148 



GENESEE FARMER. 



Oct. 1845 



thtire are among us that seem to care a straw whether one 

 tenth or one half of the hardy tillers of the earth are com- 

 pelled to emigrate from this their native State, and become 

 the powerful and successful rivals of their friends hero, or 

 not. Political honors, sordid avarice, and supreme selfish- 

 ness in every form, seem ready to usurp the place of all no- 

 ble ambition to -^jivance the great industrial interests of 

 the Empire State. The acquisition of properly at the ex- 

 pense of other men's labor, and not the production of 

 wealth, by honest manual toil, is the leading idea of the 

 present time. The laws of Providence that'govern the form- 

 ation of wheat and other grain, the growth of roots, grass, 

 and ddmestic animals, are treated with derision. It is 

 true, the Legislature of New York, and its State officers, 

 can drive tens of thousands of honest agriculturists away 

 from its partially exhausted fields. Tiiis they have done 

 already. But the time will soon come when the claims of 

 rural industry will be able to obtain a hearing before the 

 law-makers of the State, Public servants will have togive 

 a good and sufficient reason why not a bushel of Western 

 New York grain, except wheat is permitted to pass through 

 the Erie Canal to tidewater. Or if it do go forward, why 

 it is subjected to so high a toll as to consume a little 

 more than all the profits on coarse crops, like oats, barley 

 corn, peas and potatoes. 



Prominent among the causes that drive Western New 

 Y'ork farmers out of the State, is the fact that the Canal 

 Board virtually prohibit them from sending to tide water 

 corn, barley, peas, oats, potatoei, and hay, which are the 

 leadina staple articles of this section. One bushel of wheat 

 exhausts the Soil of some of its most valuable constituents, 

 more than three bushels of corn. If we compare the ef- 

 fects of wheat with those of other crops, the desparity is 

 •till greater, showing the injurous influence of continuous 

 wheat cropping. A vvis3 system of rotation would reme- 

 dy this evil. But this is impracticable so long as the Ca- 

 nal Board will not allow any coarse grain to go to New 

 York, to pay for the western farmer's tea, coffee, sugar, 

 nails, and dry goods. It is now 20 years since the Erie Ca- 

 nal was opened to lake Erie. During all this period, the 

 tolls have been maintained up to the prohibitary mark a- 

 gainst most of the products of Western New Y'ork farmers. 

 This is strikingly illustrated by the fact that, while the crop 

 of corn is equal to that of vv-heat — and at the west it is 

 much larger — the revenue from corn and meal is only as 

 one to one hundred and fifly when compared with the in- 

 come from tolls on wheat and Hour. The toll on corn and 

 meal last year was not far from $5,00(1, while that of 

 wheat and flour was in the neighborhood of $8.'30,000. 



A strict analysis of the'census retuins of Chautauqua 

 county will show a loss of rural population in five years, of 

 nearly 2,000, as the village population has increased. — 

 Along its 40 miles of lake coast, that county hoo some 250 

 square miles of corn land, not equalled by a like body in 

 the State With tolls at three cents a bushel, instead of 

 eight, not only Chautauque, but six or eight other counties 

 could send corn to New Y'^ork marUet. But as the matter 

 now stands, the treasury loses the revenue, New York, the 

 trade, and this State, its most valuable citizens, who emi- 

 grate to the wheat lands at the West. 



The farmers of Chautauque, Wyoming, Allegany, Living- 

 ston, Erie, Niagara, Orleans and Monroe, send no small 

 amount of oats, barley, hay, potatoes and corn to the cities 

 and villagei along the canal fora market. Heavy articles 



are now sent from Buffalo to New York, and others from 

 New Y'ork to Buffalo, at 12 cents per hundred lbs. over 

 toll, or at $2,40 per ton. If the Canal Board will reduce the 

 toll on oats to 2 cents a bushel, they will bear transporta- 

 tion. For 3 bushels will weigh only 100 lbs., and as 100 

 lbs. will go from New York to Biifiaio at 12 cents, add C 

 cents toll, and you make the whole expense of freight on 

 3 bushels, 18 cents. This would not only largely increase 

 the revenue of the canal, so far as corn and oats are con- 

 cerned, but it w ould prevent the injury of the soil, by exces- 

 sive wheat culture. We wish every farmer to understand 

 that, when oats are worth 36 cents on the sea board, they 

 should command at least 30 cents to send there on all the 

 canals in the State. 



The farmers in \V'estern New York that raise a surplus 

 of hay, potatoes, and apples, should be allowed to send 

 these weighty and cheap articles tlu'ough to tide water, at 

 a dollar a ton. At present, tliey pay little or no revenue. 

 A boat will take 60 tons of pressed hay — we saw thtm 

 pressing it ten mils north of Rome, for New Y'ork, a few 

 days since. In such a cargo, the State would get $60, be- 

 side $14 on the bare boat. Every man knows that $74 is 

 better than no toll, to say nothing of the toll on back freight. 

 We have got to pay for the canal — keep it in repair — pay 

 the lock tenders, and all, whether we use it or not. If it 

 be sound policy, as we believe it is, to allow Wisconsin lead, 

 Ohio and Pennsylvania coal, and Onondaga salt to pass 

 through the canals of this State at a low toll, why not also 

 increase the income of the State, by inviting our own citi- 

 zens to use it, by sending their corn, oats, barley, peas, po- 

 tatoes, and even turnips and hay to market? 



If the Erie canal was really made to use, common sense 

 dictates that the late of tolls on agricultural staples shall 

 be so arranged that it can be used. For 20 years the tolls 

 have been prohibitory against three fourths of ihe agricul- 

 tural freight of Western New York. They are not less a 

 perfect bar to the passage of a large amount of western to- 

 bacco, hemp, pork, lard, and corn, that now reach New 

 York and Boston via New Orleans. 



CORRECTIONS. 



Monroe Coudty Fair — The Fair will be on Tuesday the seventh 

 of October, in«tead of the 8th as printed in the hand bills and other 

 uotiees. 



The Fair of the American Institute will commence on the sixth of 

 October, instead of the 13lh as named in our September number. 



Acknowledgment — Our thanlis are due to F. Childs.Esq. of Rich- 

 mond, Va. for the interest he has taken in extending the circulation 

 of the Farmer ; will our friends in other sections of the rouiitry 

 foUw his exampl e by sending us a long list of names, with pay in 

 advance ? — we shall see. 



THF. AMERICAN SHEPHERD. 



This long e.xpectcd work has come to hard. It fully meets our 

 high anticipations. We cannot now notice this book as it deserves, 

 but shall have frequent occasion to allude to its contents hereafter. 

 Both the Author L. A. MORREI.E, of Tompkins Co., and the 

 publishers HARPER <fe UROTHERS, seem to have spared no 

 reasonable pains in procuring engravings, to illustrate the form 

 and organic developments of Ihe various breeds of Slieep. The style 

 is plain, and the subject always rendered intelligible to common 

 plain far.mers, while there is a large amount of truly scientific knowl- 

 edge on Shoe]) husbandry commnnicated to the reader. 



The book sliould bo in every Wool growers library ; and in the 

 library of all our Common Schools. 



PAULER MERINO BUCKvS. 



A r\ Pauler Meriao Bucks, from one of the best flocks in Ver- 

 ^U mont, for sale by RAWSON HARMON, Jr. 



Wheatland, N. Y., Aug. 28, 1845, 



