110 



GENESEE PARMER. 



May. 



Destxoy all Noxious Plants. 



Our readers need not he told that Wheatland 

 is famous for producing large cropa of clean 

 wheat. One part of the process, as practiced by 

 the farmers in this t<5wn, we have witnessed, and 

 hasten to commend to our readers. It is the dil- 

 igent extirpation with the hoe of every weed 

 and noxious plant in a whole wheat field, that 

 nothing but clean wheat may grow. If the seeds 

 «f chets, cockle, burrs, daisies, Canada thistles, 

 &:c., 6:c., are not permitted to form in any field, 

 road, or lane, most of these pests will soon cease 

 to trouble the husbandman. 



The old and trite maxim, " a stitch in time 

 saves nine," applies with great force to the de- 

 Btruction of all weeds before they go to seed. If 

 no man took into his barn anything but pure 

 wheat, oats, barley, corn, peas, beans, rye, flax, 

 clover, timothy, and h-erds grass, the manure of 

 his barn-yard would cease to be a magazine of 

 Ihe seed of fifty different plants, and all calcula- 

 ted to rob his crops of their appropriate nourish- 

 ment. The English agriculturists lind it a great 

 task to keep their lands clean ; and the same dif- 

 ficult}'^ is experienced in all the older portions of 

 this country. The subject is one of great prac- 

 tical importance, and has not received that gen- 

 eral attention in New York, which it deserves. 



Care in the use of clean seed for every crop 

 is not sufficiently attended to. Look well to this 

 point, and allow no tory weed, burr docks, elders, 

 red root, nor Canada thistles to grow on or about 

 your premises. 



<4 TREATISE t'JN MILCH COWS, whereby the quality 

 and qu.intity of milk which any cow will give may be 

 accurately determined by observing natural marks or ex- 

 ternal indications alone ; the length of time she will con- 

 tinue to give milk, &c. Uy M. Francis Guenon, of Li- 

 bourne, France. With introductory remarks on the Cow 

 and the Dairy, by John S. Skinner, Editor of the Far- 

 mers' Library. Published by Greely &. McElrath, 

 New York. 1846. 



We are indebted to its publishers for a copy 

 ©f this work. It is neatly printed and illustrated 

 with numerous descriptive engravings. We 

 refer those interested in the subject to an exami- 

 nation of its pages. For sale by D. M. Dewky, 

 Arcade News Roon^^ Rochester. Price, 87 i 

 «cnts, in pamphlet form — 62 i cents, bound. 



How to make Soap. 



Messrs. Editors : — If you think the follow- 

 ing article worthy of an insertion in your valu- 

 able paper, it is at your service. I have seen a 

 great many well written articles on agriculture, 

 cookery, &c., &c., but as I do not recollect of 

 seeing anything written on " making soap," I 

 will give you the following, which is the result 

 of years of experience : 



First, set up your tub as usual, with sticks and 

 traw, and then put your lime (slaked) on the 

 straw to the depth of three or four inches — then 

 take a long stick that will come a few inches 

 above the top of the tub — wind a hay rope around 

 the stick, nearly its whole length — let the stick 

 go through the tub two or three inches, then you 

 can draw your lye without putting your hands in- 

 to it underneath. Put your grease into the ket- 

 tle, and turn in about two quarts (or enough to 

 cover the bottom of the kittle) of your strongest 

 lye. Boil a few minutes, and then turn in a lit- 

 tle more lye, and continue to pour in as the lye 

 boils over, until your kettle is about two-thirds or 

 three-fourths full, when you can fill up the kittle, 

 and after skimming the contents well, dip out 

 and empty it in the barrel. Put in two pounds 

 rosin to one barrel of soap. If your lye is of 

 sufficient strength, you will be sure to have good 

 soap. I have heard people complain a great deal 

 that they did not have good luck in making soap. 

 Their ashes were not good or not made from 

 good wood or something or other. But if the 

 above directions are carefully followed, I can as- 

 sure them that they will have no reason to com- 

 plain of poor luck, or anything of the kind. 



N. B. — Clear grease does not require more 

 than ten minutes boiling, but where there are 

 bones, it takes longer time. Some people put 

 lime in the cask or tub, but the main use of lime 

 is to strain the lye, and make it pure — therefore 

 it should be put on the top of the straw at the 

 bottom of the tub. — Maine Cul. 



Wisconsin Plants.— Mr. M. Spears of Mil- 

 waukie, W. T., (in a letter containing a remitt- 

 suice for a club of neW subscribers,) says : 



"I raised 32.3 bushels of wheat and 200 bush- 

 els of corn, by my own labor, the hist season, 

 and found time to collect and preserve 500 plants. 

 I would like to exchange with you, or any other 

 farmers in your region. If there arc any far- 

 mers who are pleased with the study of Botany, 

 fend would like to get some of our Wisconsin 

 plants, I would be glad to exchange. Direct to 

 More Si>kar», Milwaukie, W. T." 



For the Genesee Farmer. 



Plaster on Stable Floors. — "S. W.," of 

 Waterloo, recommends that every farmer should 

 keep plaster in his .stable. I will inform him 

 that if his floors are of wood, he may find, in a 

 year or two, that a dry rot has progressed under 

 the j)lastcr which may let his horse's foot through 

 a hole of its own size in the plank, though to 

 sight it may appear perfectly sound. Such was 

 my experience, where a box of plaster had 

 stood on my barn floor for about a year or eight- 

 een months. L. 



Catharine, N. Y., April 1846. 



For Grubs in Sheep's Heads. — Light a 

 pipe, insert the stem a good way up the nostril 

 of the sheep, cover the bowl with a handkerchief, 

 and blow the tobacco smoke vigorously through 

 the stem u]) each nostril. 



