THE CANADA THISTLE 



We have often heard farmers in the South, 

 lamenting tlie rumored approacli of the Canada 

 Thistle, and expressing a desire to become fa- 

 miliar with its appearance, that it might be met 

 with resolutiou and vigor on its first amval 

 ajnoug them — it being on its way, like the red 

 fox and other pests, in progress from North to 

 South. The fanner, we conclude, cannot be too 

 800U made acquainted with the "fonn" and (we 

 will not say the "pressure,") characteristics of 

 an enemy so formidable, that a Pennsylvanian 

 writer, in the Fanners' Cabinet, vol.2, page 358, 

 says : — 



" It has already made its appearance in several 

 directions, to the no small annoyance of the pro- 

 prietors, and if sufl'ered to remain undisturbed, 

 it will continue to increase until it has taken full 

 and entire possession of the soil, to the exclusion 

 of everj- other plant, and may be handed down 

 from generation to generation as a permanent 

 legacy. In .some of the Western jprarts of the 

 Stat* of New-York, where it has partially taken 

 possession, you may discover many respectable 

 tillers of the soil reaping their wheat with gloves 

 on, and binding with willows ; and .some fields 



may be seen where it has become so thickly set 

 that the owners have given the ground up in 

 despair, as not producing herbage enough to 

 feed a rabbit." 



We are advised, by a gentleman who speaks 

 fedingly on the subject, and from painful expe- 

 rience, that it may be most etlectually destroyed 

 by mowing it, when in blossom, before it has 

 seeded, not very near to the ground, and then 

 pouring salt water over each spear of it — but if 

 it be not attacked very soon after it makes its 

 first appearance, it must become very difficult 

 to destroy it by a process so tedious. 



Noxious weeds are often spread by great 

 carelessnes.s on the part of the farmer himself 

 in the purchase of his seed. If he cannot raise 

 these in all cases himself, he cannot exercise too 

 much vigilance in the purchase of them ; and 

 here, again, is an instance of the necessity of al- 

 ways employing as agents and factors, gentlemen 

 of known probity and character, instead of 

 mere upstarts and loafers, who will hold with 

 the hare and run with the hound. 



COMPAR.\TIVE VALUE OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHEEP FOR THE NEW-YORK FARMER. 



A chance interview with that distinguished 

 Wheat-cultivator. General Harmon, of Monroe 

 County, New-York, was embraced recently to 

 obtain his views on some points of Sheep hus- 

 bandry. He prefers the Meririos, for these 

 general reasons, to either the South-Downs, 

 Leicesters, or Cotswolds ; and we believe he 

 does not stand by any means alone in his opin- 

 ions. What follows is the substance of his 

 answers to inteirogatories : — In the first place 

 he says, that in Western New-York as to the 

 VALUE OF THE WooL, that Mcrino, washed on 

 the sheep's back, will command 37 J cents a 

 pound — J blood .5 per cent, less — and half-blood 

 5 per cent, less still ; that South-Down Wool 

 will command about two-thirds the price per 

 pound of the Merino ; and that the Wool of 

 the Bakewcll and Cotawold, being somewhat 

 longer, is rather preferred to the South-Down. 

 Then as to weight of fleece : that Merinos in 

 his County will average about four pounds ; 

 that his lot of pure bloods averaged 4^ pounds. 

 From a yearling Mcrino ram lamb he sheared 

 this year lOj pounds, and his rams a vear old in 

 fl9'.ll 



May past and sheared in June, averaged six 

 pounds. He says Cotswolds will jdeld a hea\T[er 

 average fleece than eitber South-Downs or Lei- 

 cesters. These last he thinks will yield about the 

 same in weight of wool as the Merinos. But he 

 thinks the Merinos decidedly more healthy tlian 

 the long-wooled sheep, as the fleeces of these last, 

 being more open, will let in the rain and wet to 

 the skin and give colds and consumption. Gen. 

 H. thinks he can get, from the same quantity of 

 grass, as much of Merino as of any other mut- 

 ton, and that the Butchers tell him the Merinos 

 lay their fat more on the inside — more on the 

 kidneys, where it is more profitable ; — in a 

 word, that they " open better " than eitlier of 

 the other breeds. We have great respect for 

 the General's opinions ; but if any one chooses 

 to " try conclusions " with him, we always stand 

 open fo» conviction. 



Fj » . Capital. — The sum required depends 

 exceedir'gly upon very variable circumstances. 

 The mof^ profitable mode of farming would re- 

 quire the *i.se of £8 to £12 per acre. Eng.paper. 



