THE GENESEE FARMER. 



26T 



) agriculture was the question. We thought of the 

 'eather, but that is a hackneyed subject. " A fine 

 ay, sir," always sounds flat. A green grocer or a 

 ry goods man might make such an observation. 

 Tq might talk about the heavy rains which had re- 

 mtly deluged the State and destroyed hundreds of 

 ins of hay. But so might any city man who had been 

 )ending a few days in the country. We thought 



■ a remark which Prof. Johnson recently made 

 regard to the continuous wet weather. He said 



at this season reminded him of the north of 

 agland where the hay crop exhausted the soil 

 •ry little, from the fact that after it was cut " the 

 in washed back into the soil all the soluable con- 

 tuents of the hay ! " But this was rejected on 

 e ground that it was too chemical. Farmers 

 ve not a high opinion of chemists. The high 

 pes excited a few years ago in regard to the ad- 

 ntages of analyzing the soil and furnishing the 

 ssing ingredients have not been realized. If you 

 ow anything about chemistry, better keep dark 

 ten you are with farmers. By this time a boy 

 ne through the cars with water. This afforded 

 J wished for opportunity for the opening remark, 

 ilxcellent water you have here, sir, among these 

 Is," we said, as quietly as possible — for it is well 

 own that if you want to talk to a stranger on a 

 irney you must not appear too anxious to begin 

 > conversation. " It is very soft and cool," we 

 itinued. *' Pretty good water," said he shortly 

 reply; and then there was an ominous pause. This 

 s not a very flattering commencement, but with- 

 : further circumlocution we broached an agri- 

 tural topic : " I should think sheep would do 

 11 in this section. But I understand you have 

 dog law, and I have seen but one sheep since I 

 re been in the State, and that was a pet lamb be- 

 ging to a toll-gate keeper on the road from Ool- 

 Sville to Winsted." 



' Sheep do well here, and there are a good many 



•t. I have a small flock." 



'his established the fact that he was a farmer. 



!ow many do you keep ? " 



' Well, about two hundred and fifty." 



■Spanish Merinoes? " 



■ Yes, Atwoods." 



I'ow, we mentally observed, the man who keeps 

 » hundred and fifty Spanish Merinoes must be 

 be a farmer, and the man who has " Atwood " 

 ep must be quite a breeder. We had met with 



right kind of companion. 



Do you keep any other kind of stock ? " we 



dd. 



" I usually keep from ninety to one hundred head 

 of cattle." 



" What breed ? " 



" ITatives and Devons. I have tried Ayrshires, 

 and have now some Alderneys." 



" The latter give very rich milk, but not much 

 of it," we remarked inquiringly. 



" I 'do not know about that. It is certainly very 

 rich, and I think they will produce as much butter 

 for the food consumed as any other breed— per- 

 haps more." 



" Do you soil your cattle ? " 



" No, it won't pay." 



"Mr. Collins thinks it will pay, and he keeps 

 very accurate accounts." 



" You can keep more stock on a given quantity 

 of land, and if you can attend to it yourself, or 

 have two or three boys that like to attend to such 

 things it will pay ; but if yon have to hire Irish- 

 men and watch them, it is more trouble than 

 profit. The same is true of steaming food. I 

 got Pbindle's steaming apparatus and tried it last 

 winter, but it involves too much labor." 



Our friend left us at Bridgeport, and in a short 

 time we arrived in the great commercial metropo- 

 lis. Almost without stopping, the engine is taken 

 from the train, and four splendid horses are at- 

 tached to each car to draw us into the city. We 

 pity a horse that has been brought up on a quiet 

 farm, and afterwards sold to some city dealer. 

 Many of the car and omnibus horses are splendid 

 animals, but these hard pavements must soon use 

 them up. Yesterday over fifty horses died in the 

 city from the heat. We saw one lying dead in the 

 street as we passed. 



We had a pleasant call on Prof. Thtjebi^ and 

 Mr. JuDD, of the Agriculturist, but Few York 

 has few attractions to us at any time, and certainly 

 not with the thermometer at 98° in the shade. 

 We left for home on the first train on the Erie 

 road, and in a few hours were twisting round the 

 mountains and along the cool banks of the Dela- 

 ware and Susquehanna. Morning found us at Cor- 

 ning, and in a few minutes we were speeding along 

 the Genesee Valley Railroad and through the finest 

 agricultural section of the State. The recent rains 

 have done great damage to the oat crop. We saw 

 one field that looked as if it had been submerged 

 and the oats were rotting on the ground. Here and 

 there a field of wheat was still uncut, and it was really 

 pleasant to look at them I New England has much 

 to be proud of, and it is a pleasant place to visit, but 

 for a permanent home give us the Genesee Country ! 



