THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Annual Meeting or the TJ. S. Agricultueal So- 

 ciety.— The Fifth Annual Meeting of the United States 

 Agric-ultnral Society wa=i held at the Smithsonian Institute, 

 Washington, January 1 (t'l. The receipts of the Society 

 during the past year have been about $40,000 ; expenses, 

 almost the same. The next Fair of the Society will be 

 held at Louisville, Ky. Its citizens Iiave raised a guaran- 

 tee fund of §30,000. Resolutions were adopted recom- 

 mending the purchase of .Mount Vernon, and the estab- 

 lishment of an Agricultural College and Experimental 

 Farm by tlie National Government. A great trial of im- 

 plements (except reapers and mowers, for which some 

 other place will be designated,) is to be held in conjunc- 

 tion with the next Fair at Louisville. Committees were 

 appointed to take the matter in charge ; and also other 

 Committees to memorialize Congress in respect to an Ag- 

 ricultural Department ; to examine the merits of the Chi- 

 nese siigr,r cane ; and one to inquire into the cause and 

 care of the '• Hog Cholera," w hich is making sad work 

 among the swine in some parts of the country. The fol- 

 lowing officers were elected : 



President — Mafsh.^l P. Wilder, Mass. 



Secretary — B. P. PoOEE, " 



Treasurei- — B. B. Fkench, Washington, D. C. 



Executive Committee — Goy. King, N. Y. ; Gibson Mal- 

 lORY, Ky. ; Dr. Elwtn, Pa. ; D. J. Bkowne, D. C. ; 

 Fkederick Smith, N. H. ; Dr. Stevenson, Ind. 



An Interesting Fact. — The recent investigations of 

 Prof. Way, Chemist to the Royal Agricultural Society of 

 England, have brought out a curious fact, which may 

 throw light upon the rationale of some important prac- 

 tices in agriculture. Rain water contains ammonia and 

 nitric acid, and it is from these two substances that the ni- 

 trogen of plants is obtained. A series ©f examinations of 

 the water discharged from underdrains, shows that it con- 

 tains less ammonia and more nitric acid than rain water. 

 Rain water filtering through the soil, then, parts with its 

 ammonia, but dissolves out nitric acid from the soil or ma- 

 nures. How is this nitric acid formed in the soil ? Pro- 

 bably, says Prof. Way, from the oxidation of nitrogenous 

 manures ; and he recommends a more perfect admixture 

 of manures with the soil sS the most likely means to pre- 

 vent the formation of nitric acid, and the loss of nitrogen 

 from leaching. It appears to us, too, that if the manure 

 •was thoroughly decomposed before applying it to the land, 

 it would not only be easier to mix it ultimately with the 

 6oil. but there would be less nitric acid formed, and con- 

 sequently le.^s loss. 



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Bound Yolvmss. — In reply to several inquiries, we 

 ■would say that we can furnish bound volumes of the Far- 

 mer for the years 1847, '8 and '9, and for 1S52, '3, '4, '5 and 

 '6. Tiiey are handsomely bound in half sheep. The price 

 is $1 per volume. If sent by mail, 25 cents additional 

 must be sent to prepay postage. We have a few volumes 

 for 1S5G, bound in paper, which will be sent, postage paid, 

 for 75 cents a volume. Those who wish them should send 



early. 



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Cheesy Butter.— If the writer in the last Farmer, on 

 butter-making, wishes to avoid the cheesy substance, as he 

 chooses to call it, by allowing milk to stand some time for 

 the cream to rise, he can skim it every day, and thus let it 

 stand as long as he chooses. But, of course, butter will 

 not be as good when cream or milk stands too lono-. M. 

 S. 'Q.— Aurora, N. Y. ° 



Osage Orange Hedges at the West. — The editor of 

 the Boston Cultivator, Sanfoed Howard, Esq,, wKb 

 made a tour through the Yf estern States last year, was diSh- 

 appointed with the appearance of the osage orange hedges 

 of Illinois and Iowa. He says : " Of many miles of whjJt 

 are railed hedges, we scarcely saw a rod that would Bte 

 considered a fence." This is attributed to careless cultivtf- 

 tion ; but even where they had been well managed, " thelrfe 

 were various dead spots, caused, probably, by the winter." 

 We are sorry to hear such a poor account of the hedges of 

 the West, from such good authority. We still hope, hew- 

 ever, that a better system of cultivation will yield mofe 

 encouraging results. In regard to the dead spots, it would 

 seem that they are a necessary evil in all hedges ; even ib 

 England it is rare to see any considerable length of hedgfe 

 without imperfect spots, and yet no one doubts tho adapt!*- 

 bilitv of the hawthorn to the climate of England. 



Thanks, Kind Friends ! — We are under great obliga- 

 tions to the numerous friends of agricultural and hortf" 

 cultural improvement for their disinterested labors in ex- 

 tending the circulation of the Genesee Farmer. Up fb 

 this date (January 29) we have on our books more thtfn 

 double the number of subBcribsrs we had this time last 

 year. We have had to reprint the January number three 

 times, and our paper this month is delayed a few days 

 in consequence of this unexpected demand. We shall 

 spare neither labor nor expense to make the Farmer tllfe 

 present year worthy of this great circulation. We must 

 remind our friends, however, that the " old Genesee Far- 

 mtr " has always been " The Practical and ScientiS) 

 Farmer's Oum Paper," and while we make it the cheapest, 

 it rests mainly with them to say whether it shall be th« 

 Best farmer's paper in the country. If they will make £t 

 their medium for a free interchange of ideas on the va- 

 rious topics of rural life, our labors will be comparatively 

 light, and the interest and usefulness of the paper greatly 

 increased. 



Designs for Cottages, Farm Houses, &c. — H. J. = 

 Brunner, of Nazareth, Northampton Co., Pa., writes nsr. 

 that the " designs of cottages, farm houses, &c., in the 

 Genesee Farmer, have been turned to good use in our neigli<- 

 borhood, — several houses having been built during the past 

 year, and several others now in contemplation to be built, 

 according to plans and designs laid down in your useful 

 journal." This is encouraging, and we shall endeavor to 

 make this department of our paper still more valuable. 



Spare the Birds. — A bill has been introduced into tHe 

 New York State Senate, which provides that it shall net be 

 lawful for any person to kill or destroy, upon any land not 

 owned by himself, any of the following birds, under a 

 penalty of $10: 



The robin or redbreast, bine bird, swallow, martin, or 

 mosquito haw, woodpecker, cat bird, high-tailed thrush or 

 brown thrasher, mourning dove, meadow lark or marsh 

 quail, summer red biid, hanging bird, spider bird or wax 

 bird, ground robin, bobolink or rice bird, and sparrow. 



Cure tor Warts on Cattle. — Rub tar on them nirdl 

 they are removed. This is an effectual remedy. E. D.»f- 

 JacksOn, Pa. 



To Destroy Rats and Mick. — The best plan I can 

 devise, is to remove everything they can subsist on out of 

 their reach. Amos Clift. — Albion, N. Y. 



