324 



ON THE PRODUCTION OF GOOD WHEAT. 



Extroct of a IjUer from Judge BiTEa of New York, lo C. Dear- 

 d.iff, Esq. oflhe Slaleofohio. 



It is found to be a fact, tliat the greater part of 

 tlie vvlieat raised in Oliio, isof a quality inferior to 

 that wliicli makes the first rate flour. This is not 

 owing to a want of proper virtue in the soil, or to 

 any unfriendly peculiarity of chmate ; hut is attribu- 

 table to the qnaliiy of wheat sowed, and, in many 

 instances, to a practice of permitting- the crop to 

 stand in the field till it is dead ripe, before the sickle 

 is a|)i.lied. Much of the wheat which has lately been 

 grown in your State, and found its way to this 

 market, has been mauufacturcd here, and the flour 

 sent to New York market, where, 1 am sorry to 

 say, some of it, under the rigid course of inspec- 

 tion there pursued, has been disgraced. This is a 

 circumstance which has not happened to the flour 

 manufacture.! from the wheat grown in this coun- 

 try. Some millers who have mamifactured and 

 sent into market the flour of the wheat of your 

 State indiscriminately, with the flour made from 

 the Genesee wheat, have had the mortification to 

 have their brands condemned, and their high 

 character partially dinnnished. Others who have 

 taken the precaution to grind and send it immixed, 

 have only been able to obtain for it the character 

 of second brand superfine. The inevitable result 

 vpill be, that your flour must go into the market with 

 a lower character than ours, to wit, second-rate su- 

 perfine. This circumstance, acting on a whole 

 people, and that people so respectable as the in- 

 habitants of Ohio, must be extremely unpleasant, 

 as well as unprofitable. Our best farmers, to en- 

 able them to furnish wheat of the finest quality for 

 the mills, are particularly careful in the selection 

 of their seed. They seldom alloiv themselves to 

 sow more than two or three years in succession, 

 the same seed which was on the same farm. 

 They change often, and always gain by it, both in 

 weight, measure, and quality. Some take the pre- 

 caution to obtain their seed from a great distance, 

 and always find their account in it. I would sug- 

 gest the idea of pursuing the same course among 

 yon. I would even take the liberty to advise you to 

 send to this country for your seed. I have observ- 

 ed that seeds of many kinds are improved by trans- 

 fer from a Northern to a warmer climate, and de- 

 teriorated by a contrary course. This may he said 

 to be particularly the case with wheat. The wheat 

 grown in the Genesee, Seneca, and Cayuga coun- 

 ties, has long been acknowledged to possess a de- 

 cided preeminence of character. The change 

 under the present facilities of intercourse can easi- 

 ly take place, and, should it, you alone would be 

 the gainers. The Genesee wheat, amona those I 

 have mentioned, bears perhaps, the highest cliar- 

 ftcter. The kinds most sought after here, as the 

 best, and producing the best fiom-, are the flint 

 wheat, the bald red chalT wheat with a white ber- 

 ry, the bearded red chaff wheat with a white berry 

 — and perhaps some others. All these kinds can 

 easily he procured. The flour |)roduced from 

 them is a mellow yellowish hue, and soft feathery 

 feel. — That produced by the Ohio wheat ofablue- 

 ish white, and somewhat harsh sandy feel, subject 

 to be under the most careful course of manufactur- 

 ing, mixed with dark or black specks. 



I have no interest in any mil! or establishment 

 for the purchase of wheat or flour ; but still feel 

 an anxiety tliatyour productions should be as good 

 and as fair in market as they can be. I have no 

 idea that a change can be brought about instantly ; 

 but if only a few would adopt the practice, a short 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



time would show the ulihty of it, and the commu- 

 nity at large he benefited. 



Some wheat has been obtained from Geauga, 

 Huron and Seneca counties which can be called 

 first rate. The grain from any other counties 

 may be made as good. The wheat from Michigan 

 is supericn- to that from Ohio ; their seed was ob- 

 tained almost wholly from this State. — Jl'estern 

 Tiller. 



April 27, 1831. 



rope. To prepare it I take the bark from the t 

 when it will peel freely, and immerse it in wi 

 immediately, being careful that every part is cove * 

 ed. In from four to six weeks, in warm weath^ iT" 

 the inner layers will be completely loosened, 

 fall apart on being lifted up; it nr-y then be stll l 

 |ied out, washed soft and pliable, having a smoi 

 and regular fibre, but as we approach the o 

 rough bark, we find the fibres broken and in^ 

 rupted by the expansion of the tree, formir 

 kind of irregular net work, not easily separatj 

 probably it may make good wrapping paper 

 it appears difiicult to form this part into the iprd| 

 er state for mattijig, for when much force is r 

 pnred to separate it the fibres are broken, andth 



The following arlicles are copied from the Genesee 

 Farmer, ii paper recently established atRochester, N. Y. 

 and conducted with much ability and good judgment by 

 Mr GooJsell. 



HAMS. 



Perhai)s there is no subject of equal interest ,.'iLd)ands will" be of very irregular breadth, 

 among fin-mers, on which there is such a contra- Linden Hill, 3rfmo. 25, 1831. S. C:, 



riety of opinion, as that of curing hams. Almost 

 every farmer who is fond of good hams, or wishes 

 to procure a good (price for them, has opinions, 

 forms or receipts, peculiar to himself, and after all, 

 the article is seldom produced in the country 

 much superior iii taste or flavor to that of connn^ 

 salt pork. — The plan that I pursue is extremely 

 simple and, I have no hesitation in saying, produces 

 hams superior to any of the kind I have ever tast- 

 ed, not excepting the celebrated hams of Virgin- 

 ia, or England, or still more famous of Calabria. 



The hams, as soon as they are separated from 

 the body of the animal, are to be closely packed 

 in a clean, tight, common sized barrel ; and to a 

 fiiU barrel, add a pickle, made by dissolving eight 

 quarts of clean Liverpool salt and four ounces salt- 

 petre, in a suflicient quantity of rain or soft water 

 to cover the whole. In this situation they are to re- 

 main until removed to the smoke house, which 

 shoidd be from eight to twelve weeks. 



The smoking process is to be conducted alto- 

 o-ether with cobs or the wood of sugar maple 

 (the firmer is, preferred) ; and when sufficient- 

 ly smoked, those that are intended for immediate 

 use, may be hung up in dark garret, or if the 

 weather be too cool, in the cellar; as freezing, 

 particularly if often repeated, is very injurious. 

 Those that are intended for ssminer use, are to 

 be well whitewashed with lime, and when dry, 

 wrapped in paper and packed away in new dry 

 ashes, and then set in a cool dry place in the cel- 

 lar. Particular care is requisite to prevent its be- 

 ing heated too much, while in the smoke house, 

 as this is very destructive to its fine flavor. 



_ Q. B. 



BASS MATTING. 



On reading an article in your paper of last 



week, headed Bass matting, I took some good 



sound hasswood bark, that had been taken from 



the tree last summer, and boiled it from two 



three hours in water, trving at intervals, to see i - ■ i„„j i, 



, , ., , li .„,„. i„,t r <v,„,,,i to the farmer or other person upon whose laud II 



whether its layers would separate; but I lounU j , ... , 



at the cud of the boiling that its adhesion was [ '^ ';' ''^' ■ . ,i,„ „„„..,„ cftnFh. 



,.,...,, 1-1 a 1 We hold It to be an axiom, that no true spons- 



scarcelv, f at all, dimin shed ; which confirmed " »= "'" '" "'=. " ' „,,.. o l.inl« 



I . I . r- 1 .r . .i„ ,T,..v, ;f ,,„„„ inan will demean bmiself by shootmg small DIMS 

 what I- before supposed, that the gum, it once r ,i,„ „„n,. o,„i th»n> 



,. , , -III • ,„,.., I, :„;„ „.nii of any kind at this season of the year, and there 



dried, becomes insoluble m water this is well , -^ . , .... . „ i„,.„i ,i, .;. „„m 



, ' , .1 -.i „„i ^nr„„.l,/^,.n are but few who will !.t any time level their gum 



kiiovvn to be the case with gum copai, caoucliouc, " <■ i ii _ i.;,i, iTrorv 



:„>:... „.u„ ". iio =„I,=t„n,.„Jat robins or any of the smaller birds, bvery 



HEAVES I.N HORSES. i 



Take one pound and a half of good ginge 

 for a horse, give two spoonsful each clay — oi 

 in the morning, and the oilier in the evening, inb 

 ed with wheat bran. This receipt has been sellin 

 at the eastward for $5, where the efiicacy of th 

 above medicine has been proved in the cure < 

 several cases of obstinate heaves. K. 



A spoonful of flax seed, steeped an honr t 

 two in warm water, and given to calves with thei 

 accustomed food, once a da}', till they are six o 

 seven weeks old, is very beneficial to them. Whei 

 Indian meal, which is highly valuable, is added t> 

 their food, a little magnesia or chalk, now and tbei 

 will prevent scouring. B. C if.- 



BIRDS. 



The robin, and other useful small birds, seen 

 to be diminishing in numbers every year, llli 

 decrease is to be attributed in a measure to tbi 

 fact that our gunners shoot them at unseasonabli 

 times of the year, before they have reared thei 

 broods of young, and even before the commence 

 ment of the breeding season. In the spring th( 

 birds are usually poor, and worth little or nothlDj 

 as food for man. Shooting them at this seasoi 

 prevents of course their natural increase. Allthf 

 smaller varieties of birds are exceedingly usefill 

 from their being the enemies and active destroyed 

 of the great variety of grubs, miller.s, slugs, cat- 

 erpillars, and other worms whirli infest and injnrc 

 our fruit trees and fields. Birds are a more effect- 

 ual preventive against the increase of insects nM- 

 irtlis to herb, fruit and flower, than any means de- 

 vised by man for that purpose. They are the 

 remedies furnished by the God of nature for 

 ,_ that purpose. The destruction of a single siliall 

 I bird at this season of the year is a positive injury 



indigo, and many other vegetable substances, 

 which, by exposure to the air, undergo such 

 chemical char.o-es by the absorption of oxygen, 

 and perhaps some other means, that water will 

 no longer serve them as a menstrum. 



The°innerbarkof the Hasswood, (Tilia Glabra) 

 however useful it may be for various purposes, 

 is almost indispensable to every horticulturist in 

 the form of strings ; and I hat prepared from our 



parent, master, and guardian, ought to lay a special 

 prohibition and interdict upon the use of all the 

 guns under their control, by the lads or men ir 

 their employ for the purposes of sporting at tbii 

 season of the year. — If'orcester JEgis. 



The Maine Legislature have been called upon 

 to pay the bounties of 8 cents per head on 40,- 

 trees is much better than what we get from Eu- 000 crows— $ 3200. 



