166 



^\)c jTavmcc's iHontl)li} bioitor. 



liiiiulreH varieiie^; and the same tiuttess iiiid 

 corres|ioii(liiig increMsf^ lias lifeii ulteiiilaiit on 

 the prodtictioiis of the florni and vegetable king 

 doiii. 



'• Ainoni: the pleasinir incidents of the prepenl 

 year, tnay he ndlicfd ihe corn|ilclion and orcii- 

 pancy ol' our uew edifice in School Street; hut 

 who woulil liiive pii-diclcd ihiil, crc the present 

 Exiiihiliou had closed, tliere would still exist n 

 demand lor furtiier an<l enlarf;ed nocoiunioda- 

 tions ? 



"1 congratidale the Society on the liheral and 

 increiisin;; pairona-iP ol' the rotntnnnity — on tlie 

 ndiliiion of more than 100 new mendiers to its 

 ranks ilnrin^ the last nine nioullis — on the con- 

 tinued improvement in the |iroihictioiisr.\liihitt(l 

 — on the honoralile and elevated standing <inr 

 institution sustains hoth nt liome and ahroad — 

 and on the harmony and uinon llial prevail 

 Miuonf^ us. 



" We have assembled lo commemorate its J7tli 

 anniversary. We are met in this 'IVniple ol 

 Liberiv, whose time-honored walls li;ive oft re- 

 sounded to deeds of patriolisuiaii<l henevideiice, 

 and we loo have come np hither for a benevo- 

 lent object. We have not come to prepare by 

 excilin<£ debate for the poliiicid contest, nor for 

 the discns.-ion of those subjects that auitate .so- 

 ciety lo its verv centre." 



Q;^ Althonnli the following article applies lo 

 the winter wheat cnlliue of the west, we see no 

 reason why ii may not he applied to sprinj.' whear, 

 the oidy kimi much r.dsed in New England. — 

 May not ground coal be a good article in the 

 mannlactnre of compost mamiie t<>r potato crops, 

 (or peas, rye, oats aiifl oiher articles liable to be 

 aflected by rust and blight? 



I^rtim the Ge(iC3*^e I-'armer. 

 Wheat Culture. 



John Kvans, Esq., of Mill Creek township. 

 Western Pi.-mi.-ijlvania, has harvested, according 

 to the Erie (Gazette, on three acres ol' land '• so 

 poor a few years ago tlinl it woitlc/ not bear ichlte 

 tcojii,"" 123 bushels of wheat, which weighed G."» 

 lbs. per bushel. Al 60 lbs. [icr hiisliel, the \ ield 

 is a fraction over 44 bushels per acre. 



'Phis land has been brought up by deep ploimh- 

 ing, leached ashes and clover sod, with a pleiiiv 

 of clover on it, turned in and mixed with the soil. 

 Within the last three weeks we have been called 

 to notice several instances, where the use of iin- 

 kached uahcs, .scattered as a top dressing at the 

 rate of 20 bushels per acre, at the time of seed- 

 inir, has evidently increased the croj) some leu 

 or twelve bushels per acre. .\ny tpianlilv from 

 2000 to 4000 lbs. of dry, bard wood aslies,'Hpread 

 eveidy on an acre just sown in wheal, can do no 

 harm, and will baldly fail of being of great ser- 

 vice to the crop. The alkalies ;)o^/sA and soiln; 

 and the alkaline earths lime and nio/^iicsm, are ex- 

 tremely prone lo be washed, or lcacbe<l out ol 

 the surliice soil of ctdiivated fields. Hence un- 

 leaclicd aslies are usually worth twice as niiudi 

 to make into grain and potatoes, as they bring to 

 be nsed in the manuliicuire of pot and pearhish. 

 One thing must be borne in mind, and that is, 

 never to sow wheat on wet land without thor- 

 ough draining. Unatvronnlable negligence in llii.s 

 regard has occasioned the loss of many Ihous- 

 ands of bushels ihis season in Western IVcvv 

 York by rust and shrinkage. It is down right fol- 

 ly bordering on insaniiy, lo be lo all the labor 

 uiid expense of ploughing repeatedly, harrowiiii;' 

 thoroughly, and sowing a plenty of good seed, 

 in good seasons, and after all, permit water lo 

 gland on a compact sidisoil, just long enou;;h to 

 ruin the crop. There is mil a town in the stale, 

 perhaps, where cannot be I'onnd more or less 

 fields whose crops snifer from the lack of gooil 

 drains lo carry olf water that liills upon or col- 

 lects below their surface. We liave never seen 

 the first man that ngrein-d having drained a sin- 

 gle rod of land. On the contrary, all commend 

 the advantages which thorough draining has giv- 

 en them. 



Be careful to sow nothing bui clean plump 

 wheat for seed. Wash that ihoroiigldy in strong 

 brine, or blue vitriol water and dry in lime, to 

 destroy the seeds of smut and rust, that may, 

 perchance, adhere to ihe kernels of grain. 



By all means remember that it is iiir heller lo 

 sow hut live acres, and so feed the plants Ihut 

 they will give yon 40 bushels per acre, than to 



sow fifteen acres, and starve the young wheat I 

 plants down to twelve bushels per acre, and have 

 even that badly shrunken, with rusl. Don't for- i 

 get that it lakes less seed, and fewer hard days 

 work to laise 'iW bushels on sir, than on fj'tcen | 

 acres of land. 



Noihing is more common in Weslern New 

 York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, ihan for land to 

 be too rich ill vegetable imnild, lo bring good 

 wheat. The straw grows too rank, and thick, 

 and is very liable lo be aft'eded by rust. To pre- 

 vent lliis latler malady, .Mr. Haywood of the city 

 of Buftiilo, (as we inlimalcd in a former nnmlier,) 

 has nsed charcoal with signal success. Mr. H. 

 is ihe owner of a tract of splenilid wheat land 

 near Samhisky, Ohio, where he has two llouriiii' 

 mills. Ilc^ has kindly fmnisheil us with a plot ol 

 seven whe.-if helds, taken liir experiments this 

 season, wilh the resiills, which lollow : 



No. 1. 20 acres. Apiilied 50 bushels of coal, 

 ground tine, per acre. Yield 2.5 bushels of 

 w heat per acre. 



No. 2. 4 acres. N'o coal ajiplied. Wheat bad- 

 ly rusted; yield 5 bushels per acre. 



No". 3. 15 acres. Coal as in No. 1. Yield 25 

 bushels. 



No. 4. 25 acres. Coal as in No. 1. Yie'tl 35 

 bushels per acre. 



.\'ole, No. 4. was seeded with old trheai. 



No. 5. 15 acres. Coal. Yield 25 bushels per 

 acre. 



No. 6. 8 acres. No coal. Yield 5 bushels per 

 acre. 



No. 7. (lucres. No coal. Yield 3 bushels per 

 acre. 



The soil, cnlliire, &c., piec sely alike except 

 the use of .50 bushels of coal per acre as desig- 

 naled — sown in April and May. The soil ahonnds 

 in lime an I organic mailer. 



iMr. Haywood will a[pply 10,000 bushels of coal 

 to the fields to he sown in wlii'at this aiiluinn. — 

 It cosis him S30 per 1000 bushels. He grinds it 

 in a common hark mill nsed by tanners. 



The other experiment was, lo l.ike fresh muck, 

 sour and cold, as it came from ihe place ilng, ami 

 |.ut a part in the hill for corn and potatoes, hut 

 did iiol get iiuiith benetil from it Ihe first year, 

 ihongli the crops coniimied to improve as the 

 iiincU got warm. This field, in Ihe course of 

 three yi'ars, was made to produce a good qiianli- 

 ly of grass, just by harrowing the tnrf when dry 

 enough to liear Ihe team, so.ving plenty of timo- 

 lliy and reiliop, and [Milling on about ten loads 

 of compost per acie, made from yard mcniire, 

 muck and lime. ' E. P. W. 



.Morrislown, .\'. /. 



Mt'cK A.Nn .MARf.. — iMany fiirmcis are so sit- 

 uated ihal they can draw out these fertilizing snh- 

 sl;inces upon llieir ii|rlands, at an expense that 

 ake it a gocjd employuient ol lime and 



will 



money. It is work that can he done in ihe l;dl 

 of ibe year "al odd jobs," cosling but little of 

 clear outlay. We suppose two handsaiid a team 

 will draw out a dislam-e ol' tony rods, some 12 

 or 15 loads in a day, .nid this is a siiflicieiil dress- 

 ing t'tir half an acre. Muck is belter which has 

 lain exposed (iir a year or two to the aciion of 

 sun and frosi — sncli as that llirown out from 

 dilches. If marl and muck are mixed logeiher, 

 j ihe cfl'ecl is more beneficial than if eiiher is ap- 

 [ plied separately — Ihe marl furni.-hing lime anil 

 clay, and the muck, vegelable mould — the liir- 

 mer imparling aelivily lo ihe liillcr. 



From the JN. V. Farmer and Mechanic. 

 Muck and Lime. 

 Gfnt. — In this seclioii of the country, as in 

 most others, the only malerial wanting is manure, 

 which 1 think may lie found lo be more abundant 

 than most men are aware of, 1 see on almost 

 all farms lots of iiiiick, in the shape of boiis, or 

 in swamp holes, which might he easily drained, 

 and converled into valuable inaniire by means of 

 a little lime and exjiosiire to frosi, rain and sun- 

 shine. 1 will relate some few (iicls that have 

 come under my iinmedinle observalion, in my 

 own town, a little back from ihe ('oniiccticnl riv- 

 er. It was upon a faiiii pmchased by my father, 

 that had been exhausted of iis productive prop- 

 erlie-, by selling off the hay and straw for sev- 

 eral years in succession. It was restored in ihe 

 following manner: The first year, about ivveniy 

 loads of lurf-miick, from a piece of ground inosl- 

 ly grown over with sour grass, was pul inio ihe 

 hog's yard, lor them to work over; filiy ninic in- 

 to ihe barn-yard, for the callle and sheep to work 

 up, turning it over once or twice in the course 

 of the siiiiiiner. I'l.'fore gelling it out, it was 

 pul into heaps, mixing in llie coarse maiiuie and 

 a little iiiislaeked lime and leached ashes. As 

 soon as ilie liciip go! .pille warm i' was removed 

 lo llie field. 'J'liis was used as a top-dressing up. 

 oil hiiiil ihal had helore been planii'd and iiocl, 

 and now laid down lo grass, w liicli drc-siiiii :;av.- 

 lis a good crop of wheat and oals, and assisled 

 ihe grass-seed to get deep-rooted, and the re.-ull 

 was a good crop of grass afler il. The compost 

 I from ihe hog yard was put in the hill for corn 

 •nil polaloe.s, which gave good return for ilie 

 labor. 



Next year, two ditVerent experimenls were tried 

 not quitting the first however. One was, lo gel 

 out aboiil sixly loads of ninidi from one place and 

 another, and leaves and oiher substances from 

 ihe woods; let it lie expi^sed lo llie (iosis o( 

 wiiiler and iIk^ rain and sun of siiiniiier, nnlil 

 ab lut the first of .Angiisl, when about ihree hogs- 

 heads ol" lime, unslacked, was mixed wilh il, and 

 when properly healed, was put on three ain-es ol 

 turf ground, newly lurned over and rolled down 

 smooth, and then well harrowed in. K_\i; and 

 grass sei-d were then sowed, the land again liar- 

 roweil ami rolled, to make smoolh, and il pro- 

 duced two tons pir acre of good hay, whereas 

 before, not one-half ton was cut. 



Prof. Morreu's Letter on the Potato Malady. 



[The recent deslrnciion oT a large portion of 

 the poiaio crop on the Eiirtqiean eouiinent by 

 the rot, has lorncd llie attention of dislingnisheil 

 scieniific men to the investigation of ils c;inse. — 

 The following exlracls are from a fiill iranshiiinn 

 <d' a Oeiiiian chemi.^t's leller lately |)ublished in 

 I'le Loudon Times. — /:,'</. rVsi'(or.] 



M. Morren, after slating that Ihe evil I'ad pre- 

 vailed in Belgium tor several years, ihougli to a 

 fir less alarming degree than at present, pro- 

 ceeds : 



"The real cause of the evil is ayi(iig"H.«, or sort 

 of mushroom, which the learned will classily un- 

 der the geiins boln/itis — but which aaricnliurisls, 

 vviihoul furlher specification, will call a spol, a 

 blemish, or blotches. ■* * This miishromn is 

 of exireme teniiily, but it breeds amazingly, and 

 reproduces ilself by ihoiisands. lis slen.s are 

 liirnicd of liiile, straight hollow threads, which 

 bear on their summiis oni^ or more branches, al- 

 ways divided into two, and nt the end of these 

 braiiches rejirodiiclive bodies are found, wliieli 

 have the liiriii of eggs, but which are scarcely 

 Ihe liundiedlli pari of a millimdre in size. It 

 will be said ihai this is a very small body lo do 

 so much mischief; but I answer that the itch is 

 not a disease the less to he feared, because the 

 ucarc which produces il can be seen only by the 

 aid of ihe microscope. 



"Afierthe fiirmalion of the" yellow sp'ot, and 

 llie development ol Ihe io'M/f/w on the leaf of 

 ihe potato, llie stalk receives the deleterious in- 

 fluence. Hero and ihtre ils epidermis iiiriis 

 brown, blackens, and, following wilh llie O'icro- 

 scdpe ihc phases of llie evil, voii perceive ih:it it 

 is by the riiul that the stalk is allaidvcil. The 

 inoi bid agent carries ils aciion from the rind on 

 ihe epidermis, ai^l ihongli this last dc's not id- 

 ways discloses mushrooms, it is not ihe less for 

 thai sliiick with death. 



"I'lie iiili'ciiou soon ilescends into ihc tuber- 

 cle itself ir ihe disease follows its course, ihc 

 inbercle morlifics liirlhwiih. A poiuto is not a 

 root, but a real branch; whence ii fi)llows that n 

 Inhcrcnle conlains a marrow, w hicli is ihe ealable 

 part to be preii'rrcd, and a scparaie riiul; he- 

 iwe.cn the marrow and llie rind ihere is )i zone 

 of vessels, which represent wood. This ron- 

 stiuction is apparent to any one who chooses to 

 cut a thin slice of potato, and place it between 

 hiseyeand llie da\ light. The infeclioii attacks 

 llial pari which irccivcslhe .sap on ils desi-ent. 



"By fidlowiiig ihe progress of the evil upon a 

 great nuinher ol lainled inbercles, I have been 

 able lo see how llie evil, by one conlinnoiis prog- 

 ress, al leiiglh reaches the lir art ilsclf^of llu- po- 

 iaio, and corrupis llie vegelable enlirely. The 

 skin of Ihe deceased potato comes oil" easily ; 

 ihe flesh no longer cracks under ihc knife; a 

 rtalnhnt liquid (hips bom lhepolaio;a musty, 

 and prcsenlly an animal smell, analogous to the 

 «iiicl| of mushroom" recently col, innnifesls it- 



