1846. 



GENESEE FARMER. 



89 



G-rowing Clover Seed.---Does it injure the 

 Soil? 



Mr. Editor : — la a recent number of the 

 Farmer, "S. W." says — "Oneof our best Penn- 

 sylvania German farmers, who has bought some 

 half a dozen forms with -the products of a single 

 farm, in wheat and clover seed, complained to me 

 the other day that, in spite of the green crop of 

 clover plowed into his wheat fallovva, tlic wheat 

 heads grow shorter and more shrunken every 

 year." 



It would meet a question of some interest to 

 agriculture, if S. W., or his German friend, 

 would inform us what system of ci'op])ing he has 

 pursued, for in my experience clover seed is one 

 of the most exhausting crops we can raise on 

 wheat lands. Some years ago, in order, as I 

 thought then, to increase the product of Avheat 

 and the profits of my farm, I commenced raising 

 clover seed to alternate v/ith wheat. After con- 

 tinuing the practice for three years, I found that 

 my wheat heads, like those of our GJerman friend, 

 grew shorter and more shrunken every year. — 

 1 therefore abandoned raising clover seed, even 

 for rny own use, preferring to buy my clover 

 seed of Seneca county farmers to raising it. — 

 I think it is better practice to pasture our clover 

 fields, and to keep all the stock of cattle and 

 sheep our circumstances will pea'rait. 



As I understand that the crops of wheat are 

 much lighter in Seneca county than formerly, it 

 is clear there is some defect in the system of 

 farming pursued. Can any of our Seneca friends 

 tell what are the causes of this deterioration in 

 their wheat crop, and if it has any visible con- 

 nection with the raising of clover seed '? 



Yours respectfullv, W. S. 



Wheatland, Feb. 26, 1346^ 



WooLEX Statistics. — From a recent work 

 issued in Nev/ York, containing an account of 

 the woolen factories in this country, and other 

 statistics connected with them, it appears there 

 are 28 in Maine, not including small wood-card- 

 ing works ; 58 in New Hampshire, 141 in Mass- 

 achusetts, 76 in Vermont, 40 in Rhode Island, 

 123 in Connecticut 226 in New York, 10 in 

 New Jersey, 101 in Pennsylvania, 4 in Dela- 

 ware, 16 in Maryland, 18 in Virginia, 80 in 

 Ohio, 9 in Kentucky, 6 in Indiana, 6 small in 

 Michigan, 6 in Illinois, 7 in Vv'isconsin, 3 in 

 'Missouri, 2 in Iowa, 4 in North Carolina, 3 in 

 Georgia, and 2 in Tennessee. Total in the 

 Union, 1042. 



JlASSAcnusETTS INDUSTRY. — There are seven 

 hundred miles of Railroad in operation in. Mass- 

 achusetts, costing twenty-eight million dollars. 



It is a curious and important fact that, the peo- 

 ple of Massachusetts annually produce 50 per 

 cent, more property or wealth than any equal 

 population in the United States, according to the 

 most accurate statistical returns. Wliy is this? 



¥aluG of Green Food for Sheep. 



M. Perrault found by careful experiment, 

 that 100 lbs. of green lucern fed to sheep would 

 go as far in nourishing the animal, as 158 lbs. of 

 similar food well cured, and then fed. In the 

 latter case, the digestive organs of the sheep do 

 not extract more than two thirds of the flesh and 

 fat forming elements which they take from suc- 

 culent, green plants. If a good deal of the nu- 

 tritious matter fed to domestic animals in dry food 

 slips through their stomaclis, and by the mouths 

 of their lacteal glands, which should convey nour- 

 ishment from the intestines to the blood vessels, 

 it is obvious that the steeping of all dry food will 

 be of great utilit}^, and good economy. The 

 loss, however, is not wholly to be attributed to 

 defective digestion. In cutting lucern and clo- 

 ver, there is a sensible waste of leaves and other 

 very nuti-itious portions of these plants. 



Potato Rot. — A Curious Fact. — In the 

 latter part of the summer of 1844, a farmer of 

 the township of Lincoln, Addison county, Ver- 

 mont, was quite behind all his neighbors in cut- 

 ting liis grass in his meadows. At night some 

 waggish boys went into one of his meadows and 

 cut down all the grass in it. They also went in- 

 to his potato patch and cut a few swaths through 

 it. When the time came for digging potatoes, 

 his potatoes were found principally rotted except 

 where the hoys had mowed off the tops. Those 

 were found to be sound and good. 



This experiment would seem to show, that the 

 rot or disease begins in the tops ; and suggests, 

 as the means of saving a crop of potatoes, to ap- 

 ply the scythe as soon as the tops begin to die. 



The above circumstance was related by a cre- 

 ditable and well informed person, who resides at 

 no great distance from the township of Lincoln. 



H. G. Cankield. 



Canfcld, TrumlmJl co., O. 



We clip the above from the Ohio Cultivator 

 as it corroborates certain facts indicating that 

 the tops of potatoes are first affected, ijoticed by 

 us last season, and published in this paper. — Ed. 



Potatoes in Maine. — In 1844 the potftto 

 crop in Maine was 12,304,000 bushels, only 

 second to that of New York, which was 17,000, 

 000 bushels. New York raised six bushels, and 

 Maine twenty-four bushels, to every person in 

 these respective states. From last year's crop, 

 it is estimated that the loss by rot this year in 

 Maine, cannot be less than '•$1,230,000, or more 

 than two dollars to every person in the state. 



Cutting Food for Sheep. — Mr. Thomas 

 Noble, of Stark Co., Ohio, in a letter to the 

 Ohio Cultivator, says: — "My sheep consist of 

 1600 head, and so far I have lost none; all in 

 fine order, and by clfise attention we intend to 

 keep them so. We cut all their feed, and the 

 savin EC thereby is at least one third." , 



