Norton, Tract and others used him up, so that we have heard nothing of him since, in an agricultural way, till the address above referred to was delivered and printed. Speaking of "the very best quality of butter," Mr. D, savs : " You have here all the elements for making just that kind of butter. To begin with, you must have in your pastures timothy, white clover, blue grass, red top, or foul meadow grass, which I think is one and the same thing, only differing as it grows on different soils, pure soft wa- ter, and a rolling or hilly country. All these things you have, or may have, as these different grasses will all grow well, if sowed and properly cared for : and I have never seen the first pound of good butter made where the cow did not feed on some or all of these grasses ; and it can- not be made from these until they have been sown long enough to have the soil swarded over, to protect it from tlie sun, frost and diouth." More theory again. Hundreds of our best dairymen get the first quality of butter when feeding their cows on sreen corn forage, grown by sowing the seed broadcast, on purpose to extract butter from " butter land." "What is Butter Land ? — An agricultural address de- livered by the Hon. A. B. Dickinson, of Corning, N. T.. before the Tioga County Agricultural Society, has been much praised for its practical good sense, and exemption from theories, ilr. D. says: •• The first quality of butter land is confined to portions of the New England States, New Jersey, Pennsylvnuia and New York, while cheese can be made and sheep grown wherever grass grows." Here tlie agricultural public is favored, by a professed theory-hater, with a somewhat greasy theory about "but- ter land." It exists in portions of New England, but not University of Georgia. — The following is an extract from the minutes of the Board of Trustees of the Univer- sity of Georgia, in session August 2, 1S54: " Resolved, That there be now established in Franklin College a new Professorship, with the endowment of t}ce7t- ty thousand dollars, now presented in Bonds of the State of GeorEjia by Dr. "William Terrell, of Hancock coun- tv, to the support of which the interest arising thereon annually shall be exclusively applied — to be known and designated as the 'Terrell Professorship of Agri- culture.' wherein instruction shall be given, as hereinaf- ter provided, in the branches of knowledge designated by the Donor. " Resolved, That in accordance with the suggestion of the Donor, Dr. Daniel Lee. of the State of New Ycrk, be and he is hereby una>iimo7isly appointed to fill the ■ Terrell Professorship of Agriculture,' to enter upon his duties on the fifteenth day of January, 1955." The University of Georgia has the first liberally endow- ed Chair of Agriculture that has been established in the United States. Mr. Norton g-ave $5000 for a similar purpose to Yale College, and thereby provided an honora- ble and useful place for his son, who was appointed to the Professorship created by the liberality of his father. No other man before Dr. Terrell Las given so much as Mr. Norton to promote agricultnral science in this great na- tion of farmers. Dr. Terrell's noble example can hard- 290 THE GENESEE FARMER. ly fail to be followed by others who, having' ample means, shall wish to identify their names, in all coming time, with the wise cultivation and projjress of Kiiral Knowledge.— Not one j)rofeScorsiiip only, but six or eiglit ought to be es- tablished in a single University, so as to divide the labor of teaching all those natural sciences most intimately con- nected with the important arts of tillage and husbandry. These sciences are in feeble infancy, and greatly need, as tliey pre-eminently deserve, the fostering' aid of private munificence and public countenance. Whether the writer shall give lectures on Agriculture in the University of Georgia or not, he will not be se[)arated from his old friends, the readers of the Genesee Faemer. We owe them a debt of gratitude which will only be can- oelled when life's labor is past. Veterinauy Knowledge. — There is at this time full seven hundred million dollars invested in domestic animals in the United States; and a knowledge of their diseases — their cure and prevention — is a matter of great impor- tance. Veterinary science is universally neglected in this country, and likely so to be, until some sweeping pesti- lence shall attack our live stock and carry off large num- bers. There are, however, a few sagacious stock-growers who begin to appreciate the wisdom of encouraging the careful study of this profession ; and such will read with pleasure the several articles in tliis number of the Farmer on " Bloody Murrain," "Red Water," "Foot-rot in Sheep," and "Rumination," which have been compiled from the lat- est and best authorities. The principles of the Healing Art are the same in all warm-blooded animals, whether man or brute ; and we shall take pains to develop them in the plainest possible manner for the instruction of all who take an interest in the laws of health in living beings. — No one is so high or so strong as to stand above these nat- ural laws; and we respectfully commend their study and observance to every reader. County Agricultural Fairs. — Every farmer should feel an interest in some local association for the improve- ment of agriculture. If, unfortunately, there is no one near his residence, no time should be lost before the or- ganization of such a Society. In perhaps a majority of counties in the Northern States, such institutions already exist ; and we commend them to the care and patronage of every friend to his country. Farmers are too apt to isolate themselves from their brother tillers of the soil. Cultivate more social intercourse, that all may learn more, and in turn teach their neighbors and the public more than they now do. m I > Value of Kentucky Farming Land. — The Paris Flag says that John Hannah sold his farm, near MiUers- burg, Bourbon county, Ky., a few days since, to Thomas T. ViMONT, for one hundred dollars per acre. The price of land in Bourbon. Fayette, and other counties in that region of Kentucky, is rather on the advance than on the decline. First rate land in either of those counties, it is stated, will never be worth less than one hundred dollars per acre. An Experimental anu Model Farm. — It gives us unaffected pleasure to learn from the S'oiithern Farmer (a weekly and valuable journal published at Petersburg, Va., at $1 a year), that $.5000 have been subscribed, with a promi.^e of much more, to establish an Experimental and Model Farm. A Union Agricultural Society, whose membei'S reside partly in Virginia and partly in North Car- olina, of which James C. Bruce. Esq., Halifax, is Pres- ident, has taken hold of this enterprise with a commenda- ble spirit. Mr. B. has given $1500, and several $500 each. The Southern Fanner says: "As soon as fifteen thousand dollars is subscribed, every man is bound for the sum affixed to his name. If, howev- er, tliat airoui'.t should not be secured by the 1st of De- cember, the obii^-ation is to be no longer binciing. When a farm is purchased, it is to be ]ilaoed under the control of the Union Society. We cordially commend the scheme to the consideration and patronage of the agricultural commimity in I oth States." And so does the editor of the Genesee Farmer. Let the intelligent cultivators of the "Old Dominion," and of the " Old North State," enjoy the high honor of establish- ing the first Experimental Farm in the United States. The achievement will redound to their enduring honor in the history of the Progress of Agriculture in this Republic. The Annual Fair — Governor Wright, of Indiana, has been invited to deliver the annual address before the New York State Agricultural Fair in October next. The American Institute having omitted their annual exhibition, to unite with the State Society, the result of their joint efforts can hardly fail to be interesting and attractive. — Hamilton Square, which comprises eighteen acres of ground, has been tendered by the Corporation for the use of the Society, and will be enclosed and arranged in an appropriate manner for the exhibition of stock, goods, &e. The amount of premiums embraced in the list exceeds $8,000. Tlie fixtures at the show grounds are to be in readiness by the 25th of September, and the exhibition will open on the 3d of October, and continue four days. — Admission 25 cents. Drouth and Crops in Knox Co., Ia. — An esteemed correspondent in West Union, Indiana, writes as follows: " We have had in this section the warmest and dryest season I ever saw. The spring was rather wet, with the Wabash out of its banks oftei'.er and much longer than usual. About the middle of May it set in dry, and we liave not had the ground thorouglily wet since, — indeed, but very few showers. Wheat was considerably injured l>y the fly last fall, and is in general light; oats, good stalk, but light and chaffy; but corn and potatoes are nearly an entire failure. Some of our old farmers here say the prai- rie will not aver.tge ten bushels of corn to the acre, even if W6 should have rain from this time forward. This prairie (Shaker Prairie) is celebrated as a fine corn coun- try, and that justly too; but this season our staple is a fail- ure. ' Very Respectfully, Yours, &c., "D. II. Morgan." Valuable Real Estate for Sale. — The reader's at- tention is called to the advertisement of E. H. Smith, Esq., in this number of the Farmer, in which valuable rtal es- tate in Dinwiddie county, Va., is offered for sale. THE GENESEE FARMER. 291 -A correspondent sends Cure foe Colic in Horses. us tlie following: " Take a pint or more water, and salt enough to make a very strong brine; then wash eaeh side of the back bone just in front of the hip, say over the kidneys; the animal will be relieved in a few minutes. I have seen a horse so bad that 1 thought it would never get up again, and in fif- teen minutes after using the brine it was ready for [dew- ing again. I first heard it must be whiskey and salt, but I have never seen anything but water and salt used. "Yours, with respect, C. J. F. Mosiier. "Brighton, Monroe co., N. Y." The Genesee Farmer. — This able and interesting monthly journal of agriculture and horticulture has now reached \H fifteenth volume (second series), which, we may add, indicates a degree of prosperity that has been attain- ed by no other publication devoted to like objects in this country. We remember to have seen it welcomed and read in one family, at least, from the time we were a school boy; and although many other papers have flourished and passed away since then, we can still hail the monthly re- turn of thatold friend "The Genesee Farmer," whence we derived our first notions on the subject of Scientific Agriculture. It is one of the really valuable publications of the day, and ought to be in the hands of every farmer and horticulturist, who, for a trifling expenditure, desires to reap an hun Ired fold in useful and valuable information. We recommend this journal as the cheapest and one of the best in the country on the subject to which it relates. — The Covington Keiituckiaii. STATE FAIRS FOR 1S54. Illinois, at Springfield, Sept. Vermont, at Brattleborough, " Ohio, at Xewark, " Michigan, at Detroit " Pennsylvania, " Missouri, at Boonville, Oct. New York, at New York city, " New Hampshire, " Maryland, at Baltimore, " Indiana, at Madison, " Wisconsin, at Watertown, " Connecticut, at New Haven, " Georgia, at Augusta, " Iowa, at Fairfield, " Lower Canada, at Quebec, Sept. Springfield Cattle Show, Ohio, Oct. The friends of Agriculture ii a'l the States of the Amer- ican Union, and in the neighboring provinces of Canada, arc invited to co-operate with us, so that this F.xhibition may be the more extensively useful, and be alike credita- ble to the generous citizens of Springfield, with whom it originated, — to the contributors and visitors, who sustain it, — and to the United States Agricidtural Society, who are so deeply interested in its success. In consequence of the holding of this Show of Cattle, the contemplated Exhibition of Horses, at Springfield, Mass., and the Show of Sheep, in Vermont, will be omitted. The Journal of the Society, which the Executive Com- mittee have concluded to issue once in each year — will ap- pear in January next ; and will contain the Transactions of the Society at its last Annual Meeting, the Lectures and Addresses delivered at that time, a full and I'aitliful account of the Springfield Sho«, with other valuable pa- pers, by eminent members. This volume will be forward- ed to all members who have paid their annual assessments for the year 1854. JIarsuall P. W ilder, President. William S. King, Secretary. Boston, Augu;t 1, 1854. 12 to 15 13 to 15 19 to 22 23 to 29 27 to 29 2 1o 6 3 to 6 3 to 6 3 t) 6 4 to 7 4 to 7 10 to 13 23 to 28 25 12 to 15 25 to 27 Circular— United States Agricultural Society. — At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the United States Agricultural Society, held in the City of Washing- ton, in February last, it was resolved that the Society would hold no Exhibition in any State having a State Ag- ricultural Society, without the assent of the Officers, gr of the Executive Committee of such Society. The citizens of Springfield, Ohio, having requested this Society to hold an Exhibition of Cattle, at that place, during the current year, and generously subscribed about ten thousand dollars to defray all the expenses of the same, and to guarantee the Suciety against loss, and the Executive Committee of the Ohio Agricultural Society uniting in the request, the Executive Committee of this Society have concluded to hold a National Show of Cattle, open to general competitior, without sectional lim't, on the 25th, 2')th and 27th days of October next, at Springfield, in the State of Ohio. ^Littrarj Kotitfjs. The EniXRURGn Rkview, July, lSii4, No. 203. New York: Leon- ard Scott & Co. This venerable and valued periodical has attained its one hundredth volume. It is still edited with marked abil- ity, and its contributors are among the most finished wri- ters of the day. The subjects selected for discussion are those with wiiich not only Englishmen, but Americans should be familiar. The present number has two elaborate articles on the Russian Question, and another on the Rights of Commerce under a state of War. The first is a sketch of the diplomatic history of the Eastern Question. II. — Tea-totalism (we observe Worcester spells it Tee-totalism ) and Laws against the Liquor Trade. III.— Hermann's .^schjlus. IV.— The Kafir Wars and British Policy with reference to the Cape Settlements. V. — The relations be- tween Labor and Capital. VI.— The Orders in Council on Trade during War. VIL— The relative rights of Ma- orities and Minorities. VIII- — Emigration to the United States. IX.— The Russian War. The article on the relations between Labor and Capital is a review of Morrison's Essay on the same subject, and one of the ablest that has ever been written on "the great social question." The Weslmhtster Review for July is also on our table, and filled with valuable and interesting reading matter. The Half-yearly Abstract of MEnirAL Sciences, ])ubli.shed by Lindsay & Blakiston, Philadelphia, is v^ell worthy of the notice and the perusal of those having the care of the public health. So many medical journals are now published in different parts of the world, and so many new facts in illustration of the various types of disease, that it has become almost indispensably necessary that the wheat be sifted from the chaff and published in a form convenient for reference and use. No. XIX. contains an 'nterestimj article on the treatment of Intermittents, by Dr. Bryan, of the African Naval Squadron, England. 292 THE GENESEE FARMER. "Wk are indebted to Messrs. Fowlers & Wells for the serial numbers of a work entitled Fruits a7td Fatinacea the Proper Food of Man. Without endorsing the posi- tions of the author, we can unhesitatingly recommend to all to purchase the above; for the information respecting the uses of the different articles of diet will repay a care- ful and repeated perusal. Animal food, as population in- 'fcreascs and land appreciates in ralue, is gradually becom- ing dear and dearer in price ; and if good substitutes for the same can be found, the purse of every one who has a family to provide for will thank the author for his well- intentioned effort. Wk have received from Messrs. Burgess & Co., N. Y., a copy of Tower's First Lessons in Langnage. From a brief cursory examination of the work, we are much pleased with its illustrations of the formation of sentences and the mutual dependence in a sentence. A brief extract from the preface is very much in accordance with our own opinion: " The child who says that 'William is gooder than John,' has learned the regular formation of the comparative de- gree, and is ignorant only of the exception. When he says, 'mans' for ' men,' and 'runned'for 'ran,' he shows that he recognizes the regular formation of the plural of nouns, as well as that of the past tense of verbs. He has already begun to make a grammar of the language, and merely wants encouragement and guidance to accomplish his task." The Stranger in the Stnagogue, by S. Tuska, published by E. Darrow & Brother, is an interesting compend of the peculiar rites and ceremonies pertaining to the Jewish Church. From a personal acquaintance with the author, we know the work above noticed may be re- lied on as accurate and authentic. Kenton's English Grammar, published as above, has been submitted to our inspection. From a very brief ex- amination, we judge that the design, as explained in the preface, to make thorough scholars, has been faithfully carried out by full and copious examples of the phraseol- ogy and structure of the language. We heartily agree with the author that " it is a misnomer to speak of En- glish Grammar simplified." " True, one mode of presen- tation may be more natural, and hence more simple tlian another;" but whoever would acquire a mastery of our noble tongue, must not expect to find any royal road to its acquisition. ■ I ■ (A. H. A., New Bethlehem.) We have no multicole rye, and doubt whether any is grown in this vicinity. Our old friend and legislative associate, the Hon. N. CoE, who has been three years in Oregon, wishes to " ob- tain a machine for pulling out stumps." If the stumps in Oregon have roots to match the size and length of the trunks of trees, according to some accounts of the latter that we have seen, it will require a powerful machine to extract them. The best in use in this country can be made there cheaper than to transport them. We will send drawings and a description of the same. Dr. Plessmer, Saganaw City, JMich., wishes to learn what kind of Willow is best for a hedge on " a rather wet clay soil." Will some one who is acquainted with the subject be kind enough to give Dr. P. and others the infor- mation sought ? He says that cattle eat the kinds growing spontaneously there. If not well fed, they will doubtless browse off every variety of this plant. Sorrel. — As all subjects rclatinng to agriculture arq freely dis- cussed in the Gexesee Farmer by yourself and others, I feel the more free to make some inquiries upon a subject that deeply inter- csta others as well as myself, viz. : The cause, and also the cure, for the appearance of sorrel on our tilled lands. My soil is a gravelly loam, with a gravelly subsoil ; and for the last two or three years I have had to keep up a constant warfare with the plow — and what is T.orse, the fact ia constantly staring me in the face that I am like to be worsted in the contest. Can some other agent be called to my aid, such as lime, cliarcoal, or some other substance to exter- minate it ? Lime can bo got at 20 cents a bushel, by drawing four miles. If that is good, how much should be applied to the acre ? and would it be best as a top dressing or plowed in ? If either ot these agents would prove a sovereign remedy, you would confer a favor by giving the desired information. J. D. C. — Locke, Cayuga Co., iv. r. Cheap Paint. — I find an inquiry in the Farmer from a friend in St. Thomas, U. C, for the best substitute for oil paint. I will give a recipe for a cheap paint, put on the base of my fence in the spring of 1848, which looks as well as on paint at this time : Two quarts of new stone lime, slaked in Avater ; dissolve two ounces of glue witt water ; then sift the lime in the glue water ; then reduct with skim-mUk ; then add "S'enetian red, or any othei color you choose, previously ground in oil. A very smal quantity of any color will shade the above proportions A. Martin. — Nankin, Wayne Co., Mich. ADVERTISEMENTS, To secure insertion in the Farmer, must be received as early as thi 10th of the previous month, and be of such a character as to bt of interest to farmers. Terms — Two Dollars for every hundrec words, each insertion, paid in advance. CIDEE MILL AND PRESS. HICKOK'S Cider SIUl and Press is considered now the best in use ; simple in construction, portable (weighing but 275 lbs.), and not liable to get out of order. 'Wan-anted to work well, and give satisfaction. The first premium of the American Institute and Crystal Palace has been awarded to this machine. Drawing and description will be sent by addressing the agents for the sale, in Xew York. Price of mill and press, $40. LOXGETT k ORIFFIXO, Sept. 1, 1S54.— 2t 25 Cliff street, near Fulton, New York. AGENTS WANTED. CHANCES FOP. MAKING MONEY! THE publishers of a large list of highly entertaining, useful and popular Book.s, offer great inducements to 600 energetic and thorough-going business young men, to engage in the gale of these publications, in which any young man of good business habits may make FIVE TIMES the amount, over and above all espemses, of the arerase waees of Common School Teachers. The MOST LIBERAL discounts are made to Agents from the list of prices. The books command ready sales wherever they are introduced. None need applv unless they wish to devote their whole atten- tion to the business, and who cannot command a CASH CAPITAL of from $25 to $100, or give undoubted security for the amount of goods entrusted to them. Full particulars in regard to terms, &c., will be furnished by caUing on, or addressing, post paid, WANZER, BEARDSLEY & CO., 24 Buffalo Street, Rochester, N. T, Or, ALDEN, BEARDSLEY & CO., June 1, 1854.— tf Auburn, N. Y., PubUflhers. THE GENESEE FARMER. 293 HUSSEY'S COMBINED REAPER AND MOWER, MANUFACTTJEED BY T. R. HITSSEY & CO., ATJBUEN. CAYTJGA COUinT, N. Y. THE perfect satisfaction which the above-named Machine gave to every fanner who used one, botli in Reaping and Moning, last nesr son, gives us renewed confidence in warranting them to be the best Machine for the purpose intended ever manufactured ; and in con- sideration of the unequaled success attending the operation and sale of them last season, we have gone more extensively into the manufacture of them, and have a lot now on hand, READY TO SUPPLY ORDERS. All Machines sold by us are warranted to be built of the best materials, and waxranted to work well, both for REAPIIVO AND MOWING. 'We conld append any number of certificates aa proofs of the well working of the Machine, but we flatter ourselves that the repata- Son of mem is su well established among the farming community that they are not required. Z^" AH communications sent to us on the subject of Mowers and Reapers, wUl receive prompt attention. July 1, 1854.— tf T. R. HUSSEY & CO., Auburn, N". Y. PEEUVIAN GUANO. WE are receiWng our stock of Peruvian Guano, for summer and fall supfily, per ships Northern Crown, Leavanter and intelope, and are now prepared to supply all that maj' be in want if this valuable manure, and request early application. Price, $.55 3er ton of 2000 lbs. When taken in lotii "of five tons and upwards, k discount -n-ill be made. There are various substances now offering in this market for Pe- •uvian Guano. To avoid imposition, be particular to observe that ^e genuine Guano has branded upon each bag — No. 1. PERUVIAN GUANO. Imported by F. Bahreda BR0Tn2R3. LONGETT & GRIFFING, State Agricultural 'Warehouse, 25 CHIT street, New York. July 1, 1854.— tf MELENDY'S PATENT FEUIT-PICKER. Patexted June 27, 1S54, IS the only implement yet invented with which Apples, Pears, Peaches, Cherries, &c., can be picked faster than by liand picking, and without the least injury to the fruit. Respousiljle Agents for the sale of the implements wanted in all parts of the country. Descriptive circulars, with cuts, mailed to all post-paid applications. Manufactured and sold at wholesale and retail by J. MELEXDY, Patentee, and sole proprieton; Southiiridge, IXaaa. August 1, 1854.— 2t (TOTTEE EIGHTS FOE SALE WE will test our Hav, Stalk and Straw Cutter, patented Novem- ber 8th, 1853, for speed, ease and durability, against any- other in the Unit<.>d States. J. JONES & A. LYLE. ^^ For further information, address JONES & LYLE, Koch- ester, N- Y. February 1, 18o4.-^tf 294 THE GENESEE FARMER. MCCORMICK'S REAPING AND MOWING MACHINE I AM manufacturing 1500 Reaping and Mowing Machines for 1854 and farmers who want llachiuos are requested to send in tlaeii- orders early. Last year I had not a supply, although I had 1500 in tlie market. •■ . t^ s I offer my large experience (hoth in this country and in Europe) for the last Ofteen years and more in this business, as the safest guarantee the faj-mer can have in the purchase of a Machine of this kind. . . i, Deemino- it useless to insert long advertisements in the newspa- pers, I shall be pleased to furnish appUcants with my printed Cu- Sorao important improvements have been made, while the Ma- chine will be found as simple and efficient as a Machine of the kind can be. The important points that will present themselves m these Machines, will be Perfect Simplicity, Ease of Repairing, Durability, and Adaptation to the Wants of the Farmer as a Reaper and Mower. I shall continue the use of the Wrought-iron Beam which will be found very important in mowing, because of the friction upon the ground, and liability to tear and wear a Wooden Beam, or any sheet- iion hning that may be used upon it. Another very imporUnt advantage which I claim for ray Combined Machine is that it can be readily changed so as to cut any desired height ot stubble as a Reaper or Mower by simply removing three bolts. Tliis principle will be found wanting in other machines, though valuable upon rough ground, or for mowing bariey or lodged oats, timothv seed, clover seed, &c., or where the ground may not be firm aid there be liabilitv in the wheels to sink and the cutter to be brouirht in contact with the ground, sand, gravel, &c. With niy Combined Machine the farmer has the advantage of a Reel in mowing, which admits of a slow walk to the horses, and is es- pecially valuable when the wind interferes with the successful ope- ration of the Machine. I have no fear of the result upon trial of the Machine with others ; it has no superior as a Reaper or as a The public are now especially cautioned to beware of Seymour & MorgaVs « New York Reaper." These men have been selling mv Machines, though under an injunction ttie second time since the re-issue of my Patent in April last, m addition to a verdict of $20,000 for past infringements. . , , , , ^ ■ , l c r3r Sundry other parties will soon be held to strict account tor their infringements under this Patent, which makes them just as liable to be enjoined as Seymour & Morgan. The Machine will be warranted equal to any other, both as a Reaper and as a Mower; and it will be forwarded to any part of New York or Canada, if ordered of THOS. J. PATERSON, at Ro- chester, N. Y., who wants Agents to sell " m some of the unoc- cupied wheat districts. C. H. McCORMCK. May 1, 1854.— tf ROCHESTER AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY. GENESEE VALLEY NURSERIES. A. FROST & CO. RQCHESTER, N. Y., OFFER to the public the coming spring one of the largest and finest stocks of Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs Rnses, &c in the country. It in part consists of standard Apple, Pear, Ciierry, Plum, Peach, Apricot, Nectarine and Quince Trees. Also, Dwarf and Pvramid Pears and Apples. , , ■, . SM \LL FRUITS.— Native and Foreign Grapes, old and new sorts of Currants, finest Lancashire Gooseberries, Strawberries, Rasp- berries, &c. &c. . j • i. The ORN VilENTAL DEPARTMENT comprises a great variety of Deciduous and Evergreen Trees, Shrubs, Vines and Creepers, which includes upward of of 300 varieties of the Rose. BEDDING PLANTS.— 150 varieties of Dahlias, a large coUection of Verbenas, Petunias, Helictropes, &c. &c. , „ ,. ^ Priced Catalogues of the above will be mailed to all_ appbcants enclosing a postage stamp for each Catalogue wanted, viz : No. l!— Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits, Ornamental Trees, " No ^^' —Descriptive Catalogue of Green Hoiise and Bedding Plants of ev'erv description, including every thing new which may be in- troduced up to its season, will be published in March each year.-l No. 3.— Wholesale Catalogue, published in September. February 1, 1854.— tf THE GREAT RED DRAGON, OR THE MASTER KEY TO POPERY, By Anthony Gavin, Catholic Priest, of Saragossa, Spain. BOOK AGENTS WANTED, TO sen the work which is now ready, and surpasses in detail and interest any other work on the subject of Popery ever issued. The terrible revelations which it contains will startle every Protest- «nt with horror, as coming from one who was a participator in the bloodv deeds, and who has had the best opportunity ever possessed bv any man to unveil the mysteries of the Great Babylon of Po- T,i>rv Finely Ulustrated. Address, immediately, pery. r me j, SAMUEL JONES, Publisher, August 1, 1854.-3t 86 Washington street, Boston, Mass. THE undersigned, who h.as been many years engaged i" ^he ex- tensive manufacture of various kinds of Agricultural Machin- ery particularly Horse Powers, Threshing Machines, Separators, &c., has now added to his business the manufacture ot several valuable implements — 1st. ATKINS' AUTOMATON OR SELF-RAKING REAPER AND MOWER; an implement well known at the West, which has been advertised for the last three months by Mr. Wright of Chi- cago, in the Genesee Farmer, to which the reader is referred lor particulars. Atkins' Self-Raking Reaper.— This machine was in successful operation on the farm of B. B. Kirtland, Greenbush, on Wednes- day and Thursday of last week, and elicited the approbation ot every one whi saw it It is impossible to convey in words any idea of the mechanical construction of the raking attaeliment. Ihe cutting apparatus does not ditfer materially from that of other reaper! but at regular intervals an arm, to which a rake is attached, extends itself to the farther part of the apron, slowly draws itself the len.'th of the apron, pressing the grain against a plate, where it holds'it till it swings around a quarter of a circle, clear ot the machine, and coolly deposits its neat sheaf on the ground, when it immediately returns to repeat the process. The machine is not of heavier draught, apparently, than other machines-and it does ite cutting fully equal to any we have seen work. While it lias no superior as a practical thing, it is a curiosity worth quite a pilgrim- ase to see. It comes the nearest to being instinct with life and nilinifesting signs of intelligence, of any piece of mechanism, not excepting the steam engine.— Country Gentleman. 2d BURRALL'S GRAIN REAPER.— At the great trial of Reapers in the harvest field, at Geneva, N. Y., in July last, the Committee appointed by the State Agricultural Society, took into consideration its simplicitv, durabilitv, the manner in which it performed its work, and tlie ease with which it can be managed, when, m com- petition with eleven other Reapers, they unanimously awarded it the first prize nf .f 50 aiid diploma. The Committee in their report remark that "T. D. Bdrrall's Machine performed its work in the most admirable manner; the gavels were well laid; the workman- ship and materials were exceUent; the circular apron for side de- liverv, the balance wheel and an arrangement to elevate the exte- rior edge of the apron, are viiluable features, &e., &c. This Reaper has been thoroughly tested practically, during the last two years, in AVestern New York. All the Reapers sent out have given complete satisfaction. We would say to those who are not convinced of the superiority of this Reaper over all others, that we have stUl more facts which we could not exhibit for want ot space, and which we would be pleased to exhibit to all such ^s may call upon us. We would observe that experience with this Ueaper will bear us outkin saving that 1. It cuts grain of all kinds, in aU conditions, without clogging, and' may be worked by oxen or horses. 2. It cuts at any height required, by a few moments change. _ 3. It discharges" the grain in the rear, if preferred, like HUSSEY s , or at the side, like M'Cormick's; leaving room for the team ana machine to pass again without treading on the gram. This change is made by means of an extra apron, (attached in a moment,) from which the grain is laid in a better condition for (h-ymg and binding, and with much less labor to the raker than has ever been done before 4. It has a Balance Wheel, which corrects the u-regularity of the crank motion, and gives a quiet and uniform movement to th« ""■riiirReaner has been so thoroughly tested in Western New York where wheat grows as stout or stouter than in any other part of the country, that there is now no doubt but that it will give entm satisfaction to all who may purchase. There is however, no risl in buving. The purchaser can rest assured that when his harves comes, he has something that will perform. It is not like an un^ tried thing, or a thing that has not been tried in the Genesee coun trv where wheat grows large and stout, and may fail, and m failing make the purchaser enough expense in money and trouble to con siderably more than have purchased something reliable at first Experiments cost too much money, time and trouble to be camec on in the hurry of harvest time, and by those who ha e crops t< secure. We sav, therefore, if you buy a Reaper, buy one, the reUa bilitv of which' has been demonstrated by thorough practical ex periment, and if possible, in your own neighborhood, and on soil producing similarly to your own. 3d D \NFORTn-S REAPER AND MOWER COJrBTNED, whicl took' the fii-st premium at the Agricultural Fair m Chicago, 1852. 4th. KINMAN-S PATENT FLOUR PACKER. 5th. CHILDS' GRAIN SEPARATOR. f.th. WOODBURY'S MOUNTED HORSE POWER AND GRAI> SEPARATOR. 7th HVII'^ SIX FEET DOUBLE PINION HORSE POWER which is uueriualed for strength, easy working and darabiUty. 8th. IRON OR PLANET HORSE POWER. 9th. PITT'S P.ATENT THRASHER AND SEP.ARATOR, whicl has been in use for 17 years. All of which will be sold at the lowest manufacturers' terais by June iri854.-tf JOSEPH HALL, Rochester, N. Y. THE GENESEE FARMER. 295 scf VALUABLE REAL ESTATE IN DINWIDDIE CO., VA., FOR SALE. A RARE opportunity for investment is now presented to capi- talists or a company desiring to combine hotol keeping with mercantile and general mechanical pursuits. The multiplicity of my professioaal and private engagements alone induces me to oU'er for sale one-half or the whole of the ex- tensive and commodious Hotel and appurtenances at Dinwiddle Court House — including the laud which surrounds the Court House, about 400 ucreS, the oliices and residences, together with all the numerous privileges connected with the property. The Hotel has recently been thoroughly repaired, painted, newly enclosed, and every way fitted out for the accommoda- ation of the public. It is situated at the county seat, imine diately on the Doydton and Petersburg Plank Road, within 14 miles of the city of Petersburg and 3t) of the city of Richmond. The iSouth-sidc Railroad passes within 8 miles, and the Petersburg and Raleigh Railroad within 11 miles, of this place. This cst;ib- ILshment, with the offices and residences, the store and blacksmith's shop, the extensive stables in comjilete repair, and capable of ac- commodating 200 horses, a spacious and unfailing ice-house, and all other convenient out-houses attached, together with a Church and a Male and Female Academy on the land, an extensive Foun- dry now in process of erection by an intelligent and judicious com- pany, and a number of handsome residences adjacent, owned by tlie subscriber and others, already constitutes an attractive village, which, by enlightened liberality on tlie part of the owner, in in- viting and encouraging persons engaged in the dilferent commer- cial and mechanical pui suits to settle here, may be quickly made an important place of business and greatly tributary to all the leading inteiests of the city of Petersburg. The Hotel has a large and rapidly-increasing patronage ; it is a regular eating-house for the stage pa.ssengers. The Post Ofllce is kept here. On court and all other public days, the dining-room, bar and stables are liberally encouraged, and yield large and certain profits. The vicinity of this hotel to Petersburg, its ease of access from every quarter, the well-established healthfulness of the place, together with the agreeable society around, render it a pleasant summer retreat for families and invalids from the heat and dust of the cities. The tract of land is chiefly in woods, and contains an inexhaustible supply of timber for plank, rails and fuel. The open land is improv-ed and in regular cultivation. The soil is naturally very good, and susceptible of the liighest degree of improvement. The place is fully supplied with the purest water, from a well ancl I number of sprin:;3. The almost unexampled success of the dif- ferent works of internal improvement passing through this counii-y, together with the general prosperity of the county, has greatly enhanced the value of all lauds and places of business contiguous lo these improvements ; and at no place has pioperty more rapidly or steadily advanced than on this Plank Road, in the neighborhood )f Dinwiddle Court House, and between this place and Petersburg. Bach successive sale of real estate shows a striking advance upon previous sales, and admonishes purchasers to buy at once. Tha confident opinion of the most judicious "and prudent busi- uess men is, that this property has already increased in value, and that its piospective value, looking to — as a certain event— \he jpeedy development of all its ad\-antages, comprising as they do ill tlie elements of an important village, is incalculably gieat. N'othing could tempt me to forego the certain great pecuniary ad- vantage tViat will assuredly accrue in a few years to an enterprising >wner of this property, but the earnest desire on my part to di- minish the cares of business, and to devote my energies in their iccustomed and more ajipropriate sphere. 1 should prefer to sell one-half of this property to an enter- irLsing and capable business man or company, who would take charge of the whole concern ; but if desired by purchasers, I will 5cU the whole. Possession can be had whenever the sale is made, )r at the end of the piesent year, as may be desired. The terms will 1 e made liberal and accommodating as to time. By the pur.c- Lnal payment of interest as it accrues the deferred payments may •un for a series of years. The pioperty will be shown by Major Anderson or me, both re- iiding on the premises, to any one desiring to see it. Letters di- ■Dcted to me at Dinwiddle Court House will be pniraijtly answered. Should this property not be sold before the EIGHTEENTH OF SEPTEMBER next "(Dinwiddie county court day), of which due lotice will be given through the papers, one-half of the whole of he property will then and. there be offered to the higlict bidder tt public auction. E. H. SMITH. JfT^ I have also for sale several most desirable tracts of land, varying in distance fiom 6 to 16 miles from Peter.sburg, all on or near Ihe Eoydton and Petersburg Plank Road. Among them are several veil-fixed firming tracts, with residences and all necessary out- louses. The remainder are valuable timber lands. A circular, de- icribing these lands, will be sent to any one wishing to purchase. These lands will be sold low, and on accommodating terms. E. H. S.VOTH. Jf"^ The South-side Democrat, Richmond Whig and Enquirer, iVa-liington Sentinel and National Intelligencer, and Genesee Parmer, will please publish once a week until day of sale — and the fJaltimore Sun .md New York Herald copy once a week until for- bid— and send their accounts for payment to H. H. Hobbs, Esq., p. if., at Dinwiddie Court House. E. H. S. September 1, 1864.— It AYER'S CATHARTIC PILLS, FOR THE CUKE OF Costivenes-S, Bilious Complaints, Rheumatism, nrop.sy. Heartburn, Headache arising from a foul stomach. Nausea, Indigestion, Mor- bid Inaction of the Bowels and Pain arising therefrom, Flatu- lency, Loss of Appetite, all Ulcerous and Cutaneous Diseasi"^ which require an evacuent medicine, Scrofula or King's Evil. They also, by purifying the Blood and stimulating the System, cure many complaints which it would not le sui posed they could reach, such as Deafness, Partial Eliiidness, Neuralgia and Nervous Irritability, Derangements of the Liver and Kidney.s, Gout, and other kindred complaints, arising from a low state" of the body, or obstruction of its functions. Read the following professional report from A. A. Hayes, M. I)., Assay er of the State of Massachusett.s, and one of the btst practi- c;il chemists in the world. He is a scholar whose reputation and usefulness are, like Liebig's, of Germany, an honor to his country : Dr. J. C. Ayer, Lowell, Mass. — My dear Sir : — I have made a careful analyses of your Pill.s, with the formula for their prepara- tion. They contain the active principles of well-known drugs, isolated from inert matter, which plan is, chemicalh' speaking, one of great importance to their usefulness. It not only gives the con- centrated virtues of medicines, but insures great activity, certainty, and uniformity of ellect. Your use of "Ricmine," the active principle of the castor bean, is new to me, and your course of procuring it by chemical analy- sis from the bean is certainly valuable. Your Pills coniain no metallic or mineral substance, but the vir- tues of vegetable remedies, in skillful combination. Respectfully, A. A. IIatks. 16 Eoylston street, Boston, 20th August, 1853. Boston, 10th October, 18£3. This may certifj' that Dr. A. A. Hayes is a practical chemist of this city, whoso reputation and eminence in his profession is well known to us, and we have imiilicit confidence in his opinion. EDw.tRD Everett, Rx-Secretary of State, and Senator of the United Slates. Robert C. Winthkoi', Ex-Spe.oker of the House of Representatives of the United State.s. AliliOTT Lawre.n'ce, American Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Great Britain. •|-JOII.\ B. FiTZPATRICK, Catholic Bishop of Boston. Read the following, from the celebrated delineator of ne"-ro melodies and negro characters : New York, 17th Nov., 1853. Dr. J. C. Aykr — De.ar Sir : — I take much pleasure in informing you that I have derived groat benefit from the use of your medi- cines, and can most cheerfully recommend your Cathartic Pills to all who need such a remedy. They are the" best family medicine I have ever employed, and must be esteemed by the public when their virtues are known. Geo. H. Christy. Of the Negro Minstrels, 444 Broadway, New York. The following, fi:om an eminent practicing physician in the South, shows how the Pills are appreciated by the medical profes- sion; and as the writer is also Postmaster, we' have conclusive evi- dence that he is a responsible and respectable man : H.amilton, Miss., Nov. 9, 1853. Deak Sir :^Mr. Blair, of Columbus, supplied me with your Ca- thartic Fills .and formula, and I have since used them in my pnic- tice with more than ordinary results. They exhibit excellence in their action which betoken no common lemedy, and 1 can pro- nounce them decidedly the surest and lest ijperient we have ever been able to procure in this seciion. They are a desideratum long felt in our prescriptions, and have proved th(niselves to be the very article 1 have many years sought for in vain. Trusting you will not fail to supply the community with a discovery- which must be the moans of immense benefit to "the sick, I am, sir, with respect, yours, &c., R. A. JHnwis. PREPARED BY JAMES C. AYER, AS3AYER AND PRACTI. CAL chemist, LOWELL, MASS. ttp" Price 25 cents per Box. Five Boxes for $1. B;^" Sold br LANE k PANE, and W. PlTivIN & SON, Roches- ter; DEMAKEST & HOLMAN, Buffalo; and by all Druggista eTery where. September 1, 1854.-^2t 296 THE GENESEE KAKMJiJ:t. Conttixts of tUs Number. . . ^ ,,, ~" 265 Murrain in Cattle, - 266 Hints for September, - „„» How to Convert Straw into Manure, ^"' Spring and River Water— Irrigation, -^^ Ked Water, - - 271 Rot in Sheep, - " 272 Rumination, o^-o Rain-gauge, or Pluviometer, - Fallowing and Wheat sowing, 275 Irrigation, ;;-"," 97-1 Crops in Seneca County, New York, ^^^ Thin Seeding, -rr'^r'j 27fi Messina— a Country Seat on the Hudson, ^^o C haese-making, "" 230 I'raserving Potato Seeds, - 281 "" "--^^ ^g^ What shall we Eat ? Cultivation of Tobacco in Africa, - Pine Wood in Eastern Virginia, 282 Foot-rot in Sheep, 282 The California Crops,-. - "" 232 Sheep-raising in Virginia, - -■ 232 Feeding Farm Horses, - - HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. ^^^ The Sheldon Pear, 283 Notices of New Books, 285 Lonicei-a Fragrantissima, 2S5 Grafting Pears on Mountain Ash, - Victoria Kegia in Open Ponds, - „» The Grape Crop of Ohio, „„„ Black and AVhite "Blackberries," - |^' London Currants, 287 Diseased Apples, - LADIES' DEPARTMENT. Domestic Recipes, -.- 288 Proverbs on Woman, -- r,gg An Agricultural Princess, CHEAPEST AND BEST. LEE, MANN & CO., ROCHESTER, N. T., Are the Publishers of one of the Largest and Cheapest Newspapers in the country. THE WEEKLY AMERICAN Is a paper of large size, containing 36 columns. " contains the Latest News up to the day of publication. Important Pubhc Intel- liR-ence, a well-selected Miscellany and General Reading page, Grain, Cattle, Wool and Iron Markets to the latest dates from Bos- ton, New York, Albany, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Troy, Baltimore and ^ This' paper is published every Thursday, for ONE DOLLAR A YE 4R INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE. It is the best and cheap- est paper for farmers and others in tliis and the Western States. They also publish THE TRI-WEEKLY AMERICAN Price $4 per annum, and THE DAILY AMERICAN", Price S6 per annum, to mail subscribers. LEE MANN & CO. have in operation SIX STEAM AND THREE HAND PRESSES, by means of which they can give all orders tor ptnoK- OR .TOB WORK IMMEDIATE DISPATCH, while their large Ssortment of TYPES, BORDERS and ORNAMENTS, enables toemTo execute orders in the BEST STYLE. Railroad Companie^s, Ss Insurance OfSces, Manufacturing Estabhshrnents, Forward- ers Shippers, Merchants and Lawyers, can have their work done tith PUNCTUALITY and ELEGANCE, and their Books ruled and bound in any desired patterns and in tlie best manner Address LEE, MAMJ & CO., Rochester, N. Y. Office on Buffalo street, opposite the Arcade. May 1, 1854.— tf editor's TABLE. Queer Logic for an Editor, - 2sq What is Butter Land? 289 University of.Georgia, 290 Veterinary Knowledge,. f,gQ County Agricultural Fairs, - " . Value of Kentucky Farming Lands, ^^" An Experimental and Model Farm, |^^ The Annual Fair, - -- nqo Drouth and Crops in Knox County, la., - ^^'^ Valuable Real EsUte for Sale, -- ^^" Cure for Colic in Horses, - „, The Genesee Farmer, - - 2qi State Fairs for 1854, A"": 9qi Circular— United States Agricultural Society, ^» j Literary Notices, Inquiries and Answers, --- 289 291 292 ILLUSTRATIONS. September, 266 GUANO-NOTICE. AS there is a substance now selling by some dealers in this city and Brooklyn for No. 1 Peruvian Guano we caution the ag- ricultural public who may purchase Peruvian Guano «risseajn to observe that every bag of the genuine article will have the follow ing brand : ,, , ' No. 1. PERUVIAN GUANO. Imported by F. Barreda Brothers. The price is now established for this season at $55 per ton of 2000 lbs. When t^aken in lots of 67^ tons and upwards a discount will be made LONGETT s GKlt J*i-^(j, State Agricultural Warehouse, 25 CUff street. New York. September 1, 1854.— 2t Messina— a Country Seat on the Hudson, - ^ ' " The Sheldon Pear, - ^°? Lnnicera Fragrantissima, ^^^ Victoria Regia in Open Ponds, -- - —^J^ HOME PROTECTION. TEMPEST INSURANCE COMPANY. CAPITAL, $250,C00. Organized December 24, 1852— Chartered March 1, 1853. HOMES ONLY INSURED BY THIS COMPANY. No one Risk taken for more than $3000. Home Office, Meridian, N. Y. Many distinguished persons have insured their homes to the amount of iSSOOO each in this Company, among ^hoin are Ex- Prosii'ent V \N BUREN, Kinderhook ; Ex-Governor SEWARD, Au- burn:' DANIEL S. DICKINSON, Ex U. S. Senator, Binghampton. To whom it may concern : AunCRN, May 16th, 1853. _ We are personally acquainted with many of the Oflicers and di- rect jrs of tlie Tempest Insurance Company, locate.! at Meridian, Cayuga county, N. Y. In our opinion they are among the most wealthy and substantial class of fanners in this county. J. N. STAKLNj ELMORE P. ROSS, THOilAS Y. HOWE, Jr. The above gentlemen will be recognized as the Cashier of Cayuga County Bank, Auburn; Postmaster, Auburn; and Ex-Member of Con<'ress, Auburn, Cayuga county, N. Y. February 1, 1864-ly SUPERIOR TREES, PREMIUM STRAWBERRIES, &c. WM R PRINCE & CO., Flushing, wishing to clear off 50 acrM o'f their Nurseries through which the Raibroad pases wiU sell their superior Fruit and Ornamental Trees and Shrubbery, including Evergreens, at very reduced prices, m quantity. A^so, In unrivaled collection of Strawberries Bulbous Fowere, Pffionies, &c., at the reduced prices of their Pa\=ilogue for 1854-5, which will be sent to applicants. A convement credit will be al- lowed, where payment is sure. jg-. B.— 100,000 Pears, of all sizes, at low rates, j September 1, 1854.— 2t FRUIT AND ORNAMENTAL TREES. &c. &c. THE subscribers offer for sale this coming fall a large assortment of Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. &c. A hberal discount made to dealers. ^^^^ pQNNELLAN & NEPHEWS, Rochester and Handford's Landing Nursery (one mile north ol the city, on the Chariotte Plank Road). September 1, 1854.— tf MERINO SHEEP. THE subscriber will sell a few Spanish Merino Sheep-bucks and ewes--of undoubted purity of blood. He will also dispose ol a nart of his stock of imported French Merinos. Gentlemen purcha-sing from this flock can have the sheep for- warded to the principal Western towns at my risk. Sept. 1, 1854— It* R- J- JO^ ^^' Cornwau vt. "FINE STOCK" Premium at Ohio and Indiana State Fairs T-kTTOWTV livpd FANCY FOWLS, fifteen varieties. Also, LOP- P'eIrED RABM?s: and SUFFOLK and ESSEX PIGS, bred from the best importations. " . &• i-uin i; September 1, 1854.— It W. S. LUNT FindUy, Hancock Co., Ohio. Vol. XV., Skcond Series. ROCHESTER, N. Y., OCTOBER, 1854. No. 10. THE GENESEE FARMER, A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE & HORTICULTURE. VOLUME XV., SECOND SEIRES. 1834. EACH NUMBER CONTAINS 32 ROYAL OCTAVO PAGES, IN DOUBLE COLUMNS, AND TWELVE NUMBERS FORM A VOLUME OF 38-t PAGES IN A YEAR. Terms. Single Copy, $0.50 Five Copies, 2.00 Eight Copies, 3.00 And at the same rate for any larger number. £3'^ Remittances properly mailed, and postage paid, at the risk of the Publisher. ^^° Postmasters are respectfully requested to act as Agents. DANIEL LEE, Publisher and Proprietor, Rochester, N. Y, AGRICULTURE — ITS ESSENTIALS NON-ESSENTIALS. AND We have a pamphlet of sixty pages with the above title, written by Mr. H. N. Fi^yatt, of Bellville, N. J., which deserves something more than a passing notice. Very few have studied the " essentials of agricul- ture ;" and if the essay of Mr. Fryatt shall provoke discussion and investigation, leading ultimately to an increase of rural knowledge, he will have rendered the public a valuable service. The leading object for which these sixty pages were written, appears to be to prove that Mexican guano, which contains much more bone-earth and less ammonia than Peruvian guano, is more valuable per ton than the latter for agricultural purposes, while it is sold at a much lower price. The merits of the question turn on the rela- tive importance ^of ammonia and phosphate of lime and potash in the cultivation of agricultural plants. Mr. F. contends that the atmosphere will supply growing crops with all the ammonia needed, so far as it may be lacking in the soil On the other hand, after the phosphates are removed by tillage, or where they are naturally deficient, the atmosphere can do nothing to impart the lacking ingredients. The lat- ter part of the proposition is obvious enough ; but the assertion in reference to the supply of ammonia in the air, or in the soil, in an available condition, is not proved. Additional experiments may, or may not, strengthen the author's views upon this import- ant point. At present, no one can truthfully deny that the market value of ammonia in New York, London and Paris, for agricultural uses, is from ten to twelve dollars per one hundred pounds, while the phosphate of lime is worth no more than two dol- lars for a like quantity. To argue against such prominent, unyielding facts as these, however inge- niously, is labor lost. Mr. F. displays commendable industry, but not a thorough knowledge of agricul- tural science. We should be sorry to have his pamphlet go to England and France, and there be read and regarded as a fair specimen of the rural literature of this country. We pass by (what we hope is a misprint) the re- marks about "soda water and other beverages taken into the Inngs," to consider his illustration of the action of gum, starch and sugar, and of the heart in animals. He says : " If we present to a plant ready- formed starch,- sugar or gum, it cannot assimilate them ; it requires the elements of starch, sugar and gum, from which it is its peculiar function to form these substances. As well could one animal live by receiving its blood into its veins from the veins of another. It is the province of the heart to prepare blood out of its elements by its oivn action ; without which exercise, the heart would cease to perform its ])artj and the animal would die." Nineteen-twentieths of those writing f6r the press to teach farmers the true principles of rural economy, in the United States, know as Uttle of anatomy and physiology, whether of plants or animals, as the author of the above statements. We do not blame Mr. Fryatt, nor ag- ricultural editors and their correspondents, for be- lieving that it is " the province of the heart to prepare blood by its own action " to nourish the system ; or for teaching that even parasitic plants cannot subsist on, nor appropriate the starch, sugar or gum, ready formed, in the cells of other vegetables. The public has made a still lower standard of intelligence in ag- ricultural literature; and it has decided that we shall have no schools, nor other institutions, to elevate this popular standard. Hence, neither American authors, nor editors, nor the readers of what they write, care- fully study the various organs that exist in all do- mestic animals ,and in all agricultural plants ; nor do they properly study the particular /w7ici/ons performed in the economy of nature by the aforesaid organs. Every product of the farm, the garden and the or- chard, is either a vegetable or an animal substance ; and a clear understanding of the laws which govern 298 THE GENESEE FARMER. their growth, is, we humbly submit, oue of " tha es- seutiats of agriculture.'' The starch, gum and sugar question above referred to, is fully and satisfactorily discussed iu Muldek's Ckcmiftry of Vegetable and Animal Physiology — a work of great research, and high authority. Any popular treatise on anatomy or physiology will show tiiat the function of the heart is purely mechanical — that it does not "prepare blood by its own action " for any purpose whatever, but simply propels it through an arterial system into every organ and tis- sue in the body. The lungs and the organs of diges- tion alone " prepare blood " to perform its alimentary duties. It was not necessary to show that ammonia in a concentrated form is injurious to plants, or that the soil and atmosphere will furnish them with all that is needful, to make out a clear case in behalf of the phosphates in the growth of annual crops. It is enough to prove that nearly half of the ash of wheat, and of the seeds of all other cereals, is phosphoric acid; and that this acid, in an available condition, exists very sparingly iu ordinary soils, to satisfy any reasonable man that any guano or other manui-e which contained a large quantity of bone-earth, or phosphate of potash, soda or magnesia, must be a valuable fertilizer. Mr. Fryatt has shown that Mexi- can guano contains two or three times more phos- jjhoric acid than Peruvian guano; while he concedes that it has only about a third as much ammonia, lie appears to be deeply interested in the sale of Mexican guano ; and if the article is as rich in phosphates as the published analyses indicate (and we have no rea- son to doubt their accuracy), it deserves extensive and thorough trials. Mr. Higgixs, Maryland State Chemist, speaks thus of the Me*:ican guano: "There have been some interesting trials made with this guano in comparison with other varieties now in the market, which show that the Mexican guano, applied in quan- tities of equal cost with the Peruvian, equaled it the first year. Hut inasmuch as the Mexican guano is a permanent manure, it will produce equally good eilects on the second and third as on the first crop." This statement is encouraging; and it is not impossi- ble that in a system of rotation of crops extending through five years, a ton of Mexican guano, wdiich may be bought for thirty dollars, will be worth as i!u:i-h to the farmer as a ton of Peruvian, which will cuit him fifty-five dollars. Should farther experience sustain this suggestion, the Peruvian government will have to reduce the price of its manure, or go out of the American market. We ask the importers of Mexican guano to con- sider that feature in Dr. Stewart's analyses of their manure, which shows that one specimen contained over 25 per cent, of water, and that another had over 30 per cent. The latter, in addition to 30 ibs. of water in 100 of guano, had 33.52 per cent of phos- phoric acid ; 22.81 per cent, of lime ; and 5.33 per cent, of potash, soda and magnesia ; being an aggre- gate' of 61.66 per cent. Dry this manure before it is put into the hold of a ship, so that it will contain no more than 10 per cent, of water, as may be done, a:)d it will increase 20 per cent, in value at a very triiiiug cost. It is to be regretted that Mr. Fbyatt did not give his readers some account of the extent of the beds of Mexican guano ; we fear that the supply will fail by the time that farmei-s get fairly in the' practice of using it. Those so largely engaged in growing wheat, corn, tobacco, cotton and sugar for distant markets, need almost an ocean of imported manure to balance the account with their impoverished fields. The true Balance of Organic Nature is the main point to be aimed at. If this can be obtained without imported ammonia, as we trust it may, it will be truly a noble achievement. HINTS FOR OCTOBER — PREPARATIONS FOR THE WINTERING OF STOCK. The mythological fable connected with the con- stellation corresponding to October, is as follows : Orion, a celebrated giant, having impiously boasted that there was not on earth an animal which he could not subdue, Diana, whom he had oS'ended, sent a scorpion, which gave him a mortal sting, and was afterwards metamorphosed into this constellation. The character is somewhat like the letter m, with the last stroke prolonged and armed with a sting or dart. It is supposed to be emblematic of the fevers and other diseases which usually prevail in autumn. The sun enters the Scorpion about the 23d of October. This month is a busy time for all The summer heats have passed, and the clear cool air of the mornings braces up the system — debilitated and en- feebled by sultiy heats. Fruits are to be gathered and put in store, and preparations made for the coming winter. Connected with this, a few remarks upon the eco- nomical keeping of stock may not be out of place. In consequence of the deficiency of pasturage during the past summer, and the stinted growth of corn, po- tatoes and root crops, we apprehend that every farmer having stock to keep will be obliged to economize food in every possible way, and to resort to every available means to render the coarser kinds of fodder palatable and nutritious. Cornstalks that otherwise would be rejected and trampled under foot by stock, if cut by a machine, steamed — either by means of a steam box constructed for the purpose, or by putting them into a large box or hogshead, pouring boiling water over them, and covering up tightly till cold — and mixed with bran, shorts, middlings, or grain ground for the purpose, will go much further in economizing hay and grain than if fed without any preparation. Another means of diminishing the use of hay and grain, ie the more general use of oil-cake. If English farmers have found its value to be so great that they come to our own markets to purchase, and then transport it three thousand miles to be con- verted into flesh by their own stock, surely it is worth our while to retain at home so valuable an article of food. Another important consideration, worthy of note, is the increased value given to the manure. Repeated experiments have satisfactorily shown that the manure dropped by animals fed on rich and highly nitrogenized food is worth far more than that from animals scantily fed, and not kept in a thriving condition ; also that manure from full-grown animals is worth more than that from young stock. In the one case, only those portions of food requisite to sup- THE GENESEE FARMER. 299 ply the daily waste, and that aid the deposition of fat in different parts of the system, are absorbed by the nutrient vessels ; in the other, not only are the materials necessary to supply the daily waste absorbed, but also those requisite for the formation of bone and muscle, and the different tissues of the animal. Another condition in the economical keeping and feeding of stock, is' the providing of proper shelter, guarding agamst exposure to cold and driving storms, and keeping your animals in such a state of physical warmth and comfort that a healthful gi-owth shall at no time be arrested. No one who pretends to be a It is thus a material point that we use that food which will economize the labor of the animal machine — that is, to convert it into flesh, milk, &c. By bruising grains, £ind cutting fodder, and softening the woody portions of plants, we assist nature to a certain extent, and even render a less amount in bulk adequate to proper nourishment humane man will allow his animals to be shivering by the roadside, or trying to get the protection of a fence only, from our cold wintry storms. An ac- quaintance in the central part of this State, two years since constructed six boxes, or stalls, in the cellar of his barn, the barn being situated on a hill side ; the cellar was entirely open to the east. The sides 3UU xixjLii v^jjiX^iZiOUjiJi X' .fi.j.viux:jxv. of these boxes were about six feet in height. Each box had a door swinging on a wooden pivot inserted into a block of wood sunk in the ground — the upper hino-e also formed of wood (we mention these points to show that these fixtures were made by using such materials as every farmer can supply) — and when closed fastened with a sliding bolt. A good plank floor was also laid in each one, and straw for litter was plentifully supplied. After a week's time each animal knew its place ; and when turned out for air and exercise an hour or two each day, you could see them anxiously waiting for the liberty to enter. His experience, as related to the writer, showed conclu- sively that animals cared for in that way were fed with more economy, and with far greater convenience, than by promiscuous feeding in the yard ; and last, what may more interest the milk-maid, it was much more pleasant and agreeable to open the door and sit down by the side of a gentle and cleanly-kept cow, than, as formerly, to select if possible a dry spot in the yard for milking. Warmth, to a certain extent, is an equivalent for food. By a wise provision of nature, whatever may be the external temperature, the living animal has its own invariable standard of vital heat. This degree of heaL varies in different races of animals, but each has its own. By the consumption of food this tem- perature is maintained ; and the colder the external temperature, other circumstances remaining the same, the more food must be consumed to keep up the vital heat. Now, precisely at this point every one's experience tells him that, to a cei-tain extent, shelter is an equivalent for food. We might give numerous illustrations on this point; but will give only one ex- periment, from Johnstoii's Agricultural Chemistry, page 609: " A lot of sheep, twenty in number, were fed in the open fields, during the months of January, February and March. Another lot of twenty, as nearly equal in size, weight and condition to the former as possible, were fed under shelter. Both lots were fed upon turnips, as many as they chose to eat, half a pound of linseed cake, and half a pint of barley, to each sheep per day, with a little hay and salt. The sheep in the field consumed the same quantity of food, all the barley and oil cake, and about nineteen pounds of turnips per day, from first to last, and increased in weight, on the whole, five hundred and twelve pounds. Those under the shed consumed at first as much food as the others ; but after the third week they ate two pounds less of turnips per day, and in the ninth week again two pounds less, or only fifteen pounds per day. Of the linseed cake they ate about one-thu'd less than the other lot; and yet they increased in weight seven hundred and ninety pounds — showing a gain of two hundred and seventy-eight pounds by reason of the shelter provided." But while we urgently recommend warm and com- fortable quarters for stock, be sure and make due provision for fresh air and ventilation, or your kind- ness may become positive cruelty. The experiments now in progress by the Agricultural Societies of England and the United States, if carefully con- sidered and analyzed, would go far to render the science of productive farming less empirical than is too much the case at present. It is only by a careful and systematic course of procedure that the value of any system of feeding can be ascertained ; and we trust every one who has at heart the good of agricultural science, will take note of whatever facts he may observe, and communicate them for the benefit of others. " Tcacliing we learn, and giving we receive." THE VALLEY OF THE AMAZON. The influences of commerce upon the civihzation and advancement of the nations of the world, are worthy of a careful and candid consideration. Say what we will about the utilitarian spirit of the present age — its worship of the Almighty Dollar — its grasp- ing after place and power — yet for all these evila there is an equivalent in its love of peace, the exten- sion of the arts and sciences to the remotest regions of the earth, and the waking up to life and mental action of slumbering milhous of our fellow men. The restless spirit of the Anglo-Saxon race, not content with founding a nation upon the Pacific shore, now turns toward the fabled land of the Amazons, beneath a tropic sun, and holds up to our view a land the wonders of whose wealth — vegetable and mineral — can hardly be credited. The recent report of Lieut. Herndon, who was directed by our government to descend the Amazon and examine carefully the topographical features of the vast and almost unknown regions of tropical South America, contains a mass of information of the most interesting and valuable kind. The area of the valley drained by the Amazon is calculated at 1,796,000 square miles ; and with its navigable tributaries, it washes the shores of five re- publics and an empire. Commencing its course within sixty miles of the Pacific Ocean, it affords an unin- terrupted navigation from the foot of the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean — a distance by the river of 3,662 miles, not including any of its tributaries. On the south, the waters of its tributaries intermingle with those of the great River la Plata; while on the north, the Cosiquiare forms a natural canal between the waters of the Rio Negro and the Oronoco. Three leagues of artificial canal only are wanting to coni- I^lete a continuous internal navigation from Buenos Ayres to the Caribbean Sea. This remarkable and unique feature of the formation of the South Ameri- can continent, wifl yet afford the means of the great- est inland commerce the world has ever seen. In the Oronoco, steam navigation has already been com- menced— an American steamer is now on its way to Paraquay ; while between Rio de Janeira and Para, the Atlantic part of the Amazon, steamers have for several years ran twice a mouth. Brazil, through which the Amazon runs for 1,200 or 1,500 miles, is not only to open her own territories, but has invited the co-operation of the countries lying upon the head waters of the Amazon and con- tiguous to herself. Venezula communicates with the Amazon by the Rio Negro at the Brazilian port Barra ; New Granada by means of the same tribu- tary— the Japura and the lea or Putumago ; Equa- dor by the Napo, in whose waters gold beds are said THE GENESEE FARMER. 301 to have been lately discovered, and the Pastaza ; Peru by the Ucayale and the Iluallager ; and Boli- via reaches the Amazon below Barra by the Madeira — a large river runuiug for several hundred miles through Brazil. British, Dutch and French Guiana are also indi- rectly interested in tlie opening of its navigation, and the settlement of its banks ; for then the country back of Guiana, and toward the river settlements, would be exposed. The whole world in fact is in- terested in the navigation of a river which has no rival save the Mississippi or the Yaug tse Kiang. Of the Mautana of Carabaya, Lieut. H. says : " Its lands are so rich that they give three crops a year, and produce fine coca, coffee that rivals that of Mocha, superior cocoa, potatoes, maize, fruits, raisins of every kind, the vanilla, superior and most abundant woods, and the cascarilla bark, called ca- lisaya, with all the other classes." His reflections upon entering the main channel, called by the Peruvians Maranon, are given as follows: "She [Brazil], together with the five Spanish American republics above named, owns in the valley of the Amazon more than two millions of square miles of land, intersected in every direction by many thousand miles of what might be called canal navi- gation. As a general rule, large ships may sail thousands of miles to the foot of the falls of the gi- gantic rivers of this country ; and in Brazil particu- larly, a few hundred miles of artificial canal would open to the steamboat, and render available, thou- sands of miles more. "This land is of unrivaled fertility ; on account of its geographical situation and topographical and geo- logical formation, it produces nearly everything essen- tial to the comfort and well-being of man. On the top and eastern slope of the Andes lie hid unimagi- nable quantities of silver, iron, coal, copper and quicksilver, waiting but the application of science and the hand of industry for their development. The successful working of the quicksilver mines of Huan- cavelica would add several millions of silver to the annual product of Oerro Pasco alone. Many of the streams that dash from the summits of the Cordilleras wash gold from the mountain-side, and deposit it in the hollows and gulches as they pass. Barley, quinua and potatoes, best grow in a cold, with wheat, rye, maize, clover and tobacco, products of a temperate region, deck the mountain-side, and beautify the val- ley ; while immense herds of sheep, llamas, alpacas and vicunas feed upon those elevated plains, and yield wool of the finest and longest staple. " Descending toward the plain, and only for a few miles, the eye of the traveler from the temperate zone is held with wonder and delight by the beautiful and strange productions of the torrid. He sees for the first time the symmetrical coffee bush, rich with its dark-gi-een leaves, its pure white blossoms, and its gay, red fruit. The prolific plantain, with its great waving fan-like leaf, and immense pendant branches of golden-looking fruit, enchains his attention. The sugar cane waves in rank luxuriance before him; and .if he be familiar with Southern plantations, his heart swells with emotion as the gay yellow blossom and white boll of the cotton sets before his mind's eye the familiar scenes of home. '■ Fruits, too, of the finest quality and most luscious flavor, grow here ; oranges, lemons, bananas, pine- apples, melons, chirimoyas, granadillas, and many others which, unpleasant to the taste at first, become with use exceedingly grateful to the accustomed palate. The Indian gets here his indispensable coca, and the forests at certain seasons are redolent with the perfume of the vanilla. * * -x- * * * "The climate of this country is pleasant and healthy; it is entirely free from the annoyance of sand flies and musquitoes, which infest the lower part of the tribu- taries, and nearly the whole course of the Amazon. There is too much rain for agreeability from August to March ; but nothing could be more pleasant than the weather when I was there in June. " The country everywhere in Peru, at the eastern foot of the Andes, is such as I have described above. Farther down we find the soil, the peculiar condition, the productions of a country which is occasionally overflowed, and then subjected, with still occasional showers, to the influence of a tropical sun. From these causes we see a fecundity of soil and a rapidity of vegetation that is marvelous, and to which even Egypt, the ancient granary of Europe, affords no parallel, because, similar in some other respects, this country has the advantage of Egj-pt in that there ia here no drouth. Here trees, evidently young, shoot up to such a height that no fowling piece will reach the game seated on their topmost branches, and with such rapidity that the roots have not strength or suf- ficient hold upon the soil to support their weight, and they are continually falling, borne down by the slightest breeze, or by the mass of parasites and creepers that envelop them from root to top. "This is the country of rice, of sarsaparilla, of India-rubber, balsam copaiba, gum copal, animal and vegetable wax, cocoa, Brazilian nutmeg, Tonka beans, ginger, black jieppcr, arrowroot, tapioca, annatto, indigo, sapucaia, and Brazil nuts; dyes of the gayest colors, drugs of rare virtue, variegated cabinet woods of the finest grain, and susceptible of the highest polish. The forests are filled with game, and the rivei-s are stocked with turtle and fish. Here dwell the anta or wild cow, the peixi-boi or fish-ox, the sloth, the ant-eater, the beautiful black tiger, the mys- terious electric eel, the boa constrictor, the anaconda, the deadly coral snake, the voracious alligator, mon- keys in endless variety, birds of the most briUiant plumage, and insects of the strangest forms and gay- est colors. " The climate of this country is salubrious, and the temperature agreeable. The direct rays of the sun are tempered by an almost constant east wind, laden with moisture from the ocean, so that one never suf- fers either from heat or cold. The man accustomed to this climate is ever unwilling to give it up for a more bracing one, and will generally refuse to ex- change the abandon and freedom from restraint that characterises his life there, for the labor and struggle necessary even to maintain existence in a more rigorous climate or barren soil. The active, the industrious, and the enterprising, will be here, as elsewhere, in ad- vance of his fellows ; but this is the very paradise of m THE GENESEE FARMER the lazy and tlic careless. Here, and here only, such an one may mamtain life almost without labor. ****** "I have been describing the country bordering on the Amazon. Up the tributaries, midway between their mouth and source, on each side are wide savan- nahs, where feed herds of cattle, furnishing a trade in hides ; and at the sources of the southern tributa- ries are ranges of mountains, which yield immense treasures of diamonds and other precious stones. " It is again (as in the case of the country at the foot of the Andes) sad to think that, excluding the savage tribes, who for any present purposes of good may be ranked with the beasts that perish, this coun- try has not more than one inhabitant for every ten square miles of land ; that it is almost a wilderness ; that being capable, as it is, of yielding support, com- fort and luxury to many millions of civilized people who have superfluous wants, it should be but the dwelling place of the savage and the wild beast. " Such is the country whose destiny and the de- velopment of whose resources is in the hands of Brazil. It seems a pity that she should undertake the work alone; she is not strong enough; she should do what we are not too proud to do — stretch out her hands to the world at large, and say, ' Come and help us to subdue the wilderness ; here are homes, and broad lands, and protection to all who choose to come.' She should break up her steamboat monopoly, and say to the se^-faring and commercial people of the world, 'We are not a maritime people ; we have no skill or practice in steam navigation ; come and do our carrying, while we work the lands ; bring your steamers laden with your manufactures, and take from the banks of our rivers the rich productions of our vast regions.' "With such a policy, and taking means to preserve her nationality, for which she is now abundantly strong, I have no hesitation in saying, that I believe in fifty years Rio Janeiro, without losing a tittle of her wealth and greatness, will be but a village to Para, and Para will be what New Orleans would long ago have been but for the activity of New York and her own fatal climate, the greatest city of the New World; Santarem will be St. Louis, and Barra, Cincinnati. " The citizens of the United States are, of all for- eign people, most interested in the free navigation of the Amazon. We, as in comparison with other for- eigners, would reap the lion's share of the advantages to be derived from it. We would fear no competi- tion. Our geographical position, the winds of Heaven, and the currents of the ocean, are our potential aux- iliaries. Thanks to Maury's investigations of the winds and currents, we know that a chip flung into the sea at the mouth of the Amazon wih float close by Cape Hatteras. We know that ships sailing from the mouth of the Amazon, for whatever port of the world, are forced to go to our very doors by the SE. and NE. trade winds ; that New York is the half- way house between Para and Europe." According to the census returns of 1840, the amount of tobacco raised in the United States was 219,163,319 fts.; of 1850, 199,752,646 lbs.; showing a decrease in its culture of 19,410,673 ibs. FARM MANAGEMENT. There is an idea prevalent in the minds of many, that to be a good farmer only requires the ability to work hard and keep steadily at it. Such farmers are like men on the tread-wheel — they move indeed, but never get ahead. As an illustration of the qualifica- tions necessary to make a good manager of a farm, we give the following extract from the London Jig- rkultural Gazette, and we hope those who think that bones and sinews are the only essentials of produc- tive farming will profit thereby: " AVe have lately tried to obtain the services of an experienced and intelligent man for the management of a large farm in one of the central counties of Eng- land, and have been struck by the abundant confi- dence of the several candidates for the office, and their apparently easy estimate of the qualifications needed. The farm contains probably a thousand acres, of which al)out eight hundred are still an un- enclosed dry heathy moor. The climate of the dis- trict is sufficiently moist ; and its light sandy soil, under good management, will grow turnips and bar- ley readily enough. At present, however, the greater portion of it is in a state of nature, and the crop it bears is ling. " Now, just think of the many important questions on which the advice of the farm-manager is needed. He has first to frame a scheme of cultivation; and, supposing the wliole farm brought under it, he has, after calculating the kind and quantity of stock which it will maintain, to determine the kind and quantity of aeconmiodation required for it. Farm buildings have to be erected. It is a matter of much difficulty to decide upon their position in the case of a long narrow farm of such extent. The mansion or farm- house and some few builrlings are already built at one end of this long strip, and, unfortunately, at the nar- row end of it, for it widens out considerably at the other. And whether or in what degree the new buildings are to be a mere addition to the old — or if they shall be erected in one or in two positions on the wider end of the estate; and if so, how the several portions of a complete farmery are to be distributed among them — whether each shall be complete in itself, containing stack-yard and root-store, granary and straw-house, yards, stables, stalls and boxes (a portable threshing machine being employed to travel from one to the other, as litter is wanted at each); or if each shall contain a portion only of a complete set of buildings — the breeding stock for instance, and the fixed threshing machinery, the granary and the rick yards, and a portion of the stabling being placei around or near the tenant's house ; while accommo- dation for the young and fattening stock, ami foi sheep, and for some of the horses of the farm, is pro- vided at the other stations nearer where the manure is wanted, and the labor too. All these questions will be decided mainly upon the ad\'ice of an intelli- gent farm-manager. " The decision here does not merely concern the investment of a sum of £2,000 ($!10,000),}t influences the annual expenses and returns of the farm for ever after — placing the tenant in a groove, as it were^ from which no escape will afterwards be possible; THE GENESEE FARMER 303 and this, in the case of so large a business, is a mat- ter of very great importance. " Then, sujiposing a decision to be an-ived at, and the quantity and kind of the accommodation needed, with i'.s position on the farm to be fixed, there still remains to bp designed the arrangement of each set of buildings within itself, so as to insure economy of labor — the planning of each separate farmery for the purpose it has to serve. Here, too, the advice of the manager is required, and would be followed. " This is not all : the heath has to be reclaimed piecemeal ; two hundred acres have to be educated per annum — brought out of the wilderness and made productive. How is this to be done without abrupt interference with the existing plan of operations ? or, rather, what is to be the plan of operations which shall not be annually upset by the sudden influx of so much more to be arranged each year, but which shall, instead, naturally stretch year by year at the rate proposed, w'ithout any breakage or confusion ? The difficulty is so to crop the fresh instalment every year that it shall yield an increased maintenance uni- formly throughout the period. It is easy to decide ofi-haud that one-half of every annual slice cut off" 'the waste shall grow corn and the other half green crop ; it is not so easy to arrange the cropping of the green-crop half so as to insure a monthly increase of provision for the larger flock of sheep and herd of cattle which will thus year by year have to be kept until the whole work is completed. And yet this has to be done, and it is the work of the bailiff to do it. " Apart, too, from the scheme of cultivation, think of the responsibility connected ^^ith the selection and purchase of stock. Annually so many moi'e horses must be purchased. The sheep stock and the cattle have yet to be selected, and annual purchases must be made until the capabilities of the place are fully developed. Here, too, it is not the mere expenditure of so much of an employer s money ; it is his com- mittal to a system and a policy, good or bad, for fu- ture years, that is the really important aspect of the matter. " Considei', too, the experience needed in the selec- tion and purchase of tools and machinery — whose threshing machine, whose steam engine, shall be pur- chiised — whose plow, harrow, grubber — what roller, presser, clod-crusher, may be needed — and what power to work these implements, and with them cultivate a thousand acres of such light sandy soil — all these are questions awaiting the decision of the bailiff". " Lastly, and chief of all, there are the resolution, temper and energy required to manage and direct the manual labor needed — the prejudices of the dis- trict against innovation to be overcome — and the good-will and hearty co-operation of the working men to be secured. " Here is surely scope enough for the exercise of a very high order of ability, and a very great amount of intelligence. Those who have charge of the ag- ricultural education of our future land agents and farmers, would do well to consider whether the intel- ligence and ability which they are trying to confer wiil fit their pupils for a field like thjs. It is when the practical business of farming is commenced that the real relative importance of the different branches of an agricaitural education becomes apparent, and that experience in the field and in the market is seen to be essential. That there is no lack of confidence among the young men offbring for situations of the kind is plain from our experience of the last few days ; what sort of a foundation it is built upon is an alto- gether difl'erent thino:." THE CROPS. The report of the English journals as to the state of their crops is very encouraging. The Mark Lane Express, of July 3d, says: "This we may safely venture to assert : that in the event of our having only a moderate amount of moisture, reasona- bly warm weather, and very few gales, together with an absence of blight, we shall have one of the most abundant harvests on record." There are a good many conditions given above as requisite for the abundant harvest, but the general tenor of the Eu- ropean journals is the same. Returns from all the districts in Scotland, up to July 5th, promise favora- Ijly, particularly in relation to wheat, oats, beans and turnips. A correspondent of a London paper states that "the Algeria harvest is already reaped, and large consignments are on their way to Marseilles, and have already materially influenced prices in favor of the buyer. There is also the most positive cer- tainty that France will be able to sell to English pur- chasers, instead of competing with them in their own market. On the continent the crops are extensive ; and the markets are not only dull, but fast declining. A circular from Rostock calculates on a large yield, at least one-fourth above the usual average of the wheat crop, and more than a full average of other corn. There are the same prospects in the Baltic districts ; and accounts are extremely favorable from Norway, ■ Sweden and Denmark. In Prussia there are excellent prospects of a large yield ; and at Smyrna the grain is unusually plentiful. In Egypt the prices have greatly fallen, and at Alexandria com is most abundant. In the Principalities the corn is being cut by the Russians ; but in Bulgaria the har- vest has been most abundant on the whole. The prospects of the supplies of corn are very good ; po- tatoes promise to be abundant ; and as these two articles have a material influence on the general price of provisions, the food of the people may be expected to grow cheap; and should this anticipation prove correct, an impulse will be given to business which it is now seriously in need of." Michigan. — Among the many pai-agraphs going the rounds of the press deploring the state of the crops, it is refreshing to have evidence that " all is not lost that's in danger." The Detroit Tribune says: "Accounts from all parts of the State that reach us through private channels, and our exchanges, unite in saying that the present harvest is one of the best ever known in the State. Wheat, in some lo- calities, may not quite come up to the mark, but in others it will, while corn and oats never looked better." Oregon and Washington Territories. — The Weekly Oregonian, of July 15th, says that wheat, oats, potatoes, onions, &c., will be abundant in Oregon and Washington Territories, 304 THE GENESEE FARMER. TRIAL OF CHURNS AT THE 'NEW YORK CRYSTAL PALACE. Quite an interesting trial of these important ma- chines took place some time ago at the Crystal Palace in New York. It is said that some fourteecu differ- laterally. The spindle is operated by means of the crank, "in the manner shown in our engraving. The various parts are extremely simple ; and if the report of the Committee be correct, which we have no reason to doubt, the results produced by this churn are really remarkable. The Committee say : V 11 4 J 1 •^^^x. ent kinds of churns were tested. The victorious ma- chine was the beautiful churn patented by ]\Ir. Til- LiNGUAST, of Ohio, the practical operation of which is intended to be illustrated in the accompanying engraving. The dasher of this churn consists simply of a spindle, from which a few small sticks project " Repeated trials were made of the several ehnros- on exhibition, the last of which was the most satis- factory. At this trial, the Centrifugal Churn, in- vented by Joseph B. Tillinghast, of Ohio, was eminently successful, completely outstripping all others in every respect, but most particulaxly in the quality THE GENESEE FAKMER. 305 and excess of quantity which it produced from the same amount of cream employed in the other churns. Two gallons of sweet cream were reqviired of each exhibitor, the whole was thoroughly mixed, and then equally distributed by the jury. The result was, that the butter produced and gathered in five minutes by the Centrifugal Churn, was of a better hue, a richer quality, and weighed four and a half ounces more, than the product of any other churn, and brought in much less time. " Its efficiency, simplicity, and superiority, constrain us to award to the Centrifugal Churn the Prize Medal, with our special approbation. " H. Wager, New York, Ch'n. " Henry S. Babbitt, Ohio, Sec'y." Any further information can be had by a reference to our advertising columns. THE CULTURE OF POTATOES. The severe drouth of the present season has almost disappointed the labors of the farmer in late-planted potatoes and corn. As our periods of drouth seem to increase in duration and severity from year to year, we give the following extract from the Mark Lane Express, as a hint to plantei'S in their opera- tions next spring. Very early-planted potatoes have yielded a fair crop ; but late-planted ones generally will hardly pay for digging and gathering: " We are happy to state that up to this time, July 22d, after nine years' unsuccessful cultivation of the potato, we have no reasoif to pronounce a recurrency of disease in this the tenth remain untouched by the disease. Roots pitted with- out lime became quite rotten. 13. Two or three hundred bushels of potatoes were divided into four equal lots. Three of these were pitted with lime, the other in the ordinary way. In the first of the three lots stored with lime, the lime was placed at the bot- tom of the pit, with the proper precautions ; in the second, it was thrown into a conical heap in the cen- ter of the tubers ; and in the third and last, it was placed on the top of the potatoes, being separated from the latter by a layer of brushwood, &c. On examining the tubers at the end of some months, those in the first pit were found to be much diseased, while those contained in the other three were nearly healthy. " The best result," says this correspondent, " I am disposed to think was obtained by placing the lime on the top of the tubers, and this is the plan I intend to follow." — T. J. Herapath, in the London Gardener's Chronicle. Ort, FOR Machinery, Wagon Wheels, &c. — Add one part of India rubber to fifty parts of rape oil, and boil till the rubber is nearly all dissolved. It is not only more unctions and less affected by friction than other oils, but remains liquid below the freezing point of water. In this respect it is most valuable m cold winters. 906 THE GENESEE FARMER MANURE — ASHES. Ashes, leached or unleached, are a most valuable maimre. While one writer says they are "best for low, mossy lauds," and another, " that ashes are found to succeed best on dry, loamy laud," all agree that they are a valuable manure. At the present time, the opinion generally prevails that aslies have the most oeueficial effect upon sandy and dry loamy soils. This may be true to a certain extent ; but we know- that ashes are an excellent manure on moist, swampy land — as we have in mind now two fields, on a light, cold, muddy soil, upon a sub-stratum of sand, and the other a peat bog, that have been reclaimed by the use of ashes. In fact, reason shows that any moist land coutaiuing acids, and hence "cold and sour," would be greatly benefitted by the use of ashes, as they would neutralize the acids and furnish earthy and saline matter to the soil. Thus in certain peat bogs there are often acids, sulphates of iron and alumina, or copperas and lime. Now, a supply of ashes to such bogs will make them productive, the ashes neutralizing the acids. In this manner swamps and low meadows are often reclaimed in the neigh- borhood of old potash works ; the reclaiming being the result of accident at first, the ashes having been thrown as worthless into the most worthless spots ; but afterwards the result of experience, as it was dis- covered that those worthless spots soon became pro- ductice from the application of " spent ashes." But the real value of ashes depends upon their being a combination of salts derived from plants, all of which have a most decided beneficial effect on the re-production of plants. By leaching, ashes are divided into two parts, solu- ble and insoluble. Hard wood ashes, in every one hundred parts, by leaching, give 13.57 of soluble parts and 86.43 of in- seluble parts. According to Prof D.vna 100 parts of the soluble contain Carbonic acic, --- 22. 70 Sulphui-ic acid, 6.43 Muriatic acid, 1.82 Silex, - 0.95 Potash and soda, 67.99 99.86 100 parts of insoluble contain Carbonic acid, 35.80 Phosphoric acid, _ 3.40 Silex, 4.25 Oxide of iron, 0.52 Oxide of manganese, 2.16 Mag;nesia, 3.55 Lime, 35.80 85.47 ■ Prof. 'Dana, says : " A bushel of good ashes con- tains 5 1 fcs. of real potash. In leaching ashes, generally about one peck of lime is added to each bushel of ashes ; and as it loses no bulk during the operation, a cord of leached' ashes contains about the following proportions, allowing the usual pro- portion to be leached out, or 4| fcs. per bushel: Phosphoric acid, 117 fts. Silex,..- 146 " Oxide of iron, 17 " Oxide of manganese, 16 " Magnesia, 119 " Carbonate of lime, w-vth that added in leaching,. 3972 " Potash combined with silica, 60 " Bebxhieb gives the constituents of the ash of va- rious kinds of wood. According to his tables, the constituents of Oak, Birch, Beech and Pine are as follows in every 100 parts of each: Oalc. Birch. Pitch Pine. Beech. Silica, 3.8 5.5 13.0 5.8 Lime, 54.8 52.2 27.2 42.6 Magnesia, 0.6 3.0 8.7 7.0 Oxide of iron, — 9.5 22.3 1.5 Oxide of mang.^nese,.. — 3.5 5.5 4.5 Plinsphoric acid, 0.8 4.3 1.8 5.7 Carbonic acid, 39.9 31.0 21.5 32.0 99.6 100. 100. 100. Sprengel gives the following table as the result of the analysis of the Red Beech, Oak and Scotch Fir : Red Beech. Oalc. Scotch Fir. Silica, 5.52 29.95 6.59 Alumina, f Oxide of iron, V 2.33 8.14 17.03 Oxide of manganese, ) Lime, 25.00 17.38 23.18 Magnesia, 5.00 1.44 5.02 ' Potiish, 22.11 16.20 2.20 Soda, 3.32 6.73 2.22 Sulphuric acid, 7.64 3.36 2.23 Phosphoric acid, 5.62 1.92 2.75 Chlorine, 1.84 2.41 2.30 Carbonic acid, 14.00 12.37 36.48 100. 100. 100. The same author gives the analysis of the ash of the various grains thus : Oats. Bariey. "Wheat. Rye. Potash, 15.2 3.4 0.6 1.2 Soda, trace 0-9 0.8 0.4 Lime, 2.6 10.5 6.8 6.4 Magnesia, 0.4 1-4 0.9 9.4 SiUca, 80.0 73.5 81.6 82.2 Alumin.a, 0.1 2.8) Oxide of iron, trace 0.1^ 2.6 0.9 Oxide of manganese,. .trace 0.3) Phosphoric acid, 0.2 • 3.5 4.8 1.8 Sulphuric acid, 1.4 2.2 1.0 6.1 Chlorine, 0.1 1.2 0.9 0.6 Carbonic acid, — — — — 100. 100. 100. 100. Letellier gives the analysis of the ash of Indian corn thus: Potash, 20.8 Lime and m.ignesia, 18.3 » Phosphoric acid, 50.1 Silica, &c., 0.8 Now, upon examining the constituents of the ash of the various kinds of wood as given in the above tables, and comparing them with the ash of various kinds of grains, it is easy to perceive why wood ashes are a most excellent manure for raising the grains and other vegetables. Ashes furnish to the soil the appropriate food of those plants. Ashes contain all the inorganic constituents which form the inorganic parts of plants; hence their great value as fertilizei-s, not only upon " dry loamy soils," but upon all soils exhausted of those inorganic substances by cultiva- tion, or deprived of them by nature. But ashes are valuable as an exterminator. A gill cup of unleached ashes put into a hill of corn, is sure to exterminate worms and bugs ; and are equally valuable upon otuer vegetables troubled with such vermin. They not only exterminate them upon the surface of the ground, but about the roots of the vegetables, and are sure to prevent the visits of these troublesome animals. Sown broadcast upon the land and plowed in, leached or unleached ashes will exterminate sorrel, as they destroy the food of this noxious vegetable when they neutraUsse the acids of the soils. THE GENESEE FAEMER 307 Thus no more valuable manure can be used than ashes. In speaking of their virtues for a particular crop, one writer says: "The use of wood ashes, when applied on a warm, light loam, will repay the first year three times their cost, in raising a crop of pars- nips." Another says: "No farmer or gardener, who rightly appreciates the value of his own interests, will ever dispose of his unleached ashes at less than seventy-Jive cents per bushel. Whatever may be the geological formation or constitutional texture of his farm, it is scarcely in the limits of probability but there are sections or ' spots,' at least, on which the application of ashes, either as a top-dressing or in compost, would not be highly salutary to the soil and beneficial to the crop." And still another says, that by actual experiment he has " found that for every bushel of ashes he has applied to his corn crop for the la«t ten years, he has received an additional bushel of corn as the result !" So save your ashes and apply them to your lands. — Granite Farmer. ACTION OF DROUTH ON PLANTS. The specific action of drouth on plants is one of the problems not yet entirely solved. Whether it is tlie indirect waste of moisture on the plants by evapo- ration, or the want of the due proportion of water necessary to build up the structure of plaifts, or whether it is some indirect action on the constitutions of the soil, is by no means a settled question. Tlip present season has afforded abundant illustra- tions of the effect of want of moisture on the several plants the farmer has to cultivate ; and what is more remarkable, the drouth, though aljsolutely less than it was last year, seems to have had a far greater effect on the plants. The meadows especially appear to have suffered. In all the northern counties particu- larly, the grass crop is peculiarly affected. The finer and shorter grasses are absolutely either wanting, or so thin that they show the meadow to be without bottom grass. The coarser gras'^es are tall, but thin, and running to seed, forming no tillering stalks, and few blades in comparison to those of former years. The corn is the same — thin, stunted, and spiry in its character. There have been no tillering — no thick, matted surface. The drills have been visible up to the present period ; and the stems are fast running to the ear before half the usual height is attained, being also hard and yellow in color, and different as possible from the graceful flopping blade the wheat plant exhibits at this period. Now, in what specific way has this drouth so acted on the plant? In ordinary vegetables, ninety per cent, of their whole structure is simply water. Hence it is easy to conceive how large a quantity of that material is necessary during their growth and de- velopment. But there was no such absolute defi- ciency this season. The soil always contained a comparatively large amount of moisture ; the dews were often plentiful, amounting to fully as much more as any diurnal development of the plant could require ; and all the tables of rain fallen in the spring of this year, we have seen showed a larger quantity than in the corresponding months of last year. Hence it seems we must look to the abstract cause of the injury — to somewhat beyond the mere denuding of the plant of water, as such. We think the theory of Liebig far better estab- lished this season. The plant, to take up its elements, must have them presented to it in a state of solution. The action of rain operates to dissolve regularly and gradually the material required by the plant, both in the soil and in the rocks from which the soil is con- tinually forming, by disintegrading the small particles existing in the land. These are being supplied to the plant by the rains as it requires them, but this year they have not been so washed out and made ready for its use. But why did not the same cause operate equally in the spring of 1852 ? Simply be- cause the incessant rains of the autumn and early winter had washed the soluble constituents of the soil, so as to leave less free material in the land by far than in the previous spring, and hence the ordi- nary drouth had much greater eSect on the plants this year than it had last. The eSect of water on plants, regularly supplied, is most wonderful. Those who have seen the Clipston water meadows, and the small and clear stream, which produce from three to five crops of grass per annum, either depastured or mown, or partly the one and partly the other, must be convinced that it is almost as much owing to the plentiful supply of water in the dry season, as to any great amount of manure held by that small river in solution, that the vast increase of grass is produced. By watering, Mr. Kexxedt, of MyremUl, keeps close upon a thousand head of stock on ninety acres of ItaUan rye grass. In ordi- nary seasons, from five to nine sheep can be kept on one acre of laud; the latter may be done in a drop- ping season on clover, and on well-cultivated land ; but with the aid of a little artificial food, and by the application of liquid manure, in the shower form, by steam, Mr. Kexxedy can keep fifty- six sheep per acre ! Nor can we believe that this is altogether due to the manure. To that it is partly owing, doubtless ; but it is by far more owing to its being watered with that manure in a soluble state, and so fit for the immediate use of plants. Hence he is independent of the seas(ju. The water-drill, to which we before alluded, is an ap- plication of the same piinciple ; and the wonderful results of the dressing of dissolved bone liquid, in a dry season, by the Duke of Richmond, is a powerful fact in the same dkection. That it is the want of soluble manure, or, in other words, elements of plants, which is mainly the cause of the injury, is manifest from the fact that all the poorest land has suffered by far the most from the drouth. The very highly-manured land has sustained the least damage; while on land to which very highly- soluble manures, Peruvian guano, for instance, and similar materials, have been applied, the crops are growing vigorously. Nor let it be forgotten that the rain brings down the ammonia, which, in dry states of the atmosphere, will float undisturbed; and this failing, as well as the soluble supply below, would of course aggravate the cause of injury. — Mark Lane Express^ The Columbus Journal says that all the flour sold in that city falls short in weight from four to fourtcCB pounds in each barreh l^Zour-ishing rascality I 908 THE GEKESEE FARMER. POLL EYIL. " Poll enl resnlte either from neglect or abuse." Poll evil generally makes its appearance about the nape of the neck, in the form of an inflammatory swelling, which, if not arrested, ends in abscess and fistula. It generally proceeds from blows or bruises. Horses that are located in low-roofed stables are apt to strike the poll against the beams or ceiling; and a frequent repetition of the act always ends in indura- tion or poll evil Some horses are very restless in the staU, and are constantly jerking their heads up- ward, especially if tethered too short; in consequence, the parts which come in contact with the upper part of the head-staU are bruised ; the injury is not often perceived until considerable tumefaction and un- healthy suppuration have set in ; the case then be- comes exceedingly difficult to cure, and may wear out feel, apply a poultice of linseed. TTe must not wait for the tumor to break of itself; but as soon as mat- ter can be distinctly felt, let it be opened at the lower margin, instead of its summit ; by this means the matter can pass ofi' as fast as it forms. It will be prudent to make a pretty large opening, so that no obstruction shall e3dst to the free and full discharge of matter, which mtist be pressed out. It is customary in such cases to apply poultices in view of promoting the discharge ; instead of poultice, the author uses a paste composed of sugar, soap, and powdered blood- root, equal parts; these are to be rubbed together in a mortar, and spread on cotton cloth, about tie thick- ness of a dollar, and thus applied to the tumor, to be secured by bandage. In the majority of cases, how- ever, the author endeavors, after having opened the abscess, to put a stop to the suppurative process in the following manner : Having punctured the tumor, the patience of all concerned. Excessive friction on and pressed out as much as possible of morbid accu- the nape of the neck, from bridle or halter, or the pressure of either on the parts, from their being fas- tened on the head too tightly, are most fertUe in pro- ducing this malady. Other causes are operative in producing poll evil that we shall just barely aUude to (merely in view of prevention). It is weU known that the poll is a part which very seldom makes the acquaintance of either brush or currycomb ; yet it is the receptacle for considerable dust and filth : owing to the accumulation of either, a cutaneous eruption arises, the itching sensation of which causes the horse to rub whenever he can get a chance ; the evil goes on, tmtil what was at first superficial now becomes deep-seated, by mere contiguity of tissue. The bung- ling and oftentimes cruel manner of forcing a small collar on a large horse — puUing first this way and then that, now a tug, then a jerk, and perhaps a blow with the whip stick — is not inoperative, to say the least, in producing this malady. Some men are in the constant habit of bracing the horse's head down- ward with the martingale, so as to bring the mouth and chest in close proximity ; and they seldom con- sider that the strain comes on the horses poU : the pressure of the bridle from without, and the unyield- ing nature of the bones of the neck, braise the inter- mediate soft tissues, and poll evil is the restilL Not- withstanding all this, poU evil is of rather rare occurrence. Poll evil is first noticed in the form of an oval tumor, hot and tender, situated directly in the region of the nape, mostly inclining to one side; in the sup- ptirative stage, and when the matter is deep-seated, scarcely any fluctuation can be felt ; when, however, the matter Ues directly beneath the skin, or in the cellular tissues, the reverse is the case. The suppu- rative finally runs into the ulcerative stage ; we then observe chasms and sinuses, similar to those observed in fistula of the withers, and finally the bones become involved in the disease. Treatment. — In the early stage, a sort of anti- mulation, take a six or eight ounce syringe, and inject the cavity several times with tincture of iodine; after doing so, cram into the chasm a portion of salt and bloodroot, equal parts ; put a cold water pad on the eminence, and encircle it with a roller, passed around the head and neck in the usual manner, as tight as circumstances permit. On the following day the bandage is to be removed, the part washed and dressed, and a small quantity of tincture of iodine injected, and bandaged as before. This treatment must be followed up for several days, at the end of which, should the discharge have decreased, and other symptoms appear favorable, the chances are in favor of a cure. Our object in this treatment is to excite adhesive inflammation, by means of which, accom- panied by pressure, the surfaces of the interior are glued together. Cases, however, occur which set at defiance all our skiU. In such the ligamentary, tendinous, fleshy and bony structures are involved, perhaps accompanied with fistulas, running in various directions, Uke so many pipes or drains ; and the difficulty of closing the latter is, that they acquire a mucous lining ; and aU mucous canals are very difficult to unite. The only remedy in such cases is the knife: the part must be laid open and all fistulous pipes dissected out Should a portion of the bone be diseased, that must also be removed. The chasm is then to be cleansed with a solution of chloride of lime, or pyroligneoua acid ; its edges brought together by suture, leaving an orifice at the lower part for the discharge of matter. Oar object must stiU be to adhere by adhesion, as already described. Should we fail in this, and the part assume a morbid type, inject and dress it with Spirits of turpentine, ^ PvToligneous acid, > equal parts. Linseed oU, J Fir balsam has also a very good eSect on indolent and morbid parts. So soon, however, as the parts phlogistic treatment is the best The patient should show a disposition to heal, dress with tincture of aloes be kept on a light diet, have a dose of cooling medi- 1 and myrrL cine, and the parts should be kept constantly wet by means of cold water bandages ; for an indolent sort of tumor we substitute a solution of vinegar and salt. Continue this treatment for a few days. Should the tumor increase in size, and have £t soft, fluctuating Our treatment must not be altogether of a local character; we must attend to the general health, and keep the bowels soluble. Sulphur, sassafras and cream of tartar are the best remedies. — Modem, Horse Doctor, by Dr. Dadd. THE GEXESEE FARMER 309 METHOD OF ADMINISTERING MEDI- CINES TO HORSES. The author almost invariably administers medicine in the form of drench, using a common champagne bottle. Some persons, however, assert that "there is gi-eat danger in drenching horses from a bottle ; also, that it is very difficult to make them swallow fluid." We never knew of anv accident foUowinar sound one. If a man wants to do a hard day's work — if he wants to exert his muscles and sinews, either in walking, running, fighting, digging, felling trees, or carrying weights — he must have those muscles free and unconfined by straps, and ligatures, and tight clothing. Xo one can gainsay this. But how is it, then, that a principle which every one, whether a sol- dier or a sailor, farmer or laborer, would insist upon in his own case, should be, in England, at least, so the use of the bottle, where ordinarv caution was ! universallv disre?arded in the case of our hard-work- observed. There is a space between the canine teeth and grinders where the bottle can be introduced; and if kept in that position while " drenching the horse," it cannot do any harm. Our usual plan is, to stand on the right side of the horse, our back tm-ned toward his body ; we then take a firm hold of the lower jaw with the left hand, at the same time moderately ele- vating the head (not too high), while with the right we gradually pour down the contents of the bottle. Time should be taken in the process ; and if it is poui'ed down in small quantities at a time, so much the better, the horse will be more likely to swallow it, especially if it shall be made palatable by the ad- dition of a few caraway seeds or a little honey. Horses, like children, must be handled in the most gentle manner. They will generally refuse to drink even a little gruel, when any unnecessary severity is resorted to in its administration. They may be coaxed, but not forced. In answer to the second objection, we observe, that there is no more difficulty (not half so much) in administering a drench to a horse, under ordinary cir- cumstances, than there is in giving a ball. To the latter we have great objections. First, in reference to its bulk ; secondly, the length of time it takes for the gastric fluids to dissolve it : and lastlv, its action ing, patient, and too often iU-used beasts of burden ? How is it that the ignorance of " common things," which Lord Ashbcrtox so justly complains o^ should be so lamentably conspicuous in a matter so con- stantly before our eyes, in our towns, in our fields, in our crowded streets, in our rural lanes, namely, our draught-horse appointments? It must be owned that one class — all honor, therefore, be to it — that of cab and omnibus proprietors, have set a good example in one respect, viz., in doing away with that hateful in- strument, the bearing-rein. But, alas I in ninety-nine carts and wagons out of a hundred (carts and wagons, which are to move at a slow and steady pace), we still persist in crippling unnecessarily our motive power, and gagging our unhappy horses by tying up their heads, as if in the very tyranny of wantonness. On the continent the bearing-rein is rarely used, and then only as ser^^le English imitation ; but in horse- racing, hunting, horse-loving England, it must be confessed its use is all but universal In Yorkshire, in the midland counties, in the southern, up to the steep hills near Scarborough, as up the not less steep downs near Brighton, we may see heavy-laden wagons at all hou!-s of the day dragged miserably along by horses : on one hand ui'ged forwaixi by ever-restless whip-cord ; on the other, as if in the veriest spirit of is uncertain. AVhereas, medicine given in the fluid | contradiction, curbed in by senseless bearing-reins ; form is readily taken np by the lacteals, and operates, ' and yet. if the attendant carter's attention be drawn for good or evil, in much less time. It has also been urged that, when a horse is suffering from disease of the respiratory organs, the additional excitement fol- lowing the act of drenching is unfavorable to a cure. Unfortunately, we are in a worse predicament when a ball is given, for then the tongue is forcibly drawn out of the mouth, while the hand is passed up to its root, where the ball is deposited. Our own expe- rience in the matter leads us to decide in favor of the bottle. If any further proofs of its utility are wanting, we may mention the fact that one-half of our city horsemen are in the habit of administering drink from the bottle without accident. — Modern Hoise Doctor, hy Dr. Dndd. OX THE USELESSXESS BEARING-REIN. OF THE It is said that when his Majesty George III., with a view to some improvement in military tmiform, asked a life-guardsman, who had done good service in the battle of "Waterloo, what sort of a dress he should prefer had he another simUar battle to go through, he received for answer, -Please your ^Maj- esty, I should prefer my shirt-sleeves," Xow, though we should be much sm-prised to see our cavalry regi- ment tm-n out for parade in shirt-sleeve order, there can be no doubt the life-guardsman's principle is a to the imnatural cruelty of the proceeding, he generally appears fully alive to it. On seeing, the other day, a poor horse tugging away at a cart full of sand up the cliff at Brighton, of course with his head tied tightly back, we observed to a laborer near. What a shame not to undo the bearing-rein with such a load ! " Oh yes, sir,'' was the reply, " I likes myself to see 'em free, but it's cus- tom, sir, ctistom; they thinks they looks well.'' How- ever,- it is to be feared the truth is, thought has little enough to do with it ; if people did think, the days of bearing-reins would soon be numbered. The foUy of the practice was, some years ago, very ably shown by Sir Fraxcis Head, in his Bubbles by an Old .Man, where he contrasted most unfavorably om- English , custom of tying tightly up, with the German one of tying loosely down, and both with the French one of leaving the horse's head at liberty (and a man of his shrewdness and observation, a distinguished sol- dier, who has galloped across the South American pampas, and seen there herds of untamed horses in all their native wildness and natural freedom, is no mean authority). Xow, he has pointed out most clearly that when a horse has real work to do, whether slow work, as in our plows and carts, or quick, as in a fast srallop. or in headlong flight across the plains of Ainerica, nature tells him not to throw his head up and backward toward his fail, but forward and 910 THE GE^'ESEE FARMER do'sm-n-ar-i ;•:- as to tlirow Ms wei^liT into what he is cadled upon to do. This is a fact within every one's observation: we have onlv to persuade the first wa<'oner we see (he is saie to have all his horses ti^htlv borne vfo) to undo his bearing-reins, when j down' will go everv horse's head so as to rebeve the ^ wearisome" strain "upon his muscles, and give the; weiatt of his bodv its due and natural power of over- comrns resistance': and thus each horse becomes en- ^ abled "to do his work as comfortably and easily as , nature intended he should do : for nature never m- tended a heaw animal like a cart horse to perform slow work on:v, or chieSy by strain of muscle, but on the contrarv, bv the powe'r of weight as the rule, l assisted bv strength of musde as the exception, when j extra resistance has to be overcome. \ Thus, when we curb up a horses head with our senseless bearinsr-reins. and make him as ewe-necked , as we appear to do, we are inverting the rule and or-ier of nature : we are evidently tiying to preveiit his usin? the fall unrestrained power of his weight, ani are^compelling him to over-strain and over-exert constantly those verv muscles which should be kept in reserve for extra' dilBculties—^ch as greater me-, qualities of the road, new-laid stones, .fee > ow any ; one can see that to an old, worn-out, half-starved, ■ over-worked animal, as too many, aye, by far the ; greater proportion, are, this must be intolerable; cruelty. It is a mistake to think a bearing-reia can | be of 'anv service whatsoever, unless, as a very exeep- , tional case, to a very young, headstrong, unbroken horse. It is a mistake 'to think it improves a horse's appearance — ^nothinz contrary to nature can everj really do this. It is a missake to think it can ever j prevent a horse's falling down, though it has been the means of preventhiz "many an old one recovering] from a stumble. But until our horse-owners be taught ; to look at this matter in its true light, the light of i common sense, and until it be taken up by the influ- , ential land-owners and more enlightened and more ; considerate of the tenant farmer among us, it is in , vain to hope for any mitigation of this but too-uni- 1 versal cruelty. Hundreds of humane men, employers ', of horse-labor, there are in all our counties and towns, ; who. if their attention were but called to the sense- 1 lessness and cruelty of the practice, would at once j SBC the necessity of the only prompt remedy ; and in these ?o-a-head" days Prejudice and Custom have but t)ttering foundations — ^t'he one is fast yielding to common sense, and Lord AsHBrRTO>-'s much-to-be- •leared "knowledge of common things," and the other i \-rill not long stand its ground unless it has something ' more than the prestige of mere antiquity in its feyor. | We ourself have entirely done away with bearing- j reins among our own heavy draught-horses ; though j our carters were at first rather astonished at being (ksired to discard them entirely, and substituting a j loose halter or rein at one side instead, they soon j foxmd that their hors^ were not a whit less managea- j ble without bearing-reins, and that they did their , work with far greater ease to themselves. A great ; friend of ours, who has turned the sword of a dra- goon into a plowshare, and has paid ^at and sue- j ce^ul attention to fanning afiairs, gives it as his j opinion that " a pair of horses, when freed from this ] useless tackle, and left to step in freedom, would plow j from a quarter if not a third more land in a day, and with greater ease to themselves and less fatigue when the days work was over, than when confined in their action'with bearing-reins." It does appear not a littie desirable that improve- ments should be made generally in our team-harness, so that all unnec^sary weight, and perhaps gear, bearins-reins, kc, should be got rid of; and perhaps if the°Eoyai Agricultural Society were to offer a prize for improved harness, and give the sanction of its authority to some improved type, we might hox>e to see ere long a great and beneficial change in this respect Change is by no means desirable for its own sake, but the change from a bad system to a good one ^from a bad to a good implement— cannot be otherwise than advantageous to the conununity; and it is only by observing and obeying natures laws that we can hit upon improvements which may fee real and lasting, whether in mechanical appliances for plows, cart^ and harness, or with respect to the prac- tical details of scientific cultivation, or the condition and household comforts of our agricultural laborers. Agriculture fosters and embraces in its maternal oTOsp the knowledge of high and noble sciences as well as that of " common thln^ :" and it is most un- reasonable to hope that that powerful Society, which pre-eminentiv repr^ents the influence, the talent,_the enterprise, and the humanity of our English agricul- turists, will, among the thousand-and-one other im- provements which it has introduced and is introducing, not deem it beneath its notice to throw the energy of its influence against the unnatural system of bearing- reins. — Mark Lane Express. HOUSE-FEEDING OF SHEEP. The house-feeding of sheep is surrounded with many more difficulties than that of the ox, and hence in practice has made less progress ; at the same time examples are sufficiently numerous to prove that it is not £i exception from the general rale that shelter from the inclemency of our climate is necessary to the health and proper development of the bodies of all our domestic animals, and that this is best obtained in properly-constructed feeding-boxes, on artificial or mixed food. For example, breeders and feeders for the exhibitions of the Fcoyal Agricultural Society and Smithfield Club have 'found that they cannot enter into competition on the out-door or natural sys- tem against the artificial or house-feeding— unless for i the ii&erior quality of stock ; and that before the ! greatest weights can be obtained in the shortest time I from a given quantity of food, it is necessary to have I recourse to drv, well-ventilated and quiet feeding- I boxes. And b'eades the cases of extra fat stock, the apricultural press teems with examples of a more I crtneral character, where results generally are recorded j m favor of the system. But while the vast majority are thus recorded, there is, nevertheless, a respectable minority to the contrarv; so that, as yet, public opinion is divided on the subject, and before unammity can be expected to prevail a more careful investiga- tion of experiments is necessary. In the prosecution of this important subject, ex- periments should never lose sight of first principles ; for their experiments, however carefully performed, THE GENESEE FAKMER 311 aud however plausible may be the deductions drawn from them, can never overturn the established laws of nature, on which the system of house-feeding in feeding-boxes is based. For examp[e, it is a well- authenticated fact, that the temperature of the body of the sheep is the same from the poles to the equa- tor, while its position with reference to external tem- perature, and therefore its natural ability to keep this degree of heat, is very diflerent in every degree of latitude, if equally exposed in the open air ; hence the quantity of food consumed must be proportionally different, to maintain the animal system at this uniform degree of temperature. In this respect, the radiation of heat from the body of the sheep is not different from that from the body of man ; and we know that when exposed in polar regions our sailors consume a larger quantity of food, with all the extra clothing which they wear ; while, as Liebiq observes, "some hunting and fishing tribes will with ease consume ten pounds of fish or flesh, and perhaps a dozen tallow caudles, daily." Now, experiments can never prove that the sheep consumes less food out-doors, exposed to the inclemency of our winters, than they do when sheltered in-doors, other things being equal, but the contrary; so that if they eat equal quantities, the lat- ter must increase faster in weight, or there must exist some peculiar cause sufficient to account for the con- trary, such as an inferior quality of food, irregularity in feeding, excitement, «Se:c. In recording experiments of this kind, too little at- tention, we are afraid, has been paid to the constitu- tion of the sheep; while habits acquired from peculiar treatment, at variance with its original constitution, have been mistaken for natural chai'acteristics, as the following observations will show: In the first place — from the gaseous matter emitted from its body being more fetid, and from its dung and urine being more liable to give off" volatile and offen- sive matter, and from the quantity of pure air con- sumed for respiration, and the capillary action of the skin being greater — the sheep requires a larger feeding- box in proportion to its size than the ox. The dif- ference in the smell of the two, may comince any ohe of the soundness of this conclusion. Instead, therefore, of being low, as is generally the case, the roof of the feeding-box should be lofty, as well as the box itself sufficiently large below, so as to procm-e proper ventilation. Crowded pens and low roofs are incompatible witlj this, summer and winter, often creating stagnant volumes of heated air in the former season — in the latter currents of cold air, worse than the extremes experienced in the open field. Not only does the sheep require a gi-eater abundance of pm-e air than the ox, but it also requires a dryer bed, to avoid foot-rot and other evils experienced from wetness — a demand almost impossible to be complied with, save in the feeding-box alone; for in open yards and sheds, in rainy weather, from being exposed to the full exciting influence ot light, with all that is passing around, and from being more agile^ and re- quiring a larger amount of exercise for health, the the whole pen is kept continually on the move ; so that, however well littered it may have been at night, long before morning all is a puddle, worse than offen- sive to the fine senses of the sheep — consequently when any of the pen attempt to confine themselves under cover, and to lie down, the stench becomes in- tolerable, so that preference is generally given to the outside. In this position their skins become wet and their feet tender. Again, conclusions relative to confinement, " roving disposition," and economy and expense of house- feeding, are generally vague and unsatisfactory ; for confinement is but an expression of degree, sheep in all cases being confined to their mountain walks, tlieir lowland pastures, or enclosures of some kind or other, a.s open yards or feeding-boxes; and the fact that the Southdown (one of the most timid, shy and cautious of all our breeds) thrives best, and pays it keep the best, when confined in the feeding-box," is a practical refutation of all the objections here involved. " Art may succeed," say our objectors, "in rearing and fat- tening the Southdown, Leicester, and such breeds, in properly-ventilated feeding-boxes ; but the natural system only suits the roving disposition of the Che- viot and black-faced breeds, which comprise the large flocks of our mountain walks. There feeding-boxes could not be erected, for the want of capital ; while in summer the system is impracticable, for the want of food." Objections such as these are no doubt plausible, but they will not bear a close investigation; for may not the roving disposition be not a constitu- tional characteristic, but one acquired from the pecu- Har circumstances in which the large flocks in question are placed ? being compeUed by necessity to walk a certain daily round ui search of food — a round as formal as the line of % railway — while self-preserva- tion from eagles, ravens, foxes, polecats, &c., makes them more gi-egarious in their habits, more timid, shy and watchful than they otherwise would be. In such positions the nervous system is kept continually in an excited state, consequently requiring a larger supply of food to maintain the system, especially in the case of young sheep, who are startled by every bird, bee or butterfly rising on the wing ; hence, in some measure, no doubt, the slowness with which they arrive at maturity, and the difficulty with which they are fed — results which disappear as we remove their causes; for the above breeds, if removed to the enclosed pastures of the lowlands, fatten faster and at an earlier age, becoming less gregarious in their habits, less roving, shy and watchful. If we reduce the enclosure by netting, shifting the nets as the dif- ferent bi-akes become bare, a still greater improvement is made ; or we might have quoted an older system than either the field-fence or net, viz., the tether — a practice with which our readers are doubtless fa- miliar— one under which both the black-faced and Cheviot breeds fatten with great rapidity, after a week's experience that their confinement is for their welfare. In short, Nature is always ready to adapt herself to her present exigencies, and those habits conducive to her welfare will be sooner acquired than those of a different character. The black-faced sheep, for instance, will sooner acquire the habits of the Leicester than the Leicester those of the black-faced. The other objections — that box-feeding during winter unfits the mountain sheep for its walk during summer, and that the system would not paj- — are equally un- tenable ; for the healthiest sheep is obviously the fittest for the hills at any season; while if the South- down pays for house-feeding in the finer climate of 312 THE GENESEE FARMER. the south, the system must be a more profitable one iu the less congenial regions of the north. There are no doubt many minor objections connected with this part of our subject — objections which our present limits will not allow us to discuss in detail, and there- fore we shall briefly dispose of them in toto, in a con- cluding sentence, thus : The sheep is more dependent practiced, that is no reason why success may not ul- timately crown her labors in the most forbidding dis- tricts ; for in these we can point out thousands of acres capable of producing furze in abundance, from which art can easily return ten times the amount of matter Nature now does from her scanty herbage. — London Agricultural Gazette. FARM WIKD-MILL. upon man, and hence on artificial systems, than any of the other domestic animals, find is certainly not the less ungrateful for them ; while, on the other hand, art has done less for it than for either the horse, ox or swine, the majority of its family being still treated on the natural system ; and however numer- ous may be the obstacles which art has to triumph over before house-feeding in boxes can be successfully WIND-MILL FOR RAISING WATER. So much interest has been felt the past season in the use of means to avert the consequences of severe and long-protracted drouths, that we have procured an engraving of a wind-mill, which appears to be firmly and strongly made, simple in construction, and not liable to get out of repair. The letters in the THE GENESEE FARMER. 313 engraving refer to the description of its parts and construction, as given in the Peoples Journal, vol. 1, page 141. The engraving on the opposite page is a view of size No. 1, intended for driving a two-inch pipe. The frame is five feet six inches high; diameter of wings, ten feet. The machine is constructed so as to be easily taken apart. Iron rods are employed to connect its diiferent parts in the strongest manner. Price, with iron pump, .^30 — boxed and shipped to any part of the United Stales. For further particu- lars, address Alfred E. Beach, No. 86 Nassau street, New York. —^^-^ Something about Schools. — "We know a man who last summer hired four colts pastured on a farm some five miles distant. At least once in two weeks he got into a wagon, and drove over to see how his ju- venile horses fared. He made minute inquiries of the keeper as to their health, their daily watering, &c. He himself examined the condition of the pasture ; and when a dry season came on, he made special ar- rangements to have a daily allowance of meal, and he was careful to know that this was regularly supplied. This man had four children attending a district school kept in a small building erected at the cross roads. Around this building on three sides is a space of land six feet wide; the fourth side is on a line with the street. There is not an out-house or shade tree in sight of the building. Of the interior of the school-house we need not speak. The single room is like too many others, with all its apparatus arranged upon the most approved plan for producing curved spines, compressed lungs, ill health, &c. We wish to state one fact only. The owner of those colts, the father of those children, has never been into that school-house to inquire after the com- fort, health, or mental food daily dealt out to his off- spring. The latter part of the summer we chanced to ask, " who teaches your school ? " and the reply was, "he did not know, he believed her name was Parker, but he had no time to look after school mutters." — American Agriculturist. THE EECIPROCITY TREATY. The treaty made by Mr. Secretary Marct and Lord Elgix, was ratified by the Senate recently, by a vote of 32 to 11. Its provisions are concisely as follows: Article first provides that the fishermen of the United States shall be allowed to take any kind of fish, except shell-fish, along the coast of the British North American possessions, including the bays, har- bors and creeks, with no hmitation with respect to distance, excluding fisheries of shad and salmon in the rivers, or at their mouths It will be remembered that the treaty of 1818 prevented our fishermen from coming within three miles of the coast, and that this restriction was construed as preventing us from en- tering bays where the head lands were less than six miles apart. That there shall be no disagreement respecting the places reserved by this treaty, a com- mission is to be appointed of one from each nation, to visit the localities and to settle upon the restrictons. The same right, subject to the same restrictions, is given to the British fishermen, on all our coasts north of the 36th degree of north latitude, which is the latitude of Albemarle Sound, in North Carolina. The third article specifies the articles, the growth and produce of both the British Colonies and the United States, which shall be reciprocally admitted, duty free. They are as follows : Grain, Flour. Breadstuffs of all kinds, Animals of all kinds, Fresh meat, Smoked meat. Salted meat, Cotton, Wool, Seed, Vegetables, Stone or Marble in its crude or unwrought state, Slate, Butter, Cheese, Tallow, Lard, Horns, Manures, Ores of metals of all kinds. Coal, Pitch, Tar, Turpentine, Ashes, Timber, Lumber of all kinds, round, hewed and sawed, un- manufactured in whole or in part, The navigation of the River St. Lawi'ence, Laka Michigan, and the Canadian Canals, is to be free to both nations; and the United States agrees to use its influence to induce the several States to open their canals to Canadians. This treaty is to last ten years, subject to a right reserved by Great Britain to suspend the navigation of the canals and the St. Lawrence, upon due notice being given ; and to the United States, in case such notice should be given, the power of suspending the third article, so far as Canada is concerned. The sixth article provides for the ratification of the treaty within six months by the United States Great Britain, and the Colonial Legislatures. Flax, Heftip & Tow, manu- factured, Undried Fruits, Dried Fruits, Fish of all kinds, Products of fish and all other creatures living in the water, Poultry, Eggs, Hides, Furs, Skins or TaUs undressed, Firewood, Plants, Shrubs, Trees, Pelts, Wool, Fish Oil, nice, Broom Corn, Bark, Gypsum, ground or un- ground. Burr or Grindstones, hewn or wrought or unwrou't, Dye Stufts, Bags. Unmanufactured Tobacco. Threshing Grain. — A correspondent of the South- ern Planter says: " For the comfort of those who feed threshing machines where there is much dust in the wheat, I will say, it is the experience of my feeder (who has suffered much from the dust in his throat) that one swallow of oil (which should be the best lamp oil), when he stops at night, will relieve one from all the unpleasant eSects of the dust. This ia his experience, after ten years' practice ; and as it may give relief to many a fatigued and suffering poor fellow, I communicate it to the Planter." One hundred and fifty-one million dollars are in- vested in implements and machines for aiding and abridging the work of the hands in cultivating the earth and in preparing its produce for consumption. eu THE GENESEE FARMER. Jfolrficnifq^^l 5^H^^^^*^^- CONDUCTED BY JOSEPH FROST. FRUIT-GATHERING. Next iu importance to the ability to grow any given crop successl'iilly, is a Ivnowleclge of the means and appliances that are best adajDted to preserve it in its best condition for future use and sale. It is not the mark of a prudent farmer to suffer his grain to be damaged for want of storage ; neither is it wise for any one who has fruit to gather and assort for market, to permit ill-judged haste to bruise the ten- der cells, or mar the external appearance and form. Much has been said on the imperative necessity of not allowing apples, or any fruits designed for long keep- ing, to receive even the slightest bruise or indentation. Why this necessity for preserving the delicate cellular tissue intact, will be evident if we consider for a mo- ment the reasons therefor. The juices of all fruits are contained in cells ; and it is by the growth and aggregation of these cells, protected by their exter- nal covering, that fruit attains its ultimate size. When fruits have attained their full growth and development, or become ripe, as we say, the laws of vitality are suspended, except as relates to the preservation of the seed, and the ever-active agencies of chemical decomposition are ready to commence their ^ork, and thus continue the ceaseless round of production and decay. So long as the temperature is kept below the ger- minating point, or below the degree at which decom- position commences, and the natural moisture inherent in itself is not permitted to escape, many fruits may be kept in all their freshness for a long time ; but in how many instances are all these conditions a perfect blank! Go into our orchards, and observe carefully the general method of procedure. Instead of feet properly shod — stepping carefully among the branches and delicate twigs — how often does the iron-shod heel bruise or tear off" the bark, and leave ragged wounds to be healed by the abused tree! Instead of picking off the fruit one by one, and placing it gently and with care in the basket, the long jjole to whip the branches is l)rought into requisition; and though it may be sport to the lads to see the apples fly through the air and fall heavily upon the earth, piercetl very likely by the stubble of the wheat, oat or barley crop (taken off that the use of the land be not lost), yet when gathered how few will you find in a fit state for keeping! Now, all this Vi'holesale process of bruising and waste may be remedied, by the exercise of a little forethought in providing means of access to the branches of the trees. Ilad we a crop of nice fruit to gather, in anticipation of the friendly fireside chat during the long winter evenings, we should not deem it time lost to spend a few days in providing siep ladders, folding ladders, and canvas sheets with rinsrs Et the corners, by which they could be extended under the trees, if necessary, in order to gather the fruit difficult of access. When collected in our bas- ket, we would not pour them heavily upon the floor of our fruit-room, or into the barrel ; neither would we convey them homeward or to market in a spring- less conveyance. When about to place them in win- ter quartersj'we should reject every unsound or bruised one, remembering that the old proverb holds true in this as in every case, " Evil communications corrupt good manners" — which, paraphrased, -would read, " Every unsound or decaying specimen of fruit will invariably depreciate the value of the rest, and dis- pose them to rot." In regard to the winter-keeping of fruit, the Hon. M. P. AViLDER, of Boston, in the Horticulturist,siatea that his experiment of keeping fruits was suggested by the difficulty of avoiding the bad effects of mois- ture and warmth in his old fruit-cellars under his dwelling-house ; and the same difficulty exists on the ground floor of buildings. "I therefore resorted," he says, " to the other extreme — a cool and dry cham- ber on the north end of my barn, the location of which being over the carriage-room. I am now quite satisfied that we have at last attained the proper lo- cation for a fruit-room — namely, a cool upper apart- ment, with fined non-conducting walls." But we apprehend the great difficutly to be found in the want ef care and attention to these points is this — tvill it pay? To such we do not know that we can give a better reply than by giving the experience of a noted fruit-gi'ower who is satisfied that it does pay. Mr. Pell, of Pelham, N. Y., in some remarks before the American Institute, thus explains his pro- cess ; and from the gi-eat success he Iras hitherto met with, we judge it to be worth an attentive perusal by fruit-growers : * * * " To do this reasonably, they should be picked from the tree by hand with great care, so as not to break the skin or bruise the fruit in the slightest degree, as the parts injured immediately decay, 'and ruin all the fruit coming in contact. Apples shaken from the tree become more or less injured, and totally unfit to be kept through the winter, or even shipped to the nearest ports. My Pippin fruit is all picked by hand, by men from ladders, into half-bushel baskets, from them into bushel and a half baskets, in which they are carried in spring wagons, twelve at a time, to store-rooms, covered with straw, where they are carefully piled, three feet thick, to sweat and discharge by fermentation some thirty per cent, of water, when they are ready for barreling for shipment to Europe or elsewhere. If they reach their port of destination before the second process of sweating comes on, they will keep perfectly four months. I have kept them sound two years, and exhibited them at the end of that time at the Institute Fair, Castle Garden. They have been sent to Europe and China from my farm, packed in various ways, viz.: in wheat chaff", buck- wheat chaff", oats, rye, mahogany saw-dust, cork-dust, wrapped separately in paper, and in ice. By the mode I now adopt, I can warrant them to bear ship- ment superior to any other, excejit ice." To Core the Canker in Trees. — Cut them off" to the quick, and apply a piece of sound bark from any other tree, and bind it on with a flannel roller. Cut oft" the canker, and a new shoot will grow strong; but in a year or two you will find it cankered. — Mrs. Hale's Receipt Book. THE GENESEE FARMER. 315 GATHERING AND PRESERVATION OF Fiiirrs. This is a subject respecting vhich we have much to learn in this country ; and considering the vast amount of cajjital invested in fruit-culture, and the prospective importance of the business in a commer- cial point of view, it becomes worthy of serious and immediate attention. How many of those who are b the possession of orchards and fruit-gardens know exactly when even to gather fruits in order to secure their greatest possible amount of excellence ? May we not safely say that three-fourths of nearly all our eumraer fruits are consumed in an immature state ? The keeping of fruits in winter, and the packing for distant mai-kets, are questions that concern deeply the extensive orchardists of this countrj'. We have trans- lated from the Revue Horticole the following obser- vations on this subject, by Prof. Dubreil, formerly of Rouen and now of Paris. They contain many valuable hints and suggestions worthy of attentive perusal. — Horticulturist. " The preservation of fruits is a question intimately connected with the fruit-garden. This should furnish during the entire year the same quantity of the best possible fruits. In order to do this, it is true we must plant an equal number of varieties ripening their fruits during each month of the year. But this will be insufficieut unless we adopt a mode of preservation which will retard the ripening of fruits to mid-winter, spring, or even the following summer. The fruit- garden can not give the results expected from it, if we are deprived of its products from February to June, when the earliest fruits begin to ripen. This question, then, has a certain importance, not only ibr those who gather and consume the fruit, but for those who deal in fruits and who without proper modes of keeping are exposed to great losses. As the mode of gathering has a certain influence on the preserva- tion of fruits, we will first treat of that operation. I. ON GATHERING. "Ist. Degree of Maturity. — Fruits should be gathered wheu they present a sufficient degree of ma- turity ; and in this respect the different species of fruits require different treatment. "All the Stone Fruits, the cherries excepted, should be taken from the tree three or four days before their absolute maturity. " The Kernel Fruits of Summer and Autumn are gathered eight to twelve days before maturity. " These fruits possess, then, the necessary elements to accomplish their maturltion, which is nothing more than a chemical re-action independent in some measure of vital action. In thus separating them from the tree they are deprived of the sap from the roots, they elaborate more completely that which is contained in their tissue, the sugary principle is then less affected by water, and a higher flavor is therefore acquired. The time suitable for gathering is when the side next the sun commences to change from green to yellow. " The Cherries, Gooseberries and Raspberries are only gatliered after their perfect maturity ; but they should not be allowed to pass this moment, as they immediately lose some of their qualities. " The Kernel Fruits which ripen only in Jf inter are gathered when they have accomplished their full de- velopment, and before vegetation has completely ceased — that is to say, from the end of September to the end of October, according to the variety, the earliness of the season, and climate. Experience has demonstrated that fruits left on the trees after their growth do not keep so well ; they lose their sugar and perfume, because at this time the temperature is ordinarily too low for the new fluids which arrive ia their tissue to be sufQciently elaborated. If, on the contrary, this epoch is anticipated, the fruits wither and do not attain maturity. It is equally necessary to gather the fruits from the same tree at different times — first, those placed on the lower parts of the tree ; then, eight or ten days after, those on the upper part, of which the growth is prolonged by the influ- ence of the sap, which remains longer in this part of the tree. For the same reason the fruits of standard trees in the open ground are gathered later than those of espalier, and those of ^g^^ ^^ languishing trees before those of young and vigorous ones. The pre- cise moment for the gathering of each fruit is indi- cated by the facility with which it is detached from the tree when slightly lifted upwards. "Various instruments under the name of 'Fruit Gatherers ' have been invented to detach the fruits at the tops of the trees without the aid of ladders; but their employment is too slow, and the fruits are more or less bruised, and do not keep. When the fruita are gathered, they are deposited in a basket similar Fig. 1. to that used by the cultivators of Montreuil (fig. 1). It is about two feet long, eighteen inches wide, and a foot deep, with a carpet ou the bottom. The fruits are laid in one by one, and only in three.rows or tiers; when too many are laid on the top of each other, the bottom ones are bruised. Each tier is separated by a quantity of leaves. If they are peaches, each one is enveloped in a leaf of the vine. The basket, being sufficiently full, is carried on the head into a spacious and airy place, where the fruits are deposited on leaves or dry moss ; the table of the fruit-room can serve this purpose. There the summer and autumn fruits achieve their maturity, and are taken thence to be consumed. The peaches should be cleaned of the down which covers them, and which is disagreeable to the mouth. " Grapes, for immediate consumption or to be preserved fresh, are gathered only at perfect matu- rity; the longer they are left on the vine, the more the sugary principle will be developed. Grapes from conti e-espaliers are to be preferred for keeping to those from esplaiers, as experience has demon- strated to the cultivators of Thomery that they keep better. m THE GENESEE FARMER. " The Dry Friiiis, such as filberts, chestnuts, &c., are gathered at the moment when they detach them- selves from the trees. " In gathering fruits, a dry time and a cloudless sky diould be chosen ; and the middle of the day, from noon to four o'clock, is the best time to operate, as the fruits are charged with less humidity, the flavor is more concentrated, and those destined to be preserved keep better. This rule applies to all fruits. " 2d. Mode of Gathering. — The best method of gathering fruits consists in detaching them one by one with the hand. All pressure should be avoided as far as possible, as every bruise is followed by a brown spot which gives place to and brings on the rapid decay of the entire fruit n. PEESERVATION. ■The preservation of fruits can only be applied to those which ripen during the winter, and which, de- tached from the tree before the first frosts, are placed under shelter from the cold to complete their maturity. The grape only is an exception to this. Summer and autumn fruits are also preserved, but only by the aid of certain proceedings, such as drying, and cooking more or less perfect, added to the exclusion of air or the addition of sugar — proceedings which result in discoloring the fruit and altering their flavor more or less sensibly. We cannot here describe the diSerent methods. " To preserve the fruits of winter, it is necessary, first, to prevent the action of frost, which disorganizes them completely; second, to retard the progress of their maturity in such a manner that a certain num- ber of them will not ripen till toward the month of May in the following year. Experience has demon- strated that decomposition succeeds quite rapidly to complete maturity, and that it is impossible to pro- long their preservation beyond this point. " To obtain more or less perfectly the two-fold con- dition which we come to describe, depends upon the construction of the place in which the fruits are de- posited, the fruit-room, and to the care which they receive. "Ist Of the Fruit-room. — The fruit-room will give the more satisfactory results in proportion as it fills the sis following conditions: " 1. That its temperature he uniformly equal. It is by changes of temperature, which expand or rarify the liquids , contained in the fruits, that fermen- tation is excited and the interior organization de- stroyed— phenomena from which result maturity or ripeness. " 2. That this temperature should be eight or ten degrees above freezing. A higher temperature fa- vors fermentation too much. If, on the contrary, it is lowered two or three degrees, this fermentation ceases, and maturation becomes stationary. Thus we see fruits preserved five or six months in an ice-house. In this case the end aimed at has been exceeded; for we are obliged, in taking them from the ice-house, to expose the fruits for a certain length of time to a higher temperature, in order to ripen them. The fruits thus preserved ripen afterwards with difficulty, and their quality is often found altered. "3. That the fruit-room be deprived of the action of the light. This agent also accelerates maturation in facilitating the chemical reactions which produce this phenomenon. "4. That- all the carbonic acid discharged froin the fruits be retained in Ike atmosphere. This gaa, it appears from experiments of Couverchel, con- tributes powerfully to the preservation of fruits. " 5. That the atmosphere be more dry than humid. Humidity is also a condition necessary to fermenta- tion ; it diminishes the resistance of tissue in the fruits, and favors the effusion of its juices. It is, then, proper to avoid its accumulation in the fruit-room ; but it must never be completely dry, for the fruita losing then, by evaporation, a considerable quantity of the aqueous fluids wither, dry up, and do not ripen. "6. That the fruits are so placed as to diminish as far as possible the pressure ivhich they exercise upon each other. This continued pressure determines the rupture of the vessels and cells toward the point of pressure, the different fluids are mingled, and this mixture promotes the chemical combinations which result in maturity. " We propose to construct a fruit-room to fulfill these conditions, in the following manner : " We would choose a very dry soil, somewhat ele- vated, facing the north, and completely shaded from the sun by high plantations of evergreen trees. The dimensions are to be determined by the quantity of fruit to be preserved. That of which we give the plan (fig. 2) is 15 feet long in the inside, 12 feet wide, and 9 feet high. This will give place to 8,000 fruits, allowing each one to occupy 4 inches square. It is sunk 2^ feet in the ground ; and if the soil is very dry, it may be 3 feet. This enables us the more easily to guard the atmosphere against the external tem- perature. To prevent surface water from accumtt- lating in the surrounding soil and filtering into the fruit-room, the surface of the ground should descend from the walls, and these should be constructed of cement a foot above the soU. " This fruit-room is enclosed by two walls (A and B), leaving between them an open space (G) about 10 inches wide. This stratum of air interposed be- tween the two walls is the surest means of protecting the interior from the exterior temperature. The two walls are each 12 inches thick, constructed mth a sort of mortar, or mud, made of clay and straw. { This material is cheap, and on the whole a bad con- i ductor of heat, and on this account preferable to com- THE GENESEE FARMER. 317 mon masonry. The walls are pierced with six open- ings— three in the inside and three in the outside walls — the first similar and exactly opposite to the last. The openings for the outside wall are — "1. The double door (D) : the outside door opens out; that of the interior inward, and it opens in two parts, like a shutter. When the frosts are severe, the space between the two doors should be filled with Btraw. "2. Two windows (B), about 20 inches square, placed on each side and opening at 18 inches from the soil, and closed by a double sash, of which the one opens out and the other in. The space between the two sashes should also be carefully filled with Etraw at the commencement of winter. " The inside wall has a door (F) and two windows (0) ; but here the door is simple ; the windows are also closed with two sashes, the outside one sliding in a groove, and the other opening out. " As soon as the fruits are collected in the fruit- room, the joints and openings around the windows should be filled with paper, to prevent the air from the space between the walls entering the fruit-room. The four windows are only intended to admit air and light necessary to dry and ventilate the fruit-room before gathering in the fruit. We shall presently see that it is easy to get rid of the interior humidity pro- duced by the presence of fruits, without employing currents of air. "The ceiling, sustained by beams, is composed of a l2iyer of moss sustained by laths, and covered above and below with a layer of plaster ; the whole being one foot thick. This mode of construction is neces- sary to exclude the influence of the exterior tem- perature. " The roof is thatched a foot thick with straw, and the dormer may be used for storing fodder in ; but the points of union between the dormer and outer wall must be perfectly close. "The floor is of oak. The walls, and even the »eiling, should have a covering of boards. These vrecautions serve to maintain an equal temperature, 0 exclude exterior moisture, and to completely sepa- ate the atmosphere of the fruit-room from that Vithout. " All the interior walls, from 18 inches of the floor '£iiSi!iJ5i J^iUtALCin. FBUrr Ain) OBNAHEinAL TREES. THE subscribers are prepared for the fall trade with the largest stock of Fruit and Ornamental Trees ever before ofifered bj one establishment In this counlnr. It embraces Standard and Duarf Fruit Trees, of the best varieties. Straicberries, Gooseberries, Curranis, and all the small fruits worthy of cultivation. Hardy Grapes, for out-door culture. Foreign Grapes, in pots, 1 and 2 years from the eve ; more than 3000 plants, of the l^^st sorts. Riubarb, Asparagus, ^., in large quantities. The ORNAMENTAL DEPAKTJIENT is equally extensive and eomi>lete, embracing Hardy Rapid- g^roiting Trees, for avenues and public grounds. Ornamental Standard and Weeping Trees, for lawns, ceme- teries, itc. Flattering Shrubs, for lawns and pleasure grounds, in the great- est variety. Hardy Evergreen Trees, in immense quantities, embracing Norway Spruce, Balsam Fir, Austrian, Scotch, and 'Weymouth or White Pines, of all sizes. Rare Ecergreens, such as Deodars, Cryptomerias, Himalayan Spruce, &c. Evergreen Hedge Plants, such as Arbor Yitse, Red Cedar, &c., for ornamental enclosures in gardens and cemeteries. Evergreen Shrubs, for lawns, kc^ such as Mahonias, Rhododen- drons, Tree Bnx, fco. Climbing Shrubs, for trellises and verandas, the finest Honey- suckles, Clematis, Trumpet Creepers, Wistarias, &c. Roses — a large collection of the best varieties in cultivation. Complete a.ssortments of the best new Phlozes, Chrysanthemutfis, Ptanties, Dahlias, Carnations and Pia/ttes, and other hardy border plants. Suibous Flatter Roots, embracing the finest Hyacinths, Tulips, Crocus, Narcissus, Lilies, &c., imported annually from Holland, and forwarded from 1st .September. Green-house Plants — all the popular articles — the newest and best Verbenas, Heliotropes, Fuchsias, to. ire. Trees are taken up in the most careful manner, and package for distant points put up in the best style. All orders will receive prompt and careful attention. The trade supplied as heretofore on liberal terms. The following Catalogues will be forwarded gratis and pre-paid, to all who apply, post-paid, and enclose one stamp for each : No. 1, a Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits. No. 2, a Descriptive Catalogue of Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Eoses, ic No. 3, a Descriptive Catalogue of Dahlias, Bedding-out and Green-house Plants. No. 4, a Wholesale Catalogue, for Nurserymen and Dealers. No. a, a Supplemental Catalogue of Fniits, containing prices for Fruit Trees for 1854-5, with lists of new sorts, tc. ELLWAXGER & BARRT; Oct. 1, 1854.— It. Mount Hope Nurseries, Rochester, N. Y. FISHHLL LAin)IN6 NTTBSEBIES. THE subscriber is again desirous of calling attention to his large stock of FRUIT ANT) ORNAMENTAL TREES, &c. &c^ con- nsting in part of 50,000 .\PPLE, of the most approved varieties. 1.5,000 PEAR, of all the leading sorts. 15,000 CHERRY, 1 to 3 years from the bud. 20,000 PL CM, 1 to 3 years from the bud, together with Apricot, Keetarine. Quince, 4c. 10,000 DECIDUOUS ORNAifENT.A-L TREES, consisting of Eu- ropean and American Oaks, Beech, Linden, Elm, Ash, Tulip Trees, Osage Orange, Chestnut, Sycamore, Larch, Maple, Pawlonia, Birch, Horse Chestnut, Mountain .\sh, and Weepins WiUow. 15,000 EVERGREEN TREES, embracing nearly aU the rare sors that are desirable, both European and American." Also, a large stock of Hedge Plants, such as Arbor Vitae, Red Cedar, kc. Of Flowering Shrute, Roses, Grape Vines and Climbing Plants, a fine stock, all of which wiU be sold at reduced prices. Trees, ki--, when ordered will be taken up cirefully, correctly la- beled, packed in the best manner, forwai-ded agreeable to order, and with the least possible delay. t^" Catalogues sent to all who applv, post-paid, and enclose a postase stamp. DANIEL BRINCKERHOFF, October 1, 18-54.— It* Fishkill Landing. FETJIT TEEES, 6te. CH.4RLES MOULSON^ would invite the attention of those de- signinj to plant to his collection of Fruit Trees, &c., for sale this autumn, eonsUting of select varieties of Apples, Pears and Ckerries, both standard and dwar^ Peaches, Plums, Apricots and Qoiaeee. AUo, a general aaeortment of the small fruits — Curranta, Goose- berrie«. Strawberries, Grape Vines, &c. Alsn. 50,000 Seedling .apples, for stocks, two years old. f5^ Norgery silaated oa Union street, north of New ilain street, aodafitter, N. Y. Oct. 1, iaa4.— It. GENESEE VALLEY NTJESEEIES. A. FROST & CO., ROCHESTER. N. Y., SOLICIT the attention of .amateurs, orcbardists, nurserymen, and others about to plant, to their extensive stock of well-grown Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Roses, Ate. &c. The Nurseries are now very extensive, and embrace one of tBc largest and finest collections in the country, and their stock is far superior to any that they have before offered. It is partly conh prLsed in the folloning : Standard Fruit Trees. — Apple trees, eightv varieties ; Pear trees^ one hundred varieties ; Cherry -trees, sixty varieties : Plum tree^ forty varieties ; Peach trees, thirty varieties; Nectarine, six vari*' ties; Apricot, six varieties; and other kinds, comprising every sort of merit. Durarf and Pyramid Fruit Trees, of every description, for culti- vation in orchards and gardens, have received particular attentioQ. They embrace the following kinds, and comprise nearly the saoas number of sorts as are grown for standards : Pears upon the best European Quince stocks. Apples upon Paradise and Doucain stocks. Cherries upon Cerasus Mahal eb stocks. Small Fruits, as Currants, eighteen varieties ; Gooseberries, A&y varieties ; Grapes, Native and Foreign, twenty-five varieties ; Rasp» berries, six varieties ; Strawberries, twenty varieties ; and othei miscellaneous fruits, as well as esculent roots, in variety. Deciduous and Evergreen Trees, for lawns, parks, streets, &c. Evergreen and Deciduous Shrubs, in great variety, including fonr hundred sorts of Roses. Hedge Plants — ^Buckthorn, Osage Orange and Privet; and for screens and avenues, American Arbor Vitas CWhite Cedar), No> way Spruce, &c. Herbaceous Plants. — A very select and extensive assortment. Green-house and Bedding Plants, of every description. All articles are put up in the most superior manner, so that plants &c., may be sent thousands of miles and reach their destination in perfect safety. Parties giving their orders may rely on receiving the best and most prompt attention, so that perfect satisfaction may be given the purchaser. The following descriptive Catalogues, containing prices, are puN lished for gratuitous distribution, and will be mailed upon everr application ; but correspondents are expected to enclose a one cent postage stamp for each Catalogue wanted, as it is necessary thai the postage should be prepaid : i No. 1. Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits for 18.54-5. No. 2. Descriptive Catalogue of Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Rose^ &c. &c., for lS-54-5. No. 3. Wholesale Catalogue or Trade List, just published for tll» fall of 18.54 and spring of 1S5.5, comprising Fruits, Evergreens, D^ ciduous Trees, &c. &c., which are offered in large quantities. October 1, 18.54.— tf C. J. EYAN & CO. ^ IT'OULD respectfully inform their friends and the public tK^t V V they are ready to fUl orders for Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Roses on their own roots, Grape f'ines. Herbaceous Plants, Bulbous Roots, Green-house Plants, and Hedge Stuff. A few thotr- sand three-year-old Buckthorn, transplanted and sheared. Also, a large quantity of the Upright I*rivet. In our opinion it is supe- rior to the spreading variety ; it makes a beautiful garden division hedge. Ey" For the accommodation of onr customers, and person* vi^itin? our Nurseries, we have established a CITY DEPOT AND GREEN-HOUSE on State street, within fifteen (15) minutes' walk of the Railroad Depot. This arrangement gives persons an oppor- tunity of seeing our general Nursery stock, without the expense of hiring a conveyance. We intend to have a conveyance ready tt onr Depot to convey nersons who wish to see our Nurseries. ROCHESTER ANT) CH.\RLOTTE PLANK RO.iD NTTISERIES, ROCHESTER, N. Y. October 1, 1854.— It GENEVA NTJKSEEIES. THESE Nurseries are located near the New York Centrij Rail- road, 50 miles from Rochester, and the same distance from Syracuse, having every facility for shipping trees east or west, north or south. Those wishing to purchase are invited to the following stock of Fruit and Ornamental Trees : 200,000 Apple, 2 to 4 vears ; 50,000 Cherrv, 1 and 2 years ; 5,000 Standard Pear; 20,000 Dwarf do.; 5,000 Peach, 1 and 2 years; 1{^ 000 Mountain .\sh, large size : 2,000 Horse Chestnut, 3 to 9 feet; 2,000 Balsam Fir, 3 to 6 feet; 500,000 Apple Seedlings, 2 years; 200,000 do., 1 year; 20,000 European .Mountain Ash, 1 year; 50,OOC .\rbor Vita ; 50,000 Osaee Orange, 1 and 2 years ; 50,000 Asparagni Roots; 50,000 Basket Willow Cuttings; together with a genei as.sortment of other stock. W. T. k E. SiHTH, October 1, 1854.— lt« Geneva, N. Y. FBTJIT AND OBNAUENTAL TBEES. &c. &c THE subscrit.ers offer for sale this coming fall a large assortmelB of Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, kc. kc. A libeai discount made to dealers. JOHN DONNELLAN & NEPHEWgt THE GENESEE FARMER. 325 HIGHLAHn) fNTTRSEEIES, "JTEWBUEGH, N. Y. AS.VCI, i: CO. have the pleasure to announce to their patrons • and the public in general, that their stock of FKCIT ASD OKXAMEXTAL TREES, which they offer for sale the coining au- tumn, is of the very best quaUty, and embraces everj-thing in their line that can be procured in the trade. Dealers and planters of trees on a large scale, will be treated with on as liberal terms as can be done by any establishment of reputa- tation in the country. They (latter themselves that for correcxness of nomenclature of fruits (which is a serious consideration to plant- ers) that their stock is as nearly perfect as it possibly can be, having been all propagated on their own grounds, from undoubted sources, under the personal supervision of Sir. Saul. They have propagated In large quantities all the leading standard varieties which are proved to be best adapted for general cultivation, especially those recommended by the American Pomological Congress at its several sessions, as well as all novelties of recent introduction, and kinds particularly suited to certain localities and sections of the Union and Canadas. SlZ Their stock of Pear Trees is the largest they have ever had to Offer for sale, and among the largest in the country, and consists of over 50,000 saleable trees. ■"The stock of Apple Trees is also very large, as well as Plums, Cherries, Apricots, Peaches, Quinces and Nectarines. Also, Grape Vines, Gooseberries, Currants, Raspberries, Strawberries, &c. &c. Pears on Quince, Cherry on Mahaleb, and Apple on Paradise (tocks, for pyramids and dwarfs for garden culture, and of which there is a choice assortment of the kinds that succeed best on those stocks. DECEDGOUS AND EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES AXD SHRUBS, Embracing all the known kinds suitable for street planting, of extra tize ; also, the more rare and select, as well as the well-known kinds suitable for arboretums, lawn and door-yard planting, &c., including Weeping Trees, Vines, Garden and CUmbing Roses in great variety-. Hybrid Perpetuals, Hybrid China, Hybrid Bourbons, Hybrid Dam- asks, Hybrid Provence, and Bourbon, Tea, China, and Noisette, and Erairie, aud other Climbing Roses. A large quantity of Arbor Vita for screens, Buckthorn, Osage Orange, and other Hedge Plants. jr^ The above will be sold on as liberal terms as similar stock t&u be purchased elsewhere. For further particulars see Catalogues, a new edition of which is just issued, and will be forwarded to all post-paid applicants by mail, on enclosing a postage stamp to pre- pay postage. A liberal discount will be made to purchasers who tuiv to sell again, and extensive planters on their own account. P. S.— Freight paid to New York. Oct. 1, lS5-t.— It GENESEE VALLEY NTTRSEKIES. A. FROST & CO. ROCHESTER, N. T., OFFER to the public the coming spring one of the largest and finest stocks of Fruit and OrnamentiS Trees, Shrubs, Rosea, &c., in the country. It in part consists of standard Apple, Pear, Cherry, Plum, Peach, Apricot. Nectarine and Quince Trees. Also, Dwarf and Pyramid Pears and Apples. SMALL FRUrrS. — Native and Foreign Grapes, old and new sorts of Currants, finest Lancashire Gooseberries, Strawberries, Rasp- berries, &c. &c. The ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT comprises a great variety of Deciduous and Evergreen Trees, Shrubs, Vines and Creepers, which includes upward of of 300 varieties of the Rose. BEDDING PL.\NTS.— 150 varieties of Dahlias, a large collection ", May 16th, 1S53. We are personally acquainted with many of the Officers and Di- rectors of the Tempest Insurance Company, located at Meridian, Cayuga county, N. Y. In our opinion they are among the most wftilthy and substantial class of farmers in this county. J. N. STARIN, ELMORE P. ROSS, THOMAS Y. HOWE, Jr. The above gentlemen will be recognized as the Cashier of Cayuga County Banki Auburn ; Postmaster, Auburn ; and Ex-Member of Congress, Auburn, Cavuga county, N. Y. February 1, 1S54 — ly CIDER MH.T. AND PRESS. HICKOK'S Cider Mill and Press is considered now the best in use; simple in construction, portable (weighing but 275 lbs.), and not liable to get out of order. Warranted to work weB, and give satisfaction." The first premium of the American Institute and Crystal P;ilace has been awarded to this machine. Drawing and description will be sent by addressing the agents for the sale, in New York. Price of mill and pres,s, J40. LONGETT & GRIFFING, Sept. 1, 1854.- 2t 25 CUff street, near Fulton, New Ywk. 926 THE GENESEE FARMER. THE HORSE, THE HORSE, NOBLEST OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS, AND the one most frequently ill-treated, neglected and abused. We have just published a book so valuable to every man who owns a horse, that no one should willingly be without it. It is entitled, THE MODKRN HORSK DOCTOR, and is from the pen of that celebrated English Veterinary Surgeon, Dr. GEO. H. D.^lDD, well known for many years in this country as one of the most successful, scientific and popular writers and lec- turers in this branch of medical and surgical science. The book which he now offers to tlie public is the result of many years' study and i)racticed experience, wliich few have had. From the nuraerous and strong commendations of distinguished men and the newspaper j)res3, we select the following : Extract from a letter from Hon. John H. Clifford, Ex-Goveror of Massachusetts. New Bedford, May 11, 1854. Dr. Dadd — Dear Sir : — I hope that your new work on the noblest creature that man has ever been permitted to hold in subjection (the Horse), will meet with that success which all your ollbrts in this direction so well deserve. Your obedient servant, John H. Clifford. From Hon. Marshall P. Wilder. Boston, May 13, 1854. Dr. Dadd — My Dear Sir : — I am greatly obliged to you for the valuable treatise, the results of your own investigations, which you have recently issued, hoping that it may meet with the patronage of a discriminaling community. I remain yours with great regard, Marshall P. Wilder. The Modern Horse Doctor, by Dr. fi. H. Dadd, is a manual of genuine science, and ought to be owned and studied on the score humanity, as well as interest, by every man who owns a horse. — Boston Congregationalist. Dr. Dadd has had great experience in the cure of sick horses, and explains the secret of his success in this volume. — New York Tribune. The author of this work is well known as a most skillful veteri- nary surgeon. His book is based on the soundest common sense ; and as a hand-book for practical use, we know of nothing to com- pare with it. — Yankee Blade. We know Dr. Dadd well, and are satisfied that he possesses most important qualifications for preparing such a book as this. — A^ew England Farmer. Messrs. Jewett & Co. have just published a very valuable work by Dr. Daild, a well-known veterinary surgeon, on the causes, na- ture and treatment of disease, and lameness in horses. — Farmer's Cabinet. This is one of the most valuable treatises on the subject ever published ; and no owner of that noblest of the animal race, the horse, should be without it. Especially should it be in the hands of every hotel and livery-stable keeper. To many a man would it be worth hundreds of dollars every year. — Ind. Dem., Concord. By far the most learned and copious work on the horse and his diseases we have ever seen. — New York Evangelist. One of the greatest and most commendable qualities of this work, is, it is practical and plain to the comprehension of those fariuere and others for whom it is mainly designed. The course of treatment favors generally a more sanative and rational system of Hitjdication than that recommended in any previously existing IT' irks on farriery. No farmer or owner of a horse should be with- out this bonk. Stable keepers, stage proprietors and hackmen we believe would derive profit by having at least one copy hung up in tb.'ir stables for use and reference by their stable men. — Daily As (OS, Philadelphia. There is more common sense in this book than any of the kind TIC have ever seen, and farmers and owners of horses would finS it a matter of economy to possess themselves of it. It will be of Hi >re service than the counsel of a score of ordinary doctors. — .Albany Courier. We deem this decidedly the best and most reliable work on the " Oause, Nature and Treatment of Disease and Lameness in Horses," e- er published. — Nantucket Inquirer. What we have read of this book induces us to regard it as a very »onsible and valuable work ; and we learn that those much more e^mpetent to judge of its value, have given it their unqualified ajiproval. — Ev. Traveler, Boston. Tliis bonk supplies a great desideratum, which Skinner's admira- lile treatise on the Hnrso did not fill. Every man may be his own Tcterinary surgeon, and with much greater safety to this noble ani- p;il, than by trusting him to the treatment of the empirical i inerants who infest the country. It is well illustrated, and should hv purchased by every man who owns a horse. — Ev. Mirror, N. Y. This is a book which should be forthwith put into the hands of all who own or drive horses, whether for the dray or gie, for the plow, omnibus or rnad, for hard service or pleasure. — McMakin't Cmirier, Philadelphia. A good, clearly -written book, which should be in the hands of every man who has a horse whose ills his affection or his purse make it worth while to cure. — Bangor Mercury. This is a scientific, thorough and complete treatise upon the diseases to which one of the noblest of animals is subject, and tljo remedies which they severally require. — Troy Daily Budget. It is a valuable book to those who have the Ciuo of horses*— Hartford Herald. He is not worthy to have a horse in his care, who will not use such a work to pcd. Other countries have soils as fertile as our own, but they no where have such continental climates. We now comiuaDil the cotton markets of the world, and iiimually export one hundred million dollars' woi-th of thi.s important staple. Here arc agricul- tural i'act-^ of nuich import. On what do they rest ? Not iu; ihe fertility of the soils of the cotton-grow- in'^ StJiii's. for they are generally thin and sterile; not on t,he superiority of southern labor, skill or capital. as CdMiparcd with (hose of the British East Iiidias, but on the peculiar climates of the southern Atlantic and * i idf States. In the cheap production of human foo'i • ! 1 raiment, this continent has no successful com ' ion, where its advantages are wi,sely ifn{>rov- ed. '■i' writer has seen a crop of wheat and one of .mai ; •' mted, grown, and harvested in a calendar year on the same land, in succession, in the State of Georgia ; and a crop of maize may be planted and fully matured in Canada in about three months^ wdiile no six months in the climate of Great Britain will suffice for that purpose. In 'I'exas, two crops of corn are made in the same field in a season ; and its capacity for the production of sugar is much greater than is generally supposed. Indeed, from the llio Grande to the mouth of the St. Lawrence, back to the Lake of the Woods ; there is a unity in the di- versity of climates which is wonderfully congenial to both tillage and husbandry. Hitherto, tillage has re- ceived far more attention than husbandry, but the needless neglect of the latter cannot last alwaya The native grasses on the plains near the base of the Rocky Mountains, which have for indefinite ages supported such countless herds of buffaloes, will j-ct furnish us with forage plants that will be Uy stock- growing, what our American corn is among cereals. European grasses may be best for Europe ; bat our peculiar climates demand, and have doubtless called into existence, plants adapted to grazing, superior to all others for the use of American husbandmen. It has long been a source of regret, that our numerous Agricultural Societies, and our National and State Legislatures, did so little to test the economic value of the most promising indigenous grasses of this con- tinent. The United States alone have at this time about seven hundred million dollars invested in live stock, which is largely dependent on English grasses, and other foreign herbage, grown in uncongenial cli- mates for their support. Unless something better than these can be found, the day is not distant when our native Indian corn will be regarded as the best Ibrage plant known to American agriculture. — > Skillfully managed, it will yield a prodigious amount of hay, compared with timothy; but -it is a cereal, and not adapted to pasturage, being an annual plant, and not calculated to form a turf like the true forage grasses. Of the latter, this continent supplies nuiuy genera and species, to be met with in all the States and territories that lie between the Atlantic and Pa- cific Oceans. In studying the agricultural climatology of this re- public at AYashington, who does not see the wisdom of connecting therewith the collection of all native grasses, with a view to test their value for grazing purposes, and for hay. The fact is not to be con- cealed, nor truthfully denied, that our pastures and meadows demand far more considerotion than they now receive. They are a great national interest, and one that suffers much from almost universal neglect. They need to be stocked with plants better adapted to our climates and soils; while the latter should be investigated in a thorough manner, by the most com- fietent men in the country. In this way, our systems of husbandry and tillage, our domesiic animals and staple crops, may be steadily improved from year to year. Climates and soils are the foundation of all substantial progress in agriculture. Let these be licnerally understood, and every farmer will use the rif^ht means to attain the most profitable n sulfa Climatology and chemistrj-, vegetable and amnud piiysiology, are the true elements of our profes>ioD. Without these, there can be no agricultural science, and very little rural literature. THE GENESEE FARMER. 331 HINTS FOR NOVEMBER. 'VuE close of the jeai- is near at hand — seed has I'een sown— the harvest srathered— and now comes the Jabor of preparing for winter's cohl and frost. In day to provide a bountiful supply of muck, dry turf, leaves, and refuse of all descriptions, to mingle with the droppings of his yard. He will not suffer his cat- tle and sheep to run over his meadows and clover lots; and for the sake of saving a little hav, suffer our last we suggested several ways in which coarse fodder could be rendered of more service as food ; and al.-;o strongly urged the necessity of providing good and warm shelters for a!! your animals, for warmth to a certain extent is an e^Juivalent for food. The prudent farmer will avail himself of every fair ten-fold damage by the close grazing of young and tender shoots. He will see that the change" from grass to huy be made as gradually as possible, that water in abundance is accessible to all his stock, and also salt and ashes — and for his flitting hogs, charcoal; cracks and crevices will be stopped — good fastenings 332 THE GENESEE FARMER. appgnded to jjates, stable and barn doors ; and he will particularly guard a,er cent. In place of sending out of the country any considerable amount of AVool, we annually im- port in woolen goods nearly twice as much wool as there is produced in the United States. These brief statistics are interesting, and suggest the propriety of increasing our domestic animals, and extending both our dairy and sheep husbandry. Mr. Ijrowxe esti- mates the present number of neat cattle at 20,000,- 000, which at an average of $20 a head, amounts to $400,000,000. ]\lr. Joseph Cornish of East Cranby, ConBecticut,, saj's, that it costs $25 to raise a steer or heifer in that county till it is three years old; and that the usual price of a good pair of steers is from $60 to $100. In Litchfield county in the same- State. Mr. T. L. Hart estimates the cost of raising cattle till three years old at $30, and says that their best De.* von steers, well broke, sell as high as $125. Ac- cording to the statement of Mr. A. M. IlKioiNS of Newcastle county, Delaware, about 1,800 head of cattle, having an average weight of 700 ttis., were fed in his district last year, and sold at from .$7 to $8 per 100 lbs. He says that cattle have recently ad- vanced from .50 to 100 percent; their .supplies came from the West. Working oxen sometimes sell at $200 a pair. Mr. Samuel D, Martin of Pine Grove, (Clarke county, Ky., has furnished the Patent Office with an instructive letter on stock-growing in that excellent grazing and grain-growing State. lie suys that the cost of raising cattle depends very nmch on the treat- ment they receive. Stock cattle are there generally THE GENESEE FARMER. 388 fed in winter upon the stalks and fodder of corn wliich has heeii cut up iu the fall, and the ears taken off. This food would he wasted if thure was no stock to consume it " Fodder, with the corn off, is sold at from five to ten cents a shock, and one shock will fustain ten head of cattle a daj', thoug^h they would do better upon more." The editor of this paper has just sold hid corn fodder, standia,^ iu the field, at fifty cents a shock. By comparin- drette, offi'rs itself dailv to our view as we pass an Osnge Orange hedge which we set out last spring, A short time since we noticed by the side of a Mar pie tree set out at the same time in the line of the hedge, a short of an uncommonlv vigorous and thrifty growth. At first sight v,c thou'j;ht that some diRcrenl 33t THE GEXESEE FARMER. plant was there located, but upon examination it was the veritable Osage. The deep green of its leaves, which were nearly double the size of plants but a short distance from it, and the length of the shorts, nearly double that of adjoining plants, induced us to examine carefully the reasons therefor. Some years since a privy formerly standing in that place was tilled up, and the plant in question had been planted in the extreme south-eastern corner. The reason now of its luxuriant growth and foliage was obvious enough. By the decomposition of the night-soil underneath the superincumbent mass of earth, all the elements of the growth and nutrition of plants were present, and in a suitable form for immediate use. We are satisfied that our farmers and planters need not go to the guano deposits of the Pacific Ocean, and pay millions of dollars yearly for fertilizers for their soil, if they would l)ut carefully save and husband the solid and liquid manures made upon their homesteads. In the notice of an Agricultural School at Grignon, in France, and the farm attached thereto, in a recent English journal, it is said "that there is little or no outlay for foreign or portable manures on the farm. Guano has been tried, but poudrette is preferred, having been proved by experiment to be superior. The English visitor who gives the account attempted to persuade the professors, or those in charge of the farm, that there might be larger crops, and more profits secured, by the use of guano; but he was met by the assertion that the English farmer did not ' conserve,^ or economize the manure of the farm, like the French farmer." And in this respect the Conn- try Gentleman pithily observes, " the American copies more after the English than the freuch pattern." Let all your manure be kept from the sun and rains, and mixed with the rich black mud which the rains of former years have washed down into your swamps and low land^ or with the turf from your pasture lands. Let this be done perseveringly and systematically, and the drain of money to pay for fer- tilizers from abroad would in a great measure cease. The following is the articie referred to above, which ■we take from the Cincinnati Price Current: " Commerce, in regard to business, is an exchange of products. Between two distinct nations it is, in respect to each, foreign conmierce ; but as to the parts of one country, it is internal. The government of the United States being constituted almost entirely to regulate and protect its intercourse with otheV countries (in other words, its external relations), takes notice chiefly of its foreign trade. By means of its revenue officers, it gives tables of imports and exports, and the specific articles exchanged with foreio-n coun- tries. This is imi)ortant, and shows the state of our balance with other countries ; but it is obvious that internal commerce must be far the most important, for the foreign products we use are small compared with those of home production. Of late years, this internal trade has attracted a proper share of atten- tion, and long lines of internal communication have been constructed in all parts of the country to carry on her commerce, and carry the products of the ag- ricultural States to the manufacturing regions, and the great cities of the Atlantic. The magnitude of their consumption of agricultural products may be known by observing that the communities (almost exclusively manufacturing) coni])rehend nearly five millions of inhabitants, and the cities of the Atlantic contain nearly two millions more. Then, we have a home population of near seven millions to be fed by bread and meat — cari-ied by canals and railways from the grain States to the Atlantic States. " The grain States lie almost entirely in the valley of the Ohio and the peninsular of the North-west. This includes Western Pennsylvania, Avith Kentucky and Tennessee. The surplus products of this fertile region constitute the sole basis of trade, carried on through the canals and railways of the West. For it is plain that the imports must correspond with the ability to purchase, furnished by this surplus ; and that passenger transit follows, to a great extent, tlie business of a country, 'i'o illustrate the extent of this internal trade in the West, we propose to give a few general facts. "First, we make the general surplus of the grain region. In general terms, it may be stated thus : Production. Wheat. busli. Western Pennsylvania, ^.. 6,000,000 Ohio, 24,000,000 Indiana, 9,000,000 Illinois, ...11,000,000 Kentucky, 6,000,000 Tennessee, 3,000,000 Michigan, 6,000,000 Wisconsin, 5,000,000 Animals. Sundries. tons. tons. 140,000 620,000 610,000 495,000 650,000 200,000 187,000 08,500 80,000 74,200 570,000 125,000 80,000 44,700 73,600 43,500 71,500 Population (now), 7,000,000. 69,000,000 3,100,000 Surplus. Wheat. Animals. Sundries, bush. tons. tona. Western Pennsylvania, 3,000,000 27,500 35,000 Oliio, .14,000,000 112,800 92,500 Indiana, 4,000,000 76,250 22,000 Illinois, 6,000,000 75,000 20,000 Kentucky, 1,500,000 100,000 35,000 Tennessee, 80,000 22,200 Michigan, 3,500,000 10,000 20,500 Wisconsin, 3,500,000 10,000 12,500 Population (now), 7,000,000. 35,500,000 491,550 259,700 " The above table is formed by taking for the first column the fair average crops of the several States ; secondly, by reducing cattle, swine and sheep to tons;, at their average weight ; thirdly, placing under the head of ' Sundries,' tobacco, wool, butter, cheese, po- tatoes and whisky. Corn is excluded, because but a small part is exported in Imlk, but mainly in the form of animal food and whisky. The surplus is calcu- lated by deducting the average consumption of the existent population. " We have, then, this result after reducing wlicat to tons: Wheat exported, 1,065,000 tons. Animal food, 49),-550 " Tobacco, potatoes, wool, butter and cheese, 259,700 " Hay (on river), estimated, 100,000 " Iron (on rivers, caniils and railways), 200,000 •• Domestic produce transported inland, 2,ll(>,2o0 " "This is domestic produce going from the place" of production to the markets ; but, on the other hand, we have quite an eqiial amount in the groceries, dry dry goods, hardware, mamifactures, and numerous small articles, whicli enter into the traflic of the country. Then, we have in seven States and part of another, in the midst of the central West, a tonnage THE GENESEE FARMER. 335 in intynial commerce equal to more than forty mil- iions of tons. Bat there is another addition to be made to this which cannot be exactly entertained. It is the immense amount of tonnage in the transpor- tation of articles at a small distance, as from the farmer to the village, and of a <^reat class of heavy articles not brought into the above estimate. For example, v>'xi have coal, the transportation of which amounts in these States to oae million of tons ; lum- ber, brick, lime, salt, all natural produce of the coun- try, which must amount iu weight to as much more ; adding these to the former aggregate, and we have, at least, six millions of tons entering into the com- merce of the Ohio Valley and the North-west. " This will be fully confirmed by a bird's eye glance at the value of this produce. Let us take, as an illustration, the commerce of the exporting ports of Ohio alone. The commercial statistics of the State enable us to arrive at this with some accuracy. "In the Review of Trade and Commerce of Cia- dmiati for 1854, we have the following results : Value of exports, $45,432,000 VaJueof imports, 65,730,000 S111,16L',000 Add for non-enumerated articles, .- 10,000,000 Aggregate value of Cincinnati commerce,... §121, 162,000 "Taking the most recent returns, some of which however, are not later than 1851, we have the fol lowing aggregates of Ohio commerce, viz.: Total commerce of Cincinnati, in value, $121,162,000 " " Cleveland, " 35,476,327 " " Sanduskv Dist.," -. 22.445.016 " " ToUdo Dist., " -. 30,904,891 " " Portsmouth, " 3,000,000 " " Harmor, " 1,.500,000 " " Several small points, 1,000,000 Commerce of Ohio, in value, ..$215,518,234 " Doubtless the value of some portions of the mer- chandise has been counted twice; but, a^ an offset to this, there is a large value in cattle exported on foot, in produce sent via Pittsburgh, and in the interior trade from tovvn to town not included in the above. As full confirmation of the above general views, we give the amount and value of certain agricultu-al produce arriving and departing from the above ports iu the year 1853: Amount. Value. Flour, bbls., 1,489,440 $8,930,440 Wheat, bush., 6,160,440 7,776,484 Beef, bbls., 47,625 5o.5,OCO Pork, bbl.s., 419,195 6.560,837 Whisky, bbls., 351,708 2,813.664 Bacon, lbs., 5,680,791 440,857 Cheese, lbs., - 8,170,000 61O,.5O0 Butter, U)S., 6.185,000 1,013,000 Wool, lbs., - 7,000,000 2,500,000 "These few articles of agricultural export from Ohio alone, and which comprise only those of bulk and strictly field produce, will illustrate fully the mag- nitude and importance of that internal commerce which is annually increasing with immense rapidity, and which will furnish full employment for all the railways, and canals, and roads, which are likely to be made." ■a-^'Wi S. M. Baker, a Pickaway farmer, has owned dur- ing th«^ past year, upwards of three thousand cattle : his capital actively employed in his business being somethin'^ over $150,000. EXPERIMENTS IN IRRIGATION — KILN- DIUED CORN xMEAL. Mr. Editor : — I have noticed with some interest your late articles on irrigation. More thorough in- vestigation will not only show the great advantages of irrigation, but also the fact that it can be done with spring as well as soft water. Some persons have supposed that the water used must be poured upon the plant, or made to ovcrtiow it, or at least overflow the ground ; whereas, the wa- ter should pass up through the soil liy means of capil- lary attraction, thus supplying moisture in nature's own way, and in nature's own quantity. It is true that showers are beneficial on the leaves occasionally; but the greater portion of the water soaks into the soil, to be returned to the plant as it needs it by the capillary tubes. I have a piece of ground of about two acres, oa which I have been making some experiments the past season, having a stream of water from a spring pas- sing through it. I plowed the ground (which wag sod) in May last, into lands ten to twelve feet widq, and four furrows deep, by throwing each successive furrow on the top of the last, thus placing the sod at the bottom and the mellow dirt on the top, and break- ing it up near twenty inches deep. By the way, I think much of this mode of sabsoiling, as mine was all done with one pair of small horses. The dead furrows, or ditches, between the difierent lands were cleaned out with the hoe, and were filled with water at such intervals as it has been found nece.s,sary during the summer for the purpose of irrigation. The wa- ter was not permitted to overflow or run off", but set- tled into the soil, and suppUed the planUs by capillary attraction. The result has been very satisfactory. All kinds of roots are surprisingly large and beautiful ; and notwithstanding the season has been so dry that nearly all the gardens in tiie town have been ruined with the drouth, tus well a^ many trees kiliL'd, still there are beets on these beds that will mea.-;u;-c over two feet in circumference, and nearly as long, with carrots, pansnips and other vegetables in proportion. One square bed of strawberries, set iu hills eighteen inches apart, and transplanted about the middle of May last, produced more than half a bushel of berries that we kej)! an account of, besides what were eaten from the vines and destroyed by the birds. Some of the berries measured three and a half inches in cir- cumference. From one bed that contained nine square rods, or one-eighteenth of an acre, have been sold about ^60 worth of vegetables during the summer, lieside^ the quality of the vegetables has not been inferior to the quantity. Vegetables grown quickly, and with- out being retarded by drouth, are far more healthy and palatable. In reference to the articles in the Farmkr on the use of corn meal and hominy, I would si-nply remark that the use of the.«e wholesome and palatable arti- cles of food will greatly increa.se when the right plan is adopted to furnish them to the community in a proper state. Much of the corn meal that is now useil i<* soured in a grea'er ur less degree, and is there- fore partially decayed and uuwholeoomc 336 THE GENESEE FARMER. I am now using in ray family corn meal that was grourm and kiln-dried a year ago last May, and Hominy tliat was maile and thus dried a year ago last November. Both are as sweet and perfect as when tht-y were first made. They were dried with super- healed steam, and by a process and kiln which I have patented, and which, while it does not scorch or color the grain in the least, will dry it to any degree re- quired, with much less expense than has been formerly done. It can be placed in any mill, and will dry hominy, meal or flour at an expense of two to four cents per barrel When this plan for preparing corn meal shall be fully understood, corn will be worth more to eat and to ship than it is for whisky. Circulars will be sent free on application, and all the necessary information given v/ith great pleasure to those who wish to know more about this process. I can send samples of meal and hominy like the above to those v/ho wish to see that it can be prepared in such a manner that it will keep sweet, and save the necessity of going to mill twice in a week in order to have good sweet meal. K.tLAMAzoo, Mich. H. G. Bulkley. AN EXPERIMENT IN POTATO CULTURE. The following account of an experiment made by an intelligent farmer of our acquaintance residing near this city, may not be uninteresting to our rea- ders : A certain number of rows (the exact number we do not recollect) were planted on the surface of the ground, after the usual preparation, and covered with earth by the hoe in hills. The ground between the rows was worked with a small one-horse plow during the season; and especial pains was taken that the hills should be well made, and that the soil should be kept free from weeds. Tov.-ard the close of the season they were found to be diseased ; and when gathered, many of them were badly afiected by file rot. An equal number of rows, in another portion of the same field, was planted in the furrow left by run- ning a plow lightly across the ground, and covered as before; but in the after cultivation care was taken that the ground should be kept perfectly level and smooth. When harvested, the tubers were sound and in good order. What makes the difference between the two por- tions of the field more marked is, the seed planted in the former division were from a lot that showed no signs of disease the year previous, while the same kind of potato harvested the previous year were touched by the rot. The inference drawn by him from this experiment was, " that the potato can not endure the hot sun of our climate, and that as far as in our power we must keep its roots and tubers away from atmosphenc in- fluences. The deeper the tiltli of the soil, and the more level we kept the surface, the more healthy and vigorous would be their growth." "As an illustration of the want of accurate know- ledge on the part of those who ought to be thorough- ly conversant with every point pertaining to their vo- cation ; he asked a neighbor who had raised thousands of bushels for this market, " which kind were the best for marketing use, and the most profitable to raise." "He did'nt know; he had'ut seen nmch difference in any of them." To satisfy himself, he last spring planted fourteen varieties of seed; and when harvest- ed and disposed of in market, we hope to be able to give the results in full. * NEW STUMP MACHINE. The following description of a stump extractor, which we liiid in the Michigan Farmer-' s Compan- ion, will be found interesting to those who wish to clear their ground of stumps. From the description it would seem that any ingenious mechanic can con- struct one at small cost compared with those usually made : " We recently paid a visit to the farms of Jamf^ Baily and Johx Spuague, Esqrs., Troy, Oakland Co., for the purpose of witnessing the operation of a new stump-machine, or at least new in this part. It is a very powerful, effective machine, turning out solid oak stumps three feet in diameter with as much ease as a dentist would extract a molar. Its lever power ia the screw. The directions here given will enable any mechanic to make one. First, there are two bed- pieces of best oak, 8 by 5 inches, 10 feet long, put together like a common crotch-drag, spreading 10 feet at the rear end. The cross-piece is inserted 2 feet from the forv/ard end, and just behind this is in- serted a strong bolt with a nut and screw, to prevent spreading. Three posts 6 feet between joints, and 5 by 8 inches, oak, are mortised into the bed-pieces, forming a triangle. The hind posts are 8 feet apart at the foot, measuring across the frame. The top of these posts are let into a head-block, 10 inches thick, 18 inches wide and 3^ feet long, made of the tougli- est oak. A knot would be better. A hole is made through this block, 3 inches in diameter at the top and 8 inches at the bottom. Through this is passed a common cider-mill screw, 4 J feet long, with a clevis made of Swede's bar, passing through the lever holes in the screw, to admit two holes for bolts an inch and a half thick. Then a chain made of ^ inch iron, 4J feet long, with a ring on one end a large hook on the other, for hitching to roots. The nut in which tbo screvv' works is let firmly into the sweep, (like an old fashioned cider-mill sweep), to the end of which a horse is attached. The screw is lowered sufficient to hitch; the horse is then started and the stump is rais- ed out with great ease. Indeed it was wonderful to see with what power and ease it drew into pieces a solid oak stump; it being so firm in the ground that it came into parts rather than yield entirely at one hitch. The whole cost of the machiiie is $24. The screw of this machine was cast at the foundry of Aaron Smith & Son, Birmingham, Mich., which with the nut, cost $10. It was ibund uecetsary to insert two extra braces, reaching from the loot of the rear braces to the top of the forward one. This machine is designed especially for large stumps. " Mr. Bailey had just started Ketchum's Mower in his meadov/. The working of this machine is very satisfactory. The team managed it with great ease, cutting 10 to 12 acres per day. Haying wiih this and a horse- rake is but a pastime." THE GENESEE FARMER. 337 FARMING ON" LONG-ISLAND. Lot AX SiMiTiT, Esq., writes to tbe Journal of the JVew York Stale Agricultural Society as follows: "I thought that perhaps a little sketch of Long- Island, its farms, prospect of crops, &c., would be some- what interesting. 1 therefore embrace the present opportunity to give you some detached account ol' this island, part of which I have learned from my own personal observation, and partly from informa- tion from persons living here. It would be in vain to attempt to give any thing like a full account in a single communication: therefore I shall only speak of a few things, in a detached manner. " Long-Island has long been considered, by people living in this State, as one of the most beautiful as well as productive places in this 8tate. It has long been celebrated for its thrifty farmers as well as their hospitality. These remarks I believe will hold good at the present day, so far as my experience goes, which, by the way, is not very great. I have not visited the whole island, but have seen farmers living in nearly every part of it where agriculture is carried CD, and, so far as a mar. can judge from appearance and information, I conclude there is no great differ- ence in practice, except in the different locations, as to the kinds of produce raised. Those living conven- ient to the cities and large towns follow gardening, while otliers living remote, depend mostly on raising the cereals. There need not be a surprise that there is so much land on this island uncultivated, when we take into consideration the fact that a large portion of the young men engage in sea-faring business. This class seldom come bade on the farm, unless they amass a fortune in their business, which is frequently the case, and then many of them settle down on farms. Quite a large number have settled down on farms in difi'erent parts of the island within a i'ew years. "The whaling business has long been carried on from the different sea-ports around the island, with good success. Cold Spring, Greenportand Sag-Har- bor, are the principal. The latter is far the most ex- tensive. In speaking of farms and agriculture now, I shall mostly confine myself to the east end of the island, where I have the most of my information from; also where I have had the best chance for personal observation. " I shall commence my remarks on farming with Southold, a pleasant village situated about 90 miles east from New-York, and five miles west from Green- port — the Long-Island railroad connecting these two places. This raih-oad runs a few rods north from the village, with a depot called Southold near it. This ■village consists, mostly, of farmers — dwelling some- what detached — extending nearly half a mile in length. There is a post office, and -store, foundery, and a few other mechanic's shops; three churches, an academy, a district school and one select school. The dwellings are mo.stly of modern dimensions, quite uni- form in appearance, only a stoiy and a half high, sid- ed with shingles ; there are, however, a few excep- tions. There are two lawyers living in and near the place; one of them is a practical farmer. This village is situated about one and a half miles south from Long-Island Sound, and about half a mile north of Peconic Bay. "The land here is nearly level: the farms arc, mostly, quite small — many of them contuimng onlj from 20 to 2.5 acres of improved land; and small as the farms are, I am told most of those farmers not only support their families in the best manner, but many are laying up money besides. Every thing about them shows thrift and wealth. The soil ia mostly sandy and light, and is only kept up by con- stant manuiing, most of wjiich that is used, except that made in the barn yard, is inade from collecting sea-weed that drifts along the shores of the bay, which is quite extensive. This weed is collected and carted home and put in the hog-pens, and there man- ufuctured into the richest mamire, by that useful ani- mal. Very great dependence is made on the manu- < facture of this kind of manure. Beside barn-yard and hog-pen manure, large quantitifs of fish are caught, called mossbonkers, which are said to be very fertilizing to lands. Formerly they were thrown in- to pits that were dug and slightly covered with earth, till they rotted, and then applied 1o the corn in the hills, or if for wheat, it was scattered broadcast over land, before sowing, and then plowed or harrowed in. I am told that, latterly, they scatter the fish over the field, for corn, after it is up, and work these in by the plow and hoe while attending the corn. " In addition to the above named manures, some are using guano. Samuel Vail, PiSq., who has had many years experience with Long-Island farming, in- forms me that the land produces far better crops now thai^ it did 30 or 40 years ago. Formerly their wheat crops did not average above fifteen bushels per acre, while at the present time the yield is from twenty to thirty bushels, and corn in about the same ratio. He told me that in 18.52-3 he raised over thirty-six bush- els per acre of wheat. With both these crops he used guano — about 400 lbs. per acre — sown broad- cast and plowed in: thinks he never raised quite as heavy crops from any other manure: thinks 300 lb& of guano, per acre, sufficient for a crop. The present season the wheat crop will fall considerably below the average of the last two years. The straw was struck with rust and shrunk, which injured the crop very materially: as to the amount the crop has diminish- ed I have heard no estimate made. The corn crops look remarkably fine, and promise the husbandman an abundant yield; the weather is quite dry, but the crop does not suffer by it," FINGER AND TOE IN ROOT CROPS. We give below part of an article contributed by Prof. BucKMAN to the Journal of the Royal Agri- cultural Society of England. His observations arc based upon experiments with Wild Roots — Pastina- ca saliva (pu'snip) and Dancuscarota. (carrot), which were continued through three crops. After speak- ing of the process of culture he says: Still the pi-ogress with the carrot as well as the parsnip was quite sufiicient to show that it is within any one's power to renew both of these plants in a cultivated form from wild specimens by acting in con- formity with the physiology of their growth; in short, as will presently be'.-hown, not by growing them in soil suitable for them as wild plants, hut by co7istant- 338 THE GENESEE FARMER hf surrounding them with circumstances as totally opposite as possible. But besides this, these experiments seemed to point out the way to a solution of the mystery of finger- and-toe in root crops, to which the parsnips and car- rots of our garden culture have always been peculiar- ly liable. Tlie time and mode of sowing the seed would naturally tend to an enlargement of the roots in the best examples of the resulting crop, inasmuch as spring sowing induces a more determinate biennial character; and as the roots of the wild plants are al- ways more or less branched, it is but reasonable to suppose that the ramifications as well as the main root would equally put on cellular tissue in the ma- .jority of examples; and it is only by putting aside the cleanest roots for seeding — indeed, taking care to get your seed from plants which possess the qualities you require to the greatest possible extent — that you are at all likely to be successful either in ameliorat- ing wild ])lants or in getting pure stock from acknow- ledged cultivated varieties. A tap-root (fusiform) with a clear and unbranch- ed outline is not natural to the parsnip or carrot, but can only be attained from ^vild plants by careful cultivation. May we not then conclude that the branching in cultivated roots (finger-aad-toe) results from a reversion of these to a greater or less extent to their original wild form? In other words, inas- much as in the passage from the wild to the cultiva- ted state the branching of the roots becomes more conspicuous, may we not therefore conclude that, as finger-and-toe is a mark of cultivation in wild plants, so this deformity in cultivated plants is an evidence of reversion to wildness? These remarks, then, tend to show that the question is one entirely belonging to the inquirer into Vegetable Physiology; and it is, therefore, no wonder that chemical analysis, either of soils or crops, should have done nothing towards its elucidation. Finger-and-toe will always be found ro a greater or less extent in every field of roots, whether of par- snips, carrots, or turnips. Now, if we consider that these, as crops,' are at all times derivative — that is, that they are altered states of original wild examples from which they sprang — and that the change from the wild state produces not only one form but sever- al, which we term varieties, and that these sorts are only to be maintained by a rigid adherence to the circumstances which produced them, we must ever expect a tendency to some change; so that, though the mass may be maintained in tolerable purity, others will show a disposition to revert to the position from which they s])rang, as varieties can never be absolute- ly permanent. In this case, then, finger-and-toe marks degeneracy. Finger-and-toe will always prevail where the crop is derived from seed brought from a rich to a poor soil. Cultivation of roots presupposes that manure has been employed, the result of which is to cause a great increase in cellular tissue or succulency; hence, then, as rich soil is an elemant in advance, so pover- ty of land is equally a reason for retrogression ; it is, then, no wonder that, as a general rule, there should be found more malformed roots in a poor than in a rich soil. The deformity is likely to result where seed has been grown in the district in which it is sown for the crop. In cultivating wilil specimens our exjieriments shov.ed clearly that constant growth, under the same circumstances of seed and place, tends to degeneracy; and this is a matter fully proved by the experience of every one with every kind of crop: hence lew ven- ture to repeat the sowing of their own seed-corn to any considerable extent. On this subject a case haa come before my own observation during the last two years, which may not be without interest in our pre- sent inquiry. A poor man in my own district culti- vated a patch of white globe turnips for seed, and in the summer of 18.t2 he got so good a crop of seed as to induce him, on clearing off the first crop, imme- diately to try a second in the same ground. During the past summer, 18.53, he again got seed, but much les^ in quantity, as the roots were all diseased. Now, as I constantly watched this piece of aV)out a quar- ter of an acre, I am enabled to say that fiuer-and-toe was prevalent throughout the whole patch, whilst many roots had a tendency to decay, so that the flower-stalks dropped away for want of support. I have had no further opportunity of tracing this seed, but nothing can be clearer than that the second year's growth had degenerated from that of the first; and if, as is very probable, the seed be used again in the district in a similar soil, one cannot wonder at an un- satisfactory result. Degeneracy must always result where a whole patch or field is indiscriminately put by for seed. Amongst every crop' there are sure to be some exam- ples unworthy of lieing progenitors; and as, with the continued cultivation of any sort, the constant want of keeping up those circumstances of care and atten- tion by which original sorts may be produced necess- arily ends in degeneracy, it is no wonder that any kind which has for a long time been a favorite in a particular district should ultimately lose caste. For seeding, the best examples should always he chosen, and these should be transplanted, for it is l)y these processes of culture that t'ne impress of cultivation can be maintained. And again, this transplantation should in all cases be as far from other patches of the same tribe as possible, in order to prevent the iufiu- ence of hybridism. Degeneracy is usually a result in districts where the original species is a wild native. The soil, cli- mate, and situation which are by no means fit for it in cultivation ; it is on this account that so many of our esculents may be traced as natives of the sea- coast; the complete change of circumstances atten- dant upon their inland cultivation are just tho.se which necessitate such a change in the whole growth of a plant as makes the snm of the difference l)etween a wild and cultivated example; hence, as both parsnip and carrot in the wild form are constant denizens of the neighborhood of Cirencenster, neither of these roots can be cultivated twice with ns in the same soil without presenting finger-and-toe in an aggravated form; and if the seed employed be from a degener- ate crop, or cultivated at home, the evil is still more conspicuous. This, however, is less apparent in gar- den than in field culture, as in the former the ground is always dug deeper, and thei-e is such a constant change of crop, mode of cultivation, seed, and addi- tion of manui-e, that the circumstances are widely THE GENESEE FARMER. 339 different from those in wliich the species grows wild; besides this, as the quantity of seed required for the garden is less than that for the lield, it is uniformly cultivated from good specimens with the greatest possible care ; but I haA-e observed that in my Col- lege vegetable-garden, where untill recently, the ]jlan of cultivation has been but little in advance of that of the field, finger-and-toe is a jirevailing complaint in the root-crops, and from what Ikis l>cen before ad- vanced it will not be considered surprising, seeing that wild parsnips and carrots are weeds in the more neglected part of the garden. Still there are circumstances in garden cultivation which strikingly point out that malformed roots are tlie result of a retrograde approximation to the wild state. If, for example, seed be sown with a view to get turnips very early, the nuijor part of them fre- quently run to seed, and the bulbs of those that do not are mostly ill-formed, woody, and quite devoid of tliat succulency in which excellence consists. Now here, as the time of the germination of the seed, and consequently the period for its growth approximate more nearly to that of wild nature, it is not surpris- ing that the crop should thereby assimilate to wild results. All specimens of root crops that seed pre- maturely, thus showing a tendency to annual growth, may be considered as degenerate, and will present the concomitant of finger-and-toe in the root. Late-sown roots are liable to produce a degenerate seed. It is sometimes the practice to let a patch of late-sown turnips remain for seed; now, the fate of these is not to produce bulbs, and hence some are of- ten so sown purposely for greens. Here we have the seed sown about the time that it is scattered from the wild plants; and it is no wonder that our result should resemble the wild plant in mode of growth, as in such cases we get a small but woody root, which is more or less branched ; as, therefore, the object of the crop is the root, we must fail in this if we culti- vate a degenerate form. Different degree of liability to degeneracy in dif- ferent species. — .My observations lead to the conclu- sion that the smaller the amount of difference between the wild and the cultivated state of a plant tl\e great- er the tendency to ramification in the roots, unless the circumstances of the growth of the latter latter be widely different from that of the wild state. Hence parsnips on the farm of the Royal Agricultural Col- lege will not pay for cultivation; they are wild all around; and as we have seen how great the change by even two years' cultivation from the wild seed, so we have seen the tendency to reversion to their wild form rapidly develop itself by a continuance of the same circumstances. Carrots, however, in their culti- vated form present a wilder difference from their wild state than do parsnips; they take a greater time to civilize, and consequently we should not expect them to revert to their wild condition so readily, and in- deed it will generally be found that they die away if left to chance. As regards turnips it will be observed as a rule that any sorts which have often been grown in the same land have a tendency to degenerate; hence fin- ger-and-toe will in such cases prevail. New varieties at first maintain their form much better. Swedish turuipg, in their hybrid nature being farther removed from the wild type on the same ground, will be found to present less tendency to finger-and-toe than the common turnips. General Conclusiom;. — From the foregoing remarks it will be seen that the ringer-and-toe in roots is not viewed by me as a disease in the strict sense of that term, but as a natural result of the early stage of change from wilderness to civilization. The enumer- ated expc>riinents seem to show that finger-and toe ia the midway from wilderness to cultivation; and our observations upon the circumstances connected with cultivated root crojjs, that the malformation in them is the result of degeneration from cultivation to wild- ness. SHEEP AND WOOL. Wool at this time is twenty-five to thirty per cent, lower than it was last year in market, although it now sells as high as the average price for the last ten years preceding the chp of 1852, when wool raising was considered by our farmers as a paying business. The year 18.j3 was an inflated year. Almost all com- modities of American product had for years been ap- proaching a cidminating point. Railroads, real es- tate, especially in our growing cities and towns, farm- ing lands at large — all increased in a ration of value too rapid to be mainted. A foreign demand raised our grain to enormous prices, equal to the very high- est of war-time and scarcity ; and wool, unfortunate- ly for the dealers and manufacturers, had the same tendency, though not to so great an extent. For the first time, in years, large quantities of wool were con- tracted for, all over the country, months in advance of the chiJpitig season, at prices which resulted in heavy losses to the buyers. The market, of course, reacted, and now wool is down. Sales are dull, or if eflected, they are at such low rates as to dissatisfy the producers. Let us, however, look into it. Wool is still worth as much as it was in any one year from 184.5 up to 1851, and more, by several cents per pound than dur- ing some of the interventing years. We know this experimentally, for we have grown and sold wool every year for the past ten years. Almost eveiy win- ter of those years, up to 1850, millions of sheep in the aggregate, throughout the country, were slaugh- tered for their pelts and tallow alone. This was no great loss to the country, to be sure, for the most of them were miserable animals, yielding light fleeces of the lowest^priced wools, and were scarce worth feed- ing for mutton. Since then, beef has advanced large- ly in price, and mutton has followed it. Sheep have consequently increased in number ; and for three j^ears past, comparatively few have been so reckless- ly slaughtered for their pelts and tallow. Now, the low price of wool begins to suggest the question to many, whether great numbers of sheep will not be taken to the shambles next winter for like objects ? If our farmers, as in former days, chance to be discouraged by the present price of wool, and therefore set it down as a rule that sheep won't pay, of course millions of sheej) will again be sacrificed. But we hope no such acts of folly will be committed. We American farmers, as well as others, are a very spasmodic class of people. When 340 THE GENESEE FARMER. a thing is high in price, we rush into it — when a thing Ls low, we sell out. That is the rvle. AVe have known farmers run from wool-growing, when wool was low, in dairying, when butter and cheese were high selling their sheep for a song, and buying cows . at nearly double price. In three years time the ta- bles turned upon them, butter and cheese fell, while wool came up again ; and they, foolish enough to follow in the w^ake, just coming after in time so as to sell low and buy high at every turn of the scale ! We do not believe in such a system as this. Wool is a permanent staple of our agriculture, and as im- peratively demanded by the population of the coun- tr\^ as cotton, sugar, rice, beef, pork, or any other commodity. The tables of supply and demand will not always tally with each other. These will, at times, overbalance each other, and the intermediate parties who make the interchanges between the wool-grower and the manufacturer — that is, the wool dealers — gain and loose, as the case may be, in the fluctuations of price. In the long run they make, at least they ought to make, a profit for the use of their capital, and for the time and knowledge they devote to it. These men are a benefit to the wool-grower and the manufacturer both, taking his production from the door of the one, and delivering it at the warehouse of the other. It is his interest to pay all he can af- ford to the farmer, to secure his successive clips. It is also his interest to sell at fair prices to the manu- facturer to maintain his custom. Occasionally there may be combinations among manufacturers and dea- lers to cerapel the grower lo sell his wool at a low price ; but these combinations are seldom got up, and they are always very hazardous ; for, after all, the consumption of the manufactured cloth regulates the price of the raw material. Thus the farmer stands on an equal footing with the dealer and manu- facturer. Last year the farmer had the advantage, decidedly, The wool-dealers and the manufacturers lost money. This year they intend not to repeat the operation, but to make a profit if possible. This they are enti- tled to, and the farmer should be willing. It is not for the farming interest that the purchasers of agri- cultural staples should become poor. They are, in reality, the brokers between the producer and consu- mer ; and without the existence of such a class as this to bring the producer and consumer together, agricultural products would instantly fall twenty per cent, in value. Therefore, unsatisfactoiy as the pre- sent price of wool may be, it is probably all that it is worth to the purchaser. We do not thus write to influence the judgment of any man in the sale of his wool AVool-dealing is not our business ; on the other hand, we have our last clip of a thousand pounds, safely stored away, for which we intend to take the first favorable offer we can get, believing that it will not, within the next two years, be above the present price, and the inter- est on the money. Others may think differently, and if they can hold it without inconvenience, and too much risk, they may be wise in doing so. AVhat we intend mainly, when commencing this ar- ticle, was to enter our protest, in view of the present depressed wool market, atrainst the farmer's sacrific- ing his flock, and abandoning the business for any other branch of husbandry equally liable in its turn to fluctuation. Uncjuestionably the high price of wool last year induced many of our flock-masters to keep over many unprofitable sheep, those which were old, poor breeders, and badly wooled. These may now lie very properly drawn out, led off, and sold to the butcher. Eveiy flock should be well selected; none but substantial, healthy sheep, and among tho females, good, promising breedere, with good fleeces, should be retained. Even in flocks devoted solely for nmtton, a good fleece is an important item, as well as a good carcase ; for at the season wheu mut- ton bears the best price, the pelt is at the highest value. A thorough culling of the flocks of the countiy the ensuing fall and winter, will very much reduce the uumbei-s of their sheep; and the preserva- tion of none but good ones in place of the bad, will add greatly to their future revenues, even at tlie same cost of keeping. We sincerely wish that the American people would substitute mutton for beef and pork to a much great- er extent than they have been in the habit of doing. Mutton is more nutritious and wholesome than beef even, and va.-tly more so than pork. In fact the lat- ter ought not to be eaten at all, and especially the fat parts. Where on earth are there so healthy and robust-looking people as the English, of all classes ? It is not simply the fogs and humidity of their climato which gives them their robust appearance and good looks; for people near them, with a climate almost like theirs,' look very diflerentlj'. So far as meats are concerned, they are mutton-caters; probably more than half the animal food consumed in England be- ing mutton. But it is not Merino, nor Saxony mut- ton— nor of the ragged, fence jumping creatures com- monly kept over large districts of the United States. English, Scotch, Welsh and Irish mutton is mainly of improved breeds, well bred, and thoroughly cared for. These we may have in as high perfection as they, by obtaining the breeds, and bestowing little pains in their propagation an;^ feeding. AVe are glad to know that the attention of many of our farmers is turning to that branch of stock, and we trust that the good taste and discrimination of consumers of meats, will give a substantial encouragement to their endeavors. — American Agriculturist. THE WAR AND THE LINEN TRADE. Out of a total import of foreign flax, averaging 80,000 tons per annum, Russia furnishes the United Kingdom with G0,000 tons, or two-thirds of the en- tire ({uantity ; and of the 28,000 tons imported an- nually into France, about 13,000, or nearlj- one-half, is derived from the same source. It is not surpris- ing, therefore, that the curtailment and prospective cessation of imports from Russia has materially checked the onward course of the linen trade of the aflied nations. Dundee is certainly the most to be pitied, for its manufacture is chiefly of those coarse flaxen fabrics whose low prices will not admit of the substitution of a superior quality of fibre. Of 31,000 tons of flax imported into Dundee in 1854, 2."),000 came from Russia, while of 8,400 tons landed in Bel- fast, but 4,100 were the produce of the czar's domin- ions; and, further, Belfast had 40,000 tons of Irish THE GENESEE FARMER. 341 flax to select from, of qualities peculiarly suited to the description of fabrics which form the bulk of the Irish manufacture, while Dundee, on the contrary, could avail itself of but a small portion of our crop, the mass of it being too high price, for the kind of goods there made. Looking beyond the present crisis, our attention is arrested by the facts that the liueu munufacture has been outstripping the production of flax, and that spindles and looms have been increasing in a more rapid i-atio than fields of this valuable plant. If we refer to the statistics of British and Irish exports, we find that, in 184:3, there was shipped from the United Kingdom, in round numbers, 91,000,000, yards of linen, and that the export of 1853 reached nearly 130,000,000 yards; the total value of all kinds of lin- en and yarn exported in the former year being £3,- 702,052, and in the latter, £5,910,355. The increase during this decennial period was, therefore, in quanti- ty about 43 per cent., and in value nearly 60 percent. Of the raw material the import of 1843 was 78,000 tons, and in 1853, 9 4.000 tons, or an increase of less than 31 per cent. It is true that the production of flax ill Ireland had more than doubled in the interim; but this increase has tended rather to the advantage of certain departments of the British and Irish manu- facture, than to that of the trade as a whole. lu fact, what is not merely, under present circum- stances, urgently required, but which has for some time been greatly wanted, is a liberal su])ply of coarse flax. Although other fibrous materials have been largely introduced of late years, and spun upon flax machinery — such as jute, which is now consumed in Dundee to the extent of 16,000 tons annually— yet these, instead of taking the place of coarse liax, have rather opened out new means of consumption, just as the introduction of alapaca has originated a sepa- rate branch of trade, without afliectiug the use of sheep's wool. So that the Dundee manufacturers are as anxiously looking for new sources of supply as the Manchester cotton spinners have lately been do- ing; and as a curious continuation of the parallel, both point to the same country — our great possess- ion in the East Indies. It is known that hot climates are not capable of yielding flax fibers of fine quality, as is instanced in the ca-e of Egypt, whose flax is the lowest priced that appears in the British markets. On the other hand, the heat of the suu in these regions is peculiar- ly favorable to the production of seed. Flax is already grown in India to considerable ex- tent, but solely for the seed, of which about 100,000 quarters, value £300,000, are shipped anuually to the United Iviugdom, while the fiber, which would at least be worth half a miiliou sterling, is converted to uo use whatever. Surely, with the patent systems of steeping, and the improved method of scutching, lately introduced in Ireland, this valuable product might be brought to a marketable state. In other British colonies — such as those of North America and Australia — the high rate of labor is a serious obstacle to the preparation of flax; but in India it is far cheaper than in Ireland, and therefore no difficul- ty exists, except the insufficient means of transport from the interior. But the immense seaboard of the peuiusula of Hiadostan offers an abundant area for the production of flax, which could be readily ship- ped thence to Europe. We have shown that this (piestion is of more vital con.sequcnce to Dundee than to Belfast; but still as we import 4,000 tons of coarse flax every j-ear, it is a matter of some moment to us also, while it would in no way interfere with the home-grown article, which is of a quality much superior to any India could furnish. "We are glad to observe, therefore, that our Chamber of Conmierce has followed the example of Dundee, and is about to forward a memorial to Government, pointing out the importance, both to the British manufacturer and to the Hindoo ryot, of developing this latent source of profit. Turning from this topic, we are naturally attracted by another, which the llu.ssian difficulty has also sug- gested. At the late meeting of the Royal Flax So- ciety, reference was made to the possibility, if not the great probability, of an insufficient supjjly of foreign flax seed for next year's sowing in Ireland. A great- er calamity could scarcely occur to our staple manu- facture than a sudden decrease in the area of flax cultivation at home. It is the very foundation of its prosperity, and the trade has increased pan passu with the extent of home production of its material On the other hand, the Ulster farmer would \-iew with dismay an eventuality which would suddenly de- 25rive him of a certain source of profit. Fortunate- ly, if our farmers have sense and foresight, they pos- sess an easy and simple means of providing against such a serious chance. They have nothing more to do than to save as much of the seed of the growing crop as will furnish them with the quantity they re- quire for next spring. And even if by that period the war be terminated, and abundance of Riga flax- seed be available, they will finl a ready market at the oil mills for what they have saved. It is of im- portance also for them to consider whether it may not be advisable to save all the seed of this year's crop by rippling. The same circumstances which have caused a scarcity and dearness of flax fibre have produced a scarcity and dearness of flaxseed. Rus- sia furnishes by far the largest proportion of what is converted, in the oil mills of the United Kingdom, into linseed oil and cake, both of which are so wide- ly consumed. Crushing flaxseed is now 50 per cent dearer than it was in the summer of last year; and if Irish farmers could not be tempted in former times to make an additional profit of £3 or £4 by saving the seed, perhaps they may now think better of it when they can m^ke £5 to £6 per acre by so doing. I It is ce'rtainly a curious contrast which is presented I bv the two Doi'nts we have been discussing. On one side, British India is exporting £300,000 worth of flaxseed, and throwing away £500,000 of fibre ; on I the other, Ireland is raising to the value of the 2,000,- ! 000 of flax fibre, and rotting in the steep-pools £500,- 000 worth of seed ! It is Ru.ssia alone that has been benefiting by the ignorance of the Hindoo ryot and the prejudices and "carelessness of the Irish farmer. No particle of the valuable plant is allowed by her nobles to wiiste. She sells us to the value of £3,- 000.000 of fibre, and £900,000 of seed each year, and does not even take our manufactures in return. The Hindoo burns the fibre, and the Ulstcrman rots the seed, which, turned into money, would buy our 34: THE GENESEE FARMER. manufactured goods, and largely help to free us from reliance on a ytate whose political system must fre- quently lead to a crisis Hke the present, and whose commercial policy must ever deprive us of half the benefits of international trade. — Belfast (England) Mercury. j WISXRR'S PATENT WASH-TCB. Of all the contrivances for washing or cleansing clothes, that recently introduced into our city by Dr. HoYT, of Aurora, Erie county, in this Slate, is, in our way of thinking, the best. From its perfect sim- plicity, ease, and excellent manner with which, by the aid of one of these inventions, this most laborious though very necessary work is accomplished, we should order. For the same reason, we do not see how it can well be simplified or improved. Among its qualities we would mention one other, respecting the amount of labor required for washing. The woman only employs it in tlie movement of a small lever or handle, neatly fitted for the purpose, and this is about all that has to be done in the entire work of cleansing the clothes. To show what can be done by the aid of this little contrivance, the tests have been somewhat numerous and varied. We can only say, that we haye been credibly informed that a washing can be performed in one-quarter the time usually employed, and with such ease otherwise that a boy or girl of twelve or fourteen years of age is competent to the perform- ance of the entire task. WIS.NKRS TATE.NT WASH-TUB. pronounce it far in advance of the old, if not of any attempt ever invented for doing this species of labor. In using this language, heightened or exaggerated as to some it may appear, we do no more than adopt the sentiments of many of our citizens who have tried the article, and who have without exception spoken of it in much the same terms. The plan adopted by Mr. "Wisxer in his patent is very simple, not differing essentially from that of the common wash-tub and board, to which in form and appearance it bears a most striking resemblance; and it is to this fact principally — this conformity in the construction of the machine to simple, natural, long- tried and well-approved principles — is due, in our judgment, one of the chief advantages of the whole thing. Divested as it is of all machinery in the shape of wheels," cranks, or otherwise, it cannot get out of Mr. WisxEK having disposed of his right in Wfi above tub, has no further interest in it whatever- Dr. HoYT and his legally-authorized agents are now the only proper pei-sons with whom to deal ; and in their hands, we feel confident it must soon come into general use. ^♦■^— ON STABLE VENTILATION. It is a fact, that at the present time, there are great numbers of horses affected with coughs, colds, and . other diseases of the respiratory organs. This fact we must state in connection Tsith another, namely, the affected animals are those kept in stables, not those kept out at pasture. Many people are aston- i ished that at this season as they say so many cases of illness are found, but they do not always take care to THE GENESEE FARMER. 343 enquire how many occar in stabled, and how many in pastured animals. We think, however, that such an enquiry, or at least such a comparison should be made, because if disease be found to occur almost ex- clusively among horses in the stable, we are shut up to the conclusion that something connected with sta- ble management must act as the predisposing or ex- citing cause. But the fact that diseases of the re- spiratory organs are more common in stabled than pasture fed horses, applies to all seasons alike. The fact is a fact in summer as well as in winter. Now it is not a satisfactory thing for a farmer or other horse proprietor to be continually requiring a veteri- nary surgeon to cure horses on the shortest notice, in order they may be at work almost without loss of time. The surgeon also, we think, would prefer be- ing paid for keeping horses healthy, in other words he woui3 " " Snow drop. White, rate .39 bushels 63 " " Burwell Brown, rate 45 bushels 63 " " Whittiugton White, rate 38 bushels 62 " " W. Miles, Esq., raised 48 bus., 42 bus., 2 pecks, 47 bus., 3.5 bus., 3 pecks, and 49 bus. P. Pusey, 37|, 45|, 47^ bushels. Samples of the whole field. W. L. Kidd, M. D., of Armagh, Ire- laud, obtained at the rate of 50 bus. of 62 lbs. per acre, and there were larger ciops in his neighborhood. The wheat was red wheat. Quality such as to com- mand the highest price. The soil was a stifi" clay re- cumbent on limestone. Mr. Colman mentions other products in other coun- ties coming up to these rates. In Gloucestershire, the product on several acres was from 46 to 49 bus. weight froiu 59 to 62^ lbs. In Worcestershire, in a field of 130 acres, the crop was nearly 47 bushels per acre. In the Western States much of the wheat is under 60 lbs. It is considered the best weight at GO lbs., THE GENESEE FARMER. 345 and few crops go above that We think no wheat has ever been grown in this conntry at (!4 lbs. The white wheats yield the greatest proportion of flour, the flint wheats the greatest proportion of glu- ten, which is the most nutritious part of wheat. The white is preferred for making the superfine flour and white extra-fine bread, though the bread is less nutri- tious than that containing more gluten. The south- ern wheat generally contains the most gluten, though the proportion of this element is mucli aflectcd by tlie kind of fertilizers used. No crude animal manure should be applied directly to the wheat, but to the previous crop. If the land is mellow, the wheat should be rolled. — JYew Ens:Ia7id Farmer. WHEN SHOULD CROPS BE GATHERED. Some science and some practical hints, which every fiirmer should understand and practice upon. The ppevailing opinion is, that grass, and especial- ly grain crops, should not be cut till ripe ; or what- ever may be the opinion, such is the general practice This is an error, and one of no little consequence ; and we offer some considerations, which, if understood, will, we trust, set this matter in a clear light. Let us first look at one or two lessons plainly told us by chemistry. Wood, starch, sugar and gum are almost exactly alike in their composition. The same elements that put together in one form produce sugar, if arranged differently would make wood, and if arranged in still other methods, they would produce starch or gum. To illustrate; suppose four men should each have 100,000 bricks, 20,000 feet of lumber, including beams, boards, shingles, &c., three hundred pounds of nails, and 100 lbs. of unmixed paiiits of two or three diS(?rent colons. Now suppose these four men, hav- ing precisely the same amount of the different mate- rials or elements, set about putting up four structures, each having a different object in view. One might consti-uct an elegant cottage dwelling, the second a church, the third a barn and the fourth a prison; and by mixing and applying the paints differently, each of these structures would differ from the other so much in form and color, that one might be supposed to be built of stone, another of brick a third of iron, and a fourth of wood, and they would be as unlike in form, color, and outward appearance, as starch, gum, sugar and wood. Either of these buildings might be taken down, and by simply rearranging Uie materials, be changed to the form, shape, and co- lor of one of the other buildings, and be made like it in every particular. Just so can a pound of wood be changed to a pound of sugar. ^Ve have often taken a board weighing a pound, and by a chemical process re-arranged the elements, and change the same board to a pound of sugar. Just so a pound of starch, gum, or sugar, can be changed to a pound of wood. By artificial means this change is some- what expensive, but in the natural laboratory of the cells and tubes of a plant, it is daily going on upon a large scale, although the elements are in themselves so small, that the change is not perceptible to the hu- man vision. We are not stating theories but absolute facts. While a stock of grain is unripe it contains but little woody fibre, and its pores or cells are filled with su- gar, starch and gum. The presence of sugar is rea- dily perceived by the sweet taste of .soft kernels of coin and other grains, and it is al.-^o found abr.ndant- ly in the sap of stalks. The starch and gum is not so readily perceived l)y the taste, though they are readily perceived by the ta^te, though they are 'easi- ly shown to be present. Now as the grain and stalks ripen a large portion of starch, gum and sugar is changed into woody fibres. If the natural growth of the plant be arrested by cutting it, this change is stopped, and it dries up, with the search, gum and sugar, and there is comparatively little hard woody matter. But we all know that the three substances first named are digestible, nourishing articles of food, while the fourth — woody fibres — is comparatively in- digestible, and on this account little nourishing. — Flere, then, is a plain reason why all such grivsses and grains, as are designed for food for animals, should be gathered before they are fully ripe, tliat is, while they contain a large amount of digestible matter. Wheat, for example, if cut eight or ten days before fully ripe, contains a large proportion of starch, with a thin skin, and v.'ill yield a large amount of flonr ; but when it is fully ripe it is covered with a thick, hard, woody skin, or bran, which has been formed out of a part of its starch, and it will then yield a much smaller proportion of flour. The sau'.e may be said of its sugar and gum. This reasoning applies equally to other grains as well as to straw, corn-slocks, grasses, &c. Those portions of the grain which are to be used solely for reproducing the plant — nnd this is the na- tural design of all seeds — may be left to ripen natur-. ally. The woody coating is designed as a protect- ing covering. Having thus endeavored to state very briefly some of the reas< nx for cutting grain early — and it must be interestina^ to every one to understand these rea- sons— we will clo.^e this article with to or three rules which are not only sustained by theory but have been fully jJi'Oved by careful practice and experi- ment. 1st. All grasses should be cut as soon as possible after flowering. Much more than is gained in weight after this is lost by the conversion of the nourishing substance into hard, woody matter. 2d. Corn, wheat, and all other grains designed for food, should be gathered eight or twelve day.s before fidly ripe. A simple method of determining this, is to try the kernels with the thumb nail. Let the gathering comm.ence immediately after the " milk" begins to harden, but while the kernel still yields to a gentle pressure of the nail. An acre of wheat, that, if cut when fully lipe, would yield 800 lbs. of fine flour, will, if cut ten days earlier, yield from 850 to 1000 Ib.s. of flour of a better quality, while the straw will be much more valuable for feeding. An acre of grass, which, when cut fidly ripe, would yield 1000 lbs. nourishing digestible materials, and 2000 lbs. of woody matter, will, if cut 12 days ear- fier, yield from lotio to 1800 lbs. of nourisiiing mat- ter, and only 1200 to 1500 lbs. of woody materiala. — American Agriculturist. 346 THE GENESEE FARMER. HOME MANUFACTURE OF POUDRETTE. In«juiries like the following have often been made, and many have desired know how they could avail themselves of a valuable manure, and at the same time renilei' the apartments alluded to entirely free from odor. Information on the suly'ect of economy and cleanliness combined which could not be obtain- ed in any other way, we have no doubt will be acep- table to many of our readers. " Will you please inform me the best and most convenient mode of manufacturing: night-soil into poudrette, so that it may be drawn on land and spread without odor or inconvenience — my inquiry refers on- ly to home use, of this powerful manure. B. G." The contents of privies, commonly known under the name of night-soils, furnish exceedingly powerful manure when properly manufactured, and under right management, the process will destroy all the effluvia arising from those deposits, and render the closet en- tirely inoffensive. When a reservoir or small stream of water is at command, so that a current may be made to sweep through several times a day and carry off the con- tents into the manure yard, or into a covered bed of peat, or a compost heap, this forms perhaps the most perfect mode of removal. An essential requisite, however is freedom from the influence of frost, and the closet should therefore be connected with the dwelling where the reservoir of water may be kept from freezing, and from which there should be an un- derground channel of considerable size and slope. We have known all this to be perfectly accomplished t)y means of a lead cistern in the upper story, which was kept supplied with rain water at all times from the broad roof of the house, and which was sufficient beside for baths, washing, and all other domestic pur- poses. When a current of water cannot be used, the next best contri\ance is to form a tight box, of matched puie plank, and give it two or three coats of coal tar, so as to render it durable, and proof against mois- ture and warping. It is to be placed on two runners like that of a sled, made of plank or scantling, to the forward end of which a chain and iron hook are at- tached, so that it may readily be drawn off by a horse. This box must be of such a size as to fit a cavity made on purpose under the building. The next thing is to provide a supply of some ef- ficient deodorizing substance. Dry sawdust or tho- roughly dried peat does tolerably well, with the oc- casional addition of ashes and powdered charcoal. Charcoal dust alone is much better, and if daily ap- plied in small quantities will nearly destroy all smell: Ijut it is absolutely essential to success that a full supply of this material be kept near at hand in a large box or hogshead in a shed or out house, where it shall be always dry and in a condition to apply eveiy day, summer and winter. Animal charcoal is still more efficient than common charcoal, and may be made to form a portion of a material made as fol- lows: Make a pile of peat, turf, old straw and brush, mix with tanner's shavings and broken bones ; let the pile become dry enough to burn, and then cover it with sods aud set it on fire. It should be suffered to burn with a slow, smothered combustion, so as to char without consuming the materials. When th« process is completed, the whole heap, including the turf covering, should be well mix^d together and broken fine, and then placed in a large box under shelter, for daily use. Any portion of clay introdife- ed by means of the turf, and well dried, forms a pow- erful absorbent of foetid matter. As often as may l)e convenient, a horse is hitched to the hook and chain, and the whole is drawn off into the barn-yard, when it is quickly discharged by turning the box itp- side down; and after covering the bottom and sides with the prepared material already described, it is re- placed as before. The strong manure thus obtained, will, if well mixed possess but little odor and maybe used directl}-, or may be mixed with common manure in the compost heap. Durable plank should be phic- ed under the runners, to prevent their sinking ink) the earth, and enable the hoi'se to start the box easi- ly. It is said that those who are employed Jto obtain the materials for the wholesale manufacture of pou- drette, throw in, before commencing operations, a few quarts of a strong solution of copperas, which imme- diately neutralizes effluvia, and adds to the value of the manure. Since the above was written, we have received tlw following : " The different modes of saving as well as making manure, vet-y properly engage the attention of agri- culturists to a great extent. There is one mode of saving manure, however, which is very much over- looked. The farmers generally, in building a '-palace'' for the accommodation of the household, either dig a pit to a great depth, or a shallow one with a mova- ble building, to be removed as often as the pit In- comes filled. In the former case, there is fitted up a complete nuisance (after a years existence) and a trap to frighten mothers and nurses. The latter is a nui- sance from the beginning, and a subject of complaint almost everywhere. The plan I have adopted is simple and cheap — leaving the "palace" as s»veet as any chamber in the house, and productive, yearly of a tank, of manure worth twenty-five dollars — a spe- cies of poudrette, I venture to say more fertilizing than any that can be purchased. I have sunk a tank or pit, ten feet square and four feet deep, and lined with plank — stone or brick v,-alls would perhaps be better. Upon transverse beams is built the "palace"' five feet square. From the kitch- en and wash house, I have under-ground sewers empty- ing into this tank, through which all the slops of every description pass. The seat is fixed on hinges so that the whole top may be opened up, and at this open- ing is deposited all the dirt accruing about the house including the ashes from two fires. The dirt and ashes absorb all the slops and moisture, and preveiit the slightest unpleasant smell. This tank may be filled once or twice a year, and each fillinfr would be worth to the garden the sum before mentioned. It is astonishing that this is much neglected liy persona even who know the value of manures, and can ap- preciate cleanliness and convenience. B. B." — Country Gentleman. ^ *-^^- AvAEicE often produces contrary effects. THE GENESEE FARMER. 347 [From the Xew Enirlaml Karmcr.] A NEW WIXD-MILL. vS. Brown, J]sq. — Dear Sir : — I send you herewith a letter to me from an old iVieiid, which if you think best you will pleas-e publish in the Fanr,tr. I know nothing of the newly-invented wind-mill my friend describes more than you can leai-n from his commu- nication. He is of quite a scientitic turn of mind, and I thiuk it quite probable the invention nuiy prove valualile to the community. F. Holurook. Brattleboro', August "2, 1854. Mr. HoLBROOK — Dear Sir : — Knowing the interest which you take in any new invention of merit, parti- cularly, such as directly benefits the agricultural com- munity, I am inuld have torn it from its foundation. Now, many tines there is a pressure in the air, as great as that upon the steam-engine ; yet people, to some extent, are trying to use this power with nothing to control it, and the results are violent, irregular motion, and fre- quent breaking ol machinery. I now see but one objection which can possibly be raised to this pow- er— that is, the ^ind does not blow constantly. To tills I offer the following considerations: 1st. You have a good working power, for one- half the days, and nights also, during the year, and at times a mill will run night and day for two weeks in succession. 2d. This mighty agent, of almost unbounded pow- er, costs nothing — the Creator makes it a free gift to all. Many millions of horse power, go sweeping through the heavens, over every man's farm and work-shop, which the skill of man can now control, using it to pump water for beautifying grounds with ponds and fountains, supplying houses, watering stock, irrigating land; and if applied to machinery, the ex- tensive farmer will use it to thresh grain, saw wood, cut hay, itc. In using it to supply water, large reser- voirs can be built to draw from, in case the mill should be still lor a few days. It is veiy appropriate for irrigating land, making flowei-s, fruits and grains to grow, where the nmllen and sorrel, now scarcely find nourishment, and where now the dismal croak of the frog is heard, the clear music of the scythe and whetstone to ring upon the morning air. The inventor will soon connnence the manufacture of these mills on a large scale, and notify the public by advertising the same in the IXeiv England Far- mer. ^ ci'y truly, your friend, I. B. New Haven,' July li), lSo4. [Remarks.— There is scarcely anythingwhich would prove af more substantial service to the farmer, than the means of collecting and distributing water at his pleasure. On many farms large quantities of pure water are collected by drainage, which run idly by, while all the water needed for a large family and a large stock of cattle, sheep and horses, has to be raised by humsn toil. If a cheap, substantial, and permanent po^^er were devised, all his labor might be given over to the sport of the winds, and thou- sands of gardens and lawns and fields irrigated, so as to add immensely to the beauty of the landscape,- and untold profits to the labor of the husband-man. We earnestly hope that the mill here spoken of, will meet the general wants of the people, and that our friend M'ill let us know more particularly about it. — Ed. .T. E. Farmer.] Fire Kindlers. — We have seen an article made from the following recipe, tried and pronounced ex- cellent for kindling wood-fires, but it is of little use where coal is used — at least, we have never been able to " make it work" without the usual amount of wood kindling : Take a quart of tar and three pounds of rosin, melt them, bring to a cooling temperature, mix with as much saw-dust, with a little charcoal added, as can be worked in ; spread out while hot upon a board ; when cold, break up into lumps of the size of a large hickory nut, and you have, at a small ex- pense, kindling material enough for a household for one year. They will easily ignite from a match, and burn with a strong blaze, long enough to start any wood that is fit to burn. Try it. Thirty pure short-horned cattle, the property of the Clark County Importing Company, were sold at auction at Springfield, Ohio, lately. A bull, two years old, brought !ir4,000 ; ore eighteen months old, ^^2,- 500; and another 81,900, besides others at prices ranging from ??625 down to $300. Cows sold at $1,- 42.5; 81,300, $1,000, down to $205 each. So says an Ohio paper. 348 THE GENESEE FARMER. GUANO WITH PLASTER. LIME AND ASHES. It has been a mooted question among farmers and writers upon special manures, wliether guano mixed with plaster, ashes or lime, loses any of its virtues as a manure. Our Correspondent "H" of last week, has placed this question at rest — by the most satisfactory expe- riments. This article is of so much practical value that we must quote that portion relating to it. " Guano kept in bags wastes on the same principle that the Druggist loses his ammonia or hartshorn, if the bottle is left ojien, and more rapidly if he pours it out into a dish. " The smell of ammonia passing oft' is always pne- sent, the closest cask therefore keeps it best. " Seeds put into guano or on it, where in quanti- ties and covered, are "burned" like the manure-heaps when the heat of fermentation is too great. "Guano mixed with sand would certainly not be acted on by the sand, and guano, (it is believed) when mixed with plaster, is not at aU affected by it. Gu- ano mixed with ashes is rapidly decomposed and with lime more rapidly than by ashes. '■I have made these experiments in away that can be repeated by the farmer, and if you please I wish you to repeat them. " I send you enclosed a sheet of red Litimus for the purpose. "Take four teacups and place in one a table spoon- ful of guano, mix the same quantity of guano with ,au equal part of plaster in an other and with ashes and lime in two others. Cut the sheet into squares, wet them in clear water, and lay one tight over each cup, and observe the change, from red to blue. "The rapidity of the change and the intensity of the blue tint, will illustrate the passing off of the ammonia in the gaseous form. "The decomposition with ashes, and lime was ex- ceeding rapid — the other two seemed to advance about equally, unless the Guano alone exhaled more ammonia than when mixed with plaster. "If the plaster acts on the guano to separate ammonia the Sulphuric acid must take it and form Sulphate of ammonia, and set free the lime. Guano mixed with common salt, does not seem to loose am- monia, and if the two are decomposed, still the am- monia ought to be retained in combination with the Clorine — as Sal Ammoniac. The first point is to retain the ammonia and any compost of guano, that does not act to set free the ammonia, cannot be inju- rious. H." We tried the experiments suggested by H. in the presence of a number of gentlemen, and with the same striking results — and will here express our thanks to him for suggesting the experiment and en- abling us to see it, for here seeing is believing. And from the opinion of "H." in which the utmost confidence can be placed and from the other experi- ment, we have no hesitation in saying to our friends, that they can mix guano with plaster, without any injui-y to the guano and thus render it more easy and pleasant to be sown broadcast, or to] be applied in the hill or drill. But do not mix guano with ashes or lime, as either disengages its ammonia sets it free and thus wastes its most valuable property. — Ex- change. In the above simple and plain experiments the rea- der will see a confirmation of our statement made in the April number, page 127, to the effect that plaster will not liberate ammonia from guano. We use ash- es on the same land, and crops to which guano is ap- plied, but do not mix the two fertilizers together. Lime and ashes should be applied by themselves ; while salt and guano, or gypsum and guano may be united before their application. Cost of Manure. — The question simply should be, will a dollar's worth of manure produce more than 106 cents' v.'orth of corn beyond the expense of pro- ducing it, and beyond the natural crop of the land ? We say that an extra dollar properly invested in mar nures, will produce an excess in crop of five dollars' worth of corn in a single year, and in many cases a much larger ratio of increase, besides leaving the land worth nearly or all the cost of manure lietter for future crops. Who.t would be said of tlie mer- chant who should loan so much of his capital on bond and mortgage, that he had not sufficient means to keep the necessary stock of goods to supply his customers ? And why should the farmer Lau his money to others at six per cent, per annum, when he could earn a j^rofit, in addition to the interest, by using it himself? When a farmer's income is truly in excess of his farm, then he is consulting his best interest by investing his money where it may be used by others for his benefit ; but until his own business is properly cared for, he is wrong to part .with the means necessary to its success. So long as further additions of manure will increase the product beyond cost, the farmer should continue to increase tlie quantity used ; and if he cannot do so by any other means, he should reduce the cpiautity of land tilled. — Working Farmer. Mr. Goldthwait, Priucial of the Westfield Aca- demy, proposes to the farmers of Westfield a se- ries of weekly evening meetings, for the purpose of discussion and a comparison of views upon topics of interest to the agriculturist. The suggestion is a good one, and might be adopted by the farmers in other towns with a-reat advantajre. NiTRATK OF Soda. — Mr. Stephexsox, of Edin- burgh, applied one cwt. of nitrate of soda and two cwt. of common salt per acre to a wheat crop, ami increased the yield nine bushels jDcr acre. Door Mats. — Nearly every kind of mat has been tried in the public schools at Columbus, and tlie rope mats (made of oakum) are found the most du- rable. So says the Ohio Journal of Education. To KEEP OUT Red Ants. — Place in the closet, or wherever they usually appear, a small quantity of green sage. THE GENESEE FARMER. 349 CONDUCTED BY JOSEPH FROST. THE NP]W YORK STATE FAIR. The New York State Agricultural Society held their Exhibition for 1854, on the od, 4th, 5lh and 6th of October, upon Hamilton Square, in the city of New York. The management of the Society having made a mistake pecuniarily, in selecting Saratoga Springs for the display, last season, concluded to adopt the most feasible way, in their estimation, to put the Society again in funds. New York city in the extreme South-eastern part of the State, comprising three-fourths of a million in- habitants, from which ebbed and flowed the wealth of the country, and whose people, when interested in any thing, are always known to make their mark, was tJie favored location. If money is wanted for foreign missions, or other praiseworthy objects, or if enthu- siasm should be needed, though required brimful that tlie people would run half mad, what place would 'furnish it as readily and freely as New York, under the proper direction? It was supposed the public would put aside in part, for three or four days, the tiiought of politics, theatres, operas, magnificent build- ings and princely hotels, and receive a display of beautiful horses, superior breeds of cattle, hogvs, sheep, &c., as well as fowls expanded to an immense size and to an unnatural shape, also a fine collection of fruits, such as seidom grace tables in any country. There were sufficient inducements to attract crowds of visitors in most places, but not in the commercial metropolis; as the Society's meeting for 1854 has proved to be a total failure, and far more disastrous than that at Saratoga last year. According to published statements, the number of persons who visited the grounds was 40,000, which is a great disparity in numbers from the exhibitions formerly in the Central, Eastern and Western parts oi the State, where 100,000 attended. The amount of receipts were about $8,000, out of which $8,000 in premiums are to be paid, besides the ei'ection of suitable enclosures, tents, buildings, and other fixtures, which was no trifling expense. In justice to the Society, we would say tha,t the arrangenieut and order, as well as the fixtures, were a great improvement upon those of previous years. The classification of the different articles were at- tended to by competent persons, which rendered the decision upon the different articles entered for com- petition by the judges comparatively easy. But there Ls still room for much more improvement, by extend- ing it to every thing upon exhibition, which we hope may be aslopted for the future. The police regulations were very complete, and re- flected much credit upon the department. An inci- dent occurred which caused considerable stir among some, and caution on the part of others. The Chief ol' Police visiting the grounds on Thursday, soon spied two gentlemanly pickpockets in the act of practicing their nefarious profession. The gentry were quickly caught, and a large placard suspended by a string was hung about each of their necks, on which was printed in bold letters " Pickpockets," and they were compelled to promenade about the grounds from two to three hours, under a strong escot of po- lice, followed by hundreds who were eager to obtain a si.sht of the scoundrels. The articles upon exhibition were generally choice and well selected — 1 tetter, we think, than they have usually been — but the (juantity was very snuill. Stalls assigned for cattle, pens i'or hogs, sheep, &c., were not much more than half occupied. Although the New York Horticultural Society combined its autumnal exhibition with theirs, the contributions of fruits and flowers in Floral Hall were not in as great profusion as heretofore. The causes of such deplorable results are very ob- vious, the principal one being the location, which was necessarily from four to five miles from the cen- tral part of the city. The distance lieing so great, every one was compelled to ride ; and the coimnuni- cations being only with cars drawn by horses on the 3d Avenue Railroad— one passing every five minutes — a line of omnibusses going within sight of it, and a train on the Harlem Railroad leaving every half hour, were the only means provi the part on each side with yellow soap ; then lay on a mixture of starch in cold water very thick; rub it well in, and expose the linen to tiie sun and air till the stain comes out. If not removed in three or four days, rub that off and renew the process. "When dry it may be sprink- led with a little water. Recent Stains of Fruit may be removed by holding the linen tightly stretched ovep a tub and pouring hot w ater over the fiart. This must be done before any soap has been applied it. As soon as a stain is made on table-linen, &c., rub OH it common table salt before it has time to dry ; the salt will keep it damp till the cloth is washed, when the stain will disappear; or wash the slain light- ly when the cloth is removed. Sir a. Cooper's Chilblain Liniment. — One ounce of camphorated spirit of wine, half an ounce of li- quid subaceiate of lead ; mix, and apply in the usual way three or four times a day. Some persons use vinegar as a preventive; its efficacy might be increas- es!, by the ad!!'le cure for Dysentery — which has ne- ver failed. — Take some butter off the churn, im- mediately after being churned, just as it is, without being salted or washed; clarify it over the fire like honey. Skim off all the milky particles when melted over a clear fire. Let the patient (if an adult) take two talile-spoonfuls of the clarified remainder, twice or thrice within the day. This has never failed to effect a cure, aud in many cases it has been almost instantaneous. Appi.E FRrrTERs. — Pear and core some fine large pippins, and cut them into round slices. Soak them in wine, sugar, and imtmeg, for two or three hours. Make a batter of four eggs; a table-spoonful of rose-w'ater; a table-spoonful of wine; a table-spoon- ful of milk; thicken with enough flour, stirred in by degrees, to make a batter; mix it two or three hours before it is wanted, that it may be light. Ileat some butter, and fry them brown ; sift pounded su- gar, and grate nutmeg over them. A GOOD WAY OF Cooking Onion.s. — It is a good plan to boil onions in milk and water; it diminishes the strong taste of that vegetable. It is an excel- lent way of serving up onions, to chop them after they are boiled, and put them in a stewpan, with a little milk, butter, salt, and pepper, and let them stew about fifteen minutes. This gives them a fine flavor, and they can be served up very hot. To DRY Pumpkin. — Cut it round horizontally in tolerably thin slices, peel them and hang them on a line in a warm room. AVhen perfectly dry, put them away for use. When you wish to use it, put it to soak over night; next day pour off the water, put on fresh water, stew and use it as usual, «S:c. Another and, as some think, a much better way, is to boil aud sift the pumpkin, then spread it out thin in tin plates, and dry hard in a warm oven. It will keep good all the year round, and a little piece boiled up in milk will make a batch of pies. Substitue for Cream, in Tea or Coffee.— Beat the white of an egg to a froth, put to it a very small lump of butter, aud mix well. Then turn the coffee to it gradually, so that it may not curdle. If perfectly done, it will be an excellent substitute for cream. For tea, omit the butter, using only the egg. This might be of great use at sea, as eggs can be preserved fresh in various ways. Advice to Mothers. — Do all in your power to teach your children self government. If a child is passionate, teach him by gentle means to curb his temper. If he is greedy, cultivate liberality in him. If he is sulky, charm him out of it by encouraging frank good humor. If he is indolent, accustom him to exertion, and train him so as to perform even oner- ous duties with alacrity. If pride comes in to make disobedience reluctant, subdue him, eitlier by coun- sel or discipline. In short, give your children the ha- bit of overcoming their beseting sins. -^* ^ Young Ladies, now-a-days, when they are prepar- ing for a walk, ought not to keep their lovers wait- ing as long as they do, for now they have only to put their bonnets half on. 554 THE GENESEE FARMER. Agkxct is New York.— €. M. Saxton, Agricultural Book Pub- Usher, Xo. 152 Fulton street, Xew York, is agent for the Genesee yAKHER, and sabscribei-s in that city who apply to him can have %h«tr pAp«rs delivered regularly at their houses. Another number completes the present volume. To those who have read the Genesek FARNfER, it is unnecess- ary to state that no pains nor exertions have been spared to render the paper interesting and valuable. To our friends and agents we tender our grateful acknowledgments for past favors, and solicit a continuance of the same. In view of the material advance in the prices of paper, kc, may we not claim some extra exertion in our behalf ? In the amount and quality of its reading matter, and variety of illustrations in proportion to its price, no paper in the country exceeds the Genesee Farmer. If each one of our subscribers will present its claims to bis friends and neighbors our circulation will be doubled, and the paper much improved the coming year. For terms, &c., see prospectus on last iM.ge. Monroe CorxxT Fair.— The Annual Fair of the Mon- roe County Agricultural Society, was held in this city on the 22d and 23d of September last. The attendance of contributors and speculators was creditable to all concern- ed ; and the show of fruits and vegetables, taking into ac- count the dryness of the season, we are assured on good authority, has not been excelled for the last ten years. The Society is much indebted to the indefatigable exertions of its officers for the completeness of the arrangements made, and for the success which attended their exertions. Our limits will not allow us to particularize but a few of the articles exhibited ; but special commendation is due to those who contributed by the sacrifice of time and the dis- play of their productions to the interest of the occasion. We notice a few of the premiums awarded, as follows: Best barrel of wheat, G. Reynolds, Ogden. Second best do., N. & E. S. Hatward, Brighton. Best barrel of corn, T. Chamberlain, Penfield. Best barrel of oats, C. K. Atams, Ogden. Best barrel of barley, N. & E. S. Hayward, Brighton. Best mower and reaper combined, E. D. Hallock, Ro- •hester. Best reaper (Seymour &; Morgan's), W. Fisher, Brock- port. Best grain drill, E. D. Hallock, Rochester. Best clover seed harvester, F. S. Steauman, Holley. The ladies were not wanting in the display of their handiwork, in the shape of nice loaves of white and brown bread, as well as ornamental needlework. Tlie apples, pears, peaches, &c., looked very tempting to the eye, and we doubt not would be very agreeable to the teste. Some samples of beautiful honey were exhibited by Mr. Swift, oc Clarkson. The display of implements was not so large as on some previous occasions ; but those we noticed exhibited a mark- ed improvement over the exhibitions of former years. Near- ly all the varieties of farming utensils were exhibited ; and he must l)e difficult to please who could not suit hitns«tf from the list presented for inspection. The officers for the present year are : Preside?it — F. P. Root, Esq., Sweden. 1st Vice President — Stephen S.. Sheldon, Sweden. 2d " " L. B. MiTCHELr., Pittsford. 3d ' " Daniel Lee. Rochester. Secretary — Joseph Harris, Rochester. Treasurer — E. S. Hatward, Brighton. Dairies in New Castle County, Delaware.— Mr. Reybold, a son of the distinguished farmer of that name, keeps two dairies of 50 cows each for the production of butter, which is sold on contract at 2-5 cents a pound. Tha net revenue from these 100 cows is 83,600 per annum, be- ing an income of S36 per cow. Some proprietors of dairies rent their cows in that county at i?22. oO a head ; and others as high as $25 each, the owner furni-hing food ■ for them. Dairying in the vicinity of Washington, whero this paragraph is written, pays remarkably well: any north- ern man familiar wjth the business can make money at it, provided he has a little capital to commence with. MUk is never less than sis cents a quart, and generally sells at from eight to ten ; butter sells at from 20 to 50 cents a pound ; and cream at a dollar a gallon. The only difficul- ty lies in the expense of raising food for cows. The land being poor, and nearly devoid of lime, grasses do not flourish naturally, and fevv- appear to know what the soil needs to yield an abundance of cheap milk. The Knuckle Washing Machine. — We were much interested in noticinjjthe operation of the " Knuckle Wash- ing Machine," so called, during the late County Fair. Th« rubbing of clothes was effected by plunging tlieni, attached to a frame, among a hundred and fifty wooden balls float- ing loosely in the machine. From asmrances given us bj those of our acquaintance who have used the machine in question, we think that any one who would ligliten the la- bors of his better-half on washing-day, can not do better than procure one. Notice to Correspondents. — The principle editor of this paper has been absent some six weeks on his farm in the District of Columbia, which will explain the omission to answer many letters addressed to him on various sub- jects. We have several conimunications in hand which will appear in our next issue ; and we are always thank- ful for instructive articles sent to this office for publication. Mr. J. W. Briggs will arcept our thanks for the fin« " Orange Watermelon " and seedling peaches left with ni for trial. Both were delicious in flavor ; and one of tbe peaches was superior to any that we have tasted tlie present season. Mit. W. !Morley, No. 35 Reynolds street, has left on our table a beautiful pear, of the variety of Vicar of Wiiikjiel d Tie tree has borne tliis y\Tr for the first time. Th« quality we will test when ripened in December. THE GENESEE FARMER 365 Hogs. — We find in an exchange the following : " In cold weather, hogs should have a dry, warm shelter, and a good, soft, warm bed. Cobbett says, give your hog a bed in which you could pass the night comfortably yourself. Give pure water, and generally warm food, and occasionally green food, such as raw roots, cabbage leaves, raw apples, &c. At all seasons when hogs are confined, give, in addi- tion to the above, pure earth, charcoal, and occasionally dcj- rotten wood, for an absorbent. Cive a little salt, and now and then a small dose of sulphur and antimony, and a little tar, and let them have access to alkalies, such as adies and lime. Also, be sure to keep the issues open. Hogs have no insensible perspiration of the whole body, like the horse, ox, and many other animals ; but they have i^ues on the inside of their fore-legs, just below the knee, wbich are porous, like the top of a pepper-box. Some- times these become closed, and the animals fail. In such oases, take a cob, or other rough substance, and, with soap stids, rub open and wash the issues." WooL-GKOwiNG. — We have repeatedly asserted, says the California Farmer, that California will become one of the wool-growing States. Everything favors it — cli- mate, pasturage, season, rapid increase, and little care or cost, all give the assurance of good success. Already the efforts have been particularly successful. The San Joacjuin valley has already 1-50,000 sheep, and the number will soon be doubled by those on the way. Heavy lots of wool have been received in this city for shipment to the States ; more than "200,000 lbs. have gone, and more will soon follow. There is no doubt but that in a little time California will take a prominent part in wool-growing, adding largely to the wealth of the State. Pretty Good Provision Against Famine. — We are ftflly persuaded says the National Intelligencer, that there is much more apprehension expressed about a deficiency in the grain crops of the season than is well founded. There has been more than an average crop of wheat, rye and oats througliout the country, and at least half an aver- age crop of Indian corn. Let us see what all this will amount to : A full crop of wheat is 120,000,000 bushels ; of rye, 15,000,000 ; of oats, 150,00(J,000 ; of Irish potatoes, 6.5,000,000 ; of half a crop of corn, 300,000,000. To which may be added — sweet potatoes, 40,000,000 ; buckwheat, 10,000,000 ; rice, 5,000,000 ; barley, 5,(J00,000 ; peas and beans, 10,000,000 ; besides an unusually heavy crop of hay. Here is about one thousand millions of bushels of wiiat may be called bread — a pretty good provision, one would think, for twenty six millions of people. PoTATO-DinGER. — Among the imjilements of farm labor exbibited at the Manchester, N. H. Fair, says the Granite Farmer, was a wagon with machinery attached for gather- ing potatoes, the recent invention of a New Hampshire farmer. The wagon is placed at one end of the potato field, with oxen or horses attached ; and as it passes down tfie rows, digs the potatoes. se])arates them from the dirt, and loads them in the wagon. Straw on Wheat Fields. — The Wlieeling (Va.) Times and Gazette says that the wheat-growers within ten miles of the city, in Virginia and Oliio, who practice uniformly selling their straw to the paper and binder's board mills and thus have the straw of their wheat crops regularly removed from their grounds, are seldom troubled with weevil. On the contrary, those whose farms are too far out, and who suflter the straw to rot on their lands, have their crops very much damaged by the ravages of the weevil. It is recommended, therefore, to burn the straw in all cases when it cannot be removed. Decline of Prices in California. — We notice in the California Farmer a statement that much distress is now felt by the farmers of that State by reason of the great fall of prices of agricultural produce. Many large farm- ers are now in want of means to harvest their crops. In May last, the editor of the California Farmer saw hundreds of tons of potatoes lying in heaps on the ground in San Jose Valley going to decay — the prices then ofi"ered not even paying the expenses of conveyance to market, putting aside the cost of cultivation. Exports of Butter and Cheese. — The amount of butter produced in the United States in 1850 was 313,206,- 962 Rs., and of cheese 105,535,219 Rs. The average value of the exports of these two articles from the United States during the ten years (from 1840 to 1850) has been $1,000,- 000 ; during the last five years of the period, it has been $1,400,000. Cows' Sore Teats. — First wash with castile soap and waT.n water, then apply lime water and linseed oil, mixed in equal parts. The production of rice has increased from 80,841,422 tis. in 1840 to 215,312,710 lbs. in 1850. Halliday's Wind Engine. — We notice in a recent number of the Scientific American an engraving and de- scription of Halliday's Wind Engine, which was in ope- retion at the State Fair. A paragraph in the Atw Ycrk Tribune states that during a gust of wind which tore down awnings, &c., the machine in question actually came to a stand still, and as soon as the force of the wind was mode- rated again commenced its revolutions. Inquires znh glnstetrs. Having been a subscriber for the Genesee Farmer for some time past, I have perused its columns with much interest, and have found almost every thing relating to farming and building, and have derived great beneDt from the paper. I would like to know if anv of your correspondents can give me some information in regard to making c, cellar that will keep out rats. I have been troubled with them a great deal. If there is any way to prevent them from digi^ing under the wall, I should like to know it. I intend to move my house next spring, and one reafon for moving it is to get rid of these pest.-, if possible. P. S.— Perry. Will some of our correspondents who have knowledge of such matters please communicate their experience ? 856 THE GENESEE FARMER. HORTICULTURAL. I.v the September number of the Genesee Farmer, page 225, 1 noticed an article entitled "Grafting Pears on Mountain Ash." Now I wish to knovv what this Mountain Ash is, wliere it grows, what kind of timber it is, and where the stock is to be had. Please let me kno.v in your next number. David hA};ms.—HicksvUU. The Mountain Ash is a haudaome tree of slow growth, with a tough, crois-grained, but not very hard, woud. It is a native of our country. The berries are of a bright ecarlet, very juicy, sour and bitter. Some species of birds ere very fond of tliem. We would not advise you to ex- periment uponthe grafting of pears upon them as stocks. If you wish dwarf trees, bud upon the Angers Qmnce which can be obtained at very low rates from nearly every nursery. For standards, you will of course use vigorous and healthy seedling stocks. Is the spring of 1853 I planted a young orchard of some fifty trees-apple fruit-ten or twelve of which died the following sum- mer which I replace 1 last spring. This summer they have all been destioyed, save seven or eight, by an intruder in the shape of a, worm, whieh in color is white. It is formed in sort of sections with I large flat head, and is from thrce-quarlers to an inch long lU place of warfare is between the bark and the wood, on the body or stem of the tree, traveling frequently entirely round the stem, causing the tree to wither and die. They appear to enter the bark 'n thelhape of an insect or fly, as I find some yet in the hark, very small. The trees have been regularly whitewashed. They have a south sun exposure, and have undergone an extreme drouth during the summer. Can you or any of your correspondents suggest a remedy for the evil ? P. B..-Mt. Sterling, Ind. Will some of our readers give their experience in cases like the foregoing ? BLittrarc Notitts. First Les^o-Js i.v CflEMiSTRT and Geology as applied to A^ picCtcue: designed for the nse of Schools. Ev J. Emerson Kent, AM., M. D. Boston : Dayton & Wkntworth. From a brief inspection of the above vsrork. we would tordially commend its general introduction into our schools- TfF CONSTITrTIOV OF TITB UxVITED STATES, with all ^'^ ActS O Con° ess , elating' to Slaverv, including the Kansas and Nebraska Bills. Rochester : D. M. Dewey. Those interested in the investigation of a subject which is creating so much sectional feeling at the present time, will find the above valuable as a means of reference. Mr. Wm. Mi>-iFiE, of Baltimore, has sent us a copy of his Lectures on Drawing and Design, wherein the general usefulness and application of those subjects to all the ac- tive business of life are very clearly stated. Ulustratir.ns of the utility of an acquaintance with the elements are given from almost every avocation of life *, and we fully concur in all the positions that he advances. We have rarely pern?ed any work with more interest than the A7mnai Rerort of the Trustees of the School for Idiotic Children of the State of 3Iassachnsetts. It would be well for our coui.try if documents like the fore- goin"' were scattered broadcast over the land. Ko essny or learned discourse upon the obligation of all to live tem- perate, chaste and active lives, and the advantages of so doinff. are more profitable and impressive than tlie plain. unadorned detail of the causes which in a great majoritj of instances conduce to idiocy ; and teachers who have youth entrusted to their charge, and who are sometimes almost required to find brains as well as to teach, may de- rive many useful hints as to the methods to be adopted to arouse the dormant faculties of dull pupils, and excite them to active exercise. We might enlarge upon this topic, but our limits forbid. Patience and per.srverance are the only passports to success. "Alcohol and the Constitution of Man," is the title of a pamphlet prepared by E. L. Youmans, aud pub- lished by Messrs. Fowlers & Wells. Mr. Youmans is favorably known as the author of a popular work ( Tht Class-book of Chemistry); and he has illustrated the sub- ject by a beautifully- colored chemical chart. • Strawbeeuy-ccltube.— Our readers will have noticed in the October number of this journal an advertisement of a Complete Manual for the Cultivation of Die Strawberry, &c., by R. G. Pardee. A simple recapitulation of some of the topics treated is the best recommendation Ave can give, which, from examination, we think fully de- serves its title as a complete manual. Every one who haa a garden, or a plot of giound but a few feet square, ought to possess a copy cf the work in question. The American Journal of Medical Sciences (Hays').— This journal for tht current quarter has lain for some time upon our table. As usual, its contents are of a high order of excellence. The original department occu- pies 13G of the 290 pages. Two careful reviews and six- teen biographical notices are given. The rest of the num- ber is occupied with the Quarterly Summary of improve- ments and discoveries, at home and abroad, in the Medical Sciences. Published by Blanchard & Lea, Philadelphia, at five dollars. ADVERTISEMENTS, To secure insertion in the Ka::mkr, must be received a.s early afl the 10th of the previous month, and be of such a clmracter as to be of interest to formers. Terms -Two Dollars for every hundred words, eaeh insertion, paid in advance. APPLE SEEDLINGS. trvrv r\nA two years' growth, grown and delivered 1 () ( ) , ( ) 1 1 () in Western New York offe, ed on reasonable U'mis. b"l'='" M .JanesviUe, Wis. November 1, 1S&+. — -t 100,000 SEEDLING APPLE TEEES, T ARGK enough to graft, one year's growth. Also IfsroO See* k ""^ r''T-\«'-4'''it*'"""'''' 1 ockpo^'N. Y. November 1, lSa4. — It* ' ' WM P PRINCE & CO., FLUSHING, N. Y., ,^0 rf^a-SLous Plants, Dahlias, I^^J^-;^^^^ other Seeds. [ ^ BUiSy^s"sTEAM dry KILNS. GHVV.S LUMBER can he kiln-dried in 24 hnurs bv Eulkley** lak^t , mbv svptf healed steam. Cost of K,ln, SiO forsn.aU ' V Un -SI) to 500 Inrr^ls of Hour or n»al, or J On 1o 5,000 busb- si/.c. Also S^J" 0 '" T^]^u,f kiln f.om $1S0 up, varying with size. vL S s u efi! r'.o'^anv o.her mode. Singl^ R..h.s or Territo- ei"^sold l!.w.'and oiroH.,rs s.nt.gratis:on.ap,,hc;rnon to^^^^^^^ ten tee, at Kalnmazor, Mi.higan. H. O. BLLlvi.t i .^ November 1, lSiJ4.— It* THE GENESEE FARMER. 3§1 McCOSMICK'S EEAPING AND MOWING IMACHINE. IA-M rajumfacturing loOO litfjiping and Mowing Machines for 13o4, auJ farmers «')u) want Macliines are rcfiueated to send in llieir orders early. Last year I had not a supply, although 1 had 1500 in the m;irket. I oiler my large experience (both in tUis country and in Europe) f.jr the last liftecu years and more in this liusiueas, as the safest guarantee the farmer can hare in the purchase of a Machine of vhis liiud. Deeming it useless to insert long advertisements in the newspa- pers, I shall be pleased to furnish applicants with my printed Cii-- »alar. Some important improvements have been made, while the Ma- diine will be found as simple and efficient as a Machine of the kind can bo. The important points that will present themselves in these Machines, will be I'erfoct SimpUcity, Ea.se of Repairing, Durability, and Adai)tation to the Wants of the Farmer as a Reaper and Mower. I shall continue tlie use of the Wrought-iron Beam, which will be found very important in mowing, because of the friction upon the ground, and liability to tear and wear a Wooden 13eam, or any slieet-ii on hning that may be u.sed upon it. Another very importimt advantage wliich I claim for my Combined Machine is that it can be readily changed so as to <;ut any desired height of atuljble as a Reaper or Mower by simply removing three bolts. Tliis principle will be found -wanting in other machines, though Taluable upon rough ground, or for mowing barley or lodged oats, tiinotliy seed, clover seed, &c., or where the ground may not be firm, and there be liability in the wheels to sink and the cutter to be brought in contact with the groumi, sand, gravel, &c. With my Combined .Machine the farmer has the advantage of a Reel: in mowing, which admits of a slow walk to the horses, and is es- pecially valuable when the wind interferes with the succe.ssful ope- ration "of the Machine. I have no fear of the result upon trial of the Machiue with others ; it has no superior as a Reaper or as a Mower. The public are now especially cautioned to beware of Setmour & MoRG.4N''s " New York REArER." These men have been selling my Machines, thutigli under an injunction the second time since the re-issue of my Patent in April last, in addition to a verdict of J20,000 for pa.st infringements. 23^ .Sundry other parties will soon be held to strict account for their infringements under this Patent, which makes them just as liable to be enjoined as Seymour k. Jlorgan. The Machine will be warranted equal to any other, both as a Reaper and as a Mower; and it will be forwarded to any part of New York or Canada, if ordered of THOS. J. PATERSON, at Ro- chester, >f. Y., who wants Agents to sell it in some of the unoc- cupied wheat districts. C. H. McCORMICK. May 1, 1854.— tf GENESEE VALLEY NUESEEIES. A. FROST & CO. ROCHESTER, W. Y., OFFER to the public the coming spring one of the largest and finest stocks of Fruit and Orn.amental Trees, Shrubs, Roses. he, in the country. It in part consists of standard .\pple. Pear, Cherry, Plum, Peach, .\prlcot. Nectarine and Quince Trees. Also, Dwarf and Pvramid Pears and .Apples. SM.VLL FRUITS. — Native and Foreign Grapes, old and new sorts •>f Currants, Hnest Lancashire Gooseberries, Strawberries, Ktsj- ben-ies, kc. he. The ORNAMENTAL DEPART5IENT comprises a great variety of neciduous and Evergreen Trees, !-^hrubs. Vines and Creepers, whicii includes upward of of .300 varieties of the Rose. BEOrtlXi; PLANTS.— 150 varieties of Dahlias, a large collection «7f Verb. ■nil.-, Petunias, Helictropes, k<:. kc. Priced Catalogues of the above will be m.iiled to all applicants eoclosing a postage stamp for each Catalogue wanted, viz : No. 1. — Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits, Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. No. 2. — Descriptive Catalogue of Green House and Bedding Plants «>f everv description, including every thing new which may he in- troduced un to its season, will be published in March each year. Xo. .3.— Wliole.sale Catalogue, published in September. Febrn.arv 1, 1854.— tf CUTTER EIGHTS FOR SALE WE will test our Hav, St.alk and Straw Cutter, patented Novem- ber Sill. 1S.").3, for speed, ea.se and duraltility, against any (rtheriu ibe I'nitcd States. .1. .TONES k A. LYLE. jj-^ Vor further information, address JONES k LYLE. Roch- ertei\ N. V. February 1, 1854. — tf MERINO SHEEP. TriE suhscriber will sell a U-w Spanish Merino Pheep— bucks and p,ve« — if iindnn'iteil piiritv nf lilood. He will also di.spose of ttpa'-t «( his stiipli of imiioi-teil FufncM Me'inos. Gentlenu"! puvh 'sin'jr from thi« flock c:iii have the sheep for- Ward-^.d 'o tlio principal We.stern towns a' mv risk. Sept. 1, 1354— If R. J. JONES, CornwaU Vt. GENESEE VALLEY NURSERIES. A. FROST & CO., ROCHESTER, N. Y., SOLICIT the attention of amateurs, orchardists, nurserymen, and otliers about to plant, to their extensive stock of well-grown Fruit and Oniamontal Trees, Shrubs, Roses, kc. &c. The Nurseries are now very extensive, and embrace one of the Largest and finest collections in tlie country, and their stock is far superior to any that they have before olfered. It is partly com- prised in the following : Standard Fruit Trees. — Apple trees, eighty varieties; Pear treed, one hundred varieties; Cherry trees, sixty varieties; Plum trees, forty varieties; Peach trees, thirty varieties; Nectarine, six varie- ties; Apricot, six varieties; and other kinds, comprising every sort of merit. Dicarf and Pyramii Fruit Trees, of every desci iption, for culti- vation in orchards and gardens, liavo received particular attention. They embrace the following kinds, and comprise nearly the same number of sorts as are grown for st;indard» : Pears upon the best European Quince stocks. Apples upon Paradise and Doucain stocks. Cherries upon Cerasus Mahaleb stocks. Small Fruits, as Currants, eighteen varieties; Gooseberries, sixty varieties ; Grapes, N.ative and I'oreign, twenty-five varieties ; Rasp- berries, six varieties; Strawberries, twenty varieties; and other miscellaneous fruits, as well as esculent i-oots, in variety. Deciduous and Evergreen TVer.s, for Lawns, parks, streets, kc. Evergreen and Deciduous Shrubs, in great variety, including four hundred sorts of Roses. Hedge P/an(s— Buckthorn, Osage Orange and Privet; and for screens and avenues, American Arbor Vite (White Cedar), Nor- way Sjiruce, &c. Herbaceous Plants. — A very select and extensive assortment. Grcen-huuse and Bedding Plants, of ev^ry description. All articles are put up in the most superior manner, so that jilant', kc, may be sent thou.sauds of miles and reach their destination in perfect safety. Parties gi\ing their orders may rely on receiving the host and most prompt attention, so that perfect satisfaction may be given the purchiiser. The following descriptive Catalogues, containing prices, are pub- lished for graluiluus distribution, .and will be mailed upon every application; but correspondents are expected to enclose a one cent postage stamp for each Catalogue vrauted, as it is necessary that the postage should be prepaid : No. 1. Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits for 1854-5. No. 2. Descriptive Catalogue of Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Roses, kc. kc, for 1804-5. No. 3. Wholesale Catalogue or Trade List, just published for the fall of 1854 and spring of 1855, comprising Fruits, Evergreens, De- ciduous Tiees, &c. &c., which are olTered in large quantities. October 1, 1854.— tf THE SCIENCE OF NATURE. A NEW SCHOOL BOOK, ENTITLED FIRST LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY AND GEOLOGY, As Applied to Agriculture. BY J. EMERSON KENT, A. 51., M. D. ANEW school book — the first American work ever issued .as the first book, or "First Lessons' in Chemistry and Geology, as applied to Agriculture," designed .as the first step for the young, to be used in all our common schools, is now submitted to the educational public. Some indeed protest against the introduction of all modern improvements in n aJiing the enrth jiroductive; sHll tlie great agricultural interests of our nation depend upon a rising generation of practical firniers, who will till tlie soil .as much by a comprehensive knowledge of the laws of chemistry, as by the sweat of the brow. The suliject of agricultural chrmistry cannot but soon commend itself to the world as the most important of .all studies, and, in fact, the wealth of this country would be doubled within one ye.ar were all that saved wliich is now 1 st by stupid, bungling agriculture, A volume of recommendations could be given to the public, but it is not necessarv. School Committees and Teachers will be furnish :m1 with a copy, gr.atis, f )r examination, by mail, post paid, on ap;ilication to the undersigned. Price 25 cents. DAYTON k WENTWORTII, Publishers, SG Washington street, r!o-ts. N. f!. — A few men of the right ability are wanted to travel through every State in the Union, and introduce this work into schools. A liberal commission will he jiai 1. Gi^ntlcmi-n who t- 'm gj for health or leciealiou will find ihi-' occ.up.alinn a lucra'ive .u,j .agreeable employment. Address as above. Noy. 1, 1854. — 5t 358 THE GENESEE FARMER. THE HORSE, THE HOKSE, NOBLEST OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS, AND the one most frequently ill-treated, neglected and abused. We have just published a hook so valuable to every man who owns a horse, that no one should willingly be without it. It is entitlei, ^^^ MODERN HORSE DOCTOR, and is from the pen of that celebrated English Veterinary Surgeon, Dr. GEO. H. D.\DD, well known for many years in this country as one of the most successful, scientiftc and popular writers and lec- turers in this branch of medical and surgical science. The book which he now oilers to the public is the result of many years' study and practiced experience, which few have had. _ ^ • i j From the numerous and strong commendations of distinguished men and the newspaper press, we select the following : Extract from a letter from Hon. John H. Clifford, Ex-Goveror of Massachusetts. New Bedford, May 11, 1854. Dr. Dadu— Dear Sir :— I hope that your new work on the noblest creature that man has ever been permitted to hold in subjection (the Horse), will meet with that success which all your eflbrts m this direction so well deserve. Your obedient servant, John H. Cliffokd. This is a book which should be forthwith put into the hands of all who own or drive horses, whether for the dray or gig, for the plow, omnibus or road, for hard service or pleasure.— JVXcMa&ias Courier, Philadelphia. A good, clearly-written book, which should be in the hands of every man who 'has a horse whose ills his affection or his purse make it worth while to cure.— Bangor Mercury. This is a scientific, thorough and complete treatise upon the diseases to which one of the noblest of animals is subject, and the remedies which they severally require.— Tro?/ Daily Bvdget. It is a valualile book to those who have the care of horses*— Hartford Herald. He is not worthy to have a horse in his care, who will not use such a work to qualify himself for his duties to this animal.— Cow- monwealth, Boston. PUBLISHED BY JOHN P. JEWETT & CO., nosTox, JEWETT, PROCTOR & WORTHINGTON, CLEVELAND, OHIO. For sale by all Booksellers. Oct. 1, 1854.— »t From Hon. Marshall P. Wilder. Boston, May 13, 1854. Dr. Dadd— My Dear Sir :— I am greatly obliged to you for the valuable treatise, the results of your own investigations, which you have recently issued, hoping that it may meet vA-t\\ the patronage of a discriminating community. I remain yours with great regard, Marshall P. Wilder. The Modern Horse Doctor, by Dr. G. H. Dadd, is a manual of genuine science, and ought to be owned and studied on the score humanitv, as well as interest, by every man who owns a horse.— Boston Congregationallst. Dr. Dadd has had great experience in the cure of sick horses, and explains the secret of his success in this volume.— ^ew; York Tribune. The author of this work is well known as a most skillful veteri- nary surgeon. His book is based on the soundest common sense ; and as a hand-book for practical use, we know of nothing to com- pare with it. — Yankee Blade. We know Dr. Dadd well, and are satisSed that he possesses most important qualifications for preparing such a book as this.— ffew England Farmer. Messrs. Jewett & Co. have just published a very valuable work by Dr. Dadd, a well-known veterinary surgeon, on the causes, na- ture and treatment of disease, and lameness in horses.— fanner's Cabinet. This is one of the most valuable treatises on the subject ever published ; and no owner of that noblest of the animal race, the horse, should be without it. Especially should it be in the hands of every hotel and hverv-stable keeper. To many a man would it be worth hundreds of dollars every yea.v.—Ind. Dem., Concord. By far the most learned and copious work on the horse and his diseases we have ever seen. — New York Evangelist. One of the greatest and most commendable qualities of this work is, it is practical and plain to the comprehension of those farmers and others for whom it is mainly designed. _ The course of treatment favors generally a more sanative and rational systern of medication than that recommended in any previously existing works on farriery. No fiirmer or owner of a horse should be with- out this book. Stable keepers, stage proprietors and hackmen we believe would derive profit by having at least one copy hung up in their stables for use and reference by their stable men.— Daily l^ews, Philadelphia. There is more common sense in this book than any of the kind we have ever seen, and fanners and owners of horses would find it a matter of economv to possess themselves of it. It will be of more service than the counsel of a score of ordinary doctors. — Albany Courier. "We deem this decidedly the best and most reliable work on the « Cause, Nature and Treatment of Disease and Lameness in Horses," ever published. — Nantucket Inquirer. What we have read of this book induces us to regard it as a very sensible and valuable work; and we learn that those much more competent to judge of its value, have given it their unqualified approval. — Ev. Traveler, Boston. This book supplies a great desideratum, which Skinner's admira- ble treatise on the Horse did not fill. Every man may be his own veterinarv surgeon, and with much greater safety to this noble ani- mal' than by trusting him to the treatment of the erapinca itinerants who infest the country. It is well illustrated and should be purchased by every man who owns a horse.— £e. Mirror, N. I . 15,000 COPIES SOLD IN SIX WEEKS I BOOK AGENTS WANTED, TO sell a new work at the different State and County Fairs in the State of New York and other adjoining States during thin fall. One agent has sold 1300 copies during the past four weeks, affording him a gross profit of $104 for the month. The work M THE AMERICAN MANUAL, containing the Constitution of tl» United States and the Acts of Congress on Slavery, as follows : 1. The Constitution of the United States. 2. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1793. 3. The Missouri Compromise of 1820. 4. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. 5. The Nebraska and Kanasas Bill. , , . , , ,, ,.,, , With no remarks or commeuts, and a book desiredby all political parties The press of all parties recommend its circulation ; arrfl every 'intelligent voter in the country is glad to get it. Retail nrice 15 cents. Price bv the hundred, to agents, li ,i>j the dozen, fjl.' On the receipt of '$1 by mail I will send 12 copie?, postage paid, or of $8, 100 copies, postage pwd^ to any address. Circulars and showbills furnished to agents. When 100 or more copies are ordered by agents, I will take back and refund the cash for all copies unsold at any time. Address ^^ pg^^y October 1, 1854.- 2t Arcade Hall, Rochester, N. Y. IN THE PRESS, A NEW WORK, by the authoress of the "Backwoods of Canada," "The Canadian Crusoes," " Forest Gleanings," &e. &c. THE FEMALE EMIGRANT'S GUIDE, OR HINTS ON CANADIAN HOUSEKEEPING. BY MRS. C. P. TRAILL. Dedicated, by permission, to His Excellency the Earl of Elgin aod Kincardine, K. T., Governor General of British North America. IN TWO PARTS. Price 2s. 6d. (50 cents) each. Sent post-paid to any part of British North America. THOS. MACLEAB & CO., October 1, lS54.-2t Toronto, C. W. AGENTS WANTED. CHANCES FOR MAKING MONEY! THE publishers of a large list of highly entertaining, useful and popular Books, offer great inducements to 500 energetic and thorough-going business young men, to engage in the Si^e of these T.ublicAtions, in which anv young man of good business habrts may make FIVE TIMES the amount, over and above all expenses, of the average wages of Common School Teachers. The MOST LIBERAL discounts are made to Agents Irom tue list of prices. ,, • ^ j j The books command ready sales wherever they are introduced. None need apply unless they wish to devote their whole atten- tion to the business, and who cannot command a CASH CAl'llAt. of from $25 to $100, or give undoubted security for the amount of goods entrusted to them. • i „j v„ Full particulars in regard to terms, &c., will be furmshed by calling on, or addressing^p^ost^p^id, ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^ 24 Buffalo Street, Rochester, N. Y., Or, ALDEN, BEARDSLEY & CO., June 1, 1854.— tf Auburn, N. Y., I'ubli.'thers. THE GENESEE FARMER. 8b9 AYER'S ^ I- nil ALL THE PCRPOSES OF A' o F A M r L Y P H \ S 1 C . ry^IIESlO I'llls have btH'n pieiiarod with a view to supply a more X i-flhiliUi, .safer, and every way belter aperient meiiicine than has hit 1km to been available to the American people. No cost or toil has been spared in bringing theui to the stale_ of perfection, which now, after some years of laborious investigation, is actually realized. Thci;- every part and property ha? been carefully adjust- ed by experiment to "produce the bei5t etl'ect which, in the present »tate of the medical sciences, it is possible to produce on the ani- mal economy of man. When we consider that fnur-fifths of all the diseases incident to the human race actually require nothing jtQ ellectual purgative remedy to completely cure them in the l)eginni ng, we shall appreciate the utility of this invention; and when we further know by experience the exse and rapidity with which they may be arrested by these Pills, then, and not till then, can we estimate the magnitude of the benefits to be derived from their use. They are not presented to the world for a temporary run, but as the" skillful embodiment of such virtues a.s shall give tiiem a perennial popul5,rity, and peimanent place, among the great acknowledged remedies of this age. They will become the recourse to which men turn in affiiction, and not in vain. Hence the ex- pense, time, and assiduous toil have not been misspent in pro- ducing their unrivaled excellence; for it is a world-old maxim, that all beautiful and useful inventions are the fruits of a thousand labors and difficulties. The subjoined communication is authenticY TUCKER, Printer elect of the U. S. Senate. JOHN W. MAURY, Mayor of the City of Washington. S.^ A Dinner Pill, this is both agreeable and useful. No Pill can be made more pleasent to take, and certainly none- has been imide more etlectual to the purpose for which a dinner pill is em- ployed. Pei-sons of a bilious habit find great comfort from their occasional u.se, in .small dosts, after eating or drinking too freely. Many bon rivantsa.n(\. distinguished individuals have acknowledged tlie.se benefits; but we have not yet received authenticated certiti- teites of thi.s f ict for publication, and hence must ask the public to take this on our own unsupported assertion, or else try them and jadge for them.sclves. Being sugar wrapped, they are protected from detorioration, and, •oosciiuently. are more reliable in their eCfects, as well as perfectly »;^Teeab!e to be taken. PREPARED BY JANfES C. AYER, PRACTICAL AND ANA- LYTICAL CHEMI.-^T, LOWELL, MASS. Ifl^ Price 2.5 cents per Box. Five Boxes for $1. AYER'S CHERRY PECTOEAL, Tor the r.ipid Cure of Cougbs, Colds, Hoarseness, BroncM- tis, Whooping Cough, Croup, Asthma, & Consumption. TULs rcraiMiy has won for itself such notoriety from its cur(.3 of every variety of pulmonary disease, that it is entirely unnecessaiT" to recount the evidences of its virtues in any conmiunity where it has been cmploved. So wide is the field of its usel'ulnes.s, and so numerous the cases of its cure,', that almost every «!Ction of the country abounds in persons publicly known, who have been restored from aiarmiiig and even desperate diseoaes of the lungs by ila use. When once tried its superiority over every other medicine of its kind is too apparent to escape observation, and where its virtues are known, the public no longer hesitate what antidote to employ for the distressing and dangerous alVections of the pulmonary or- gans which are incident to our climate. And not only in formida- ble attacks upon the lungs, but for the milder varieties of Colds, Coughs, Hoarskni:ss, &c. ; and for Ciin.Diiii.N, it is the pleasantest and safest medicine that c;in be obtained. As it ha« long been in constant use throughout this section, we need not do more than assure the people its iiuality is kept np to the best it ever has been, and that the genuine article is sobl liy LANE & PANE, and W. PITKIN & SON, Rochester; UEMA- REST & HOLMAN, Buffalo ; and by all Druggists every where, November 1, 1854. — It HOME PROTECTION. TEMPEST INSURANCE COMPANY. CAPITAL, $250,000. Organized December 2-f, lSo2 — Chartered March 1, 18.53. HOMES ONLY INSURED BY THIS COMPANY. No one Risk taken for more than $3000. HosiE Office, Meridian, N. Y. Many distinguished persons have Insured their homes to the amount of $3000 each in this Company, among whom are Ex- President VAN BUKEN, Kinderhook; Ex-Governor SEWARD, Au- burn; DANIEL S. DICKINSON, Ex U. S. Senator, Binghampton. To tchrnn it may concern : Auburn, May 16th, 1853. _ We are personally acquainted with many of the Officers and Di- rect jrs of the Tempest Insurance Company, located at Meridian, Cayuga county, N. Y. In our opinion they are among the most wealthy and substantial class of farmers in this county. J. N. STARIN, ELMORE P. ROSS, THOMAS Y. HOWE, Jr. The above gentlemen will be recognized as the Cashier of Cayuga County Bank, Auburn ; Postmaster, Auburn ; and Ex-Member of Congress, Auburn, Cayuga county, N. Y. Feb. 1, 1854 — ly Conltnts of i\'\s Numfitr. Agricultural Climatology, - 329 Hints for November, 331 Patent Office Agricultural Report for 1853, 332 The Internal Commerce of the West 333 Experiments in Irrigation — Kiln-dried Com Meal, 335 An Experiment in Potato-culture,.. 336 New Stump Machine, - 336 Farming on Long Island, 337 Finger-and-toe in Root Crops, - 337 Sheep .and Wool, 339 The War and the Linen Trade, 340 Wi.sner's Patent Wash-tub, 342 On Stable Ventilation, 342 Wheat-growing in Massachusetts, 344 When should Crops be Gathered, 345 Home Manufacture of Poudrette, 346 A New Wind-mill, 347 Guano witli Plaster, Lime and Ashes; Cost of Manure, &c., 348 HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. The New York State Fair, 349 The Fruit Trade, - 349 Peach Orchards — Ripening of the Fruit, 350 Pears on Quince Stocks, 3o0 The Lilium Thompsonianum, 350 Time for Buying Fruit Trees, - 352 The Oi -.an ge W'atermelon, 352 How to Destroy Yellow Dock, - 352 LADIES' DKrARTMENT. Valuable Recipes; Advice to Mothers, &c., 353 editor'.s tahlf.. Monroe Countv Fair ; Dailies in Xewca.stlp Co., Delaware; The Knuckle Wa"shing Machine; Notice to Correspondents 354 Hogs; Prettv Good Provision against Famine; Potato-digger; Exports of Butter .and Cheese, &c., &c., 356 Inquiries and Answers, 355 Li te rary Notices, — 35" ILLUSTRATIO.VS. November, -- 331 VVisuer's Patent W;i.sh-tub, - 342 I'ue Lilium Thompsonianum, 351 360 THE GENESEE FAEMER. :e^OX=«. IQSS. In presenting his Prospectus for the SIXTEENTH VOLUME of the GENESEE FARMER to his patrons and friends, the uuder=igued returns his sincere thanks for the cordial appreciation and generous support extended during the p ist and previous jears. The price will remain unchanged, thougii all the expenses connected witli the mechanical department are much greater than in previous years ; and it is only by the voluntary aid of the friends of agricultural progress that he is enabled to furnish so large an amount of reading matter in his monthly issues. He will be assisted in the Editorial Department by Mr. W. D. ALLIS. who has been a regular contributor to its columns during the past year. Mr. JOSEPH FROST will continne as Horticultui-al Editor. Increased efforts will be made to render the GENESEE FARMER worthy of support. Each subscriber is respeeifully solicited to renew his subscription, and present the claims of the FARMER to his friends ; and the po- sult will enable the proprietor more than ever to advance the interests of its readers. " "^o enlarge the usefulness by extending die circulation of the GENESEE FARMER, the undersigned will pay the following PREMIUMS on subscriptions to Volume XVI., second series: FIFTY DOLLARS. IN CASH, to the person who shaU procure the LARGEST NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS in anyXounty or Dis- trict in the United States or Canada*, at the club prices. FORTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one who shall procure the SECOND LARGEST LIST, as above. THIRTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one procuring the THIRD LARGEST LIST. TWENTY DOLLARS, '^ IN CASH, to tlie one procuring the FOURTH LARGEST LIST. TEN DOLLARS, \IN CASH, to the one procuring the FIFTH LARGEST LIST. In order to reward every one of the friends of the GENESEE FARMER for his exertions in its behalf, we will g^ve to those not entitled to either of the above premiums, the following BOOKS, fi-ee of postage, or EXTRA PAPERS' as may be preferred : / 1. To everv person who sends SIXTEEN subscribers, at the club terms of thirtv-seven cents each. ONE EXTRA COPY OF THE FARMER, or a COPY OF LIEBIG'S LETTERS ON CHEMISTY AND AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTY (pamphlet edition). 2. To everv person sending for TWENTY-FOUR copies, as above, any AGRICULTURAL BOOK valued a* FIFTY CENTS, or TVrO EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARilER. 3. To everv person ordering THIRTY-TWO copies, anv AGRICULTURAL BOOK worth SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS, or THREE EXTRA COPIES OF THE FAR:\IER. 4. To everv person ordering FORTY copies, anv AGRICULTURAL BOOK valued at ONE DOLLAR, or FOUR EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER. 5. To everv person orderincr FORTY-EIGHT copies, anv ARGRICULTURAL BOOK worth ONE DOLLAR AND TWENTY-FIVE CENTS, or FIVE EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER. For larger numbers, books or papers given in the same proportion. To save cost to our friends, we pre-pay postage on aU boolis sent as premiums. Persons entitled will please state whether they wish boolvS or extra papers, and make their selection when they send orders, if they desire books ; or if they have not obtained as many subscribers as they intend to, we wiU delay sending until the club is fuU, if so requested. ' We do not require that all the papers of a club should be sent to one post-office. If necessary for the convenience of subscribers, we are willing to send to as many different offices as there are members of the club. We write the names on each paper, when a number are sent to the same office, if desired ; but when convenient, Postmastei-s would confer a favor by having the whole number ordered at their own office, sent to their own address. ;^~ As all subscriptions commence anew with the year, places where the FAR^MER was never before taken wiD stand an equal chance in the competition for premiums. y"^- BACK VOLUMES of the FARMER will be ^'urnished, if desired, and counted the same as new subscribers. We shall keep a correct account of the subscribers sent by each person, and in the JULY NU^IBER WE SHALL ANNOUNCE THE PREMIUMS. ^^^ Specimen numbers, show-bills, &c., sent to all post-paying applicants. AU letters must be post-paid or free. Subscription money, if properly enclosed and registered, may be mailed at our risk. DANIEL L.EE, Publisher and Proprietor. ^^m Vol. XV., Second Series. ROCHESTER, N. Y., DECEMBER, 1854. Ko. 12. THE GENESEE FARMER, A MOXTHLT JOl'RXAL OK AGRICULTURE & HORTICULTURE. VOLUME XV., SECOXD SERIES. 183*. BACH Xl'>rBER COXTAIX.S 32 ROYAL OCTAVO PAGES, TS DOXTBLK COLUMN'S, AN'D TWELVE NUMBERS FORM A VOLUME OF 384 PAGES IN A YBAK. Terms. Sioyle Copy, S0.50 Five Copies?, 2.00 Kiglit Copies, - 3.00 And at the same rate for any larger number. J_y' K<'mittancea properly mailed, and postage paid, at the risk of the Publisher. t^° Postmasters are respectfully requested to act as Agents. DANIEL. LEE, Publisher and Proprielur, Rochester, Tf. Y. THE STUDY OF MANURES. LoxG winter evenings have returned ; and farmers »jKi their sons can hardly do better than to devote a part of their leisure hours during the winter months to the ciitical study of Manures. For this purpose, there is no work that combines so much reliable practice with science as Boussiniraidt's R^ii-al Econo- my ; and it is commended to the reader for the valu- able instruction which it contains. His farm was long devoted to experimental purposes ; and for aught we know to the contrary, it is still managed with reference to the development of new truths in agriculture. The experiments of this distinguished chemist and fiU'mer extended through five periods of successive rotation of crops, manuring each crop, and twenty- one years in all. One hectare (about two and a half aa'es) was the area experimented upon. In the first period, embracing five years, the total weight of the crops was 80,83G pounds, consisting of potatoes, wheat, clover, wheat, oats, in the order of rotation named. The total weight of the manure used was 98,172 pounds. This reckoning includes the mois- ture of both the crops and the manures. In order to arrive at the most accurate results, the manuies and crops were dried at the same temperature, and m the same manner; and then it became manifest that the weight of the crops exceeded that of the manures employed. The dry crops weiglied 35,.')82 pounds; the dry manures weighed only 20 322 pounds; giving an excess in the crops of 15,2(i0 pounds. By careful analysis it was found that the crops ;od- tained — 16,766 pounds of carbon. 1,946 " hydrogen. 14,346 " oxygen. 602 " niirogen. 2,023 « salts and eartha. 35,582 The manure used to produce these crops con- tained— 7,275 pounds of carbon only. 8.03 " h\ J'-o^en. 5,244 " oxygf-n. 606 " nilnigen. 6,844 " salts and e&rths. 20,322 Tlius it will be seen that the crops contained 9,491 pounds of carbon, and 1)6 pounds of nitrogen, more than the manure ; and on the other hand, they con- tained 4,522 pounds of salts and earths less than the manure. In the second period, embracing also five years, the same results were obtained. The rotation followed was beets, wheat, clover, wheat, turnips, oats. The total weight of the crops in a dry state amounted to 34.9.56 pounds, while the dry manure employed amounted only to 20.322 pounds. In the third period, embracing six years, the sum total of the crops was 46,660 pounds, the maiuire employed 24,384 pounds. The rotation followed was potatoes, wheat, clover, Swedish turnips, peas, rye. In the fourth period, of three year.«, the field was left fallow the first year, and the two following ^ears sown with wheat. The weight of the two wheat crops was 16.772 pounds, while the weight of the manure employed was only 8,280 pounds. Finally, in the fifth and last period, the Jerusalem artichoke (Httiunihus tuherosus) was cultivated for two consecutive years, and the weight of the roots and stalks, when diied, was 71,124 pounds. The manure employed was 18,816 pounds. Placing all the results together in a table, we find the following: Crops. Manure. Surplua. In the first period, 35,582 20,322 15,260 In the second period, 34,956 20,322 14,634 In the third period 46,n60 24,584 22,278 In the fourth period," 16,772 8,280 8,492 In the efthpeiiod, 71,124 18,816 62,308 Thus we see that there was in none of those pe- riods a sufiicient amount of carbon, hydrogen, oxy- gen and niti-ogen contained in the manure to supplj 362 THE GENESEE FARMER. the demands of tlie plants, since, in all cases, a larger quantity of these elements were fonnd in the crops than in the manure supplied to the land. We in\ite particular attention to the fact that this hectare of ground increased in fertility while it gave the cultivator G2,034 pounds of carbon in crops more than ho applied to it in manure, in twenty-one years. Of organized oxygen, the excess in the crops over that contained in the manure was C.5,160 pounds ; excess of hydrogen, 7,372 pounds ; excess of nitro- gen, .")97 pounds. Most of our readers need not be told that carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen abound in the atmosphere and in rain water. In reference to the incombustible, earthy part of the ci'ops grown in twenty-one years, the case is the reverse of that of their combustible elements. M. BoussiNG.iULT gave the land an excess of minerals in the manures over those in the crops of 4,522 pounds in the first period ; of 4,413 in the second period; of 5,14.5 in the the third period ; of 1,753 in the fourth period ; and of 3,564 in the fifth period. Thus, du- ring the twenty-one years while these experiments were in progress, a surplus of no less than 19,397 pounds of mineral substances was supplied to the land in manures. If we now knew how much of simi- lar earthy constituents the disintegration of minute fragments of rocks and stones yielded in twenty-one years' tillage and cropping, and how much w^ashed oif the surface in surface water and sunk with the water into the deep subsoil, our data would be complete. Unfortunately, no one in Europe appears to have thought of determining the loss of the elements of fertility by tillage, and the M-ashiug and leaching of the soil. They all look to the substances removed in the crops, and no further, for the impoverishment of arated land. During th? last ten years we have steadily called pul^lic attention to this important de- fect in all transatlantic cx))eriments to test the intrin- sic value of mineral and other manures. It is obvious that some soils possess far greater latent resources in potash, soda, magnesia, lime, phosphoric and .sulphuric acids, locked up in an insoluble condition, than others. Some are so rich in these elements that tillage sufSces for many years to bring out enough to meet the an- nual wants of agricultural plants without the aid of manure. Other soils are so open, porous, and ill- supplied with the mineral constituents of crops, that the farmer finds it necessary to give two pounds of potash in his manure for every one contained in his grain and other staples. For sandy, leachy ground, no fertilizers pay better than spent wood ashes, ap- plied in liberal doses; for they tend to render the soil more compact, and retentive of manure, while sup- plying all the earthy constituents needed in vegetable organization. Every body knows that lime and sand form an adhesive mortar; and where marl is available, it improves poor sterile sands, such as abound in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Caro- lina, in a wonderful degree. These rem-arks are not intended to lessen the good opinion any reader may entertain of stable manure, such as 'M. BoT'ssixcrAiTLT used ; but merely to indi- cate whit part of such manure is most needed, as developed by long experience and careful analyses. Speaking of mineral manures, Boussixsault has • these pregnant remarlis: " IMineral maniires, saline or alkaline, which are par- ticularly designated under the name of siimulants, thus ascribing to them the faculty, purely gratuitous, of facilitating the assimilation of the nutriment which plants find in dung, and of stimulating and exciting their organ?. Such a distinction has no real founda- tion ; and nothing shows so much how scanty our knowledge upon this subject has been as this ten- dency in the ablest minds to connect vegetable nutri- tion with the feeling of animals." TVe have often taken occasion to point out the error, both in practice and science, of regarding cer- tain manures as stimulants. The idea suggested by the word stimulant, used in reference to the growth of plants, is false, and the first step toward a defective system of farm economy. Plants have no nerves, like animals, no feeling, and nothing for stimulants to operate upon. Vegetable and animal vitality have little or nothing in common, except the fact that both dwell in analogous systems of cells, which grow alike by the progressive development of new ones. To plants, all substances stand in the relation of neu- tral bodies, of poisons, or of aliment. Any elemen- tary body or compound which enters into the struc- tural formation of a plant, may he regarded as a part of its natural food, and a manure in reference to its production. Viewed in this light, manure is simply the raw material from which crops are made, and is valuable only so far as it supplies ingredients needed to form the plants cultivated. HINTS FOR DECEMBER. Whatever has been neglected in preparing for winter should now receive immediate attention. Cel- lars should be banked up to protect vegetables, ap- ples, and other perishable articles from injury by freezing-. Stables, barns and dwellings that need some slight repairs, ought to command both the time and means necessary to remedy the defects. A mul- titude of little things make up nearly all the elements of rural economy and domestic comfort; and these little things are too often disregarded at the times and seasons when neglect is mo.st prejudi. ial to the farmer's interest, and disagreeable to his family. Carelessness in not providing a pnod stock of fire- wood is a fruitful source of ann< jaice, leading to the necessity of burning fuel so green as to require a double quantity to boil a tea-kettle or dinner-pot, and then make every meal a half hour behind time, to the delay of all farm work. AVise facilities for doing every thing that has to be done should be provided beforehand, so far a> prac- ticable. This renders all the operations to be per- formed, whether in the house or out doors, by woman or man, girl or boy, pleasant to the cheerful and happy laborer. To work is one of our chief duties ; but this duty need not be converted into a penance, nor a curse, by discharging it in a painful manner. Apples, properly buried in the ground, are less liable to rot than potatoes, and usually sell at two prices in the spring compared with what they fetch in the fall. A liank of firm earth excludes th.e air from them better than a common banxl or box in a cellar; and they are less liable to dry, rot, or mold. THE GENESEE FARMER. 363 To keep turnips, beets, carrots, cabbage and sweet! just enough to attain the object aimed at. Too pota,toes, care is needed not to have tliem too warm, j much salt really consumes a jiart of the nutritious Their so-called sweating process is a chemical phe- : elements in tender lean meat, and renders the wliole nomenon in which considerable heat is generated, i muscular tissues less valuable for food ; wb.ile too lit- After this, they will bear more covering, and often \ tie salt, or the neglect to scald and purify the brine need it to exclude the frost. In this, as in all other , immediately after it has dissolved out the' blood and iiik.^ 'S:^S^ matters where circumstances vary, precise directions \ soluble albumen in the flesh, will be followed by cannot be safely given. Sound judgment is to be i tainted meat. The art and science of curing meat exercised at all times ; for without thi.s, failure is \ are deserving of more study than they have hitlierto inevitable. received. A criticnl investigation would show that la curing meats — pork, beef and mutton — the there is a world of impure salt used in this country, greatest v/isdom lies in using none but pure salt, and j and a great deal of losa sustained thereby. Salts of 364 THE GENESEE FARMER. lime and iron are the most coniniou impurities in Onondaga and Virginia salts used lor domestic pur- poses. WTiether farmers should undertake to purify these before salting meat, Imtter and cliecse, is a question for each one to settle for himself. No one doubts that manufacturers ought to be |»unis]ied f jr putti!ig up a bad article and selling it fur a good one. Every one ivho keeps live slock knows that cutting hay, straw and corn-stalks greatly facilitates their di- gestion in the stomachs of the animals that consume such forage. This idea ol" aiding the digestive pro- cess is now carried still further in France, by grinding straw, and converting it into a kind of farina or starch by scalding, and perhap; developing grape sugar by the use of a httle oil of vitriol. Common saw-dust may he changed into a kind of sugar ; and the woody tiber in straw, corn-stalks, &c., may be transformed into a soluble mass; but how nourishing the new product may be, we will not say. There is nothing in the mechanical operation of cutting straw that is not greatly improved by grinding it ; nor will it yield blood to neat stock without first being dis- solved in the organs of digestion. Man cooks his own food to increase its solubility ; and steam-driven teeth will yet masticate, as steam will hidf digest, all the food of his domestic animals. Digesticm, with ita genial heat, its hydrochloric acid, its alkaline bile to precipitate the fecal part of alimentary substances, is becoming much better understood by scientific husbandmen. The Science of Wintering Stock will be discussed at length in the January number of the Farmer. Our pi-esent purpose is to make a few suggestions as hints for the month — nothing more. "And these would be incomplete if we failed to urge the reading of good agricultural books as an agreeable and profitable occupation dm-ing long winter evenings. Johnstons Agricnltinal Chemistry should be studied by every youth. The engraving on the preceding page is intended to illustrate the mythological fable connected with the constellation Capricoruus, which is a follows : Pan, or Bacchus, fleeing from the giant Typluneus into the river Nile, transformed himself into a sea- goat, and Jupiter made him a constellation. Or, Amaltba^a, daughter of Melissus, king of Crete, nourished the infant Jupiter with goats' milk and honey ; for which service she was translated ta the heavens, in the constellation Capricornus. The character of this sign is supposed to have some resemblance to the tail of a goat ; but it is more probably an ancient mark for the name. The figure is sometimes that of a monster, partly a goat and partly a fish; but sometimes like a common goat, an animal fond of mounting, and therefore emble- matical of the sun, which, having in this sign reached his greatest southern declination, begins to re-ascend toward the north. In the Egyptian zodiac, the sea-goat is held in a string by Auul)is. In the Indian zodiac, this sign is represented by a goat passant, traversed by a fish ; on the Oriental zodiac of Sir W. Jones, it is a fish swallowing an antelope, and surrounded by aquatic birds; and in Moor's Hindoo Pantheon, Cipricornus is represented by an antelope. The sua enters Cap- ricornus about the 21st of December. MOISTURE IN SOILS. The goodness of a soil consists in an eminent de- gree i)i the power it has of maintaining a certain degree of moisture; for witlujiit this the ])lant can not possibly imbibe aliment, no luatler how abiuidant. Standing in a dunghill, without mnistnre, the ))laiit will starve. In supplying soils with a d>ie aniouivt of water, it is indispensable that the earth to a con- siderable depth be in a condition to permit tlie tolerably free descent and ascent of rain water that may fall on the surface of the ground in the course of a year. By this mechanical arrangement, the earth to the depth of twenty or more feet becomes an en- during reservoir to hold water for the benefit of vege- tation. The more protracted the drouth, from a lower point in the earth will water ascend to meet the urgent wants of suffering plants. The supply may be insufficient, for the daily evaporation of wa- ter from the numerous leaves of large plants is esti- mated in gallons ; but that fact does not invalidate the importance of the principle under discussion. Without being saturated, a cubic foot of good wheat or meado^v land will hold irom twenty-five to thirty })ounds of water ; and a cubic yard (which ia less than is usually allowed to a hill of corn) will hold from si.\ bundled to eight hundred pounds of water. Those who may take a special interest in the ca- pacity of different soils to hold water, will find many facts bearing on llie subject in an extended Essay on the "Study of the Soils," publisheu in the Patent Office Report for IS.iO, and from the pen of the pro- prietor of the (i^NKSEE Fakjier. Schubler haa investigated this interesting subject with equal skill, industry and success. Soils incapable of holding much water below the point of saturation, are hardly worth cultivating in this country-lhat abounds in cheap and fertile lands. Open, loose gravel and sand, form soils of this hungry, worthless character. 'I'hey need a good dressing oi clay, if one would make ihe.u retentive of moisture and manure. Soils of the right ph_ysical constitution have the power to . draw largely on the atmosphere for the elements of fertility ; those which are either too compact and solid, or too pervious and open, are almost always barren — drawing nothing from the air, but giving to drying winds and washing rains all the food of [ilants they naturally possess in their virgin state, if too loose, and locking up such food forever, ;f too hard. LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. Leguminous plants are those of the pulse tribe, and include peas, beans, tares, clover, lucerne, sain- foin, etc., of the class diadelphia and order decandria. The formation of the roots of leguminous veg. ta- bles varies much. The pea, for in.stance, has nu- merous small roots, all issuing from the seed, like the under-set of the roots of culmiferous plants (wheat, barley, oats, &c.) ; the red clover has a strong tap- root. The essential difference — as regards the otTect upon the soil — between leguminous and culmiferous plants, 13 that the former derive much of their aliment fpMH THE GENESEE FARMER. 365 the air, through their leaves, while the other, having small and few leaves, depend chiefly upon the soil for tiieir nourishment ; and as cuhniferous plants are chiefly cultivated for their seed, and are not cut until fully ripe, they are decidedly of an exhausting nature — but if cut green for fodder, they do not weaken the vigor of the soil more than many leguminous plants. Bearing this distinctive principle in mind, it follows, as a necessary deduction, that leguminous }:dants weaken the land, more or less, according as they ripen their seeds or not. Peas and beans being grown for seed, are more severe than other legumi- nous crops cut green. But whether they ripen the Beed or not, they are all, in one respect, highly con- ducive to the friability and mellowness of the soil ; by the shading which their foliage affords, the dew, or the raiu which falls in summer, is greatly prevented from evaporating ; much of the moisture sinks into the soil, which becomes mellow and unctions in con- sequence. But moisture falling on a culmiferous O'op rests but for a moment on the surface, and is then evaporated by the influence of the sun, leaving the ground not only dry but hard. And further, some of the leguminous tribe, by pushing their roots widely and deeply iu the ground, loosen it more than others, and are, of course, in this respect, more bene- ficial than others, though, in respect of abstracting aliment, they may be more injurious. Red clover by its tap-root divides the earth more than any mere fibrous-rooted plant; and when it does not mature its seed, is on clay soil the very best aperient, as it tends to remove cohesiveness without exhausting. In a word, leguminous plants, if not allowed to ripen, de- prive the soil in a very trifling degree of nourishment, while they invariably loosen it, and prepare it best for those culmiferous plants, which are perhaps more profitable, to succeed in their proper turn, and which tend to bind up the land again, and thus preserve the happy medium of fertility. ITALIAN RYE GRASS, This grass, recently introduced into the United States, is either a native of Italy or Germany, and is probably perennial. It diS'ers from the common kinds of rye grass iu many botanical particulars, which it is needless to enumerate, and which arc ouly intelligible to the scientific eye ; but to the ordinary observer it differs very perceptibly in presenting a darker green color, and in having much more abund- ant and broader foliage. It very commonly attains the height of four feet, and sometimes more, and is not inclined to spread on the ground. If sown in September, it may be cut iu the following May; and if sown early iu March, it will yield a heavy crop in July. Whether given as green food or converted into hay, it is eaten with avidity by cattle, which have in various instances manifested their preference of it to the common sorts, which is accounted for by its superior succulence and softness. It brairds much quicker than any of the other species of rye grass known to us, arrives sooner at maturity, and is in every respect superior to all of them. As it over- powers clover if sown with it, it is useless to sow them at the same time; and the only chance of their doijjg well together would be on poor soil, where the vacancies between the tufts of rye grass might be filled with clover, to be available in the second or third mowings. It is sown in the usual way after a harrowing, and covered with a bush harrow and a roller; and the quantity of seed for clean ground is about twenty-one pounds per acre. Among its other good qualities, it is found to withstand the influence of frost better than any other varieties of grass. In a word, it is a decided acquisition to our agriculture. PRESERVATION OF WHEAT IN TEN- NESSEE. The following communication by a correspondent of the Plough, the Loom and the Anvil, respecting wheat threshing, will be found of interest to those whose barns are infested with the grain weevil: " I am aware that very many of my farming friends in Tennessee are the readers of your valuable publi- cation, and are heavy wheat-growers ; and now that recent railroad conveyance, with the foreign demand, has permanently settled upon this valuable grain a fair price here, it is not at all unlikely that much more attention will be paid to the growing of wheat in fu- ture. A few otherwise systematic and economical farmers in Tennessee raise a pretty fair crop of wheat, and have no barns to house it in. This is a very great desideratum to a wheat-grower ; and the want of good barns, with some other proximate causes of mismanagement, sometimes results in material damage to the wheat of these farmers before it reaches the miller's hopper. Therefore, through you, to my farm- ing friends in Tennessee, let me, without ostentation, give my experience in harvesting and saving a wheat crop, referring at the same time to my acquamtances for the character of my wheat crops. " Whenever the straw of the wheat becomes of a golden yellow for about two inches below the ear or head, disregarding any other feature in the straw or grain, I cut it down, bind it right up after the scythe in small binds, shock likewise in small shocks. I let it stand thus in the field till it cures and dries per- fectly, so that the grain would gi'iud, and no longer. I haul to the barn, thresh out when convenient, un- less I notice a sign of weevil breeding in the wheat, when I thresh at once ; and having a large bin for the purpose in the barn, I crib it up in the chaff till it is needed. In this way I have saved and do save one thousand bushels of wheat clear from mold, heat or must. The bran is always thin and touuh, the flour white and sweet, preserving its native fermenting qualities to the satisfaction of the most fastiduous epicure in any clime." Potatoes in Ireland. — The Belfast Mercury says that the magnitude of the crop for 1854 is cer- tainly very much beyond that ever known in that country. Taking a low average, we should say that the gross value of Ireland's potato lands this season cannot be under £15,000,000. Ireland contahis now more than six millions and a half of inhabitants, and the potato crop for the present year is estimated to be worth seventy millions of dollars, or rather more than ten dollars for each man, woman and child in the whole island. 366 THE GENESEE FAEilER. ICE-HOUSES. Winter, of course, is the time to make and put up ice for summer use ; and a few sugpfcstions on this Bubjcct may not be out of phice at this seiKSon. The cheapest possible ice-house is one made over a frame-work of forked sticks, set in the ground, having a covering of poles, and these thatched with straw. In this way a good shelter for ice may be making and keeping all the ice any family may need. The water may be pumped from an ordinary well, and frozen in a broad shallow vat — adding more water as the congelation advances. The larger the mass the better, if the blocks can be hanUcd. The machinery employed for cutting ice on a large scale, for shippers and shipment, is worked by men and horses in the following manner : From the time the ice forms, it is kept free from ..;* Xw' "«fe^ ifi'j lonned for fifteen or twenty dollai's. Tbo thach- work should be double, to have confined air between the walls of straw. The floor should have a free drainage, and rest on stone or blocks of wood ; and it may be of shavings, tan-bark, or straw alone. A double frame of wood is the next cheapest ice- house, and its cost will depend on its size and the price of lumber. In all northern climates there is no difficulty in snow until tbicls: enough to cut ; that process com- mences when the ice is a foot thick. A surface of some two acres is then selected, and a straight line drawn through its center. A hand-plow is pushed along this line until the groove is about three inches deep, when the " marker," fig. 1, is introduced. This is dravm by two horees, and makes two new grooves, Iwonty-one inches apart, the gauge remaining in the origmal groove. The marker is. then shifted to the THE GENESEE FARMER 367 outside groove, and makes two more. Having drawn these lines over the whole surface in one direction, the process is repeated in a transverse direction, Fig. 1. marking all the ice out into squares of twenty-one inches. The "plow," fig. 2, drawn by a single horse, follows in these grooves, cutting to a depth of six inches. One entire range of blocks is then cut out with the " ice-saw," fig. 3, and the remainder are split off toward the opening thus made with an iron bar, fig. 4, shaped like a spade, and of a wedge-like form; ^^ Fisr. 3. Fi-. 4. Fi?. 5. a veiy slight blow is sufficient to produce that effect, especially in very cold weather. Platforms are placed near the opening made in the ice, and with a hook, fig. 5, the ice is caught, and by a sudden jerk thrown up the slide on to the platform. Beside this platform stands a " sled," of the same height, capable of con- taining about three tons, which, when loaded, is drawn upon the ice to the front of the storehouse, where a large stationary platform, of exactly the same height, is ready to receive its load, which, as soon as dis- charged, is hoisted, block by block, into the house, by horse power. Forty men and twelve horses will cut and stow away four hundred tons in a day. When a thaw or rain occurs, it unfits the ice for market by rendering it porous ; and occasionally snow is imme- Fiir. G. diately followed by rain, and that again by frost, forming snow ice, which is valueless, and must be re- moved by the plane. A " plane," fig. 6, is gauged to fvui in the grooves made by the marker, and shaves the ice to the depth of three inches ; it is drawn by a horse until the whole surface of the ice is planed. ^^he chips thus produced are then scraped off, and if the clear ice is not reached the process is repeated. If this makes the ice too thin for cutting, it is left in statu quo, and a few nights of hard fi'ost will add beloio as much as has been taken off above. Our engraving shows the process of ice-cutting at Rockland Lake, near New York. The Rockland Lake Ice Company is one of the largest in the coun- try, delivering an enormous quantity of the article in New York city. Their ice-houses*are located on the margin of the lake. Tli^ mode of cutting and the uses of the tools, as described, will at once be recog- nized in our view. THE LONDON TIMES ON THE RECI- PROCITY TREATY. The London Times comments at length on the Re- ciprocity Treaty. We quote the concluding portion: " We shall not attempt to strike a critical balance of the advantages given and received by the parties to this treaty. It is a well-known result of such ar- rangement that both sides find themselves gainers, even on points where they had expected to lose ; and in the present case we believe the losses will be imaginary, while the anticipated gains will be doubled. " We do not presume that our colonists will find their fisheries any the worse for the admission of the Americans to share in them, or that the Americans will suffer from the Canadian corn-growers. It is more than probable that the fishermen of the one country, and the agriculturists of the other, will be alike benefitted by the change, which will provide new markets, while it will supply a wholesome stimulus to exertion. The advantages on both sides will be marked, decisive and immediat'C — and the sacrifices which each may conceive itself to be making, will in all likelihood never be felt. "But, while the prospects opened by this treaty are so promising abroad, they are still more satisfac- tory at home. It is something to have put the com- mercial intercourse of Canadians and Americans on a desirable footing ; but it is far more to have strengthened the ties of amity between two such countries as Great Britain and the United States; and to have removed what might at any time have proved a cause of alienation and collision. " An American journal now before us observes that the effect of this treaty will indeed be to annex the British Provinces to the United States, as far as the principal bijfinches of traffic are concerned ; but that the United States will, by the same process, be an- nexed to the British Provinces. In fact, strong addi- tional reasons will now exist for the cultivation of good feeling between Americans and Canadians, while at the same time the two supreme governments will be relieved from the embarrassments of a question which has always threatened a catastrophe. "Among the minor advantages of the treaty, will bo the fact that it disengages several of our vessels of war from a disagreeable duty, and makes both' ships and men available at a juncture when better employment may be foimd for them. THE GENESEE FARMER " The only person, indeed, who will have cause to repine at the urrangenient now established, will be the Emperor of Russia. In the return of our ves- sels from these waters, he will see not only an acces- sion to our naval ibrce, but a pledge of confirmed cordiality between Great JJritain and America. That such cordiality may long continue, must be the wish of all those who desire tlie peaco und progress of the world; nor could any step be takc^n more judiciously with a view to such an cud, than that exemplified in the treaty jist concluded." ^ The agricultural progress of all that speak the English language in Nor^i America is intimately associated with, and dependent on, a wise and liberal foreign policy. Such a policy this journal has long aimtd to foster in the minds of its numerous readers in the United States and the British American Provinces. In the face of the Reciprocity Treaty, Avheat is now selling in Rochester at two "dollars a bushel, of which over 20,000 bushels are daily manu- factured into flour. Our Canada friends will find this a good market for most of their surplus produce. Between the depot at Rochester and that at J-^rsey City, there is no change of cars via the New York and Erie Railroad, with its wide track and heavy lo- comotives. LETTER FROM OREGON. Mr. Editor: — A few remarks in relation to our farming operations here on the Pacific coast may not be uninteresting to some of your many readers. We have just got through with harvest. There has been probably twice as much wheat raised this season as in any season before in Oregon ; but not many oats, on account of the hard winter and back- ward spring. There is considerable smut in the wheat this har- vest ; but I think it will be prevented next year, as mostof the farmers talk of washing their wheat in a solution of vitriol (sulphate of copper) — one pound to eight bushels of wheat — and then letting it lie in a pile eight or ten hours. This method proved entirely satisfactory last season, as far as I have heard. There is no country in the world where deep plow- ing and thorough pulverization of the soil pay better than in Oregon. We have but two seasons here — the wet and the dry. There is usually but little rain through the mouths of June, July, August and Sep- tember ; but it is surprising to see how all kinds of vegetables, and corn, will grow on ground that has been plowed deep and well pulverized, without a drop of rain for five or six weeks. _ We can raise good corn here with proper cultiva- tion, and the finest potatoes and wheat in the world. Wheat is sown from the first of May till the mid- dle of February following. The finest crops of wheat I have seen here were those sown in May and June ; but the general time for sowing wheat is in Septem- ber and October, immediately after the rains com- mence. Oats are very often sown in the fall, and :\s a general thing they do the best when sown in that season; but last winter was too severe for them — most of them froze out. Wheat is worth $2 per bushel — potatoes $1.25 — 9fid other things in proportion. So you can see how farming pays here, when I tell you that forty bu^-hels of wheat and five hundred of potatoes can be raised to the acre. The rains usually commence in So})tember, when the grass turns green again; and by the lOlh of No- vember the hills arc green with grass, v.liich generally stays green all winter, and is sufficient for the cattle during the winter without any provender — though last winter and the winter before were unusually se- vere for Oregon, and some cattle died for the want of food. Yet others did well, as I had over thirty cows that were not fed a mouthful during the winter, and in March last most of them would have made good beef. Formerly more attention was paid to raising cattle in Oregon than to agriculture; but as the large tracts of land granted to settlers are now being rapidly fenced in, persons are compelled to keep less stock, and consequently agriculture is beginning to receive more attention. We have Agricultural Societies formed in nearly every county in the territory. Every thing in relation to agriculture now appears to be progressing in a scientific and systematic manner ; and being more favored than our "golden-haired sis- ter," California, in relation to our land titles, as we have, or will have in a short time, undisputed titles to our land, there is great attention paid to the raising of fruit. I think I never was in a country where there was as much attention paid to the raising of fruit by the masses as in Oregon. But what we need more than any thing else here, is a good agricultural and horticultural journal, con- ducted on liberal and scientific principles, as there is no paper in the territoay devoted to the interests of the largest class of persons — the farmers. I tliiuk such a journal would meet with a warm reception, and a hearty support. I do think some competent and enterprising young man would do well by starting such a journal in Oregon. More anon. Yours, truly, Philip Ritz. P. S. — As we have many flowers, shrubs and trees here that I have never seen east of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada range, I send you some seeds that I think will grow well in the Northern States. There are some beautiful wild flowers here'. No. 1 is a beautiful yellow flower. No. 2 is a singular white and purple flower. No. 3 is a rich, red berry, somewhat resembling the raspberry. P. R. CoRVALLis, Oregon, Aug. 5, 1854. The best Mode of Applying Guano. — We have printed a good deal on this subject, and will add the following from the Farm Journul, which we fully approve of: "We recommend that it be plowed in as soon as possible after being spread, its most valua- ble constituent, the volatile carbonate of ansmonia, being dissipated and lost by long exposure to the atmosphere. In cases where it has been profitably applied as a top-dressing, it has probably been chiefly owing to particular circumstances, such as a wet spell of weather, or immediately preceding a fall of rain. There is very little danger of covering too deep. We have known it plowed in, and the ground subsoiled at the same time, with marked benefit." — Germaiiluwn Tekgraph. THE GENESEE FARMER 369 OBSERVATIONS ON IN-AND-IN BREEDINGS Not having the honor to belong to the veterinary profession, I do not regularly read your very able pe- riodical, though my attention has lately been called by a fiiend to an article in the number for May last, on the subject of "Animal Physiology, and breeding Farm Stock," in which the writer most strongly reprobates the practice of in-and-in breeding. It so happens that I am well acquainted with Mr. Barkord, 0,f Northamptionshire, who is mentioned by name therein; and having some opportunities of seeing his management of his sheep, and his practice with re- gard to in-and-in breeding, I take the liberty of troubling you with a few lines in reply to Mr. Lanxe's paper. That gentleman has adduced several instances, or rather related several anecdotes, "as the data on which he founds the argument, that consanguinity in blood among parents leads to degeneracy in the off- spring." But, to me, they by no means satisfactorily firove his position. His long quotation from Mr. uwrence's lectures about the Angola sheep makes rather for than against the practice of in-and-in breed- ing, as it clearly recognizes the possibility of retaining varieties of animals by ^'preserving the race pure,^' by selecting for propagation the animals most con- spicuous for size, or any other property we may fix on. In this way we may gain sheep valuable for the fleece, or the carcass, large or small, with thick or thin legs ;' just such, in short, as we choose. The other instances he mentions, as of Hallers, " two noble females," of Mr. Marsh, of Ryton, having produced an " appalling malformation " in the produce of a son with his mother, and others, only prove, what I presume Mr. Lance will at once admit, viz., the truth of the old adage that " like begets like," and that where any imperfections, moral or physical, exist in the parent, they will most likely reappear in tlie offspring, whether bred in-and-in or not. As a set-off to one of Mr. Laxoe's instances, I may mention that Bakewell found that good qualities were also transmissible, and in as great a degree as evil ones. And it is rather singular that he founded the oliservation in the results of an experiment (among others) exactly similar to that of Mr. Marsh, having found that a sow of his never bred so good pigs as when put to her own son. And allow me to ask Mr. Lante whether "the deformities of mind and body," which, according to Mr. Lawrence, spring up so plen- tifully in our large cities, cannot be amply accounted for by the intemperate habits, the vicious indulgencies, the vitiated atmosphere, the unhealthy occupations, the undrained and unventilated halntations in which so niany of onr urban population live and have their being, without having recourse to " the want of selec- tions and exclusions" to which he has alluded ? P^or it must be borne in mind that, in agricultural districts, the same "want of selections and exclusions" exists as in the cities, without, as Mr. Lance must admit, anything like the amount of mental and bodily de- formity which " degrades the race " in the towns. And supposing, for the sake of argument, that the state of many of the royal houses in Europe be such SLS Mr. Lawrence implies, may it not be possible that many generations of luxurious indulgence and unre- strained passions, which, perhaps, are inseparable from their exalted position, may not, by their continued though gradual effect on the constitution, sufficiently account for it, without attributing it wholly to the fact of their being restricted to some ten or twenty families in the choice of husbands and wives? But to return to sheep-breeding. I gather, from what Mr. Lance implies rather than from what he says, that he imagines Mr. Barford allows the most promiscuous and indiscriminate inter- course among his flock. There cannot be a greater mktake. The most continued vif>ilance is exercised to prevent the propagation Of any defect, should they appear, and, to use Mr. Lance's own words, "it is only the best that are allowed to continue the race." In this I presume Mr. Barford only follows the exam- ple of every other breeder; and not to do so, would at once stamp a man with the most ridiculous imbecility. If the cousins, of whom Mr. Lance has spoken, if the white breed of fowls in Hampshire, if Mr. Marsh's hogs, if the " silly " sheep in Wiltshire, in fact, if the subjects of any of the in-breeding experiments he mentions, had any " deficiency of nervous energy^' and " weakness of malformation," in short, any defect whatever, it is evident to the narrowest mind that the nearer the affinities, and the longer they are bred so, the more decided will those defects become. But it must be absurd to attribute them to the bare fact of in-and-in breeding. Mr. Lance must prove that aH cross-bred animals are free from all defects, before he can say that. In fact, I should regard failure in in- and-in breeding experiments as the most irrefragable evidence of defect in the parent or parents, and nothing more. I often think that it must be to misapprehen- sion on this point that much of the unmitigated hos- tility to in-and-in breeding is to be attributed. Peo- ple, by some means or other, get hold of the idea that the advocates of the system mean universal and indis- criminate in-and-in breeding, than which nothing can be more absurd. But let us see where Mr. Lance's favorite system will lead him when carried into practice. As the end and aim of all crossing is of course improvement, all breeders may hope to (nay, if the theory be correct, they must, at some period or other) reach a point be- yond which there is no improvement to be made by crossing ; that is, they will produce a perfect animal, or, at least, one more perfect than anybody's elsre. Now, sir, allow me to propound this question to Mr. Lance: When a man has arrived at this point — when he has exhausted every source of improvement which the kingdom, nay, which the world, affords — what is he to do ? It is evident he must adopt one or the other of the following courses : Either he must feed off and consign to the butcher l»oth his males and females, without any more ado; or he may allow them to live to an unprofitable maturity, and a useless old age, and die at last a natural death ; or he may caD in Mr. Stafford, and disperse to the four quarters of the globe the fruits of perhaps a life-time of care, trouble and anxiety, besides enormous expense, and begin again de novo; or he may knowingly, and with his eyes open, by crossing them with animals inferior to themselves, retrograde, step by step, to the medi- diocrity and inferiority with which he set out in the 370 THE GENESEE FARMER first instance; or, his last resource, he may, by in-and-in breeding, attempt to propagate them perfected as they are, and thus retain for his country and himself the benefits which such a race of animals must neces- sarily confer. But such is the amount of obstinate prejudice now entertained against this system, that we might expect to see many gentlemen, perhaps Mr. Laxce himself, adopt any of the above sources rather than the last. This is a suppositious case, but sub- stantially it may be said to have occun-ed in the in- stance of 3Ir. Barfokd's flock, as the following rough sketch of its history wiU show : About the year 1786, the late Mr. V. Bakford commenced sheep-breeding. He hhed rams of Mr. Robinson, of AVellingborough, who was a discijjle of Bakewell, of Dishley, and bred from his stock. Mr. Barford continued to do so until about the year 1810, when the present Mr. Barford, considering his own sheep as good as Mr. Robinson's, and not being able to find any that he thought calculated to improve them, was really placed in something like the dilemma which I have above mentioned. However, in-and-in breeding had no imaginary terrors for him, and there- fore he boldly adopted the last of the courses which I have enumerated ; so that, by necessity, even if he had not from choice, he must have become an in-and-in breeder. I will not take upon myself to say that he has succeeded ; but I do ask any gentleman who is skeptical of the possibility of the thing to visit him, and inspect a flock of which every individual sheep has a pedigree that can be traced back for ujjwards of forty years without a cross ! With such a fact as this before me, Mr. Editor, and with the still more significant one that the Jews have bred from the closest affinities from the very time of their father Abrahaji, without any deficiency of nervous energy, or any physical or moral de- generacy, I think I may be justified in declaring my firm opinion, that the explanation of the numerous and palpable defects in man and animals, in modern times, must be sought in other reasons than the sys- tem of breeding Mr. Lance so strongly objects to. — Omega, in the London Veterinarian. FOOT-ROT IN SHEEP. Flockmasters in Germany separate the diseases incidental to the foot of the sheep into two kinds — infectious and non-infectious; or better, into the viru- lent and the mild foot-root; for although the common foot-rot is there considered by some non-infectious, it is perhaps only comparatively so, being attended v/ith little or no danger, and often disappearing without the application of a remedy, although through neg- lect it may degenerate into the virulent or infectious state. The following remarks relate, I think, to the disease alluded to by Mr. Watkins, and which he sup- poses to have been introduced into England of late years; in Germany, they trace its origin in that coun- try to the introduction of the Merino sheep. It first shows itself in the limping gait of the animal, which gi-adually increases ; generally commencing with one of the fore-feet, afterward both are affected, and at last this lameness extends to the hinder feet, with in- creasing bodily weakness. The diseased foot is hot, and is often swollen round the hoof, which is more open or wider apart than on the sound foot, and the skin of the coronet is inflamed. An unpleasant-smelling humor exudes, which thickens on exposure to the atmosphere, and not only inflames and destroys the immediately-surrounding skin, but often penetrates between the horn of the hoof and the foot itself, the horny part partially separating from the flesh; and in the worst cases an entire sepa- ration of the hoof takes place, and, if neglected, de- stroying the muscles and sinewews, and attacking even the bones of the feet ; in which condition the poor animal moves about on its knees, or helplessly lies down ; the whole system gradually becomes poisoned, and although generally with unimpared ap- petite, it wastes away until death releases it from suffering. The worst form of this disease is not so often met with in the coarser Merino flocks, as in those where every care is taken in improving the fineness and quality of the wool, by which means they are ren- dered more susceptible to the changes of temperature and weather. It is of a very infectious nature, if proper precaution be not taken, spreading through an entire flock in a month or two, and is often introduced by merely driving sound sheep over laud where dis- eased sheep have been a short time pre\iously. Precaution is the oldest and best remedy ; but thorough cleanliness, wholesome food, and attention to the flock in wet and inclement weather, will not always keep the disease away, as long as there are so many channels for introducing it ; should it exist in the neighborhood, the shepherd must keep a vigilant eye on his flock ; a sheep observed to be lame must be immediately examined. If a small eruption or pimple appears on the skin between the hoofs (coro- net), and the foot is unnatm'ally hot, tlie disease has made its appearance, and no time must be lost in ap- plying a remedy; the diseased sheep must be kept by itself, and all the flock very carefully examined. With a sheep-knife remove the scab or pimple, clean out the wound to the sound flesh, wash it with salt and water, and then do it over with strong nitric acid. If the disease has advanced under the horn of the hoof, all the unsound flesh, together with the horn, must be carefully removed, the wound washed out with brine, and strong nitric acid applied. Some recommend using sulphate of copper instead of brine, and butter of antimoy in the place of nitric acid ; but with the brine and acid a cure is generally eSected in eight or nine days. Another remedy is, a concen- trated solution of chloride of calcium dissolved in water; after the feet are well washed and cleaned, and all diseased parts removed, they are carefully painted over with the chloride as far as the ankle-joint, us^ing a small painter's brush for the purpose ; and it is best to apply it also to those which have only heat in their feet. It is a safe and good remedy. An old German shepherd recommends a compo- sition consisting of several ingi-edients; but a method of destroying the virus of the disease by electro- chemical action, and the preservative effect of water, deserve investigation. The process is simple, and is said by those who have tried it to answer completely; but, having never seen it applied, I must not trespass further on your valuable space. — JoJin P. Rubie, in in the Mark Lane Express. THE GENESEE FARMER. 371 INTRODUCTION OF THE ASIATIC BUF- FALO, THE BKAHMIN OX, AND THE CASH- MERE. SCINDE AND MALTA GOATS INTO SOUTH CAROLINA. The want of calcareousness in nearly all of the soils of the Souihern States, together with the heat of our sun, makes an inaptitude to ])erennial grasses for grazing auitiiuls ; hence more suitable for brows- ing, as both ten:l to originate shrubbery and weeds. In 1836, having liad some experience in the impor- tation of Short-horned, Devon and Ayrehire cattle into this State, 1 then summarily advanced an opinion, "that all cattle brought from a jVorthern to our Southern climate must necessarily degenerate to the peculiarities of our location, and that it would be easier to improve cattle already acclimated, or import animals from a still warmer region." In my late sojourn in Asia and the East, I had reference to this observation in importing (/ashmcre, Scinde and Malta milking goats, as well as the Brahmin ox, or Xagore, of India, the Asiatic buffalo, or water ox, and other animals. The Cashmere, Persian, Angora and Circassian goats are one and the same animal, changed in some respects by altitude, though but httle by latitude. They abound in all this inaccessible territory, and are the eating, milking, cheese and butter-making and clothes-making animal of the whole country. They ai'e finely developed for the table, much disposed to fatten, very white and beautiful, with long fine wool or curly hair, yielding about 4 to 4i pounds to the fleece. They can be easily procured by an energetic man acquainted with the peculiarities of the popula- tion, and at a cost of $4 to $G each on the spot. I brought to the United States, in 1849, seven females and two males. They have kids only every spring, usually two at a birth. The full breeds have increased only to about thirty, from the accidental circumstance that in nearly c\i ry instance the issue has been males. In locating these animals in diflerent sections of South Carohuu, I can see uo difference between those reared here and the imported, with the exception that those reared in this State are finer and heavier fleeced than those imported. On my arrival, I immediately procured a number of our httle diminutive native female goats, and crossed them upon a Cashmere buck. Their progeny had hair very line, but little longer than that of the does. I again crossed the females of this progeny upon the other Cashmere buck, and it was difficult to distinguish these from the pure breed ; and the sub- sequent cross cannot be detected. In the spring, I contemplate efi'ecting still another cross. I consider this a most valuable and useful experi- ment, as I made an arrangement with amateurs to sell pure bucks at $100, and to exchange annually, so as to furnish them with the advantages of diflerent ci'osses. In ten days all the pure breeds were taken, with a demand for many more. Even the mixed kids have been readily taken by those determined to Infuse their blood with their stoclc. In these ar- rangements, however, I have located them from the top of the mountains to the seaboard, both in Caro- lina and Georgia. Apart from their manifest prac- tical aptitude in all these particulars, there is this ultimate value to be considered : a Cashmere shawl is worth from $700 to $1,500. Why is this differ- ence, except in their intrinsic value from durability as wearing apparel ? I have socks which I have worn for six years, and are yet perfectly sound. No naturalist has yet been able to assign a syste- matic law regulating the acclimation of animals. The Merino sheep, whenever it has been removed, has generally changed, and in most cases for the worse. Even when crossed upon the best Saxony sheep it was a deterioration, but when crossed upon a coai-se- wooled animal it improved the fleece ; and the cross fixed both the character of the wool and the carcass. This fact is observed in many other instances, demon- strating that the constitution of aninuils must be connected with location to fix the character of the wool or the carcass. In fact, the same temperature, but modified by altitude instead of latitude, does not produce the same results. On all the table mountain and valley plains between Persia and 1'urkey in Asia, all the animals have fine, long, silken hair, as the An- gora cat, greyhound, and rabbits, and I have seen the same in some specimens of the Koordistan horse. To a considerable extent this is the fact on the west- ern part of South America. In connection with this part of the subject, I will now introduce the Thiljet shawl goat, belonging to the coldest regions. I accidentally came in posses- sion of a pair of these animals, but lost the male. I have a considerable increase from the female, bred with a Cashmere buck. The Thibet goat has, under a long, coarse hair, a coat of beautiful white wool, which, when combed, makes about a pound to a fleece. I had these specimens with me at the Zoo- logical Gardens in London ; and in comparing them with a stuffed specimen of a Rocky Mountain goat, I could not discover the slighest difference ;' nor do I yet see any change of the fresh cross of the Cash- mere buck upon my Thibet doe ; but in the third cross upon the Cashmere, we may expect a valuable experiment by changing the fine undcr-wool, or down, into a conjoint and uniform covering of wool. In regard to the Scinde goat, so called from the province at the mouth of the Indus, he is a gigantic animal, with pendulent ears twenty-two inches long, is used for the table and dairy, and is very similar to the Syrian goat. The jNIalta milking goat is also for the dairj', giving about a gallon of milk in a day. It may not be uninteresting for me to state a fact ob- served by me in the malarious sections of the United States and Mexico. In all the similar sections of Asia and the East, they regard cow's milk as being an exciting cause to bilious fevers, as well as to liver complaints, and hence use only goat's milk. The modus agendi I see has been a matter under discus- sion by the faculty of Pari.''. Having given thus much on the subject of goats, T now hasten to the cattle. In referring to the Na- gore or Brahmin cattle of India, in Youatt's work on British cattle, it will be perceived that they are organized to undergo tlie fatigues of the hottest cli- mates known, and will carry a soldier six miles an hour for fifteen consecutive hours. 1 brought but one pair to the United States, and, as far as I can learn, my crosses of them upon other cattle are the first known in this country. 1 crossed this bull upon 3 2 THE GENESEE FARMER Ayrshire, Devon and Durham breeds, as well as upon our common cattle. The offspring? is considered, by all who have seen them, far the handsomest animal of the cow kind. They are symmetrical and active, and can keep fat when any other cow would starve. I had this half-breed crossed again upon our cattle, but am not yet sufficiently experienced to report of their milking qualities. As evidence, however, that our agi-iculturists confide in the appearances, my half-breeds readily sell at Si 000 a pair, and the second cross, or half Brahmin, at from SlOO to $300 each. Preferring the mixed breeds to the pure, I sold to Mr. EnEs, of Kentucky, the original pair for .$4000, as that State would prove a better place to breed and disseminate the stock. As Kentucky is the de- pendence of the .South for beeves, they needed an animal that could come to us in the hot months of summer and remain healthy and sound. They have from this animal a progeny that will travel thirty miles a day in August, and the further South they go the better are they suited — the great desideratum to the Northern breeder and the Southern consumer. The Asiatic buffalo, or water ox, is a large, ugly, hardy animal. The cows are good milkers, making fat and good-flavored beef, though coarse-grained, and precisely suited to sea-coast marshes, where no other animal can venture, as well as to lands subject to inundation. I am unprepared to say anything practically of my other importations, but will continue to report my experimeots, and believe many of them will become matters of history. — James B. Davis,M. D., of Co- lumbia, 8. C, in the Patent Office Report. WHEAT-CULTURE IX WESTERN NEW YORK. The average crop of wheat in this portion of the State is about 2.5 bushels to the acre ; although in many instances, from proper cultivation, the yield has been more than double. My neighbor, Mr. William HoTcnKiss, who exhibited the largest yield at the World's Fair in London, in 18;j1, in a field of six acres, in 1849-.50, averaged 63 J bushels to the acre, of wheat weighing 63 pounds to the bushel. It at- tracted much attention from the wheat-growers of Europe, who could scarcely believe that so large a yield could be taken from an acre. There was noth- ing unusual in Mr. Hotchiciss' method of cultivation. He plowed deep, taking good care to pulverize the soil well, and to intermix the top with the subsoil, eubduing the grass, &c. The seed was drilled in near the end of August, two bushels to the acre of " Soule's wheat," But extraordinary as this yield was univer- sally acknowledged to be, it was exceeded during the summer of 18.53 by Mr. Thomas Powell, of this county, who averaged, on a field of seven measured acres, within a small fraction of 70 bushels to the acre — namely, 489 bushels. This latter yield was so unusual, that I deem it proper to give the particulars of the method pursued in its cultivation. In the fall a heavy dressing of swamp muck was applied. During the winter the field was used as a yard for sto^'k, including a flock of sheep. In May there was carted on a liberal coat of barn- yard njanure, which was immediately plowed in very deep. Up to the 15th of August it was used at night as a sheep-yard, when the field was again plowed three times, until the soil was perfectly pulverizetl and thoroughly intermixed with the manure. Two bushels to the acre of "Soule's wheat" was then sown broadcast, and covered with a light plow, which completed the process. The variety known in Western Xew York as " Soule's wheat," is in fact no other than the very best of the Genesee "white flini^'" having a stiff straw and maturing early. As the product of this soil in wheat as yet stands unprecedented, it may be useful to give the following analysis, by Professor Emmoxs : Water of absorption, 3.00 Organic matter, 7.75 Silicates, 76.93 Carbonate of lime, 2.82 Phosphate of alumina, 0.15 Magnesia, 0.25 Peroxide of iron and alumina, 8.82 99.72 In this county it is supposed that 13 bushels of wheat to the acre will pay all expenses of culture ; and my experience teaches me that an additional out- lay of 40 per cent, judiciously applied, will brins an average return of 40 bushels to the acre. Under the European system of cultivation, it could unques- tionably be run up to an average of .56 and perhaps 70 bushels to the acre, as is evinced by the success of Messrs. Hotchkiss and Powell. It can scarcely be necessary to caution the expe- rienced and enlightened farmer as to the careful selec- tion of his seed. Threshing wheat by machines should be avoided, as the grain is frequently crushed and tha germinating principle greatly injured or destroyetl. It should be well cleaned, of course, and chess and other noxious seeds excluded as much as possible by repeated screening. These seeds sometimes get buried deep and lie dormant for years, until the plow, by ac- cident, brings them under the influence of the sun, when they germinate and mysteriously show them- selves, to the vexation of the husbandman. It has been found beneficial, also, to change th« seed by selecting it from different localities every three or four years. Between the middle of August aad first of September is found to be the most proper time for sowing wheat, and deep plowing is deemed almost indispensable for a good crop. — Herman Powers, of Leiviston, JYiagara Co., JV. Y., in the Patent Office Report. Splendid Grain. — Mr. James Morrison, four mifea south of Oakland, has sent us a sheaf of the finest wheat we have ever seen — about five feet high, heads ten inches long, and the fullest, cleanest, and best- filled grain that has been exhibited yet. Mr. M. approves and practices deep plowing, and subsoil plowing. — California Farmer. Satire and sarcasm are very well in their way ; but they never made a heart happy, or removed a vice. Show men virtue, unselfishness, sustaining faith, working as active principles in their hearts, or quicken the germs of good into vigorous life. The Farmer for 1855 will be much improved. THE GENESEE F^VRJfER. 378 CONDUCTED BY JOSEPH FROST. CULTIVATION OF WINTER PEARS. To cuLTivATB successfully most kinds of winter pears that are propagated in the niuvci-ies, neeils great care and actentiuu in the ripening of the fruit. It is true there are some kinds which will jierfect themselves under treatment not much better than is generally given winter apples ; but such sorts are very few. One wishing to plant a number of Pear trees would not be likely to receive much satisfaction in seeking information in regard to winter pears, even should he apply to indi\iduals quite conversant with fruits, as there appears to be much diversity of opinion con cerning them. One fruit-grower would be apt to say that he has never eaten or seen a good winter pear — and what is more, "never expects to " — which leaves no doul)t as to his opinion; while another's views may so far differ that he dechires that in Jauuary and March he has eaten the most delicious pears, rivaling in flavor the tender and melting If'hi'e Doyenne, and the richness of the Seckd in autumn. Both would undoubtedly be correct in their opin- ions; but because a person having something of a knowledge of fruit should condemn all winter pears simply for the reason that he has not seen good fruit, is no argument whatever. He too might possess really good winter sorts, and the other might cultivate the same, or no better varieties, and the conclusion would result in astonishing differences. The fact is, that one would know how to ripen them, while the ather would not. Owing to want of knowledge upon this point, most persons who are now planting winter pears will be sadly disappointed, as the fruit will be utterly worth- less. Should this information be extended to eveiT one, not one-fbuilh of them would give the necessary attention, though the conveniences be at hand; there- foi'e we would say to all, do not plant winter pears unless you will take the necessary care to ripen the fruit. The vaiieties which most can ripen well, with ordinary conveniences, are those which are in perfec- tion during early winter — say in Novemlier, December and January ; but later sorts it would be best to do nothing with. Early winter sorts should be picked soon after the tree ceases growing, and before the commencement of the fall of the leaves ; then plai'eii in tight boxes, and kept in a cool room or out-building as long as the weather will admit, w^hen they may be removed to a cool cellar, where the atmosphere should not be too damp. If they were exposed upon shelves in a dry room, or where a current of air would pass through it, they would at once shrivel and become worthless; but being in boxes, and in a cool and not very moist place, they would remain fresh and plump. When the season arrives for them to ripen, they should be brought into a warm room and placed in drawers, where they would soon ripen, and the flavor be of the finest quality. CROSS' PATENT GRAPE-FRAME. Wk have received from S. Oscar Cross, of Sandy Hill, AVashington county, N. Y., a circular containing a figure and description of a grape-frame, for which a patent was granted to him on the '2Tth o" June, IS.j-l. The claim is for an '• adjustable elevating and depressing grape-frame," made of any material. The frame is movable, and can be raised or de- pressed at the will of the operator. The inventor » designs leaving the fiame in a horizontal position with the ground, and about one foot from it, till the grapes get their giowth, for the reasons, as he contends, that it shades and enriches the ground — that the rose bug is not as injurious to the fruit and fblingc — that the fiuit is not as liable to mildew, and the vines are not so much exposed to blasting winds — and that the fruit sets in gi-eater abundance, ami grows larger and faster, because it receives warmth from the earth, and, in consequence, ripens earlier in the season. When the fruit has attained its size, the frame to which the vine is attached is raised and turned back again.st posts or supports, thus bringing the foliage on the under side, and giving the fruit a full exposure to the sun and air. Mr. Cross says that he is not yet ready to offer it to the public; but we presume that we shall luive an opportunity of witnessing its success the coming sea- son, as it is within the means of every jierson having a grape vine, and is attended with but little expense. Then we can judge better of its merits. SAXE-GOTHtEA CONSPICUA. This remarkable plant, to which his Royal High- ness Prince Albert has been ])leased to permit one of his titles to be given, and which will prolxibly rank among the most highly valued of our hardy evergreen trees, is a native of the mountains of Patagonia, where it was found by Mr. AVi .i.iam Lobh, forming a beau- tiful tree 30 feet high. In the nursery of Messrs. Veitcii, of Exeter, it has lived in the open air four years without shelter, and has all the appearance of being well adapted to the climate of Ijigland. The country in which it grows is, indeed, more stormy and cold than any part of Great Britain, as is shown by the following account of it, given by Mr. Lobb in one of his letters to Messrs. Vkitch: "During my absence I visited a great part of Chiloe, most of tiie islands in the Archipelago, and the coast of Patagonia for about 140 miles. I went up the Corcobado, Caylin, Alman, Comau, Reloncavi, and other places on the coast, frequently making excur- sions from the level of the sea to the line of perpetual snow-. These bays generally run to the ba.«e of the central ridge of the Andes, and the rivers take their rise much further back in the interior. The 'whole country, fi-om the Andes to the sea, is formed of a succession of ridges of mountains gradually rising from the sea to the central ridge. The whole is thickly wooded from the base to the snow line. Aseenffing the Andes of Comau, I observed from the; water to a considerable elevation the foi-est is coinposed of a variety of trees, and a sort of cane so thickly matted to"-ether that it formed almost an impenetrable jun- gle. Further up, among the melting snows, vegetsk- 374 THE GENESEE FARMER. tion becomes so much stunted in growth, that the trees, seen below 100 feet high and 8 feet in diameter, only attain the height of 6 inches. " On reaching the summit no vegetation exists — nothmg but scattered barren rocks which appear to immense distance, and covered with perpetual snow. To the west, the whole of the Lslands, from Guaytecaa to the e.xtent of the Archipelago, is evenly and dis- tinctly to be seen. " A little below this elevation the scenery is also Fig. A. BRANCH OF SAXE-GOTELEA CONSPICUA. ise among the snow, which is 30 feet in depth, and frozen so hard that on walking over it the foot makes but a slight impression. "To the east, as far as the eye can command, it appears perfectly level. To the south, one sees the central ridge of the Andes stretching along for an sino-ular and grand. Eocky precipices stand like per- pendicular walls from 200 to 300 feet in height, over which roll the waters from the melting snows, which appear to the eye like lines of silver. Sometimes these waters rush down with such force that rocks of many tons in weight are precipitated from their lofty sta- THE GENESEE FARMER. 315 tions to the depth of 2000 feet. In the forest below everything appears cahn and tranquil ; scarcely the Bound of an auimal is heard; sometimes a few butter- flies and beetles meet the eye, but not a house or a human being is seen. On the sandy tracts near the nvers, the lion or puma is frequently to be met with; but this animal is perfectly harmless if not attacked." It is from this wild and uninhabited country that many of the fine plants raised by Messrs. Veitch were from this elevation to the perpetual snows, where it is not more than 4 inches in height. With these grow the \ ews (Saxc-Gothmt and Poducarpus nubigcna), whicu are beautiful evergreen trees, and, as well aa the others, afford excellent timber." Saxe-Gothaia may be described as a genus with the male flowers of a Podocarp, the females of a i)ammar, the fruit of a Juniper, the seed of a Dacry- dium, and the habit of a Yew. Its fleshy fruit, com- PUUCTIFICATION OP SAXE-GOTH^A. obtained, and among them the Saxe-Gothaa, Podo- M.'-pus nubifrena, Fitz-Roya Paiagonica, and Libo- tednis tetragona. Of these he writes thus: ' The two last (Fitz-Roya and Libocedrus) I never .w below the snow line. The former inhabits the rocky precipices, and the latter the swampy places letween the mountains. The first grows to an euor- oous size, particularly about the winter snow line, ffhere I have seen trees upward of 100 feet high, and more than eight feet in diameter. It may be traced posed of consolidated scales, enclosing nut-like seed, and forming what is technically called a Oalbulus, places it near Juniperus, from which it more especially differs in its anthers not being peltate, nor its fiuit composed of a single Mhorl of perfect scales, and its ovule having two integuments instead of one. In the last respect it approaches! Podocarpus, and es- pecially Dacrydium ; but the exterior integument of the seed is a ragged abortive membrane, eveloping the base only of the seed, instead of a well-defined S76 THE GENESEE FARMER. cup. In a meraorandum iu my possession, by Sir William Hooker, I find the distinguished botanist comparing Saxe-Gothiea to a Podocarp with the flowers in a cone — a view which he was probably led to take by the condition of the ovule, and which may be iN3garded as the most philosophical mode of under- standing the nature of this singular genus ; to which Nageia rnay be said to be a slight apjjroach, and which is not distinguisliable by habit from a Podo- carp. In its systematic relations Saxe-Gothsa possesses great interest, forming as it does a direct transition from the oae-flowered Taxads to the true imbricated Conifers, without, however, breaking down the boun- dary between those orders, as I understand them, but rather confirming the propriety of limiting the Con- iferous order to those genera which really bear cones iasiea] of single naked seeds. In the language of some naturalists, Saxe-Gothaja would be called an osculant genus between Taxads and Conifers. '1 he leaves of this plant have altogether the size and general appearance of the English Yew (Taxus baccata) ; but they are glaucous un'lerneath, except the midrib and two narrow stripes within the edges, which are a pale-green. The male flowers consist of spikes appearing at the ends of the branches, in a raceme more or less elongated. These spikes (fig. B, I) grow from within a lew concave acute scales, which form a kind of involucre at the base. Each male is a solitary membraneous anther, with a lanceo- late, acuminate, reflexed appendage, and a pair oC parallel cells opennig longitudinally. The female flowers form a small, roundish, pedunculated, terminal, scaly imbricated cone (fig. B, 3). The scales are fleshj', firm, lanceolate, and contracted at their base, where they unite into a «olid center. All appear to be fertile, and to bear in a niche in the middle, where the contraction is a single inverted ovule (fig. B, 4). The ovule is globular, with two integuments beyond the nucleus ; the outer integument is loose and thin, and wraps round the ovule in such a way that its two edges cannot meet on the underside of the ovule ;* the second integument is firm and fleshy; the nucleus is flask-shaped, and protrudes a fungous circular ex- pansion through the foramen. The fruit (fig. B, 5) is formed by the consolidation of the free scales of the cone into a sohd fleshy mass of a depressed form and very irregular surface, owing to many of the scales being abortive, and crushed by those whose seeds are able to swell ; while the ends of the whole retain their original form somewhat, are free, rather spiny, and constitute so many tough, sharp tubercles. The seed (fig. B, 6) is a pale-brown, shining, ovate, brittle nut, with two very slight elevated lines, and a large irregular hilium ; at the base it is invested with a short, thin, ragged membrane, which is the outer in- tegiiraent to its final condition. The nucleus lies half * Sirice tlii.= was written. Sir W.Hooker has placed in my banii< a Blietcti of Ihe anatomy of the female flowers of Saxe-Ootiiit-a, l>y Mr. B. Clarkk, vrho describes the ovule thus : "Its ovule has tlie same structure a.s that of finetum, as described by Mr. Gripkith. viz.: it ha-s three integuments; tlie internal protrudes, and forms a sort of ."itignvi, m t so obnous as in finetum; the external ha>: conritantly a fissure on its posterior, or rather interior surface, which, however, does not close as in Gnetnm when the ovule ad- vances in groivth, nor yet become succulent. Mr. Griffith de- eeriVies the fi^iBurc in (he external intefrument of Gnetum as con- etaatly posterior; and if the ovules of tlie slrohilug were erect, HoBy would agree with Gaetum in tliis particular." free in the interior, the fungous apex having shrivebd up and disappeared. Explanation of the Cuts. — A, a branch with male and female flowers, natural size; B, various details of the fructification, more or less magnified; 1, a spike of male flowers; 2, a male or anther part; 3, a twig and young cone ; 4, a scale seen from the inside with tlie inverted ovule, showing the fungous foramen pro- truding beyond the priniiue (outer entegument) ; 5, a ripe fruit; G, a seed showing the two slight elevations upon the surface, and the remains of the ragged primine at the base. — Journal London Horticullin-al Society. WHAT CAN BE DONE IN A GARDEN. Thirty years ago I purchased an establishment, consisting of a dwelling-house, barn, carria;-e and wood-house, calculating to make it a permane it resi- dence. There was attached a little land for a oarden, on which were just five Apple trees, and in f ont of the house were three trees of the Balm of Gilead ; the trees were all about six inches in diameter at that time ; but two of the Apple trees were hollow, and I cut one of them down, after trying to ui'ke it do something and finding I could not. "Well, all the Apple trees bore something for fruit, but so crabbed and sour they would make a pig squeal. At this time I was engaged as a trader, and had a country store to look after, which occupied about all my time ; but, as time went on, and stage- coaches and railroad cars succeeded one another, I had more time ; for I can now travel as far in four hours as I could then iu two entire days with my team. Well, for amu.scment, I grafted all the four gradually, or year by year, cutting off the old branches and grafting the limbs with Roxbvry Rin^sets, JVew York Russets, Baldwins, &c., &c., all the best I could find. Now for results: I have had about ten barrels of good apples, annually, to put up for winter, for three or four years past, besides all we used in the family of five, and we have used them freely all we wanted, till time to gather the winter apples. I have a yard in front of my house, about forty feet square, in front of which are two of the Balm of Gilead trees before mentioned, which aie now large trees, and have been left outside of the front fence : but inside of the fence I set out, about ten years ago. three Pear trees, of the common summer pear, whicl now give us all the pears we want, for they ha\i borne well for about four years. From the Peai trees to the house, I filled the space with flower-beds and have had many varieties, say twenty kinds o roses, and nearly one hundred kinds of other flowers I have planted on the south side of my building's next to the passage to the barn. Plums, Peaches am Grapes. The Peaches have not succeeded well, no: the Plums, so I cut the Plum trees off, and grafte* them with the Green and Purple Gage, only thrg or four years ago, and now I have plenty of the fines plums I ever saw, so that I have to prop the smal branches. My Grapes began to bear last year ; ' had about a bushel, and I should think about doubl the quantity this year. I have set out some Quinci trees, but they do not bear yet. Besides the trees and Grape vines, I have annu,all; THE GENESEE FARMER 377 raised g,bout ten or fifteen bushels of potatoes, six or seven bushels of beets and carrots, some English tur- nips and rata bagas, and a few cabbages and onions, as many as our folks wanted to use. We have also had beans, peas and corn, what we wanted to use green ; and I have annually had about three or four bushels of dry corn, say two bushels of common yel- low corn, one bushel of pop corn, and sweet corn enough to plant myself and supply all my neighbors. Also, I have annually raised cucumbers, water and muskmelons, summer and winter squashes, one or two hundred, or one thousand pounds, of pumpkins. All this has been raised on less than half an acre of ^ound, including buildings and drive-way — and I have had more vegetables for years in my family than some men that cultivate one hundred acres — and all an poor, gravelly New Hampshire land, without any help but my girls in the (lower department. And as GoLDSMifH says, " we make every rood of ground support its man." — Correspondent of the JVew Eng- Umd Fanner. SMITH'S POMOLO(;iCAL GARDENS. TiiR editor of the California Farmer, in giving an account of a visit to Smith's Pomological Gardens, at Sacramento, writes as follows: " We next examined the elegant, costly and com- plete engine and apparatus for irrigating the gardens. Mr. Sjiitu having gone east the past year, he examined the various inventions for the purposes of irrigation, and selected the one now used on his grounds — Worthi.vgton's Safety Steam Pump and Fire En- ^ne.' The power and capacity of this small but p jwerful engine are truly astounding ; for while it is not more than ten or twelve feet in length and two to three feut wide, it is capable of throwing twenty thou- sand gallons per hour easily. It is one of the most perfect and neatly-fiu'shed pieces of machinery we have seen. Pipes are led from the reservoir over a large portion of the grounds, the water flowing so free to completely saturate the whole ; the soil of this garden being a fine sandy alluvial, the result is of the highest possible good, Mr. S. being able to continue planting all the year round. The cost of this ma- chinery, complete, in New York, was $1200; freight, extras, putting up, pipes and layers, &e., brought the amount to about .$3000. We saw the working of every part of the machinery, and found it the ne plus ultra. " We close by giving the statement of the crop of two Peach trees in this garden, and the amount re- ceived the present season, in cash. After paying commission to those who sold in the city, the net pro- ceeds amounted to three hundred and twenty-six dol- lars and Jifiy cents; in addition, Mr. S. has used and contributed among his friends sullicient to have swelled the amount to over four hundred dollars." Thk New Roohelle Blackberry. — We are re- quested Ijy Mr. Roosevelt to say that his price for the plants, as stated by us in a late number of the Farmer, is a mistake. It should have read ticenfy- fij>e dollars a hundred. He has already disposed of his stock of plants for the coming spring. THE CURL IN PEACH TREES. The aphis may easily be got under by the use of tobacco water, and attention. The tobacco water may be obtained from a manufactory, if you should live near one ; but I find it quite as economical to buy the tobacco and make the water myself, as I am obliged to pay nearly as much for jars, carriage and porterage as the water costs. I get a pound of the best shag tobacco, which costs 3s. 6d., and a pound of soda, which costs IJd., and dissolve the soda in two gallons of boihng water ; it is then poured ou the tobacco, stirred, and allowed to remain a few minutes ; the liquor is then strained, and two gallons more of boiling water added ; this is again sti'ained, and made up to about eight gallons by the addition of cold water, and put on the trees at 100'^ of heat, on a still moist evening (if one can be found at any time of the year). This is applied with a fine syringe, and the quantity is sufficient fo^ twelve trees, each occupying 140 feet of wall. If you have shading materials at hand, the trees may be shaded in case the sun break out strongly. The mixture may be left on till the next evening, when the engine should be used pretty freely, in order to wash off not only the mixture, but also the dead and dying in.sect.s, and as many as possible of those that tiie mixture does not kill, which, if properly applied, will be few. But if shading be inconvenient, the engine and clean water must be used in the morning following the application of the tobacco and soda, or the sun, being a-ssisted by the crystals of the soda, may scorch the young leaves. The engine and clean water should be used frequently, to dislodge any insects that may be again establishing a colony on any part of the tree. It has been computed by, I think, Bo.\net, that an aphis will multiply itself in one season 8,000,000 of times, if left undisturbed in a favorable situation; and of aU places, I know of none more favorable to them in the early part of the season than the Peach treej; lience the necessity of observing the old maxim that a "stitch in time saves nine." Tlie trees will rarely want more than one dressing of tobacco, if well at- tended to whh clean water alter the fiist application — or, at the outside, two dressings of tobacco will suffice for one season. — Cox on the Peach and JYec- tarine. Extraordinary Result. — A farmer stuck a pea in a potato, and planted them in March last. The pea produced a stock which was covered with pods, and the potato gave eleven healthy roots. By this sys- tem, is it not possible, not only to obtain a two-fold crop, but to prevent the malady to potatoes? — Ex- change. A Cheap and Excellent Manure for Goose- berries.— A French nurseryman says that exhausted tan-bark, spread on the surface around the roots of gooseberry bushe.s. is an effectual remedy for cater- pillars. A cart load of the bark is sufficient for a large garden. Be Open and Sincere. — ^It is material to the preser- vation of friendship, that openness of temper and manner on both hands be cultivated. 378 THE GENESEE FARMER. LADIES AND AGRICULTURE. EXTRACT FROM C. P. UOLCOMB's ADDRESS AT THE MARY- LAND STATE FAIR. As SHOwixG the interest English ladies take in ag- riculture, I cannot but relate a casual interview 1 chanced to have with an English lady, in going up in the express train from London to York. Her hus- band had bought a book at the stand as we were about starting, and remarked to her that " it was one of her favorite American authors — Hawthorne." I casually observed, " I was pleased to see young American authors found admirers with English la- dies," when the conversation turned on books and authors. But I said to myself pretty soon, "this is a literary lady — probably her husband is an editor or reviewer, and she uses the ' scissors ' for him — -at all events, I must retreat from this discussion about au- thors, modern poets, and poetry. What should a farmer know critically of such things ? If I were only in those fields — if the conversation could be made to turn upon crops or cattle — then I should feel quite at home." 1 finally pointed out a field of wheat, and remarked that it was very fine. The lady carefully observing it, said, " Sir, 1 think it is too thin — a common fault this season, as the seeding was late." " Those drills," she added, turning to her hus- band for confirmation, " cannot be more than ten inches apart, and you see, sir, the ground is not com- pletely covered — twelve and even fifteen inches is now preferred for the width of drills, and two bushels of seed to the acre will then entirely cover the ground, on good land, so you can hardly distinguish the drills." If the goddess Ceres had appeared with her sheaf, or her cornucopia, I could not have been taken more by surprise. A lady descanting on the ividth of ivhcai drills, and the qiiantitij of seed! '• I will try her again," said I, " this may be a chance shot;" and remarked in reference to a field of plowed ground we were passing, that it broke up in great lumps, and could hardly be put in good tilth. " We have much clay like this," she replied, " and formerly it was difficult to cultivate it in a tillage crop : but since the introduction of Croskill's Clod Crusher they will make the most beautiful tilth on these lands, and which are now regarded as among the best wheat lands." The conversation turned on cattle. She spoke of the best breeds of cows for the pail — Ayrshires and Devons; told me where the best cheese was made — Cheshire ; the best butter — Ireland ; where the best milk-maids were to be found — Wales. " Oh I " said I, " I was mistaken ; this chaming, intelligent woman, acting so natural and unaffected, dressed so neat and so verj' plain, must be a farmer's wife ; and what a helpmate he has in her ! yes, a sin- gle bracelet clasps a fair, rounded arm — that's all." The train stopped at York. Xo sooner had my traveling companions stepped upon the platform, than I noticed they were surrounded by half a dozen ser- vants— men and women — the men in full livery. It turned out to be Sir John and Lady H. Thjs gen- tleman I learned was one of the largest l.ind-proprie- tors in Berkshire, and his lady the 'daughter of a no- bleman, a peeress in her o\7u right ; but her title added nothing to her — she was a noble woman with- out it. It is a part of our task to excel in horticulture, in which female taste and skill must aid us'. AVe must embellish our homes; we must make them sweet and pleasant homes. The brave old oaks nmst be there, the spacious lawn with its green sward, and the fruit orchard, and the shrubbery, and the roses, and the vines festooned and trained about the balconies. Even the birds will think that a sweet home, and will come and sing and make melody, as though they would " teach the art to imitative man." Such a home will be entailed to our children, and to their children — not by statute laws of entail, but by a higher law, the law of nature — through the force of sympathy — the associations of childhood. " The orchard, the meadow, the deep tangled wildwood, And every loved spot which our infency knew." These will hold them to it — these eaijly memories — which we should take care to deepen with a binding and indissoluble tie. Talk not, then, 0 you fathers and mothers ! to your sons of forensic fame — of senatorial halls — of the dis- tinction of professional life — or the gains and emolu- ments of commerce. It is not for our class, surely, to furnish more recruits to this hazardous service in which so many of the country have already been lost — lost to any useful purpose of living — themselves miserable from hope deferred that makes the heart sick — or disappointed of the objects of life have be- come overwhelmed by bankruptcy and ruin. Give to i/our sons tlie pursuit of Washington, who gloried in being a Farmer. The field and the council cham- ber he sought from duty ; but his farm at Mount Vernon, where he wisely directed the j^low, from choice and pleasure. " Wide, wide may the world feel the power of the plow, And yield to the sickle a fullness delighting: ; May this be our conquest, the earth, to subdue, Till all join the sonjr of the harvest inviting. The sword and the spear Are only known here As we plow, or we prone, or we toil void of fear; And the fruit and the flower all smile in their birth, All greeting the Farmer, the Prince ov the Earth." To MAKE Apple Pies without Apples. — One cup of sugar, one tea-spoonful of tartaric acid, two cups of water, one cup of light bread crummed fine, orte egg. Season with lemon, or anything that suits the taste. Let the water be warm when the bread is put in, that it may soak soft. Bake with a crust, as you would an ajDple pie. To Make Mince Pies without Meat. — The same preparation as for apple pies ; and one hard-boiled egi:^, chopped fine, to the pie, with raisins, and such other seasoning as the taste may dictate for a mince pie. We can be truly happy but in proportion as we are the instruments of promoting the happiness of others. Self-love is the greatest and worst of flatterers. THE GENESEE FARMER. 379 ^cl i to ^'3 I^bie. Agexot in New York. — C. M. Saxton, Agricultural Boblc Pub- Usher," Xo. 152 Fulton street, New York, is agent for the Genesee Farmbr, and subscribers in that city wlio ajiply to him can have th<;ir papers delivered regularly at their houses. Words of Encouragement. — Mr. James H. Arnett, of "Wayne county, Indiana, writes under date of " 10th month, 24th, 1854," as follows : '•Respected Friend: — If I had time I would like to inform thee of the price that I got for my firm. I am willing to say that I believe the Genesee Farmer has been one thousand dollars to my advantage in the six years I have read it. It caused me to drain my land, which raised its value from $] j to ,$30 per acre," &c. &c. The above is but a fair sample of the general purport a-ud tone of numerous letters received by the pr j^ rietor of tJiis paper ; and he is truly grateful that so cheap an in- strument for the widest possible diffusion of rural knowl- edge is capable of doing so much good all over our com- mon country. To nearly nineteen-twentieths of our sub- scribers a volume of the Farmer is sent for 37g cents, stitched and trimmed. From a very considerable advance in the price of printing paper, in journeymen's v.'ages, in breadstufis, provisions, house-rent and firewood, the prime cost of the work can only be met by a continuance of the liberal support so long extended to this pioneer and stand- ard Agricultural Journal. It is ever willing to bear its burden in the heat of the day, looking only to the best in- terests of its readers, whom it seivcs without turning to tlie right hand or to the left. It is no second table, gar- nished with a rehash of the t;old victuals taken from a weekly paper ; but evc!-. vvord of the Genesee Farmer is set up expressly iv .is pages. Hence it interferes with no other similar work, as is proved by the fact that some sixty have risen, and most of them tlourished, since this paper first commanded a living sup_ urt. In these times when singing women are not unfrequently paid a thousand doUars a niiht for their music, what is fifty cents a year for a jourral which benefits some of its readers thousands of dollars, as they cheerfully testify ? One needs only to study the Farmer closely to learn a great many tiseful lessons in rural affairs. Close reading is the sine qua iion of rapid advancement in agricultural knowlelge. In this way, every reader may soon become well grounded in the art and science of farm economy. Now is the tini3 for him to renew his subscription, and devote increased attention to the Sixteenth Volume, Second Series, to commence the first of January, 1355. This will be an improvement on all its predecessors, although the price will remain the same. Timely Suggestions. — As the gathering and harvest- ing of the products of the season arc now over, there is now time to attend to work which could not well be done heretofore. Too many when winter comes are content with little labor, and put off many things which, done now, will save time in a hurried season hereafter. And first, if you have not done it ere this, make your houses and barns tight and comfortable. Guard against cold currents of air coming continuously either upon your- self or your stock. A draught of air from a crack or crevice is much more injurious in its effects upon the sys- tem than a free exposure to the wind. In our last number we speke of the importance of keep- ing stock in a thriving, healthy condition. We allude to it a'.'ain; for all the profit in the feeding and fattening of stock consists in the uninterrupted growth and develop- ment of the animal machine. If you are feeding roots, watch carefully their effect, and be cautious not to feed liberally till your stock have become accustomed to them. When the ground freezes hard enough to bear a man, and you would like a ditch through a wet meadow, or swale, as the case nia^^e, cut the top of the soil into pieces and throw them one side, and at your leisure draw them to your manure heap as absorbents of the liquid fertilizers. Many times you can conveniently commence, and even finish, a drain in v,et pieces of ground, that would cause much annoyance in digging at other seasons of the yeai', from its looseness of texture. Improve the first snows for drawing your yearly supply of firewood, and taking your logs to the saw-mill ; for of late years our first run of sleighing has been much the best, and those who were unprepared for an early start on rimners have often had to wait a twelvemonth for another opportunity. To protect your trees against the teeth of the field-mouse, heap up a small mound of earth against the base of the stem, that the snow remaining about the body of the tree may not be a cover for their passages. If snow falls to a great depth, tramp it down hard with your feet before they have had time to commence operations. A nurseryman in this vicinity who had been much annoyed by the disbarking of his trees by mice, effectually rid his grounds of them in this way : Taking blocks of scantling, holes of about an inch in diameter were bored to the depth of about an inch and a half, inclining upward, and filled to the depth of nearly half an inch with Indian meal mixed with a little arsenic, slightly moistened, and pressed down to the bottcmi of the hole. In some sections of the country, particularly newly- settled portions, rabbits are also very destructive to nur- series and orchards. As a means of prevention, wash your trees, or bind strips of tarred paper about the stem, or sus- pend strips of cloth dipped in melted sulpliur from stakes near the trees. In newly-transplanted trees, a small mound of earth about the roots is a great protection against injury by the strong and violent winds. Examine carefully the forks and branches of your trees for nests pf eggs of insects of various descriptions. A practiced eye will detect many, which may easily be de- stroyed by simple brushing or pressure of the hand. It has been frequently recommended to hang pieces of old woolen cloth in the forks of fruit trees, to induce worms and caterpillars to spin their cocoons in and under them. \ few weeks since, entering a neighbor's front yard, we noticed a piece of cloth in the forks of a Plum tree. On examining it closely, we found eleven perforated cocoons of different species of insects — showing that if all fruit- growers would take pains to entrap and destroy the insects 880 THE GENESEE FARMER. •nd worms on their own trees, their number might be Tery much diminished. We know it takes care and forethought ; but the exercise of tliat care and foretliuught is one of the conditions of our existence, and he who v.'ould enjoy tlie fruits of the earth must to a greater or less extent cherisli and protect tiicra, as he would the members of his own family. Look over the apples in your cellar or fruit-room ; see tliat they are kept cool and dry, and that aU changes of temperature are avoided as much as possible ; and let all the seeds of your best fruit be saved and ])lanted in the spring — if not for your own benefit, let it be for the use of those who may come after you. „ •|^,Thc readers of tlie Faiimeu have been reminded many times of the necessity of increasing their sujiply of manures by every possible means. Are they all aware that, as a substitute for straw, in view of the scarcity of fodder, leaves are an excellent substitute — the more so, as they contain the mineral constituents of plants in a greater proportion than many substances which have been used as bedding for animals ? The long winter evenings are now before you. Meet your brother farmers in friendly chat, and compare notes on agii cultural topics. Let each one of a Farmers' Club tell of his failures as well as success in raising any given crop, or describe the diseases which may have prevailed among his stock. Perhaps his neighbor can point out the cause of failure, or suggest a remedy, which may be of ma- terial aid in future years. We have never conversed with an intelligent tiller of tlie soil without deriving benefit from his practical experience ; and if, as a class, our agriculturists would commit to paper and publish for the benefit of their b -ethren of the plow, the knowledge they have gained by observation and prac- tice, a great and material advance in agriculture as a science would immediately be observed. Impouted Swine. — While at East Liberty, Alleghany county, Pa., a few weeks since, we saw fine specimens of the Windsor, Essex and Sussex breeds of swine, the pro- perty of Dr. A. Gross, of that place, who is propagating them for the improvement of this kind of live stock in the country. The Windsor pigs are directly from the pens of Prince Aluekt, of Windsor Castle, England, and are per- haps the most perfect animals in the hog line in the United States. The Essex and Sussex pigs do credit to those fa- mous breeds. Seedling Potatoes. — Mr. W. IIobie, near this city, has given us some of his new seedling jiotatoes, which, on cooking and eating, prove to be very fine. They are not large, but pretty uniform in size, smooth, and said to be quite prolific. New VARiETr of Flat Tcknips. — Mr. C. Howell. of Ogden, in this county, has favored us with specimen? of a new variety of flat turnips, flesh colored, and exceed- ingly popular with those that have tried them. Think of the poor during the cold winter months ; but do not stop tJiere — do all jou can to relieve thdr wants. Proximate Analysis of Cow's Milk. — Every farmer knows that the first milk that escapes from a cow's udder immediately after calving is very diffcieut from that secreted a short time thereafter. The nature and extent of thB difference have been studied by MM. Hknui and Cheva- lier, who give the following as the result of their investi- gations : Bicstings. New Milk. Casein (cuni), laij.7 44.S Mucua, :... 20.0 Butter, -JH.O .313 Sunar, tiuce 47.7 SaltP, .. 6.0 Water, 803.3 870.2 1000.0 1000.0 By the above figures the reader sees the instructive ftiot brought out by anilysis, that what is called in Europ* biesthtgs, contain nearly three and a half times niore casehi, or cheese, than new milk, two per cent of mucus, only a trace of sugar, and no alkaline salt of soda. The milk die- signed by nature to be first taken into a calf's stomach is peculiarly rich in the elements of bone and muscle, to im- part strengfli to the young limbs of the calf, which, at its birth, are very cartilaginous. Godet's Lady's Book. — Our readers will notice in our advertising column that Godei/s Lady's Book is presented for their support. First in the field as a periodica! devoted to the ladies, it still retains its p;e-en inence over its com- petitors. Under the editori il supervision of jMrs. S. J. Hale, it has given to the world many interesting and in- structive article?, imbued with a healthy moral sentiment. We cord'ally commend it to the favorable consideration of cur fa'r patrons. The Little Pilgrim. — Grace CnrENwooD presents a great attraction to juveniles in her pa])er, especially de- voted to t'neir interests and instrnct'on. A s a writer and author she has attained an enviable position, and no on« will ever regret subscribing for the Little Pily,run for th« benefit of his children. The Horticulturist. — The atteiiticn of o'.ir readers is called to the prospectus of this valuable monthlv. Choice Garden Seeds. — The reader's attention is in- vited to the advertisement of I. W. Bkiggs, of West Macedon, N. Y., in this paper, who is known as a careful and successful cultivator of garden seeds in Western New York. ■ I w 3littrar2 Noti'tt.5. TtTR Pritir of Life. By Lady Scott, author of the " Hen-pecked III] Rt and." This work is universally commended by the Press in tUa country and England, so far as it has been spoken of. Tnr; O.n mistt of Commojt Life. By Profes.sor Johnston. JJ*w York : Appleto.v & Co. Readers of the English language, both in Europe and Americn, are greatly indebted to Professor Johnston tor liis contributions to the rural knowledge of the age, and his happy development of the principles of chemistry in their application to the every day affairs of " common life. THE GENESEE FARMER. 381 In the latter effort he has succeeded better than iu his more labored Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry ajid Geology, which were tirst published some twelve years ago. For family reading, we know of no recent work so instructive artd interesting as the Chemistry of Common Life. It is published in numbers, four of which have already appeared, and sold at twenty-five cents a number. Each may be read separately, if one wishes to purchaee no more. Sold by D. M. Dewey, of this city. Jnquirits anlJ Unsfatrs. WTtLL you do me the favor to answer a few inquiries ? I saw an edftorial in the Farmer for October, entitled "Farming in the "Peninsula of Maryland," which very much interested me. I am deeirous of locating in a milder climate than the shores of Lake &-le; and being possessed of no great means, I do not know which way to go. In your article there is nothing said of the price of Umd, the kind of soil, adaptation to fruit, timber for building and fencing — all of which I would be pleased to know. Is it a good place for a young man to go with a small capital of $1500, thinking to commence fanning in a small way ? P. — Monroe Center, Ash- tnUila Co., Ohio. All kinds of fruit grown in "Western New York and Ohio may be raised in Maryland in great perfection. The price of farming lands varies from two dollars to fifty per acre, according to quality, location and improvements. The peninsula lying between the Potomac and Chespeake Bay, ctf which we gave some account in the October number of tliis journal, has almost every variety of soil. Some black rich loam, called " The Forest," which is as well improved in many respects as any land in New York, sells at fifty to seventy dollars an acre ; but from five to twenty-five dol- lars is about the range of prices. The native timber is mostly Oak and Chestnut ; second growth generally Pine. Water soft, pure, and generally abundant. ADVERTISEMENTS, To secure insertion in the Fakmer, must be received as early as the 10th of the previous month, and be of such a character as to be of interest to farmers. Terms — Two Dollars for every hundred words, each insertion, paid in advance. 100,000 tapng. Inquire of November 1, 1854.— 2t APPLE SEEDLINGS. TWO YEARS' OROTTTII, crown and delivered iu Western New York. ofTeied on reasonable E. B. & J. F. DRAKE, Janesville, Wis. TO PERSONS OUT OF EMPLOYMENT. BOOK AGENTS WANTED, To Sell Pictorial axd Useful Works for the Year 1855. WANTED, in every section of the United States, active and enterprising men, to engage in the sale of " Pears' Great Work ox Russia," just published, and some of the best Books issued in the country. To men of good address, possessing a small capital of frniu S'2o to $100, such inducements will be offered as will enable them to make from $3 to $5 a d.ay profit. J[^^° The Books published by us are all useful in their character, extremely popular, and command large sales wherever they are oijfered. For further particulars, address (postage paid) J ROBERT SEARS, Publisher, 181 WUliam st., New York. I^^SENT) FOR ONE COPY.— Just published, "THE GUIDE TO HTIAT.TH AND I.ONG LIFE, or What to Eat, Dkixk and Avoid," VJ'i pp. — the best work on those subjects ever puVjlished. Sold at a p''i'.'C' to suit everv person. Single copies 31',^ cents, or four for OxK Dollar, jj^ Sent by mail, free of postage, to any part of the United States. Address as above. Decembsr 1, 1864.— It GENISEE VALLEY NURSERIES. A. FROST & CO., KOCHESTER, N. Y., SOLICIT the attention of amateurs, orcliaidiHts, nurserymen, and others about to plant, to their extensive stock of well-grown Fruit and t>rnamental Trees, .Shrubs, Roses, &c. &c. Tiie Nurseries are now very extensive, and embrace one of the largest and finest collections in tlie country, and their stock is far superior to any that they have before offered. It is partly com- prised in the following : .1_^ Standard Fruit Trees. — Apple trees, eighty varieties ; Pear trees, one hunired varieties; Cherry trees, sixty varieties; Plum trees, forty varieties; Peach trees, thirty varieties; Nectarine, six varie- ties; Apricot, six varieties; and other kinds, comprising every sort of merit. Dirarf and Pyramid Fruit TYees, of every description, for culti- vation in orchards and gardens, have received particular attention. They embi-ace the following kinds, and compriue nearly the same number of sorta as are grown for standards : Peart upon the best European Quince stocks. Apples upon Paradise and Doucain stocks. Cherries upon Ceraeus Mahaleb stocks. Small Fruits, as Currants, eighteen varieties ; Gooseberries, sixty varieties; Grapes, Native and Foreign, twenty-five varieties; Rasp- berries, six varieties ; Straw berries, twenty varieties ; and other miscellaneous fruits, as ueli-iis esculent roots, in variety. Deciduous and Evergreen TVeM, for lawns, parks, streets, &c. Evergreen and Deciduous Shrubs, in great variety, including four hundred sorts of Roses. Hedge Plants — Buckthorn, Osage Orange and Privet; and for screens and avenues, American Arbor Yitje (White Cedar), Nor- way Spruce, &c. herbaceous Plants. — A very select and extensive assortment. Green-house and Bedding Plants, of every description. AU articles are put up in the most superior manner, so that plants, &c., may be sent thousands of miles and reach their destination in perfect safety. Parties giving their orders may rely on recei^•ing the best and most prompt attention, so that perfect satisfaction may be given the purchaser. The following descriptive Catalogues, containing prices, are pub- lished for gratuitous distribution, and will be mailed upon every application ; but correspondents are expected to enclose a one cent postage stamp for each Catalogue wanted, as it is necessary that the postage should be prepaid : No. 1. Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits for 1854-^. No. 2. Descriptive Catalogue of Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Roses, &c. kc, for 18.34-5. No. 3. Wholesale Catalogue or Trade List, just published for the fall of 1854 and spring of 1855, comprising Fruits, Evergreens, De- ciduous Trees, &c. &c., which are offered in large quantities. October 1, 1854.— tf CATALOGUE OF RARE AND VALUABLE SEEBS. RAISED AND PUT UP BY I. W. BRIGGS. MACEDON, WAYNE COUNTY, N. Y. ' Orange Watermelon, from China, per paper, 25 centa. Ice Cream, or White Sugar do., of Alabama, 25 Citron Nutmeg Muskmelon, ]2>i The Celebnated Japan Pea, 123-< Cali fornia Muskmelon, 12>s Watermelons — Mountain Sprout, Mountain Sweet, Mexi- can and Sandwie'a Islapd, 2 varieties each, 06 Squashes — Winter — Sweet Potato, A'egetable Marrow and Polk; Summer — Apple, Crookneck and Scallop, 06 Mammoth Red and Grape Tomatoes, each, 06 White Vegetable Egg — looks like an egg, 06 Double Sunflower — the " Floral King," 06 Victoria Rhubarb — the best pie plant, 06 Flat Dutch Cabbage— the best winter, 06 Pop Corn (3 varieties), Adams' Early (a field corn), very early Sweet Corn, and late, large do., each, 06 Poland Oats, per bushel of 40 pounds, $1.00 Mexican Wild Potatoes, per bushel, 1.00 B^T^" Seeds sent by mail, free of postage. Oats and Potatoes shipped as directed by raUrnad or canal. Address, post-paid, with money enclosed, I. W. BRIGG, Countv Line Faim, Dec". 1, 1854.— tf West Macedon, Wayne Co., N. Y. CUTTER RIGHTS FOR SALE WE will test our Hay, Stall; and Straw Cutter, patented Novem- ber 8th, 1853, for speed, ease and durabihtv, against any other in the United States. J. JONES & A. LYLE. t^ For further information, address JONES & LYLE, Roch- ester, N. Y. February 1, 1S54.— tf MERINO SHEEP. THE subscriber will sell a few Spanish Merino Sheep — bucks and ewes — of undoubted purity of blood. He wi 1 also dispose of a part of his stock of imjoi tfd Fhkxch Merinos. Gentlemen purchasing from this flock can ha . e the sheep for- warded to the principal Western towns at mv ii>k. Sept. 1, 1S54— tf R. J. JONES, CornwaU Yt •3S2 THE GENESEE FARMER. THE HORTICULTURIST A.^^D JOlJKi^/lL OF RURAL ART A^D RURAL TASTE. The HoRticuLTtiRiST is a Monthly Journal, devott-J to Horticlltuee and its kindred Arts, Rcral ARcmTECTCRii and Landscape Gardening. It is edited bv P. Barry, the Anther of that popular work, The Fruit Garden^ and for many years the Horticultural Editor of the Genesee Farmer, Mr. Barry is univei-sally acknowledged to be one of the best Pomologists in the world, and eminently fitted for this responsible station. He is aided by the best Horticulturists in the country. ITS SIZE AND APPEARANCE. The HoRticrLTORisT is a Magazine of forty-eight pages, without advertisements ; and when Xursery and other adyertisements are inserted, it is on a separate sheet, which can readily be removed before bindinig. It is printed on beautiful clear type, and on the finest paper, and ITS ILLUSTRATIONS ARE SUPERB, BOTH ON WOOD AND STONE, It is stitched in a neat and appropriate cover, and makes a volume at the end of the year of nearly 600 pages. Each number, in addition to numerous "Wood Engravings, contains a Fron-tespiece on Stoxe, of some fine Fruit or Flower, drawn and engraved from nature, by the very best living Artists. These plates alone ara worth more to every Fruit Grower than the cost of the work, enabling eveiy one to judge not only of the appearance, but the character of eacli, as every plate is accompanied with full and correct descriptions. In addition to these are fine elegant DESIGNS FOR COTTAGES, COUNTRY SEATS, SUMMER HOUSES, ARBORS, RUSTIC BRIDGES. In short, nothing escapes notice that can make a Country Home pleasant and beautiful. While the HoRTictJi' TURisT is at least in appearance equal to any work published in the country, the publisher has the satisfaction of knowing that the be?t Pomologists and the Press both in this country and in Europe pronounce the Horti- culturist AND Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste to be the best Horticxdtural Journal in the world. Still further to add to the value of the work, and meet the improving taste and increasing wants of the Horti- 'cultural community, we also publish an edition with Colored Plates, each number containing a full page en- graving of some iic:w, rare, and valuable fruit or flower, correctly colored from nature by the best living artista in this line. ARRANGEMENT. The first twenty or thirty pages of this work is occupied with Valuable papers by the Editor and coires^- |)ondents. Then follow some six or eight pages of Foreign Notices, containing everything new and important in European Horticulture for the past month. Ten or twelve pages of Editor's Table closes the number ; and to the learner this department is a very valuable part of the work, as it contains simple and invaluable dire*- tions for the unitiated in almost every department of Gardening, given in answer to numerous inquiries. TERilS — ^Two Dollars per year. With Colored Plates, Five Dollars. A New Volume commences with th« January Number. Agents are allowed 25 per cent, commission from otir regular terms. The same commission to Clubs of FOim or more, making the price of Plain Edition only $1.50 to Clubs and Agents — and this for one of the most bean- tiful Magazines published. C^" Specimen numbers sent free to all who wish to examine the work or obtain subscribers. Postmastera, Jfurserymen, Fruit-growers, all who love FRurrs and all who love Flower?, all who would love to see " th« wilderness blossom as the rose," are requested to act as Agenta. „g]3 Address December 1, i854.-tf JAMES VICE, Jr., EochEStcr, N. Y. THE GENESEE FAR!*fEIL 333 PROSPECTIS jnOR 1S55. THE SATL^HDAlTllVENINJ POST, ESTABLISUKD ACGLST -ifli, 1621. * ^yEEKLY EDITIOX BETWEEN' S0,000 AND 90,000. THE long period of orer thirty thkee years, during which tlie SArURDAY EVEXLVG P06T ha.s been established, and lt« prtgcnt imiaeDse ciiculatiou, are guaiautecs to all who may sislisctilje to it that they will receive » luU it-luin for their money. Our arrangement-! so tar for tiie coining year are such as we tru>t Will he tJiouglit worthy of the hiLrh reputation of the Post. POSI- TIVE AilRANGEilKNTS already have been made for contribu- UouH from the gifted pen.") of Mks. SOUrHWOK-H, GRACE GREENWOnn. Mrs. DENISOX, MAKY IRVING, ili;s. CAKLEN, FANNY FERN, And A NEW CONTRIBLTOK (whose name by request is withheld). In the first paper of January next we design commenclDg the following Novelet : Six Weeks of Courtship. By .Mks. EiHLIE F. CARLEX, Author of " One Year of Wed- lock," &c. &c. We propose following this with an Original Novelet — designed to illustrate, incidenUiUy, the great E\^LS OF INTEMPERANCE — entitled The Falls of the Wyalusing. By a JVetc and DUting-uisked Cuntribulor. We have also made arrangements for TWO STORIES, to be en- HUeirical ilinera'.ils who infest the country. It is well illustrated, and siniuld be purchased by every man who owns a horse. — Ev. Mirror, N. Y. This is a book which should be forthwith put into the hands of all who own or drive horses, whether for the dray or gig, for the plow, omnibus or road, for hard service or pleasure. — McMakiiit Courier, Philadelphia. A goofl, clearly-written book, which should be in the hands of every man who has a horse whose ills his affection or his purse make it worth while to cure. — Bangor Mercury. This is a scientific, thorough and complete treatise upon the disea.ses to winch one of the noblest of animals is subject, and thte remedies which they severally require. — Troy Daily Budget. It is a valuable book to those who have the care of horses^ — Hartford Herald. He is not worthy to have a horse in Jiis care, who will not usa such a work to qualify himself for his duties to this animal. — Com- monwealth, Boston. P0BLISnED BY JOHN p. JEWETT & CO., nosTo.v, JEWETT, PROCTOR & WORTHIWGTON, CLEVELAND, OHIO. For sale by all Booksellers. Oct. 1, 1854.— 3t THE SCIENCE OF NATURE. A NEW SCHOOL BOOK, EXTITLKD FIRST LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY AND GEOLOGY, As Applied to Agriculture. BY J. E.MEKSON KE.NT, A. M., JI. D. ANEW school book — -the first American work ever issued as the first book, or " First Lessons in Chemistry and Geology, as applied to Agriculture," designed as the first step for the young, to be used in all our common schools, is now submitted to tbo educational public. Some indeed protest against the introduction of all modern improvements in making the earth productive; still the great agricultural interests of our nation depend upon a rising generation of practical farmers, who will till the soil as much bj' a comprehensive knowledge of the laws of chemistry, as by the sweat of the brow. The subject of agi-icultural chemistry cannot but soon commend itself to the world as the most impoitant of .all studies, and, in fact, the wealth of this country would be doubled within one year were all that saved which is now b st by stupid, bungling agricultur(>. A volume of recommendations could be given to the public, hut it is not necessary. School Committees and Teachers will be furnished with a copj^ gratis, for examination, by mail, post-paid, on ajiplication to the undersigned. Price 25 cents. DAYTON & WENTWORTH, Publishers, 86 Washington street, Boston, Mass. Also, for sale in quantities at F. Cowperthwait & Co., Philadel- phia; Cady & Burgess, New York; Phinny & Co., Buffalo, N. Y. ; Darrow & Brother, Eochester, N. Y.; William Wilson, Poughkeep- sie, N. Y. ; H. M. Rulison, Cincinnati, 0. ; and by all other bool*- sellers in the United States. N. B. — A few men of the right ability are wanted to travel through every State in the Union, and introduce this work into schools. A liberal commission will be paid. Gentlemen who travel for health or recreation will find this occupation a lucrative and agreeable employment. Address as above. Nov. 1, 1854.^5t PROSPECTUS FOR 1855. THE little" PILGRIM: A MOXTHLY JODR.VAL FOR GiRLS AXD BOYS. Edited by GRACE GREENWOOD AND LEANDER K. LIPPINCGTI. Illustratio.vs hy Deverecx axd Others. THE SECOND VOLUAIE of fhis popul.-r periodical will bechi on the FIRST OF .JANUARY, 18.55. Amoni-- the CONTRIBU- TORS will lie found some of the MOST FAMOl^^ WRITERS OF BOTH ENGLAND AND AMERICA— such as HENRY W. LONG- FELLOW, MARTIN F. TUPPER. MARY HOWKT, MISS P.iR- DOE, MRS. NEWTON CROSLAND, J. G. WHITTIER. HENRY GILES, BAYARD TAYLOR, JAME3 T. FIELDS, MRS. L. H. SIGOURNEY, MRS. ANNA CORA RITCHIE (Mrs. Mowatt), ANNA H. PHILLH'S (Hki.e.v Irvi.ng), MRS. FRANCIS D. GAGE, and mativ others— .all of whom will furnish ORIGINAL ARTICLES. GI:ACE GREENWOOD will write almost exclusively for THE LIT- TLE PILGKTNf. TKK.MS.— FIFTY CENTS A YEAR for single copies, or TElf COPIES FOR FOUR DOLLARS— payable invariably in advance. ff'^ Specimen cojiies furnish»d free of charge. ^^° X few hundred copies of VoUnne First can still be supplied. Addres.s, post-paid, LEANDER K. LIPPINCOTT, Dec. 1, 1854.— tf 66 South Third street, PhUadelphia. THE GENESEE FARMER. 385 AYER'S o FDll ALL THE PURPOSES OF A FAMILY PHYSIC. TIlESE Pills have been prepared with a view to supply a more reliable, safer, aud every way better aperient medicine than has hitherto been available to the American people. No cost or toil has been spared in bringing them to the state of perfection, which now, after some years of laborious investigation, is actually realized. Their every part and property ha.s been carefully adjust- ed by cxjieriment to pioduce thi^ best elTeot which, in the present gtite of the medical sciences, it is possible to produce on the ani- mal economy of man. When we con.sider that four-fifths of all the diseases incident to the human race actually require nothing an effectual purgative remedy to completely cure them in the beginning, we shall appreciate the utility of this invention ; and when we further know b}* experience the eafe and rapidity' with which they may be arrested by these Pills, then, and not till then, can we estimate the magnitude of the benefits to be derived from their use. They are not presented to the world for a terajiorary run, but as the skillful embodiment of such virtues as shall give them a perennial popularity, and permanent place, among the great acknowledged remedies of this age. They will become the recourse to which men turn in affliction, and not in vain. Hence the ex- pense, time, and a.ssiduous toil have not been misspent in pro- ducing their unrivaled excellence; for it is a world-old maxim, tliat Edl beautiful and useful inventions are the fruits of a thousand Isbors anc difficulties. The subjoined communication is authenticated by some of the first statesmen in America, as well as other distinguished persons of high public position, who are known throughout the whole •otintrv, and whose opinions command respect wherever they are heard : — ~After numerous trials of Dr. Ayer's Cathartic Pills, both under my own obser^-ation and under the immediate inspection of our eminent physicians in the city of Washington, I am convinced that they are an aperient medicine of unrivalled excellence. They have ■hown a remarkable control over the diseases for wliich they are designed, and in numerous cases effected cures, which conclusively prove their superiority ever every purgative within our knowledge. An extensive trial of thei» virtues has convinced me that they must be adopted into general use, as the safest and best medicine of their kind which the people can employ in the many cases where »uch a medicine is required. M'ashixoton, D. C. Z. D. OILMAN. We the undersigned hereby certify that Dr. Z. D. Gilman is well kooim to us, and we concur in his opinion. j HON. THOS. H. BENTON, MAJOR P. W. iHARNES, U. S. Armv. COL. D. R. McNAIR, Sergeant-at-Arms U. S. Senate. HON. J. C. RIVES, Prop. "Globe," official organ of the American Congress. GEN'L ROBERT ARMSTRONG, Prop. " Union," and Printer to the House of Representatives. BEVERLY TUCKER, Printer elect of tip U. S. Senate. JOHN W. MAURY, Mayor of the City of Washington. A3 A Dl.VNER Pill, this is both agreeable and useful. No Pill •an be made more plea.sent to take, and certainly none has been made more effectual to the purpose for which a dinner pill is em- ployed. Persons of a bilious habit find great comfort from their occasional use, in small dosf s, after eating or drinking too freely. Many bon rivants a.nd distinguished individuals have acknowledged these benefits; but we have not yet received authenticated certifi- eates of tliis fact for publication, and hence must ask the public to take this on our own unsupported a.s.sertion, or else try them and judge fur themselves. Being sugar wrapped, they are protected from detorioration,and, •onsequently, are more reliable in their effects, as well as perfectly ■greeable to be talcen. PREPARED BY JAJH^S C. A^T:R, PRACTICAL AND ANA- LYTICAL CHEMIST, LOWELL, MASS. J^" Price 25 cents per Box. Five Boxes for $1. AYEE'S CHERRY PECTORAL, For the rapid Cure of Coughs, Cold?, Hoarseness, BroncM- Us, Whooping Cough, Croup, Asthma, & Consumption. Tlijs remedy has won fer itself such notoriety from its cures of eTery variety of pulmonary disease, that it is entirely unneccsfwry to recount the evideu'-es of its virtues in any conmiunity where it has been employed. So wide is the field of its usefulness, aud at> numerous the ci.ses of its cures, thai almost eveiy section of the country abounds in persons publicly knr)\\n, who have been restored from alarming au'l even desperate diseases of the lungs by its u.se< Wlien once tried its superiority over every other medicine of its kind is too apparent to escape observation, and where its virtues are known, the public no longer liesilate v.Uat antidote to enijiloy for the distressing and dimgerou-s alloctions of the pulnx nary or- gans which are incident to our climate. And not only in formida- ble attacks upon the lungs, but for the milder varieties of Colds, Coughs, Hoauskni:ss, ito. ; and for Chiliikkx, it is the pleiLsintest and safest meilioine that Ciin be obtained. As it has long been in constant use throughout this section, we need not do more than assure the people its quality is kept up to the best it ever has been, and that tlie genuine article i.s K(dd tiv LANE & PANE, and W. PITKIN & SON, Rochester; DEMA- REST & HOLMAN, Buffalo ; and by all Druggists every where. November 1, 1854.^t HOME PROTECTION. TEMPEST INSURANCE COMPANY. CAPITAL, $250,000. Organized December 24, 1852— Chartered March 1, 1853. HOMES ONLY INSURED BY THIS CO.MPANT, No one Risk taken for more than $3000. Home Ofkice, Meridian, N. Y. Many distinguished persons have insured their homes to the amount of §3000 each in this Company, among whom are Kx- PresidentVAN BUREN, Kinderhook; Ex-Governor SEWARD, Au- burn; DANIEL S. DICKINSON, Ex U. S. Senator, Binghanipton. To whom it may concern : Auburn, May ICth, 1853. We are personally acquainted with many of the Officers and Di- rectjrs of the Temjiest Insurance Company, located at .Meridian, Cayuga county, N. Y. In our opinion they are among the mogi wealthy and substantial class of farmers in this county. J. N. STARIN, ELMORE P. ROSS, THOJLAS Y. HOWE, Jr. The above gentlemen will be recognized as the Cashier of Cayug* County Bank, Auburn; Postma.ster, Auburn; and Ex-Member of Congress, Auburn, Cayuga county, N. Y. Feb. 1, 1854 — ly CConttntjs of ti)is Numiitr. he Study of Manures 361 Hints for December 362 Moisture in Soils 364 Leguminous Plants 3C4 Italian Rye Grass 865 Preservation of Wheat in Tennessee 365 Potatoes in Ireland 365 Ice Houses , 368 The London Times on the Reciprocity Treaty 3'i7 Letter from Oregon 368 The Best Mode of Applying Guano 368 Obser\ations on In-and-in Breeding 369 Foot Rot in Sheep 370 Introduction of the Asiatic Buffalo, &c., into South Carolina.. 371 Wheat Culture in Western New York 372 HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. Cultiv.afion of Wfnter Pears - '373 Cros.s' Patent Grape Frame 373 Saxe Gotha^a Conspicua 373 What can Le done in a Garden 376 Smiih's I'nniological Gardens 377 The New Rochelle Blackberry 377 The Curl in Peach Tree.s 377 Extraordinary Result 377 LADIES' DEPARTMENT. Ladies .and Agriculture . '. 378 To Make Apple Pies without Apples 378 To Make Mince Pies without Jleat 378 editor's tarle. y Words of Encouragement 379 Timel V Sug;5estion8 - 379 Proxiiiiate Analysis of Cow's Milk 383 Literary Notices 380 Inquiries and Answers 381 illustrations. December - - - 363 Ice (;iitting at Rockland Lake 368 Impleiients for Culling Ice 367 liianch of Saxe Gotha:a Conspicua 374 iVuatifica'ion of Saxe GoUuea 375 386 THE GENESEE FARMER. IF'OJFL ISSS. In presenting his Prospectus for Volume XA^I., Second Series, of the GENESEE FARMER to its patrons and friends, the undersigned returns his sincere thanlcs for the cordial appreciation and generous support extended during tlie past and previous years. The price will remain unchanged, though all the expenses connected with the mechanical department are much greater than in previous years ; and it is only by the voluntary aid of the friends of agricultural progress that he is enabled to furnish so large an amount of reading mat'ter in his monthly issues, j He will be assisted in the Editorial Department by Mr. W. D. ALLIS, who has been a regular contributor to its columns during the past year. Mr. JOSEPH FROST will continue as Horticultural Editor. Increased efforts will be made to render the GENESEE FARMER worthy of support. Each subscriber is respectfully solicited to renew his subscription, and present the claims of the FARMER to his friends; and the ne- sult vrill enable the proprietor more than ever to advance the interests of its readers. To enlarge tlie usefulness by extending the circulation of the GENESEE FARMER, the undersigned will pay the following PREMIUMS on subscriptions to Volume XVI., second series: FIFTY DOLLARS. IN CASH, to the person who shall procure the LARGEST NU.AIBER OF SUBSCRIBERS in any County or Dis- trict in the United States or Canadas, at the club prices. FORTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one who shall procure the SECOND LARGEST LIST, as above. THIRTY DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one procuring the THIRD LARGEST LIST. TWENTY DOLLARS, : IN CASH, to the one procuring the FOURTH LARGEST LIST. TEN DOLLARS, IN CASH, to the one procui-ing the FIFTH LARGEST LIST.^ In order to reward every one of the friends of the GENESEE FARJIER for his exertions in its behalf, we will give to those not entitled to either of the above premiums, the foUowing BOOKS, free of postage, or EXTRA PAPERS' as may be preferred : 1. To every person who sends SIXTEEIV subscribers, at the club terms of thirty-seven cents each, ONE EXTRA COPY OF THE FARMER, or a COPY OF LIEBIG'S LETTERS ON CHEMISTY AND AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTY (pamphlet edition). 2. To every person sending for TWENTY-FOUR copies, as above, anv AGRICULTURAL BOOK valued at FIFTY CENTS, or TWO EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER. 3. To every person ordering TIIIRTY-TWO copies, any AGRICULTURAL BOOK worth SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS, or THREE EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER. 4. To every person ordering FORTY copies, any AGRICULTURAL BOOtf valued at ONE DOLLAR, or FOUR EXTRA COPIES OF THE FARMER. 5. To every person ordering FORTY-EIGHT copies, any ARGRICULTURAL BOOK worth ONE DOLLAR AND TWENTY-FIVE CENTS, or FIVE EXTRA COPIES OF THE FAR:»IER. For larger numbers, books or papers given in the same proportion. To save cost to our friends, we pre-pay postage on all books sent as premiums. Persons entitled will please state whether they wish books or extra papers, and make their selection when they send orders, if they desire books ; or if they have not obtained as many subscribers as tliey intend to, we will delay sending until the club is full, if so requested. We do not require that all "the papers of a club should be sent to one post-office. If necessary for the convenience of subscribers, we are willing to send to as many dififerent offices as there are members of the club. We write the names on each paper, when a number are sent to the same oiSce, if desired ; but when convenient. Postmasters would confer a favor by haying the whole number ordered at their own office, sent to their own address. j^ As all subscriptions commence anew with the year, places where the FAR]MER was never before taken will stand an equal chance in the competition for premiums. iS?^ BACK VOLUMES of the FARJMER will be furnished, if desired, and counted the same as new subscribers. We shall keep a correct account of t!ie subscribers sent by each person, and in the JULY NU3IBER WE SHALL ANNOUNCE THE PREMIUMS. • . ^ jm- Specimen numbers, show-bills, &c., sent to all post-paying applicants. All letters must be post-paid or free. Subscription money, if properly enclosed and registered, may be mailed at our risk. DANIEL LEE, Publisher aud Proprietor. 4 / ' OCT 1969 1 ■'^ii:i^ we^sby