VOL. XII. NO. 18. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



139 



ITEMS OF ECONOMY, USEFUL ARTS, &c. 



Extraordinary Day's Work. — Slaughtered at the 

 packing establishment of E. Wilson, Albany, on 

 the 5lh Nov. inst., 215 head of cattle. This was 

 performed by fourteen butchers, who commenced 

 work at half past 6 A. M., and ended at half past 

 4 P. M., and were absent 2 hours at meals ; viz. 

 — Bartholomew Powers, Boss ; L. Grace, B. Vall- 

 etta, \V. Butler, H. Young, II. Stackhouse, J. 

 Christian, .). Grace, D. Kennedy, P. Sherdon, B. 

 Crawford, I'. O'Neil, F. Davidson, T. Burgess.— 

 Albany Argus. 



Alum as a Remedy for Cancer. — M. Gunoau dc 

 Mussey, speaks in terms of confidence, of the effi- 

 cacy of alum in cancerous diseases, lie has em- 

 ployed with advantage in cases of cancerous breasts, 

 a solution of alum, with a little camphorated spir- 

 it. — Jour, tie Chim. Med. 



Preserving Potatoes. — Chance has led to the 

 discovery of a method of preserving potatoes, which 

 is both simple, and attended with little or no ex- 

 pense. A house keeper had placed in his cellar a 

 quantity of charcoal. Having removed it in the 

 autumn, without removing the dust that covered 

 the ground, he caused a large quantity of potatoes 

 to be laid on it. Towards the spring, those roots 

 were preserved, had thrown out no shoots, and 

 were as fresh and well flavored as ever. 



A Profitable Farm. — A young and enterprising 

 farmer in the town of Florida, N. Y., is said to 

 have realised for three years in succession, from 

 about 90 or 9.5 acres of land, a nett annual income 

 of one thousand dollars. This seems mysterious 

 and incredible to some of our Connecticut river 

 agriculturists, but the secret about it is, he with 

 the aid of a lad about 15 years of age, performed 

 the principal part of the labor on the farm and did 

 it well. Ruffle shirt farmers manage differently. — 

 Hartford Review. 



Large Library. — There are now, says the Phil- 

 adelphia Sentinel, 43,000 volumes in the City Lib- 

 rary of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, then, has the 

 honor of possessing the largest library, (we do not 

 know whether the best) in the United States, and 

 for aught we know in America. That of Harvard 

 University contains less than 40,000, and that of 

 the Boston Athenaeum about 30,000. 



An Artificial Magnet has recently been construc- 

 ted by Professor Henry, of Princeton College, 

 which far surpasses in power every thing of the 

 kind. A number of interesting experiments on the 

 subject of electro magnetism, were exhibited by 

 means of this wonderful instrument, in the pres- 

 ence of the students, and a large number of gen- 

 tlemen assembled to attend the late commence- 

 ment. Upon one trial it was found to be capable 

 of raising between three and four thousand pounds ; 

 and we learn that with some futher modifications 

 of the apparatus, the magnet will probably be able 

 to sustain upwards of four thousand pounds. — 

 Flem. Gaz. 



Ship Canal. — It is proposed in the New York 

 papers, to make a ship canal of eight miles, around 

 the Falls of Niagara. The project is said to be 

 wholly feasible, and at comparatively little ex- 

 pense. Such a canal would, it is thought, secure 

 to New York, the trade of Ontario. — Philad. Intel. 



Tlit Cotton Planters have made great exertions 

 to bring their cotton early into market this year, 

 and the forwardness of the season has enabled 



them to do so. They have hurried their crops 

 more rapidly into market than we have ever known. 

 Last week the receipts were far beyond those of 

 any week remembered before. This was suffi- 

 ciently shown by the extraordinary arrivals on the 

 two days we mentioned in our last paper ; which, 

 however, far exceeded the receipts on other days. 

 The quantity brought in since has been considera- 

 bly smaller. We think that this year, the whole 

 crop will be brought in perhaps two months earli- 

 er than usual. — Columbia Telescope. 



Pretty well for Brunswick Plains. Two 

 pumpkins have been raised in this village, the pres- 

 ent season, weighing forty-six pounds each. An- 

 other of our neighbors raised seven pumpkins 

 from one seed; the largest, weighing 37i pounds; 

 the smallest, 22; the whole product of one seed 

 was one hundred and seventy-two pounds. 



Family Pioneer. 



From tlie Manlius Repositonj. 

 THE CANADA THISTLE. 



Mr. Editor: — I have, for a long time past 

 been hoping that some one who felt a deep inter- 

 est in the subject, ami who was capable of doing 

 justice to its importance, would address the com- 

 munity, through the medium of public journals 

 on the subject of the Canada Thistle. 



I have anxiously waited to see some remedy 

 suggested to arrest and lessen, if not wholly ex- 

 tirpate this terrible evil: — but until very lately, J 

 have not seen even a passing notice taken of the 

 subject. More than three years since, I had pre- 

 pared an article for the press, earnestly soliciting 

 the attention of the community to this subject ; 

 but on consulting my neighbors and acquaintances, 

 I found such an astonishing apathy in relation to 

 it, such a total disregard of what I deem their es- 

 sential interest, that, disappointed and dissatisfied, 

 I consigned my article to the flames. I am re- 

 joiced, to find some indications now, of a disposi- 

 tion to give it a consideration ; and to have lately 

 noticed in the Genesee Farmer, a proposal to 

 farmers to give their sentiments and opinions on 

 the subject. In pursuance of this suggestion, I 

 here venture to contribute my mite, in the hope 

 that I may possibly aid in arousing the attention 

 of the agricultural community to such a consider- 

 ation of the subject, as its importance demands, 

 and as is obviously required by its influence on 

 their interests. 



That the Canada Thistle is an evil of the most 

 alarming character to the comfort and the welfare 

 of the farmer, no one acquainted with its history 

 will for a moment deny. It is an evil in my view 

 of immense magnitude — one that is daily, and 

 most alarmingly increasing — and that will, I fear, 

 ultimately, overrun the whole country, and almost 

 ruin the value of our farms, unless the most vigor- 

 ous and efficient measures are immediately taken 

 to arrest its progress. I am astonished that farm- 

 ers, generally, appear so little interested and alarm- 

 ed on this subject, and am afraid they do not fully 

 realize the nature and magnitude of the evil. 

 During the few years that I have been acquainted 

 with them, they have multiplied astonishingly on 

 my ground. Ignorant at first, and unadvised, of 

 their true character I spread them by the use of 

 the plough and harrow, over large fields, and thus 

 lost for grain tillage, some of my most valuable 

 lands. The extent, also, to which they can be 

 propagated by the seed is incredible ; for in addi- 

 tion to the immense number of seeds produced by 



a single plant, kind nature, to perpetuate its being, 

 and enable it to fulfil the great command to in- 

 crease and multiply, has furnished each seed with 

 wings of down, which bear them on every passing 

 breeze, and spread them far and wide, to remote 

 and distant fields. With intense interest I have 

 diligently sought for some remedy to eradicate 

 them, but as yet I have found nothing that I con- 

 sider sure and effectual. In cutting them down, 

 I have, as advised, observed " times and seasons, 

 and signs of the moon." I have put salt liberally 

 on the young plants, and have mown down those 

 that were in blossom, and put salt into the hollow 

 stalks — but have never discovered that it destroy- 

 ed them. There is probably no plant within the 

 circle of our knowledge, so tenacious of life, and 

 so difficult to destroy, as the Canada Thistle. 



I know not the fact but consider it reasonable 

 to conclude that by being often cut down, and 

 never permitted to go to seed, almost any plant 

 will ultimately decline and die away. I am in- 

 clined to think this the best remedy to arrest their 

 progress. And to be most efficacious, the plant 

 should be mown down when the root is most ex- 

 hausted, and the juices most in the stalk, which is 

 when the plant is in blossom. But in vain will a 

 prudent, careful, vigilant person regularly cut 

 down the thistles on his own plantation, if his 

 neighbor is permitted to suffer beds of thistles to 

 flourish and go to seed on his adjoining grounds. 

 The cultivated fields of the prudent man, who to 

 prevent their spread, regularly and seasonably cuts 

 them down, may be even white with the down 

 from the neglected thistle beds of his less careful 

 neighbor ; if there is not a uniform and general 

 practice of mowing them down while in bloom. 

 There is- no possibility of consulting our safety, 

 except by uniformity and concert of action — and no 

 concert of action, on this subject, can be had, ex- 

 cept induced by legislative provision. The object 

 of this communication is, therefore, to endeavor 

 to arouse the attentiun of fanners to this subject, 

 and to urge them most earnestly to take into con- 

 sideration the expediency of making application to 

 the Legislature, at their session the approaching 

 winter, for the passage of a law, forbidding any 

 owner or occupant of land to suffer a bed of this- 

 tles to go to seed, under a suitable penalty. The 

 Legislature of the State of Connecticut, I am in- 

 formed, alarmed at the approach and spread of 

 such an enemy, have passed a law on this subject, 

 requiring every owner or occupant of land to pre- 

 vent a plat or patch of Canada thistles from going 

 to seed on his ground, or the road opposite his 

 grounds, under the penalty often dollars, for each 

 and every neglect. With such an enactment in 

 this State, we could partly, if not wholly arrest 

 the spread of tins plant by the seeds. Every farm- 

 er can then with some courage and hope of suc- 

 cess, resort to such measures to destroy those al- 

 ready op his grounds, as his own experience, and 

 that of his neighbors may suggest as most advisa- 

 ble. 



I most earnestly request editors throughout the 

 country, who feel an interest in the prosperity and 

 success ot our agricultural pursuits, to press this 

 subject on their patrons, to induce them to in- 

 Struct their friends whom they may send to the 

 State Legislature, to adopt the only measure, 

 which in my view will be effectual to check this 

 alarming and growing pestilence. 



A FARMER, 



Pompey, Onondaga Co., Oct. 3d, 1S33. 



