140 



THE GENESEE FAEMER. 



Bot write as if they wished to encourage emigration. 

 They describe the matchless soil, the tall corn, the 

 redundant prairie grass, the prairie hens, the pigs and 

 poultry; but they neglect to complain of wet prairies, 

 the mosquitoes, fever and ague, and the paucity of 

 timber. They tell us how fat the prairie fed cattle 

 are in autumn, while they neglect to say how much 

 of their corn rotted for the lack of shelter, how 

 many of their sheep were killed by prairie wolves, or 

 how many of their bovines had to be lifted up by 

 the tail in the spring, after the winter's exposure to 

 the bleak winds and low temperature of the prairies. 

 The whole truth, if told, v/ould give an interesting 

 panorama of life in prairiedom, which would enliven 

 the scene, and add that romance to isolated monotony 

 by which alone the young and energetic make a play- 

 spell of the battle of life" Evidently under this spell 

 a man writes from Iowa, saying that "those who 

 have failed to succeed at the East may honorably 

 succeed there, and experience that joy which the 

 world cannot give." 



Eauly Planting. — It is time now, (April lOth.) if 

 not done before, to sow onions and plant peas and 

 potatoes. Beans, although wanted early, should not 

 be planted, owing to their tender nature, until the 

 20th of May, as we generally have the last Vv-hite 

 frost as late as the last days of May. But some 

 Limas, and a few rows of Early Dwarfs, may be 

 planted by the lOth, if care is taken to cover them 

 on the night of a frost; an inch board is effectual, 

 while they freeze under cloth. Limas may be covered 

 with the hoe when two inches high; a sprinkling of 

 soil on the leaves will protect them. Early planted 

 beans, like early planted corn, attain strong roots and 

 go ahead of the late planted, particularly in warm 

 dry weather. 



Waterloo, A". Y. 



CHHIESE SUGAS CANE-JAPAN PEAS, 



Messrs. Editoes : — Having of late seen some 

 doubts expressed in regard to the successful culture 

 ot, and manufacture of sugar and molasses or syrup 

 from, the Chinese sugar cane, as well as to the profita- 

 bleaess of its culture for its saccharine products, I 

 have concluded to give you an account of an esperi- 

 ment 1 made with it last year. 



Between the 20th and last of May, 1856, I re- 

 ceived a small package of seed of the South African, or 

 Caffrarian, variety, v,'bich I planted the day I received 

 it, on one rod of land, as near as it could be mea- ' 

 sured, three feet apart one way by about two to two 

 and a half the other, ten seeds in a hill. All that 

 vegetated (say five out of seven) I let stand, and cul- 

 tivated carefully, same as corn or broom corn. Owing 

 to the extreme dryness of the season, and the cool- 

 ness of the weather in August, together wi:h the 

 closeness of the plants, only about one-half of the 

 seed matured. I saved, however, about seven pounds 

 of tolerably well matured seed, besides losing eight 

 of the best seed-heads, which were taken from the 

 lot liefore cutting. 



Ou the evening of the l-ith of October, antici- 

 pating a heavy frost, I cut the canes and placed them 

 in a henp in a s-^care place, under shelter. About a 

 week after I manufactured the whole into syrup, or 

 mVl'asses, by passing a few of the canes by hand 

 through a tinner's cylinder, by which means I ex- 

 pressed about two quaits of juice, making about ous 



quart of thick syrup, or molasses, in about thirty 

 minutes' boiling. The balance of the canes were cut 

 into pieces from one to three inches long, and boiled 

 in pots of water, (only being put through that pro- 

 cess twice, and not pressing the stalks in any manner 

 whatever,) which, after removing the stalks, was boiled 

 down to syrup, making in all about three gallons of 

 an excellent article, equal, if not superior, in color 

 and flavor, to the best quality of Boston syrup. My 

 yield was equal to four hundred and eighty gallons 

 per acre, and I am satisfied that if I could have 

 thoroughly extracted the juice, it would have ex- 

 ceeded five hundred gallons per acre. 



I expect to plant six or seven acres this season, 

 and more fully test its profitableness, both for sao- 

 charine purposes and as a forage plant; and would 

 be glad to procure information respecting the pur- 

 chase or manufacture of a cheap and efiective ma- 

 chine for extracting the juice. Perhaps you, or some 

 of your correspondents, could give me the infor- 

 mation. 



Japan Peas. — I planted about fifty Japan peas 

 last year, in the latter part of May, which grew luxu- 

 riantly and bore profusely, considering the intense 

 drouth of the season. I gathered about a peck of 

 mature peas in the fall, after having a part destroyed 

 by my own and my neighbors' fowls. We used some 

 of these peas last winter, and found them good for 

 culinary purposes. Our fowls also seem to esteem 

 them higtily, as they eat them with avidity. There 

 can be but little doubt of their maturing in this cli- 

 mate, if planted in May. E. Hall. 



Berlin, Ohio. 



POTATO EAISIKG IK IOWA. 



Messrs. Editors: — The potato loves a loose soil, 

 with decaying leaves, grass roots, or other vegetable 

 matter. If the ground be foul with grass and other 

 weed seeds, plow early, and in a week farrow out. 

 As often as weeds start in the furrow, run the fur- 

 row afresh, till time to plant ; and just before the 

 potatoes are up, straddle the rows with a cultivator, 

 set narrow, and the front tooth out. Work them 

 often and deep till the blossoms begin to show, and 

 not afterivards. If the weather is very dry plow 

 often, or else your potatoes will grow shallow and 

 precocious, being affected by the vicissitudes of the 

 weather, and will be ill-shaped — knotty and forked, 

 with watery ends. Plow the last time v/ith a ten or 

 twelve inch shovel plow, as deep and as close to the 

 row as possible. Move the hills a little, but not tear 

 them loose. Split the rows with a shovel plov/, big 

 enough to loosen all the middle. You will have a 

 surer and better crop to leave the ground as level as 

 possible; but if your variety grov/s scattering in the 

 trround, you will dig with less work if the row be 

 ridged. 



Manner of Planting. — If the ground is loose, 

 not inclined to cake and bake, drill — one foot is a 

 good distance. If the ground is heavy, cross three 

 feet one way and two feet the other. Plow mostly 

 the wide way, but once at least across, to break the 

 I r' Jge under the row. 



' Plant early as possible, if you fear the rot; but 

 the first of June planting brings a better crop than 

 a month earher. Early varieties do well here planted 

 as late as the twentieth of June, Potatoes vs ill keep 

 better, and be of better quality for spring and suia- 



