1849. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



115 



solution of lime. Nature has done all thai the most 

 covetous could require) and I hope and trust that man 

 will soon enjoy the rich bounties that arc in store to 



reward his labor. 



Gorgeous and beautiful are many of the flowers of 

 our indigenous plants and shrubs, and I should ho 

 glad to have sonic oi' them cultivated in the hot- 

 houses of Rochester. [f you think any of your 

 Floriculturists would pay the cost of Bending them 

 by express from Boston or New York, i will send 

 you seeds of some of the most desirable. They very 

 far surpass the natural products of a colder climate. 



[f this general and hastily written scroll will in- 

 terest others it is at your service, and 1 hope at some 

 future day to send you an article better suited for an 

 agricultural paper. Yours, &.c, 



A. B. Bates. 



FARMER'S LABORATORY. 



The discoveries and improvements of late have 

 added "Modern Agriculture" to the list of the sci- 

 ences, and erected it into one of the highest dignity. 

 The intelligent and skilful agriculturist possesses, in 

 his farm, a splendid laboratory, furnished with a 

 thousand chemical agents, by the action of which all 

 the results of culture are obtained ; and the ancient 

 alchymists are now realized by every scientific far- 

 mer ; for they have truly discovered the philosopher's 

 stone and derived the true means of converting into 

 gold, the very elements of the earth. By the aid of 

 Geology, Mineralogy, Chemistry, Botany and Labor, 

 he has forced the earth, the rocks, minerals, acids 

 and alkalies, to yield their stubborn properties, singly 

 or in combination, in relief of the first wants of man- 

 kind. The discoveries of the nature and properties 

 of the constituents of the soils, has taught him the art 

 of adapting the proper growth to their peculiarities, 

 rendering the same land, by the same labor, doubly 

 productive, and the means of resuscitating exhausted 

 lands, making them fertile as virgin soil. The 

 improvement in the construction of implements of 

 husbandry, the invention of a thousand new modes 

 of saving labor, by ingenious machinery, and the 

 wonderful facilities of transportation, have materially 

 lessened the toils and risks of the farmer, and con- 

 tributed essentially to the success of his pursuits. — 

 Benwnt's Jour, of Jig. and Science. 



Milking Cows. — In your last year's volume, page 

 55, you have given us ten rules from the "Maine Far- 

 mer," to be observed in milking a cow — all of which I 

 highly approve of, excepting one, which is, wetting 

 the cows teat with the first stream of milk. That 

 practice I have strong objections to — first, because it 

 is what our New York dairy women call a nasty trick. 

 If you watch such milkers, you will often see them 

 use so much milk that it will drop from the hand into 

 the pail, carrying with it the filth of both the hand 

 and the teat, which forms a composition that many 

 would not relish. Second, the tent being left wet in 

 the cool air is liable to crack. Third, it is an unne- 

 cessary practice. A cow can be milked equally as 

 quick, and with the same ease, with a dry teat as 

 with a wet one. Try it. Reed Burritt. — Burdelt, 

 JV. F., 1849. 



The consciousness that, in a particular matter, we 

 are doing right, often constitutes more real enjoyment 

 than triumph itself. 



CULTURE OF INDIAN CORN A PREMIUM CROP. 

 Ill' JOHN SHELDON. 



Messrs. Editors : —The following statement of 

 two acres of corn cultivated bj me in the town of 

 Leicester, in 1 H 17, was pre- tiled to the Livingston 

 Co. Agricultural Society. The Society awarded ita 

 first and second premiums, offered lor the best and 

 second best acre of corn raised in the county the year 

 mentioned. 



The two acres were selected, separate from each 

 other, from a field of about 5j acres. The soil allu- 

 vial, near the Genesee River — heavily manured (i or 

 7 years previous to this crop, but none since. Corn 

 had been grown on the same field for 8 year> in 

 cession, previous to this crop — in 1816 about 50 bush- 

 els per acre. I commenced plowing it on the ] Oth 

 of May, and plowed from 9 to 10 inches deep. Har- 

 rowed and marked it ready for planting on the 14th — 

 finished planting on the 17th — rows 3 feet apart each 

 way — from 4 to 6 kernels in a hill, and covered about 

 an inch deep. The seed was soaked about 12 hours 

 in salt petre, (immediately before planting,) and 

 rolled in tar and plaster, taking care not to let the 

 sun dry the seed. On the 7th and 8tb days of June, 

 I hoed the corn the first time — first passing once each 

 way with a cultivator. On the 28th and 29th of 

 same month, passed through each way with a shovel 

 plow, and hoed second time. Hilled the corn consid- 

 erable, and thinned it to four stalks in a hill. At 

 husking time, agreeable to my request Col. Hosford, 

 one of the Executive Committee, viewed the corn 

 standing in the field and measured the ground. 



Now for the result. I husked and measured from 

 the first acre 220^ baskets or bushels of ears — and 

 from the second acre, 200 baskets. Two bushels of 

 ears, measured in the above manner, made one bush- 

 el and 3 pints of shelled corn — and assuming that 

 every two bushels of ears would yield the same quan- 

 tity, the produce of the two acres, in shelled corn, was 

 as follows: From the first acre 115 J bushels, and 

 from the second 104 bushels and 22 quarts. The 

 corn was all measured with care by myself, in a bas- 

 ket which held a trifle over a bushel when even full, 

 at which height I measured, thinking I could be more 

 accurate than by heaping it. It was measured in a 

 sealed half bushel, by which the basket was also 

 measured. 



The variety of corn grown was the 8 rowed white 

 Hint. The expense of cultivating the first acre was 

 as follows : Plowing, harrowing and marking, $2 — 

 planting and hoeing twice, $3 — cultivating and plow- 

 ing, $1 — seed 25 cents — husking (115 J bushels at 

 every 10th, 11 \ bushels at 50 cents per bushel,) $5.75 

 — making in all $12. Deduct this from crop (115$ 

 bushel?, at 50 cents,) $57.75 and stalks $(!, and it 

 leaves net, profit $51.75. Second acre, corn $52.33 

 — stalks $5 50 : expense of cultivating as above, 

 except husking, $11.48 — leaving a net profit of 

 $ 16.35. 



This crop received the most thorough cultivation 

 in every respect. I was particularly careful at each 

 hoeing to stir every part of the surface thoroughly, 

 and to do the plowing so as to turn it topsy tarvey 

 and pulverize the soil completely in the process. In 

 short I aimed to have every part of it done in a far- 

 mer like manner, as it ought to be, and I was well 

 rewarded therefor — which I believe to be the almost 

 invariable result from thorough cultivation. 



Moscow, Livingston Co., JY. Y., 1849. 



