THE GENESEE FARMER. 



235 



toe much benefited by summer fallowing, from the 

 fact that, when exposed to the air, they attract and 

 retain ammonia. Hence, summer tallowing on such 

 Boils actually enriches them. Sandy soils, to a great 

 extent destitute of the double silicates, cannot ab- 

 sorb and retain ammonia ; and summer fallowing 

 does not increase the ammonia in such soils, though 

 it may, and probably does, render available some por- 

 tion of the ammonia locked up in the organic matter 

 of the. soil. But as light upland soils are generally 

 deficient in organic matter, it is unwise to resort to 

 summer fallowing, even though, for a few years, it 

 may be followed by good crops of wheat. It is far 

 better to grow clover and other crops which obtain 

 ammonia from the atmosphere, and plow them in, or 

 consume them on the land. 



Sowing the Seed. — In districts affected by the 

 midge, wheat should be sown the first or second week 

 of September. If earlier than this, there is danger 

 of injury from the Hessian fly. We are advocates 

 of thick seeding. When wheat is sown thin, it til- 

 lers considerably in the spring, and its ripening is re- 

 tarded frequently a week or ten days, and is, conse- 

 quently, more liable to injury from the midge. Two 

 bushels per acre is none too much. If wheat could 

 be hoed in the spring — as we believe it might in 

 many places, with considerable advantage and profit — 

 it should of course be sown with the drill, in rows 

 ten or twelve inches apart. Where wheat is not 

 hoed, there is not much advantage in sowing with 

 the drill. la our opinion, it is better to have the 

 grain scattered a3 evenly as possible over the whole 

 ground, as it is then more likely to keep the weeds in 

 «heck than when a portion of the land is bare, as is 

 the case when the wheat is drilled, or cultivated, or 

 plowed in with the gang-plow. Many good farmers, 

 however, entertain a different opinion, and we should 

 be glad to hear from any of our readers on this point, 

 who are not interested in patent drills, cultivators, or 

 gang-plows. 



Where wheat is liable to injury from smut, the seed 

 should be prepared by wetting it with diluted, fer- 

 mented chamber lye, and drying it with quick lime. 

 Moistening the seed with a solution of blue vitriol, 

 (sulphate of copper,) is an effectual remedy. For 

 each bushel of wheat, dissolve three or four ounces 

 of blue vitriol in a quart of hot water. Let it cool. 

 Then spread out the wheat on the floor, six inches 

 thick, and sprinkle the solution over it, and turn over 

 the wheat till it is all moistened. It may be sown in 

 two or three hours, but it is better to do it over 

 night, as the vitriol has then a better chance to kiU 

 the spores. This remedy is more effectual, simpler 

 I and cheaper than chamber lye, or salt and water and 

 lime. SaJt and water, when too strong, we hare known 

 to injure the seed. It is, however, frequently used. 



PREMIUM CROP OF CARROTS. 



Thb Kew York State Agricultural Society has 

 awarded the premium for the best crop of carrota to 

 John Brodie, of Rural Hill, Jefierson Co., N. Y. 

 The last Journal of the Society contains an inter- 

 CBtrng statement of the method of cultivation, from 

 which we make a few extracts: 



" The soil sandy loam, and when the farm mt&s pur- 

 Aased, in 1852, by father of applicant, the ground 

 from ■which the carrots were taken was a worthless 

 •▼amp, of about threo acres, through "whiah cattle 



could not jae8 — it being overflowed spring and autumn. 

 In the sinnmor of 1852 it was drained — stone draina 

 beinj^ laid — at a cost of $32.33 per acre. In the spring 

 of 1853 it was plowed and planted with corn, which 

 j'ielded 8) bushels per acre. In the spring of 1864, 

 twenty horse cart loads of manure per acre, and aowed 

 to cjirrots. In the spring of 1855 it was Eowed again 

 to carrots, without manure, and on one measured awe 

 the yield was 1,700 bushels. la the Bpring of 1856 

 one acre was surveyed, tliirty horse cart loads of mixed 

 horse and cow dung, and four barrels of bone dust, 

 spread and plowed in. Carrot seed was drilled in with 

 a Scotch machine, that sows and rolls at the Bame 

 time — using half a pound of large orange and one and 

 a half pounds of white carrot seed, in rows nine inches 

 apart. On the 3d of July passed through with a eul- 

 tivator, and on the 12th of July gave it the first weed- 

 ing. July 16th, went through with the cultivator a 

 second time, and on the 18th and 19th of August gave 

 it the secisnd weeding. 



"The yield from the measured acre was 1,610 bush- 

 els of carrots, weighing 60 lbs. to the bushel. The 

 yield of the white carrots was much greater than that 

 of the orange. No difference was perceived in the 

 yiftld of those parts where bone dust was or was not 

 applied. 



"The cost of the crop, including interest on land, 



(§S,) was $49.21 



The value of crop, at 20 cents per bushel, 3^3.00 



LeAving a balance in favor of erop of . $272.79 



"The above statement waj verified." 



THE HORSE CHARM; 



OR, THE GREAT SECRET FOR TAMING HORSES. 



We find the following going the rounds of the 

 agricultural papers. We give it to our readers for 

 what it is worth: 



"The horse-castor is a wart, or excrescence, which 

 grows on every horse's fore legs, and generally on the 

 hind legs. It has a peculiar, rank, musty smell, and 

 is easily pulled off. The ammoniacal cflGluvia of the 

 horse seems peculiarly to concentrate in this part, and 

 its very strong odor has a great attraction for all ani- 

 mals, especially canine, and the horse himself. 



" For the oil of cumin, the horse has an instinctive 

 passion — both are original natives of Arabia — and 

 when the horse scents the odor, he is instinctively 

 drawn towards it. 



" The oil of Rhodium possesses peculiar properties. 

 All animals seem to cherish a fondness for it, and it 

 exercises a kind of subduing influence over them. 



" The directions given for taming horses are as follows : 



" Procure some horse-castor, and grate it fine. Alec 

 get some oil of Rhodium and oil of cumin, and keep 

 the three separate in air-tight bottles. 



"Rub the oil of cumin upon your hand, and ap- 

 proach the hoi'se in the field, on the windward side, bo 

 that he can smell the cumin. The horse will let you 

 come up to him then, without any trouble. 



"Immediately rub your hand gently on the horse's 

 nose, getting a little of the oil on it. You can th*n 

 lead him anywhere. Give hira a little of the castor 

 on a piece of loaf sugar, apple or potato. 



"Put eight drops of oil of Rhodium into a lady 

 silver thimble. Take the thimble between the thum 

 and middle finger of your right hand, with the fore 

 finger stopping the mouth of the thimble, to prevent 

 the oil from running out while you are opening th« 

 mouth of the horse. 



" As soon as you hare opened the horse's mouth, tip 

 the thimble over upon his tongue, and he is your «ey- 

 rant. He will follow you like a pet dog. 



