THE GENESEE FARMER. 



36'7 



"Crusher, to go by horse or steam power, this very 

 fiweet and juicy cane may be made profitable for syrup, 

 ■eveu at tlie Xorth. For toiliuff cows, it is altogethi,'r 

 'the most profitable and nutritious Ibragiiig plant 

 ■known here. But how is a supply of plump, healthy 

 seed to be obtained ? Perhaps the tar South can 

 answer the query. I will bury a few Joints of cane 

 to plant next season, as an experiment. In the Paris 

 Bulletin d\']cclii)uil<^lion for September, 1856, we 

 read that the Iniphee of Lkoi'old Weay — the Sor- 

 gho de Cdjfres — l)ears rich, farinaceous seed, and 

 that the coolies on the plantations of Martinique 

 prefer it to Chinese rjce. But there can be no doubt 

 that such seed is only formed at the expense of the 

 sugar of the cane. I\[. Hayot, of Martinique, 

 commends the Imphos mainly for its cereal predict, 

 giving the juice no other character than that of 

 making good flavored spirits, tafia. M. G. Bal- 

 -guerif: also commends the Imphee as being earlier 

 than the Chinese Sorgho a Sucre, which Mons. 

 Martig.vy had contributed to Freoch agriculture 

 from North China. Our seed, from the Patent Of- 

 ■^fice, is of this variety. 



The Times and the Crisis. — vVe too often hear 

 the banks charged with causing the evils the present 

 ■salutary revulsion brings with it; but the banks are 

 only the iools which, when unskillfully used, bring 

 mischief to those who use them, and death to such 

 •banks as have shaved or gambled themselves, or aided 

 their customers to make railroads Vv^ith paper devices, 

 and build cities on land which had better- been planted 

 to corn. A purely metallic currency may do for a 

 country where the few are privileged to trade, and 

 the mass to labor for a daily pittance; but Young 

 America needs a mixed and larger currency, because 

 here we are all sovereigns, aud feel ourselves such, no 

 matter if we are sometimes poorer than the poorest 

 of legitimate kings. One great blessing attendant 

 on these times, is that retrenchment, reform, and 

 ever-blessed domestic economy are now working 

 such a protective and prohibitory tariff on imports 

 as Horace Greelt, and other high protectionists, 

 never dreamed could be accomplished without the 

 aid of legislation. But the end of the crisis has 

 come; gold no longer bears a premium, and the banks 

 will soon resume specie payments, when all legitimate 

 business will go on agaia as usual ; while specula- 

 "tion, over-trading and stock-gambling will remain in 

 abeyance, for a few brief years at least. S. W. 



Waterloo, JV. Y. 



SE2EING TO TIMOTHY GRASS. 



The fall of 1856, it will be remembered, was one 

 of remarkable drouth; in fact, there was little rain of 

 any amount from July to January. Copsequently 

 my experience in "Seeding to Timothy" must be ta- 

 ken with several "grains of allowance" for this state 

 of things, ae it might have been materially changed 

 by a different seascu. So much of preliminary. 



Spring seeding, v/ith grain crops, I have observed 

 often fails of success from drouth, from the growth of 

 grain choking the grass, and from weeds, and, as a 

 general rule, the first crop of grass is but a light one. 

 ■So I thought, I would try seeding in August on oat 

 stubble, first harrowing the same thoroughly. But 

 after preparing the ground, I waited for rain until the 

 J20th of September, at which time a slight shower oc- 

 cured, when I sowed some six acres. Expecting 



more rain soon, T did not harrow in the seed, as prob- 

 ably should have been done, and the growth was de- 

 layed for some weeks on that account. In the mel- 

 low .«pots, it came up promi)tiy and thickly. So I 

 am sure the seed was good, and think enough was 

 sown lor all practical purposes. Si.v quarts per acre, 

 or even four, will cover the ground, ami, by the next 

 fall, give quite a sward, under favorable circum- 

 stances. 



The continued drouth left the ground fjuife bare 

 of grass, and, in the sjiring, it seemed entirely so. I 

 ought to have said that the soil was clay, with some 

 muck — originally a black ash sv/amp — and hencr^ lia- 

 ble to winter-kill, or rather yj;r//(,g-kill, as it is March 

 and April weather which docs the business. ]>ut 

 the favorable summer has brought on quite a growth 

 of grass, mostly Timothy, and I see that I have 

 about as good success as a neighbor who seeded 

 when sowing his oats in the spring, instead of after 

 harvesting them. There are still some bare spots, 

 and many weeds were intermingled, so that the hay 

 only paid for cutting; but the grass has grown well 

 since mowed, and will, next year, I think, cover the 

 whole surface. 



If I had harrowed in my grass seed, it would have 

 done altogether better; aud had there been rain also, 

 so that it could have grown fairly in the fall, my suc- 

 cess would have been complete. On some loamy 

 knolls, there is now a good sward of nearly pure 

 Timothy. I see that wet land needs peculiar care in 

 stocking, and that a moist season is essential to com- 

 plete success. Draining would help on the matter 

 materially; in fact, it is the groundwork of all im- 

 provement of such soils, aud should be attended to, 

 if practicable, the first thing in their cultivation. 



A low corner of my barley lot was sown to Timo- 

 thy m the spring, but " the catch" was a very slight 

 one, and the clover sown on the uplard did but 

 poorly, on account of the extreme drouth. I shall 

 continue my experiments in fall seeding, giving, if 

 possible, better preparation of the ground, early sow- 

 ing, harrowing in, and sufScient draining, at any rate, 

 to carry off the surface water. An experiment in 

 seeding on a marsh, with black muck soil, was rather 

 more successful than the above. But my communi- 

 cation is already sufficiently " elongated " for your 

 pages. B. 



Roxjalton, JV. Y. 



Farmers' Debating Societies. — Now is the time to 

 establish a Farmers' Debating Society. Let it be 

 got up in the manner of a Farmers' Club, where the 

 residents of each district will meet and spend an 

 evening every week, so as to enlighten each other in 

 their individual experience in practical farming. 

 Here we may discuss every subject connected with 

 our calling, from the growing of a turnip to the 

 rearing of an ox or a horse, including household du- 

 ties, such as the making of butter and cheese, the 

 best method of curing and preserving butter, hams, 

 pork, &c. The best varieties of the various kinds of 

 fruits, and the mode of culture, may be brought out 

 to a great advantage, in such a manner as to be a 

 lasting benefit to each member of such Club, instead 

 of the useless (and sometimes worse than useless) 

 subjects argued at the school-house by the Debating 

 Society, D. 



Gates, JV. Y 



