250 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



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then drink it, or use the water for culinary purposes, 

 the common sense and general observation of all 

 would lead them to expect sickness to follow such a 

 course of conduct. Now, in hot climates and in the 

 summer season in cold ones, the earth is covered 

 with decaying vegetable and animal substances. To 

 speak plainly, in cities, villages and in and around 

 many houses, barns and stables, these organic mat- 

 ters are concentrated till they become hot-beds of 

 pestilence. As the elements of disease are invisible, 

 arc volatile, and often not appreciated by any sense, 

 families may poison themselves and neighbors with- 

 out knowing it We spent a day in exploring the 

 by-ways, alleys, ba^k yards, cellars of unoccupied 

 dwellings, ponds and pools of Sandusky. It stands 

 on a level, or nearly level plain, and is underlaid 

 with strata of lime rock, which comes near to the 

 surface. When full justice shall be done to lime 

 that abounds in organic remains, in producing a lux- 

 uriant growth of vegetables for 'sustaining animal life, 

 the discovery will be made that inasmuch as plants 

 and animals do not live always, their decomposition 

 must in the end be equal to their organization. In 

 a word, without the light and aid of science, to 

 modify and control the decay of animal and vegetable 

 substances, all rich farming districts must be sickly 

 in summer and autumn. 



There is a great deal of well water in this city, 

 (Rochester,) and Western New York, which is not 

 so good as filtered rain water for domestic use. If 

 drank or otherwise taken into the stomach, it should 

 be first purified. How this can be most economically 

 done, will be fully explained in future numbers of 

 this journal. Good health is above all price in value. 

 Whole communities should cordially unite in all wise 

 measures for its preservation. Believing, after con- 

 siderable study and close observation, that half or 

 three-fourths of the summer complaints, if not those 

 of winter, may be prevented, we shall take pleasure 

 in developing those physical laws of the human sys- 

 tem and of the organized matter by which it is nour- 

 : , free from all medical technicalities. Few 

 have duly considered the very limited knowledge of 

 poisons, which the masses in any country now pos- 

 . This popular ignorance of the Laws of Health 

 should be banished from this Republic, for it leads to 

 sad and deplorable results. 



PREPARE FOR WINTER. 



There is much to be done in the fall by every 

 farmer, to render all comfortable throng!) the winter. 

 Sheds need repairing, or new ones should be built. 

 Apples, potatoes and garden vegetables need atten- 

 tion. If not already secured from frost, no time 

 ought to be lost in protecting them from the same. 

 Bank up the cellar, have a good supply of fire wood 

 under cover, and see that all stables and yards are 

 ready for use. Remember that to a considerable 

 degree, warm shelter for domestic animals is equiva- 

 lent to food. If exposed to storms and severe cold, 

 they will need thirty per cent more forage to carry 

 them well through till May than they will if properly 

 housed and fed. In addition to this their mi 

 can be all saved and turned to a valuable account 

 next season. By all means keep your dung I 

 under shelter, that they may lose nothing by 1 

 ing. Cattle, horses, hogs and sheep are most profit- 

 able, when one is sure that he saves from the possi- 



bility of loss all the matter voided by them in the 

 course of the fall and winter. 



The excretions formed by the consumption of 100 

 pounds of corn, oats or hay, will add 150 to 200 

 pounds to the corn, oat or hay crop of the next year, 

 if skillfully managed. The first thing is to save 

 and make all the manure which one reasonably can, 

 and then study to obtain the largest practical gain 

 from this raw material applied to the soil. Not a 

 year passes in which fertilizers worth several millions 

 arc not wasted in the United States. Think of these 

 immense losses, and set a better example to your 

 brother farmers. Demonstrate to them that you save 

 every pound of dung and urine that falls in your 

 stables, yards and fields. 



Make provision for watering stock conveniently, 

 if your premises lack in that regard. 



While preparing for winter, forget not to add a 

 few choice books to your agricultural library, for the 

 whole family to read and improve in useful knowledge. 



OXALIS CRENATA. 



A paper was recently read before the London 

 Society of Arts, received from Baron de Suarce, 

 on the Oxalis Crenata, specimens of which were 

 exhibited. 



The Oxalis Crenata has been known to the scien- 

 tific agriculturists of Europe for. some years. It is 

 a tubercle, the culture of which, however, upon a 

 large scale, has been little practiced. This tubercle 

 is stated by Baron de Suarce (who has cultivated 

 about two acres and a half of it upon his own estate 

 in the south of France,) to possess a larger degree 

 of nutriment than most of the farinaceous plants 

 which form the basis of human food in our climate. 

 The total weight of the crop produced upon two acres 

 and a half cultivated by him, was ten tons, from 

 which three tons of flour were obtained. 



From the stems of the plants, which may be cut 

 twice a year, and may be eaten as a sallad or spin- 

 ach, ninety gallons of a strong acid were obtained, 

 which, when mixed with three times its bulk of water, 

 was well adapted for drink. The acid, if fermented 

 and brought to an equal degree of acidity with vine- 

 gar, is superior to the latter when used for curing 

 or preserving meat, as it docs not render it hard, or 

 communicate to it a bad flavor. 



The flour obtained from the Oxalis Crenata is 

 superior to that obtained from the potato, maize or 

 buckwheat, as it makes an excellent light bread when 

 mixed in the proportion of one-fourth with corn flour; 

 this is not the case with potato, maize or buckwheat 

 flour. 



The Baron concludes hi3 paper by expressing his 

 Qgness to make any further communication to 

 the society on this subject that they might desire 

 he would consider it a great happiness to be enabled. 

 with the aid of the society, to introduce into Eng- 

 land the culture of the tubercle, which seems des- 

 tined to become a source of food for the low r er classes, 

 more precious perhaps than even the potato. 



In reply to a series of questions, the Baron stated 

 that the Oxalis Crenata came originally from South 

 America — that it is hardy and unaffected by change 

 of temperature, and grows readily in any soil, it 

 being difficult when once introduced to eradicate it. 



The thanks of the meeting were presented to the 

 author for his communication. — Artisan. 



