100 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



The Usefulness of the Gbneseb Farmer not con- 

 pined TO ONE Section of the Country.— T. E. Tate, 

 Esq., of Osyka Miss., writes us as follows: " HaTingbeeii 

 a subscriber to vo«r valuable paper, during the past year, 

 and found so much in its pages to. interest and benefit 

 the farmer, I beg leave to send you $1 for two yeara' sub- 

 scription. Though living at a great distance from your 

 place of publication, and working soil and raising products 

 of a very different character from yours, still I feel that in 

 many leading features the same rule will apply to all. — 

 Your articles on the subject of underdraining have awak- 

 ened witliin me a new inijiulse, and I have laid eighty rods 

 of underdrains since I became a reader of your pages. I 

 believe these are the only underdrains in the county, and 

 if they prove advantageous — as I am confident they will — 

 several others will try similar experiments." 



Premium for the best dozen Domestic Receipts.— 

 We have received twelve " Dozen Domestic Receipts," and 

 they are all so go(5d that the committee to whom we 

 referred this matter, have not been able to decide which is 

 the best. The •' proof of the pudding is in the eating^' and 

 they cannot decide without testing the receipts. "When 

 they come to a decision we will make it known and send 

 the premium. From the fact that the committee cannot 

 determine which is the best, it is evident to us that all of 

 them are deserving of a premium, and therefore award to 

 each of the writers a 25 cent book. They will find a con- 

 siderable number of such books in our list published on the 

 last page, and we hope that each of our fair correspon- 

 dents will write us immediately which of them they would 

 prefer, and they shall be sent, postage paid, by return of 

 mail. 



The 'Wbather and Crops in Indiana. — Our winter, 

 from the middle of December last to the first of February, 

 has been of a lower degree of temperature, to take the 

 average, than last winter — j-et we have had no single day 

 or night as cold as last season ; 10"^ below zero was the 

 , lowest point reached this winter. The fruit buds are all 

 safe, thus far. We have at this time pleasant weather, the 

 mercury standing at U0° to-day, and a prospect of an early 

 spring. Our wheat crops look very bad at present, owing, 

 I think, to the dryness of the ground last fall when wheat 

 was sown. I think there was much of the grain that has 

 not sprouted yet. If that should be the case, it may yet 

 ▼egGt ite when warm rains fall. Elijah Stark. 



Versailles, Ripley Co., Ind. 



Prf-mium.'? for Essays. — There are very few readers of 

 the Geueaee Farmer, who cannot furnish valuable practical 

 information on some of the many subjects embraced in our 

 premium li't a» published in our last number. We trust 

 that our fiienr's will not neglect to write on these subjects 

 immediately, while they have leisure, and mail their let- 

 ters so as to I'each us by the first of April. We shall 

 award the premium, even though there is but one essay 

 received. 



Disposed to be Facetious. — In reply to our oflFer of 

 a Premium for the "Best Means of Destroying Weeds," a 

 correspondei t writes : " Pull them up and shake the dirt 

 off, and lay them on a stump to dry." Doubtless a very 

 effective, if not an expeditious method. 



To Destroy Rats. — An esteemed correspondent, We% 



William Reno, of Newscastle, Pa., sends us the follo'Vf*' 



ing amusing description of his plan of destroying rats >»- 



I build my corn-crib* on post^ about j eighteen inches 



high, made rat-proof by putting a broad board or she€t 



iron on the top of the posts. Make everything secure 



against rats except the granary, and have this rat-proof 



except at one of the back corners. Here, where they will 



like it best, make a nice hole with a spout five inches long 



on the outside, where they can go in and out and eat at 



pleasure. Then, if I think the rats are too numerous, I 



take a bag, after dark, and slip the mouth over the spoir* 



on the outside of the granary. Then send ' Ben ' in at 



the door with a light, and the rats and mice will all rnQ 



into the bag. Then slip the bag off the spout and slap it 



once or twice against the side of the granary. Turn out 



the dead, and in an hour or two repeat the process. Afteir 



all are killed, stop up the hole till new recruits arrire, 



which catch in the same way. Try it, and my word for i4 



you will save enough to pay for ,the Genesee Farmtr as 



long as you live. 



»«< 1 



Bay Windows. — Speaking of the form of windot*^ 



Henry Ward Beechek well observes: " Our common, 



small, frequent windows in country dwellings are coi> 



temptible. We love rather the generous old English win*- 



dows, large as the whole side of a room, many-angled, or 



circular ; but of what shape, they should be recessed-*— 



clorious nooks of light, the very antitheses of those shady 



converts which we search out in forests, in hot summet 



days. These little chambers of light into which a group 



may gather, and be both in doors and out doors at the samtt 



time ; where in storms, or in winter, we may have full »(?»■ 



cess to the elements without chill, wet or exposure — ^theA 



are the glory of a dwelling." 



A Rat-Thap. — A humorous correspondent at Oxfori^ 

 Chenango Co., N. Y., writes us that he has invented a ra#>- 

 trap which has caught a great many old, sly, crafty fellows^ 

 so slick, that if they could speak and were made to tell 

 the truth for once, they would have to confess that thty 

 could not help being pleased with it themselves ! Wa 

 must have a drawing and description of that trap, with 

 the half admiring, half despairing expression of a sly old 

 rat when he finds himself fairly caught at last. 



Best Essay on the Management of Bbes. — A correal 

 pondent calls our attention to an omission in our " Prem^ 

 ums for Short Essays." There is nothing said about bee* 

 This was an oversight, and we noyf offer a premium of a 

 dollar book for the best essay on the Management of Beettk 

 All essays to be received by the first of April. 



The Winter in Iowa. — Our correspondent, EDWifift 



Linne, of Toronto, Clinton Co., Iowa, writes, that th» 



winter in Iowa has been very severe, and that a great 



number of cattle are dying from disease and starvation.— 



He adds, " long will the winter of 185G-7 be remembered 



by the farmers of Iowa." 



.-•♦ 



Back Numbers Wanted. — We will pay four cen'te 



each for clean numbers of the Genesee Farmer for June, 



August, September and October, 1854. Send them fcj 



mail, and we will remit the money forthwith. 



