1846. 



GENESEE FARMER. 



«1 



surface. The whole secret of growing Indian 

 Corn, is, in so manuring and tilling the soil, that 

 the atmospheric gasscs can penetrate it ; the_ the 

 laboratory of nature is fed, as the oxygen of the 

 air feeds the fire ; the grand product is, carbonic 

 acid, and ammonia, the main constituents of all 

 vegetation. 



Ask a farmer to subscribe for an Agricultural 

 paper; ten to one he will tell you that he don't 

 believe in book farming. Tell him that there are 

 some things he has not learned ; and he will pre- 

 sent to the mind's eye, the figure of a hedge-hog, 

 armed at all points, against all that is written. 

 Do I say too much, when I pronounce such a 

 man as "lost to nature and her charities" — dead 

 to himself and to all human progress. I can on- 

 ly compare him to the mutineer in the play, who, 

 when asked if he had hope of heavenly bliss, 



" Fie sank, and made no sign !" 

 Such men seem to think, that the fat things of 

 the earth are their indefeasible right ; and they 

 go on, wasting and exhausting the earth's sur- 

 face, with a recklessness akin to that of the fool, 

 who says, "tliere is no God." 



If I was asked why the noblest of all callings, 

 the science of Heaven endowed Agriculture, has 

 80 long been beliind other sciences, in progress 

 and improvement, I should attribute it, mainly to 

 the isolated life of the farmer. Tlie good book 

 says, that the "face of the man sharpeneth that 

 of his friend." There is great practical good sense 

 in this scripture. In cities and villages, this shar- 

 pening creates emulation, diffuses knowledge, the 

 love of books, and gives a spur to genius. 'Tis 

 said that the diamond has originally a rough ex- 

 terior — that nothing can thoroughly bring out its 

 lustre, but the friction of diamond against dia- 

 mond. Hence, my friends, the importance of 

 Farmers Clubs, where men meet together, as we 

 have met this evening, for mutual improvement. 

 Such frequent intercourse, and interchange of 

 opinions, will do much to elicit information, sliar- 

 pen the mind, and to bring out its powers. Man, 

 in an uncultivated state, is a vain, bigotted, ego- 

 tistic animal — wedded to his own errors, and to 

 the errors of his education. When he lives al- 

 ways alone, shut out from society, without read- 

 ing or other mental instruction, he becomes em- 

 phatically a poor creature ! His highest ambi- 

 tion is to excell his fellow at mowing, or chop- 

 ping — attributes depending on that strength and 

 activity, which he only holds in common with 

 his ox, or his horse ! The beast of the field has 

 instincts unerring, which are sufficient for him ; 

 but man stands in piteous need of reas(;n, relig- 

 ion, and the lessons of experience, to restrain and 

 direct those passions aright, which otherwise nev- 

 er fail to precipitate him into hopeless errors, and 

 degrading superstitions. 



************* 



Lihoratorrj — a room fitted up with apparatus 

 for the performance of chemical operations. 



Relative Value of Hay, Roots, and Qt^dia. 



Dr. D. Lee — I)'^ur Sir: 1 should be gluil if 

 you would publish a table in your valua!>le pa- 

 per, showing tl'.e relative value of the different 

 kinds of roots, say Beets, Carrots, Turnips, <Lc.. 

 compared with Corn, Oals and Hay, to feed stock. 



I would like to learn the benefit, if any, dei i- 

 ved from the steaming of hay and straw,, for the 

 feeding of cattle and horses. 



I have just received the January number of 

 your paper, which is the first paper I have taken 

 on the subject. It has awakened in me a good 

 deal of anxiety to obtain information in relation 

 to the subject of Agriculture. 



Respectfully yours, A. King. 



Albioji, Erie, Co., Pa., Jan. 26, 1846. 



REMARKS ON THE AROVE. 



In 1000 lbs. of Potatoes there are 750 of water, 



" " " Turnips, " " 925 " " 



" " " Beets, " " 878 " " 



" " " Carrots, " " 87(3 " " 



Our correspondent will see by the above fig- 

 ures that there are only 2.5 lbs. of dry matter in 

 100 of potatoes; ^ndhixreXy seven and a-half\hsi. 

 in 100 of turnips. Two bushels of beets or car- 

 rots are eqvivalent to one of- Potatoes, and three 

 of turnips are about equal to one of that valuable 

 tuber. It takes about 280 lbs. of potatoes to sup- 

 ply the place of 100 of good meadow hay, to 

 feed cattle, horses, and sheep ; and .560 lbs. of 

 carrots or beets, and 840 of turnips. Thes* 

 statements are made on the authority of Boussia- 

 gault, who carefully weiglied tlie hay and other 

 food, as well as the animals fed for months to- 

 gether. 



All food is rendered more digestable and nu- 

 tritious for being cooked for man and beast. 



Taking wheat flour as the standard of nour- 

 ishment and placing it at 100, it will take to form 

 an equivalent 



119 lbs. of Barley Meal, 



108 " Buckwheat Flour, 



138 " Corn Meal, 



67 " Peas, 



171 " Rice, 



G13 " Potatoes, (moist,) 



12(5 " Potatoe Meal, 



757 ' ' ('arrots, 



1335 " Turnips, 



These equivalents are founded on the han 

 meat-foming principle contained in the above 

 articles of human f )od, and not 04i their fat-for- 

 ming elements. The element tliat governs the 

 lean meat, or muscle forming process in the ani- 

 mal system is called nitrogen or azote. Wiieat 

 flour will make more or less good bread, accor- 

 ding as it contains more or \es>s gluten — a niiro- 

 genous substance that forms a kind of gii^n, 

 wiien children chew wheat. How to raise wheat 

 rich in gluten, is a point in practical agriculture 

 of great importance. We shall allude to it in 

 due time to benefit the crops now on the ground- 

 As the brilliancy of the diamond is increased 

 by friction, so is truth by investigation. 



