VOl,. XVI. NO. 33. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL, 



261 



^is, is the aid vvhicli liiishandry niiglit derive from 

 le estul)lislinieiit nfa regular system for the selec- 

 on and distribution of grain and seeds of the 

 lioicest varieties for agricultural purposes. 



For commerce and rnanufactures, much lias 

 een done; for !if.'rioi]ltu.-e, the parent of both, 

 id the ultimate dependence of the nation, much 

 jniaius to he done. Hushandry scerns to be 

 iewed as a natural hles>iMfr tl ;it ncerls no aiil 

 om legislation ; like the air we breathe, and the 

 ement of water which sustains life, the produr- 

 3ns of the soil are regarded hy too jnany as com- 

 on bounties of Providence, to be gratefully en- 

 yed, but v,ithoiit further thought or reflection, 

 'ere the two former susceptible of the same im- 

 •oveinent with the latter, who would not rejoice 

 enrol his name high on the list of philantliro- 

 sts by making ilie first experiment .' This sub- 

 it has been forced on the attention of ths iin- 

 rsigned by those who are engaged in improving 

 ir implements of husbandry. The I'atent Office 

 crowded with men of entcrpiise, who, when 

 ey bring the models of their improvements in 

 oh implements, are eager to oommimicate a 

 lowledge of every other kind of improvement in 

 riculture, and especially new and valuable ra- 

 ttles of seeds and plants ; hence, the nndcrsign- 

 has been led to receive and distribute, during 

 ; last two years, many articles of this kind, 

 licli have been committed to bis care; and ex- 

 rience has induced him to believe that there is 

 spot in the Union so favoiable to this object as 

 ', seat of Government. 



The great ilesideratun?, at the present lime, 

 ■ms to be, that some place should be designated 

 1 known rs the depository of all articles of this 

 id, and from whence they may be dispensed to 

 i;ry part of the United States. 

 Dur citizens who are led by business or pleas- 

 into foreign countries, and especially the offi- 

 s of our navy, and others in public employment 

 oad, would feel a pride in making collections 

 valuable plants and seeds, if they could be sure 

 feeing the fruits of their labor accrue to the 

 lefit of the nation at large; but, hitherto, they 

 e had tio means of distributing, to any extent 

 valuable productions of other climates, which 

 riotism or curiosity iias led them to introduce 

 ) our country. To a great extent, they have 

 ished on their hands, for want of some means 

 imparting to the public the benefit they had 

 gned to confer. Thoss) who have not consid- 

 I the subject in its wide detail, are very im- 

 "ectly qualified to judge of its importance, 

 he introduction of a new variety of wheat 

 nises the most gratifying results, in secm-ing 



itnportant and indispensable production from 

 destructive effects of our severe winters. 



short time since, the most eastern State of 

 Union was, in a measure, dependant on others 

 her breadstuffs. That State is now becoming 



to supply its own wants, and wdl soon have 

 rpliis for exportation ; and this is effected f)y 

 ixteiisive introduction of spring wheat. Among 

 varieties of this wheat, however, there is great 

 B for selection ; there is at lea.-t 20 per cent. 

 :rence, if regard is paid to the quality and 

 atity of the crop. 



rom experiments made the last summer, there 

 be no dout)t that the crop of Indian corn may 

 niproved at least ons-third, without any extra 

 r, and this effected hy a due regard only to 



election of seeds. 



And here it may he mentioned, that an individ- 

 ual has devoted twenty-five years to this single 

 object, and, from our common Imlian corn, has 

 produced a new variety, which, if distributed as it 

 ought to be, may prove a great benefit to the hus- 

 bandman and to the, country. 



From the samples transmitted to the Patent Of- 

 fice, es[iecially from the shores of Lake Superior 

 there is a moral certainty of a good crop of corn 

 in the higher latitudes, if profier attention is paiil to 

 the selection of seeds, inattention to this sidyect 

 has lost, to the northern portion of our Union, 

 many millions every year. 



The quantity of ffour (wheat or other kind) con- 

 sumed in the United States, is estimated, on the 

 highest authority, at five thousand five hundred 

 millions of pounds ; one-half of this is supposed 

 to be wheat, which, at three cents per pound, 

 amounts to over eighty millions of dollars ; and the 

 lemainder, at one and a half cent only, amounts 

 to over forty ndllions. If to this, is added the 

 vast quantity distilled, and employed in the arts 

 and consumed by domestic animals, a conception 

 may be formed of the importance of our crop of 

 grain. If, then, the qiumtity should he increased 

 only 10 per cent by improving the seed, the annual 

 gain to the country from this source alone, woidd 

 not be less than from fifteen to twenty millions of 

 dollars. It is unnecessary to carry out this esti- 

 mate to the other productions of the vegetable 



kingdom; the result would be the same in all. 



The well directed efforts of a jew years, might give 

 to this generation ivhat would not otherwise be en- 

 joyed in the present century. 



h may not he improper to add, that if this na. 

 tion should desire to make her metropolis the seat 

 of science and the arts, this might be easily ac- 

 complished. The collections of niineralogical 

 specimens Irom every section of our widely ex- 

 tended territory, will, it is believed, furnish a'most 

 interesting exhibition, illustrative of the geology 

 of the country, and of its mineral resources. 



The natural and practical sciences, as well as 

 the arts, have usually found their best patron in 

 the munificence of a wise Government. An apart- 

 ment in the new building could be appropriated 

 to the above object, in connection with an agri- 

 cultural (le[)Ository. 



HENRY L. ELLSWORTH, 



Commissioner of Patents. 



early in the spring as the ground will admit of 

 being worked, by digging it deeply ; then raking 

 the surflice even and dividing the ground into four 

 feet beds and eighteen incti alleys. This being 

 dona divii4e the beds across into rows one foot 

 a[iart; planting tlie On'ons 6 or 8 inches apart in 

 the rows, 'i'he planting must be done hy simply 

 pressing down the bidb into the ground on the 

 surface, in such a nianne.- that the crown or top 

 is level with the smf'ace of thi; hui\. 



The after management is simply to keep the 

 beds clean ; hut care must be taken not to disturb 

 the earth about the onions until they have rooted 

 firndy in the ground. 



When the onions are ripe they are to be taken 

 up and dried in the usual way. 



EDWARD SAYERS. 



(For the N. E. Farmer.) 



CULTURE OF THE POTATO ONION. 



The Potato onion is of a more isiild quality than 

 those grown from seed, and is highly to be es- 

 teemed in the culinary department in which it 

 would no doubt, if more generally cidtivated be 

 much used. It is much to be regretted that so 

 valuable an article is not more extensively cultiva- 

 ted, which I imagine is owing chiefiy to a wrong 

 mode of culture being applied. The onion is in 

 many cases nearly lost at first planting, owing to 

 its being planted too deep in the ground ; and in 

 others by its being earthed like a potato ; many 

 persons supposing it requires the same treatment 

 as that vegetable. However the idea is wrong, as 

 the bulb requires to be on the surface of tlie 

 ground. 



The best methed that I can recommend, and 

 •ne which I think will be found to answer, in or- 

 der to grow the onion to a good perfection, is to 

 manure and prepare a rich piece of ground, as 



PREMIUM CARROT CROP. 



Marshjield, Oct. 17, 1837. 



I hereby certify, that I raised from one acre of 

 ground, belonging to the Hon. Daniel Webster, in 

 the town of Marshfield, county of Plymouth, and 

 State of Massachusetts, tlie past season, thirteen 

 tons, three hundred and sixteen pounds (net) of 

 Carrots, making, at the rate of fifty pounds to a 

 bushel, five hundred and eighty-nine bushels (net.) 



The ground the year previous was planted with 

 Indian Corn, the land was manured with kelp and 

 sea weed, say from twenty to twenty-five loads to 

 the acre. The ground was ploughed in the fall 

 and again in the spring. It is impossible to give 

 an accurate statement of the labor done, a< it was 

 accomplished at odd jobs. The crop would have 

 been much larger, 1 shoidd think one tliird more, 

 if the drought in the latter part of the se.-ison, had 

 not retarded their growth, about two pounds was 

 sown to the acre. 



The sorts raised were long Orange and Lemon, 

 of a good quality ; but by no means so large as I 

 have before raised. MAXWELL LAURY. 



ffitness : Timothy Fletcher. 



A TOUGH YARN. 



The following paragraph is froiri the N, York 

 Evening Star : 



Pestilence in Vermont The ravages of the 



small pox at Woodstock, Vermont, are described 

 in the letter of a physician to have been appalling. 

 The dead were buried at night without toll of bell 

 or church service, but few have courage to per- 

 form the hfst offices. The town is yet deserted, 

 the public houses shut up, and the neighboring 

 farmers in such panic that they bolt their doors 

 against every unfortunate Woodstock person that 

 comes to purchase grain or provisions of them, 

 though in both the neighborhood abounds. This 

 is truly a sad state of things to exist in the very 

 heart of our jjopulation. 



This is a new edition of the Boston raw-head 

 and bloody-bones story, which we noticed two 

 weeks ago, enlarged and improved. If it goes on 

 improving, by the time it reaches the southern 

 border, it will record a tale as horrid as tiiat re- 

 porteil by Mr Cstlin, of the Jlandan IndJ^ns^ 

 nearly all of whom are said to have fallen, victims 

 to the small pox. 



Will the Star do tlie justice to correct the errors 

 of the foregoing account. Out of a population at 

 iipwaads of three thousand, there have been four 

 deaths hy the small pox in this town. The dis-. 

 ease is entirely removed aod none of the ^ilarm 



