THE GENESEE FARMER. 



IV 



Is THK Gekesee Farmer Twentt-Sevex Years Old? 

 — In our January number we iucidentally stated that " on 

 it4 Tiventy-Elghth Birth-day the Genesee Farmer put on an 

 entire new suit." Our esteemed friend, Luther Tucker, 

 Esq., of the Albany Country Gentleman, objects to this 

 st-atement, on the ground that the tirst nine volumes of the 

 Genesee Farmer were published by him, and that it was 

 then consolidated with the Albany Cultivator. This is 

 t4-ue ; and if we are to consider that the " Farmer" then 

 ceased to exist, the present is the " nineteenth volume," 

 not of the " Second Series" (as has been claimed by the 

 previous publishers), but of the Jirst series. But the fact 

 is, the Genesee Farmer was continued by other parties 

 after Mr. Tucker removed to Albany, and it has been 

 uninterruptedly published in this city since 1831. 



Mr. Tucker says : " We look back with some pride upon 

 the volumes of our old Genesee Farmer, and confess that 

 we do not like to have the honor attached to them, what- 

 ever it may be, so coolly appropriated by another. Age is 

 a good thing, but it is not one of the strongest points in 

 the merits of our Rochester cotemporary." We have no 

 wish to appropriate any of the honor due to Mr. Tucker, 

 Mr. Bateham, Dr. Lee, or any other of the former pub- 

 lishers of the Genesee Farmer; neither can we see how 

 the statement that it is now in its twenty-eighth year in 

 any way diminishes the credit due to Mr. Tucker as a 

 pioneer among American Agricultural publishers. If we 

 should ignore the existence of the first nine volumes 

 published by Mr. T., he would have better grounds for 

 complaint. 



Mr. Tucker says: "The I'Tew England Farmer, \;\ih 

 similar reason and justice, might considerably increase its 

 age by adding the number of years in which Fessenden's 

 old Neio England Farmer was issued." The cases are 

 not parallel. The old New England Farmer was dis- 

 continued for want of support, in July, 1846, and the new 

 paper of the same name was not started till December 0, 

 1818. On the other hand, the Genesee Farmer has received 

 the liberal support of the agricultural community ever 

 since it was first published in 1831, and, although there 

 have been frequent changes in its proprietorship, its pub- 

 lication has never been suspended. 



Postage ox the Rural Annual. — We are informed that 

 some Postmasters have demanded postage on the Rural 

 Annual. Now, we have prepaid the postage on every copy 

 sent from this office, and the Postmasters have no right to 

 diarge postage at the office of deliver}''. It is an imposi- 

 tion our subscribers should not submit to. 



January Premiums. — The competition for our January 

 Premiums has resulted as follows : 



1. I. W. Briggs, West Macedon, N. Y., $20 for 101 subs. 



2. Jonathan Miller, Berrysburgh, Pa., 15 " 91 " 

 .3. J. H. Hauning, Morriston, C. W., 14 " 63 " 



4. B. W. Vansise, Waterford, Pa., 13 " 56 " 



5. R. W. Sawtell, Woodstock, C. W., 12 " 45 " 



6. Thomas Magee, Johnstown, Pa., 11 " 40 " 



7. Edward Hoyt, Walton, N. Y., 10 " 38 " 



8. G. B. Rousseaux, Ancaster, C. W., 9 " 36 " 



9. F. Brown, Alexandria, Ky., 8 " 34 " 



10. W. Hibbard, Manchester Station, Ct., 7 " 33 " 



11. James Wilkinson, Goderich, C. W., 6 " 31 " 



12. Charles Palmer, Mansfield, Ohio, 5 " 29 " 

 The premiums will be paid as soon as the parties entitled 



to them will inform us what books they wish. If the 

 selection is left to us, we will send such as we deem useful. 



Premiums for Short Essays. — The time for competition 

 for the premiums offered for short essays on various sub- 

 jects, named in the January number, expires on the fifth 

 of this mouth. We hope to hear from all those who have 

 any experience on any of these important subjects. 



The Weather and Crops in Northern Illinois. — In a 

 postscript to a business letter, Mr. Horace Starkey, of 

 Rockford, Illinois, says : " All who took the Farmer here 

 last year like it very much, and from 100 to 200 subscribers 

 might be obtained in this county, if one had the time to 

 devote to the business. Our winter has been very mild- 

 no snow, and very little frost in the ground. Our crops 

 have been very much exaggerated. Our wheat was less 

 than an average, and corn, owing to poor seed and the 

 cold short season, not more than half an average crop. 

 Little pork has been fattened in Northern Illinois, but 

 more than there is money here to buy. On the whole, 

 farmers' prospects are anything but flattering; and he who 

 has raised enough to support his family and pay his hired 

 help and taxes, may consider himself a fortunate man." 



Food of Bees. — The Flore des Serres says that steeped 

 oilcake, made from the seeds of the Bene plant (Sesamwn 

 orientaJe), is an excellent food for bees. When they havw 

 free access to it, they produce an enormous quantity of 

 honey, in winter as well as in summer. This plant is cul- 

 tivated to some extent in the Southern States, where it was 

 introduced by the negroes from Africa. It is probable that 

 oilcake from linseed, cotton seed, etc., would answer the 

 same purpose to some extent. The oilcake should be made 

 into a paste with warm water. A small quantity only 

 should be wet at a time, or it will ferment. 



Pears in Oregon. — Mr. Isaac Ball, of Lawn Arbor, 

 Oregon, writes us as follows : — "I have a Eartlett Pear, 

 three years from the bud last spring, that bore last sum- 

 mer 170 good sized pears. When the bud was two years 

 old, it bore 13 large pears. Some of the pears weighed 

 half a pound. Beat Oregon, if you can." 

 »•♦ 



Cattle Poisoned by Paint.— Our esteemed correspond- 

 ent, P. S. Beers, informs us that Mr. Benjamin Treat, of 

 Bridgewater, Conn., lately lost three head of horned cattle 

 in consequence of licking paint from a freshly painted 

 barn, of which white lead was an ingredient. All efforts 

 to save them proved unavailing. 



.-•< . 



The pressure upon our columns this month prevents U3 

 from giving as many illustrations as we had intended. 

 For the same season, the publication of many valuable 

 commiuiications must be deferred to a future number. 



