is'ii] 



t'ARMERS' REGISTER. 



441 



effjjfs. It is jrenerally admitlod, llial yJi// or early 

 spring plotigliing does, in some way, prevent llie 

 Cut worm truiii injurinif otircorn crops. 



Some preler havinir the sward imperfectly turn- 

 ed down, so as to have a portion of gijrass remain- 

 ing on the surlace for the worms to teed on. But 

 these should remember, that this practice may pre- 

 serve alive a niiniber of worms suiniMont to do the 

 corn a serious injury. By tuniiuii: all down, they 

 niiifjit destroy the worms, and render the precau- 

 tion of feedinix thorn unnecessary. 



Another means of lessening the injury from the 

 cut worm, is to plant deep. The heart of the 

 plant remains Ioniser in the ijround, and il" the 

 worm should cut il oH' above, the growth is but lit- 

 tle retarded. 



I hope others will investitrfite the subject, and 

 make known the results.-^/^ar?/ters' Cabinet. 



For ttie Farmers' Register. 



ACCOUNT OF THE SOILS AND AGRICULTURE 

 OF WESTERN NEW YORK. 



DuriniT a recent visit into tlie interior of New 

 York, [ had an opportunity of forming some idea 

 of the extent and lertility, the agricultural products 

 and resources, of that interesting portion of our 

 countr}'. As there is a natural desire amonirst the 

 intelligent part of the agricultural community, to 

 be informed of the comparative advantages and 

 the practices of other states, I venture to submit 

 the result of my observations to the readers of the 

 Farmers' Reiiister. 



The western part of New York is undoubtedly 

 one of the most ,'ijrtiie and productive districts in 

 the United Stales. From Utica to Niagara, a 

 distance of two hundred miles, the soil is capable, 

 with some inconsiderable exceptions, of sustaining 

 a population as dense as that which exists in any 

 part of the old world. Even now the number of 

 inhabitants is very great, notwithstanding the con- 

 stant tide of emigration to the new and ti^rtile re- 

 gions of tlie west; and this cause alone will proba- 

 bly prevent it from reaching its maximum during 

 the present century. With unexampled facilities 

 for the transportation of produce to market, and 

 with abundant means at hand for the continual 

 improvement of the soil, nothing is wanting but 

 intelligence and stability to make a garden spot of 

 this extensive region. The climate alone may be 

 regarded as unfriendly: for winter intrudes upon 

 nearly halftheyear, which causes a heavy draught 

 on the labor of the country during the season of 

 veirelation. 



In estimating the agricultural merits of a coun- 

 try, its natural structure may be regarded as an 

 important object of consideration. I shall, there- 

 fore, introduce such remarks on this subject as 

 would probably occur to any person whose atten- 

 tion might be directed to it. I reo;ret, however, 

 that I was not able to have access to the report of 

 the geolouists of the state, made to the last session 

 of its legislature, that I might avoid tliose errors 

 into which a traveller may inadvertently fall, from 

 the slight examination it is in his power to make. 

 But I trust that if my description shall be thought 

 erroneous in some of the details, it will yet be 

 found sufficiently accurate to answer the purpose 

 lor which it is introduced. 



A traveller then would naturally lay off the 

 western part of New York into three divisions: 

 Vol. Y—56 



], from Lake Ontario to the Gravel Ridge, com- 

 monly called the ridge road: 2, ir-om lite ridge 

 road to the mountain ridge: and 3, from the moun- 

 tain ritige to the Pennsylvania line. Upon each 

 of these d!visioi\s I will oiler some remarks. 



The tract of country lying on the shore of lake 

 Ontario, and extending to the ridge road, may be 

 from five to ten miles in width. It is but slightly 

 elevated above the level of" the lake, and so per- 

 fectly Hat and unbroken, that the motion of the 

 streams is slugu'ish in the extreme. The soil how- 

 ever, which is a black santly loam, does not ap- 

 pear to be retentive of moisture; and having a 

 sliilht admixture of lime in its composition, is very 

 productive of corn and oats, when it can be efi'ec- 

 tually drained; and moderately so of wheat. Its 

 low situation must render it injurious to health. 

 The ridii'e, which constitutes the soutliern boun- 

 dary of this division, prevents a curious and re- 

 markable It-ature; and indeed is perlt:ctly anomal- 

 ous, as ftr as my information extends, with the 

 exception of a similar embankment on the south 

 side of Lake Erie. It is apparently elevated 

 about twenty-five or thirty leet above the level of 

 the land on the north, and something lees above 

 that on the southern side. It is almost wholly 

 composed of sand and gravel. At one place 

 where there had been an excavation lor the ()ur- 

 pose of getting materials to construct a road, 

 there was only a small portion of sand on the sur- 

 face. The pebbles, which are smooth and formed 

 of red sand-stone, were without a particle o! oth- 

 er matter amongst them, except a deposhe of 

 lime, which served to cement them slightly togeth- 

 er. This fact alone, shows the presence of lime 

 in the adjacent soils. It was, no doubt held in so- 

 lution by the waters, which once covered the 

 country, and deposited equally over every part. 

 To what cause this natural embankment is ow- 

 ino;, it may perhaps be difficult to explain. It 

 will be perceived from the description, that it is 

 of diluvial formation; and many persons have 

 supposed that it constituted the former boundary 

 of the lake. To this theory, however, there are 

 several objections. One is, the absence of a cor- 

 responding; formation on the northern shore of the 

 lake; another is, that the bank is considerably 

 elevated above the land on its southern border; 

 and a third one is, that near the western extremi- 

 ty, there is an entire interruption for several miles, 

 where no traces of it can be found. Towards the 

 western termination of the eastern portion, the 

 ridge deflects suddenly to the south, and shortly 

 becomes merged in the general suface. Travel- 

 ling thence to the west, it is met with again at 

 the distance of six miles, when the ascent to the 

 summit, is some what abrupt. Thatiis existence, 

 however, was connected with the vast bodies of 

 water to the north, cannot be questioned. At a dis- 

 tant era, and during the convulsive throes of na- 

 ture, we may suppose that a tremendous wave 

 or succession of waves rolled in from the north, 

 sweeping the earth as they advanced, and that 

 they exjjended their force at this point. But to 

 whatever cause its origin may be referred, il forms 

 during its whole length, a natural road, not to be 

 surpassed in excellence, nor equalled in durability 

 by the most approved work of artificial construc- 

 tion. Its summit is not more than sufficiently broad 

 lor a road of convenient width, and generally speak- 

 ing, the surlace is equally smooth in winter and 



