60 



GENESEE FARMER. 



April, 1845 



in abundance, its presence is detected by the smell, 

 as when the rust of wheat prevails. 



Such is my present opinion of this disease ; but 

 as I do not consider myself infallible, I hope others, 

 with fjrcater opportunities, will continue their ob- 

 servations until the cause is well established, and an 

 antidote discovered. 



As a preventive, I would recommend many exper- 

 iment'? to be mado with fresh slacked lime, knowing- 

 that this substance is very destructive to most of the 

 species of these plants. In the firt^^t place, immers- 

 ing potatoes intended for planting in lime-water : 

 scattering it about the hills, and upon the tops, 

 wherever it appears : sifting it among the potatoes 

 after they are dug, when placed in heaps to be co- 

 vered in the field, or to be placed in bins in the cel- 

 lar. Perhaps an immersion in salt and w^ater for a 

 short time might destroy the seed, without injuring 

 the vegetating properties of the potatoe. But my 

 impression is, that we must trust to some applica- 

 tion of lime. Yours respectfully. 



N. GOODSELL. 



Monroe JVursery, Greece, Feb. 25, 1845. 



ANCIENT AND MODERN IMPROVERS OF 

 LIVE STOCK. 



" There cannot be," Ba5's Blacklock, in his cele- 

 brated treatise on sheep, " a more certain sign of the 

 rapid advances of a people in civilization and pros- 

 perity than increasing attention to the improvement 

 of live stock. Yet," adds that author, "as much 

 appears to have been known about sheep two thou- 

 sand years ago as at present— so true is it, that no- 

 thing new is to be met with." Yet that does not 

 rob our modern improvers of their merits ; for 

 though they deserve but little as inventors, they are 

 to be admired for that strength of mind, and deter- 

 mir?l perseverance, which enabled them to rouse 

 their fellows from lethargy, and compel them to be- 

 come true benefactors to their country and them- 

 selves. He adds, '"The greatest recorded improvers 

 of sheep in ancient tmies were Lucius Columella 

 and his uncle, Marcus Columella, Spaniards of dis- 

 tinction, who removed to Rome in the reign of Ti- 

 beiius, and made agriculture the study and business 

 of their lives. The former commenced his celebra- 

 ted treatise on husbandry during the reigns of Tibe- 

 ri >6 and Caligula, and appears to have finished it 

 A.D. 55. ^It is only within a very recent period that 

 the mode of improving live stock by skillful breed- 

 ing has been properly attend3d to. The first, in 

 modern times, who arrived at any thing like emi- 

 nence in this department, was Joseph Allom, of Clif- 

 ton, who raised himself by dint of industry from a 

 plow-boy, and for a long time contrived to keep his 

 methods secret. Though possessing talent, he does 

 n^t appear to have had education enough to avail 

 himself of it; and accordmgly never gained the ex- 

 tensive popularity which fell to his successors. As 

 the introducers of new and important plans of man- 

 agement in agriculture are alvvavs rewarded by 

 large profits, and the gratitude of their countrymen, 

 so none were more generously den It with, in either 

 respect, than Mr. Robert Bakewell, of Dishby, and 

 Mr. EUman, of GIvnde. The former, who may be 

 sail to have created a varietif, considered that a ten- 

 dency to acqiire fat was the first quality to be look- 

 ed tn, in an nimal destine 1 for t!ic food of man, 

 and on this, ivjth him a fundamental principle, were 

 based the whole of his proceedings. Different opin- 

 ions will of course be held on the merits of the the- 

 ory on which he acted ; but all must acknowledge 



that we are indebted to his skill and experience for 

 the exertions which have been subsequently made 

 to imi rove the qualities of stock of this kingdom, 

 (Groti' Britain.^ It was by his example, in fact, 

 that the farmers all over the country were stimula- 

 ted ; and be the system bad or good, it ought to 

 have our veneratioii, seciag that it was the com- 

 mencement of a new and most important agricultu- 

 ral era. John EUman derives his well-earned fame 

 from the zealous manner in which he improved the 

 South Down sheep, and sprea 1 them through the 

 empire. Till he directed his attention to the sub- 

 ject, every thing connected with the management of 

 the flock was left to chance, or at least to the man- 

 agement of farm-servants, with whozn, of course^ it 

 could not be a matter of interest to select, or sorty 

 suitable animals for the continuance of the race. 

 He speedily, however, corrected this management, 

 and, aided by the introduction of turnep feeding, in 

 no long time, and without any admixture of foreign 

 blood, materially improved the breed. About the 

 year 1770, improvements commenced in Scotland. 

 Till then, in many parishes, no farmer could keep 

 sheep through the winter, and no place was reckon- 

 ed so fatal to these animals as the undrained and un- 

 sheltered parish of Elksdale-Muir, in Dumfriesshire, 

 until one William Bryden, by the orig^inal plan of 

 draining and building stone inclosures, " made it," to 

 use the words of his able biographer, Mr. Scott, of 

 Selkirkshire, "like the land of Goshen — good for 

 cattle ; which is unto this day." 



Thus it seems, from the earli'^st period, has the 

 improvement of stack been conndered among the 

 most praiseworthy of the efforts t j which the human 

 mind has been directed ; being, in its advance or de- 

 cline, indicative of the progressive or backward ten- 

 dency of a nation : and tho?c individuals, humble 

 though they may be — even the plow-boy, who has 

 contributed to his country's real good — shall' have 

 their biography handed down, and receive the meed 

 of praise from a grateful posterity. There is some- 

 thing so laudable in this peaceful yet important man- 

 ner of contributing to a nation's good — so moral, 

 through the industrial habits and tendencies which it 

 inspires — so powerful, as to be felt by all — so profit- 

 able, that all may enjoy, (for who does not benefit 

 by improvement 1) — distributing its blessings to all, 

 its evils to done — that, in itself, it should be suffi- 

 cient to encourage those in our own country in like 

 manner to be forward in promoting its own good ; 

 extending benefits which may be lasting, yet not im- 

 poverishing themselves. That there are some such 

 individuals among us, we are happy to believe ; and 

 among the number that might be mentioned, the 

 name of Solomon W. Jewett, of Weybridge, Vt., 

 may not be considered among those least worthy of 

 notice. With Mr. Jewett we have not the pleasure 

 of a personal acquaintance ; but in all of the corres- 

 pondence had with that gentleman, we accredit him 

 the merit of inspiring the reader with, a renewed de- 

 sire to press forward, and showing himself to be not 

 merely an amateur, but a connoisseur in the business. 

 And that he is a successful breeder and improver, no 

 one that has received his stock will doubt. Mr. 

 Jewitt's efforts havft been mainly directed to the im- 

 provirnr the constitution, assuming the position, that 

 in this cold and variable climate, the first effcrt 

 should be to breed a healthy, hardy, vigorous sherp, 

 and has spared no pains nor money in obtaining the 

 best of the race for breeders ; and, while increasing 

 the weight of fleece, has retained the fineness of fi- 

 bre. This, in connection with improving their shape, 



