44 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



roL. I 



Barley, 100 bushels at 80 cents, 

 Millettjinclucling-the straw, which 



1 til ink equal to hay, 

 Buckwheat, 24 bushels, at 50 



cents, 

 Oats, 150 bushels, at 50 cents, 

 Hay, 12 tons, at $17 1-2 per ton, 



80 00 



71 00 



12 00 



75 50 



210 00 



$3,171 02 

 In the above I have made no account ol 

 wliat remains on hand nor of what was con- 

 sumed on the farm. My potatoo crop was a 

 good one, amounting' to over 2:300 bushels, 

 and all of the choicest kinds, for table use, 

 and whicii are less prolific than the more 

 common sort. My hay crop was not as good 

 as the year previous; and I was not alone in 

 that, for very few of the best cultivated farms 

 in this county gave over half a crop. 



In July last, I purchased of S. Hawes, 

 Esq., a farm consisting of 184 acres of land, 

 formerly the property of Judge Spencer, ly- 

 ing 3 1-2 miles west of this city, where, 

 should my life and health be spared, my fu- 

 ture efforts shall be directed, principally in 

 rearing superior animals for sale — such as 

 cattle, sheep and swine; and hope, by unre- 

 mitted care and attention, to deserve a share 

 of public patronage. My cattle are of the 

 pure "Improved Durham Short Horned" 

 breed ; sheep of the " South and Hampshire 

 Down;" "New Leicester," and " Merino" 

 breed ; swine of the "Imported Berkshire," 

 "Improved China," — some females of the 

 "Mackey" and " Mocho" which I am 

 crossing with my Berkshire and China. I 

 have also made arrangement to procure the 

 " Bedford ;" and it is my intention to pro- 

 cure the best breeds our country affords so 

 that I can test their peculiar and individual 

 qualities by comparison and demonstration ; 

 keeping each breed pure, as well as experi- 

 menting by crossing with the different vari- 

 eties. 



No animal on the farm has been more gen- 

 erally neglected than the hog, and it is my 

 opinion, no animal will pay better, with pro- 

 per care and attention to breed, for the expense 

 incurred. But they require care and atten- 

 tion, which farmers and laborers are too apt 

 to neglect. 



Feaiing 1 may trespass too much on your 

 time, as well as that of your readers, I will 

 conclude, by promising you, should it be 

 agreeable, an account of my success in culti- 

 vating the Ruta Baga. 

 Beraent's Hotel, Albany, March, 1836, 



The most knowing are the most desirous 

 of knowledge. The most virtuous the most 

 desirous of improvement in virtue. On the 

 contrary, the ignorant think themselves wise 

 enough ; the vicious are, in their own opin- 

 ion, good enough. 



Convolvulus Major. 



Purpureus. 



This elegant climbing plant is a native 

 bindweed of America, from whence the seeds 

 were first received in Italy, and from thence 

 in England about 1G29, as they are recorded 

 amongst the flowers which embellished the 

 garden in that age. This is a delicate spe- 

 cies, and requires the aid of a hotbed to bring 

 the young plants forward, which may be 

 planted out in warm situations about the end 

 of May. It is usually employed to cover the 

 trellis-work of arbors, porticoes, and veran- 

 ders, for which it is well adapted, on account 

 of its climbing and binding nature, whilst its 

 graceful-shaped corollas display the most 

 beautiful shades of violet, reddish purple, 

 and lilac, which are sometimes delicately 

 shaded, and at others striped, so as to form a 

 star; others are of a pure white, or slightly 

 tinged with purple. 



Fig. 7. 



Convolvulus Major. 



These plants will frequently climb to the 

 height of ten or twelve feet ; and when plant- 

 ed so as to receive the support of young trees, 

 they have a more agreeable etfect than when 

 upheld by a stake. In Jamaica, this species 

 of Convolvulus climbs the highest trees, 

 suspending its china-looking cups from the 

 branches in a most delightful manner, some- 

 times dangling in the air, and at others, form- 

 ing graceful festoons. 



It is from this twining nature of the plant, 

 that the name of Convolvulus has been be- 

 stowed on it ; and perhaps we have not a 



