THE GENESEE FARMER, 



905 



fifty miles from whore I now write. We found him 

 sowing wlieftt He quit his work, and politely showed 

 UB over iiis farm, out-buildini^s, ikc, all of which were 

 Tery neat and well arranged — fliowod us what itn- 

 provemeiits he had made by uiukrdraining, «tc., and 

 a?l,ed us politely to stay to diimer, which we declined, 

 as we had other arrangements. We accompanied him 

 into the field where he hud been at work, and I put 

 my hand in a ba^^ of wheat and took out a handful to 

 look at it. but what was my surprise to find it full of 

 chess! I said I was astonished to find a man of his 

 reputation as a farmer sowing chess. He looked me 

 right in the eye, evidently irritated by my abrupt re- 

 proof, and said, ' How the h — 1 would you help it, 

 when it was there ? ' I told him I would blow it out. 

 He looked up again, evidently a good deal irritated, 

 »nd said 'Neither you nor any other man can clean 

 it out.' He had a first-rate mill, and had put it four 

 times through, and yet there it was; and he said he 

 would bet me one hundred dollars that I could not 

 dean it out. I told him it would not be justice in me 

 to bet with him, as I had done the same thing so often 

 that I knew I should have no difiieulty in doing it; 

 but if he would take a bag of wheat to the barn, if I 

 did not clean out all the chess in going once through 

 the mill, I would pay hiln five dollai's for his trouble. 

 Hi said ' done,' and took the bag on his shoulder and 

 •tarted for the barn ; but before he got out of the 

 field he threw it down, saying he had 'plenty of the 

 same kind in the granary.' After gjing to the barn, 

 I took the nhaking-rod of the. fanning mill, and took 

 9*it the riddles. We carried the fanning mill into the 

 granary, and I requested one of my companions to turn 

 the mill steadily, not very fast, and not to stop until I 

 notified him that it was all out of the hopper. I put 

 in the wheat, and we run through about two bushe's. 

 Tbe owner carried it to the barn floor, near the door, 

 and all the three gentlemen got on their knees and ex- 

 amined it, and they cmdd not find one chess seed. After 

 examining thoroughly, the owner ro:=e from his knees, 

 saying, in a subdued tone, ' I see a man can never be 

 too old to learn, aud I have learned something.' I 

 then said, ' Gentlemen you had better look behind the 

 mill — perhaps there was no chese in tite wheat 1^ The 

 owner said he knew ' there was plenty of chess in it.' 

 To make sure, I went and swept up behind the mill, 

 fcnd I should think I got at least four quarts of clie?s. 

 The owner then said, ' Gentlemen, your horses shall 

 go in &nd be fed, and you shall not leave until you 

 take dinner. I have got paid for many dinners.' So 

 we dined, and got an excellent dinner, and left with- 

 out saying ' chess ' again. 



"I have never had the pleasure of calling on the 

 gentleman since. I have thought I should like to see 

 his wheat, to ascertain if he rai?ed chess. I have 

 teen him often since, but I never mentioned 'chess' 

 to him, as I knew he felt a little grieved at his obsti- 

 nacy in not believing me. I have been thus particu- 

 lar in making a long story out of a little matter, to 

 try, if possible, to induce men to clean their seed, so 

 that there may be no more 'wheat turning to chess;' 

 l;ut as long .18 chess is in your neigliborhood, you are 

 always liable to occasiunally having a little. Your 

 neighbors' cattle may get on your fallows when they 

 have been eating chaff with che?s in it, or swine when 

 thev have been eating screenings of wheat with chess 

 in it. You may in this way get chess from their 

 droppings, but still that will only be a trifle. 



" Is'ow, brother farmers, I beg you will try blowing 

 the chess cut of your wheat for a few y^ars, and I 

 know j'ou will never again say wheat produces chess. 

 I wish you, Messrs. Editors, would go up the Genesee 

 Viiiley about seeding time, ([ mean wlieat sowing,) 

 and see that they sow clean wheat. I know that some 



of the best wheat growers in the country believe wheat 

 that is damaged by the treading of horses or cattU, 

 or nibbled oti' close by sheep, geese or turkeys, pro- 

 duces chess. Now, I know they are mistaken. It is 

 only because the wheat is killed, that the chess gets a 

 better chance to grow. Those who sow chess, get 

 chess ; those who do not sow it, do not get it." 



ITEMS SUGGESTED BY THE JUNE NTJMEER, 



Only thirty days to the 4th of July, and the ap- 

 ple trees but just fairly in blossom ! Summer here, 

 and the balance of the country's corn aud potatoes 

 yet unplanted ! And every hour of seasonable 

 weather improved ! Heaven grant us " growing 

 times "' and late frosts, and there will yet be a plen- 

 tiful harvest. While i rest from hoeing in " viy new 

 garden," let me note something of your June con- 

 tents. 



RcTA Baoas and Turnips. — The cultivation of 

 roots, particularly if successful, j repares the land ia 

 the best manner for the following crop. Success in 

 root grotving requires high manurin/, thorough til- 

 lage, and clean culture; it results in plenty of food 

 for stock, and hence plenty of manure — with thig, 

 farming becomes profitable. If we are to have winter 

 until May, American farmers should give increased 

 attention to root crops; they will find them just the 

 thing for spring feeding. A few beets and carrots, 

 raised last year, were found of high value {nearly 

 equal to their cost) for milch cows, by the writer. 



A Proposed Rotation. — The third year in the 

 course, is sadly blundered by wrong punctuation — ^it 

 should read: " Wheat, with composted manure; rye; 

 the spring following, beans, on any stubble unused 

 for these; the whole seeded to clover, or clover and 

 herd's grass." 



Stirring the Soil in Dry Weather. — The ad- 

 vantages of constant culture are well brought out 

 by your correspondents, I have found it easier to 

 grow good garden crops in very dry, than in very wet 

 seasons, by using the hoe freely. In wet seasons, it 

 is almost impossible to keep down the weeds — in dry 

 seasons, it is done with little difiSculty — and the same 

 rule and result hold good with our field crops. 



Management of Bees. — The great trouble in keep- 

 ing bees, is the use of new-fangled hives, bee-honses, 

 etc., and want of common sense in caring for them. 

 Give tbem plain box hives, an airy place, sheltered 

 from the heat and cold, and a little " wholesome neg- 

 lect," and they wili be sure to prosper. 



Butter Making. — My neighbor, T., gives many 

 valuable hints on this subject. I know she makes 

 the best of butter, but a little less " washing " would 

 suit my taste, though the great care used in working 

 leaves little chance for injury from that source. 



Forethought in Farming. — It is a good idea to 

 lay plans for work, but it is better to be able to 

 change any of these plans in case of emergency. 

 The farmer has great use for forethoitgJu, but cases 

 come up frequently when the ready thought is called 

 in play, and one who cannot turn back to first prir- 

 ciples and plan anew, will be pinched sometimes 

 pretty badly. 



F.iK.M House Cei-lar. — One of the most impor- 

 tant dcsideratums of a farmer's home \s a good cel- 

 lar, and any reader v/ho intends? to build soon, will 

 do well to study Mf, LAaxms' commuiiicatioiL 



