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VOLUME I. 



ROCHESTER, FEBRUARY 12, 1831. 



NUMBER 6. 



ORIGIN AL. 



FOB THE GENESEE FIBBER. 

 THE BEE. 

 Messrs- Editors— I liavo obssrved that re 

 Centry much has been published in various 

 Horticultural Journals, on the habits of the ho- 

 ney bee A knowledge of their history, econ- 

 omy, and mode of working, is extremely in- 

 teresting, and the subject derives additional 

 interest from the following fact, which came 

 to me from an authentic source, a short lime 

 since, and having never seen it in print, I send 

 the statement for publication in your interest 

 ing Genesee Farmer, which by the by, should 

 be in the hands of every practical farmer in 

 the Genesee country, who from the hints and 

 experience of others, would save more than 

 ten times the cost of the paper, in the coarse 

 of the year— but to the subject : 



A few years since, a farmer removed from 

 this county, to one of the northern counties 

 of the state of Ohio ; his remove was in the 

 winter, and he took with his other moveables 

 a hive of bees, and at the end of his journey 

 he located in an old log house, and for the 

 want of a better place he put his swarm of 

 bees into the garret, wheie they remained till 



soring. 



Anion" the many cares of a remove into the 

 wilderness, he forgot his bees, and neglected 

 to place them out of doors, as is the custom ; 

 but with the return of spring, and the open- 

 ing of the wild flowers of the wilderness, they 

 did not forget their duty, but " gathered ho- 

 ney every dav from every opening flower," 

 until the hive "was full to overflowing. They 

 found abundant passage between the logs of 

 the house. When the hive was full, instead 

 of swarming and going off, they merely remo- 

 ved a few fe'et from the old hive, attached them* 

 selves to a log in the same room, and went to 

 work; others attached themselves to the outside 

 of the hive,and continued their operations in o- 

 pen view, in thismannerforseveralyears When 

 the family wanted honey, they went into the 

 room, and broke off what comb they required, 

 without molestation. Having abundant room 

 in the' garret, they never left it in swarms. It 

 fs probable that the room was nearly dark, bu' 

 of this lam not informed. From this circum- 

 stance, the inhabitants when they build their 

 houses, finish off a small tight room, in the gar 

 ret, or other convenient part of the house, ex- 

 clusively for the bees, with timbers or braces to 

 which they can attach the comb, having a light 

 door to the room, to exclude mice, &c, and 1 

 understand they are not molested by the bee- 

 moth or miller I could much enlarge Dpon 

 this subject, bat time does not permit, and it is 

 quite sufficient for a practical mas to improve 

 the hint. I am, repectfully, yours, O. W. 



FOR THE GENESEE FARMER. 



The north-easterly storms which sweep 

 throughout the maritime parts of the United 

 Slates, and which perhaps bring the most un 

 comfortable weather of the whole year, are 

 unknown in some of the inland districts ef 

 our ci.ootry ; arid though on the east side of 

 the Cayuga lake, sometimes a gentle breeze 

 ocenrs in unsettled weather from that point, of- 

 ten veering in a few hours 50 or 60 degrees on 

 either side, yet I have no recollection of ha- 

 ving ever obserred at this place, what in com- 

 mon language is called "a north-easier." 



That north-easterly storms occur, however, 

 on the south shore of Lake Ontario, I have 

 several times witnessed ; and it might be ex- 

 pected that such currents would ruth along 

 •valleys lying irj a south-westerly direction. — 

 Jnrlned, a valued friend who resides at Lyons, 

 on tho Clyde river, has spoken of their occur- 

 Tenco at that piaefc. 



On a former occasion, I remarked that the 

 course of the same general wind over exten 

 sive plains, and along the valleys of large wa 

 ters, was ofien very different, it being in the 

 latter case deflected by the parallel ranges of 

 the hills. I also referred to a paragraph 

 Cook's last Voyage, in which was noticed a 

 difference of 90 degrees in the direction of 

 the gale at the same time, and only at the dis- 

 tance of a few miles ; and which on account 

 of its pointed testimony, and that the occur 

 rence was not unexpected by those experien 

 ced mariners, I subjoin in a note. At this 

 place, we probably owe the course of our S. 

 S. E. winds, (which so frequently occur) and 

 also our N. N. W. winds to the position of the 

 Cayuga lake. 



Since tho days of Franklin, it has been 

 generally known that the great body of the 

 clouds in north-easterly storms move from the 

 soutli-wost; and that the chilling wind that 

 carrieB the scud is only a counter current. The 

 superior and principal clouds that rain or snow- 

 over this land, appear also to come from the 

 south west; but the counter currents are 

 much more variable than on the south east 

 side of the Allegany range of mountains, — 

 With U9, the North, and even the north-north 

 west are not considered fair weather winds, 

 although with these sometimes the sky is 

 clear ; but our deepest snows have come from 

 the nortlvind on two successive days, we have 

 had continued rains from the N. N. W. Some 

 circumstances bave induced me to believe that 

 north-easterly storms rushing up the St. Law- 

 rence, have become deflected at those times, 

 and with diminished velocity have taken near- 

 ly the direction of our parallel lakes. 



Now the objeotof this communication is to 

 invite the attention of such readers of the 

 Genesee Farmer, as stndy meteorology, to this 

 subject, so that we may learn what winds pre- 

 vail on the Seneca Lake, the Clyde river, and 

 its branches, in the valley of tho Genesee, at 

 Lockport, at Batavia, at Lewiston or Niagara 

 Falls, and at Buffalo, white a north-easter is 

 chafing the shore of Ontario. D. T- 



Great field. 1 Mo. 24, 1831. 

 Note — " Before we had got up one anchor [in Auatt- 

 ka Bay] so violent a gale sprung up from ihe northeast 

 that we thought proper to mooragain, [XT] supposing 

 from tho position of the entrance of the bay, that the 

 current of wind woold in at] probability set up the chan- 

 nel. [jz$] The pinnace was dispatched to examine the 

 passage, and returned with intelligence, that the wind 

 blew violently from the south-e&t, with a great swell 

 setting into the bay." 



may be thus set any time of the day, and will 

 require no watering. Keep them clear of 

 weeds. If more plants are wanted, replace 

 the potato, which will soon throw out a new 

 set of plants. 



The white are the earliest, and the be9t for 

 our climate ; then tho yellow, and the red. A 

 light, dry sandy soil, is considered best for 

 them, but they grow well in alight mould, or 

 loam, if dry and warm. I have no doubt they 

 will become a profitable crop, even for feeding 

 stock, in your country. Mine were planted, 

 last year, in the bed, early in April ; in the 

 hills, by the middle of May; and ripened in 

 August, and to middle of September. The 

 largest were 8 to 12 inches in length, C to 8 

 in circumference, and very little, if any, infe- 

 rior, in richness, to the best from the southern 

 states. H. G. S. 



Jan. 29, 1831—75. 



FOR THE GENESEE FARMER. 



The S2ceet Potato, or Carolina Potato, as 

 often called, may, and will, become an article 

 of profit, in the region of the Genesee Farm- 

 er. It is cultivated with very little more trou- 

 ble than the common potato, in my garden, 

 and gives nearly as good a yield. Perhaps you 

 do cultivate it already — if you do not, try it. 

 I plant a few, say a dozen well grown pota- 

 toes, early in April, and from them get plants 

 enough for 50 to 1G0 hills, enough for my fam- 

 ly. Dig a hole iu the soil of the garden two 

 feet deep, and three or four feet square, or 

 round. Fill this with fresh horse dung, from 

 out of doors, well wetted, and cover it three 

 inches with soil. 



When warmed, by heat or fermentation, 

 plant the potatoes two inches under the sur- 

 face, which I leave open to the weather. The 

 growth will then be stimolated by the internal 

 heat, and vegetated by the external, so as to 

 give you plants for transplanting, by the lime 

 the season is sufficiently advanced. I make 

 the hills, before transplanting, 12 to 18 inches 

 high, 3 or 4 feet apart each Way. When the 

 plants have 3 or 4 or 6 leaves, nip off the root 

 adhering to the potato, with the tliumb c and 

 finjjer nail, having thousands of fibrous roots, 

 and set these, 1, 2, or 3 in each hill. They 



FOR THE GEHEBEE FARMER. 



Messrs. Editors — I wish to communicate 

 to the public, through your paper, the result of 

 an Horticultural experiment, which I trust 

 may be new to some of your readers. In tbe 

 spring of 1829, I found in my fruit garden, that 

 the mice had girdled two of my young plum 

 trees, taking off a ring of bark near the ground, 

 about four or five inches wide. A gentleman 

 of my acquaintance, observed to me, that the 

 trees might be saved by splicing in pieces of 

 bark, so as to connect the roots with the tops, 

 <& gave me directions fordoing it. Being unwil- 

 ling to lose my trees I proceeded by taking some 

 pieces of limbs of the same tree, corresponding 

 in length to the.width from which tho bark'had 

 been removed, and having split them, I fitted 

 them to the bodies, (which were about an inch 

 and a half in diameter) by flattening them, 

 and cutting square in at the ends, so as to make 

 good joints where the bark was sound, — tied 

 them fast with strings, and hillod the dirt over 

 them. The result was, the pieces united at 

 both ends, and the trees have continued to 

 grow, as though no accident had befallen them, 

 and now hid fair to produce fruit the next sea- 

 son. I have since tried the experiment upon 

 an apple tree with equal suocess. As similar 

 accidents happen to trees, from mice, rabbits, 

 calves and sheep, I can recommend the pro- 

 cess of splicing, as by it, trees so injured, mav 

 be saved. S. CLARK. 



' Greece, Feb'y 1, 1831. 



FOR THE GENESEE FARMER. 

 To the Editors of the GeneseeFarmer : 



Having received the first four numbers of 

 your paper, I am persuaded it will be a profit- 

 able source of information to Farmers, Hur- 

 ttculturists, and Economists; and I hope wijl 

 prove a source of profit to yeurselves. If far 

 mers generally would take an interest in it, 

 & communicate through it such information as 

 tbey possess, as regards the best methods of 

 performing the common operations ol farm- 

 j, or Horticulture, &c. its usefulness would 

 be greatly increased. By this manner ofcor- 

 respondence, each farmer would have the 

 benefit of the experience of tbe whole, and 

 the cost of your paper would bear no couipar 

 ison with tbe benefits arising fom this kind 

 of reading. Permit me to make some inqui 

 ries through your paper, hoping that those who 

 have the information sought, will give it thro' 

 the same channel ; which might benefit others 

 as well as myself. 



I have seen, the hist season, a tolerable 

 crop of wheat growing upon land that a few 

 years since, appeared quite barren, which, 1 

 was informed, was sowed after ploughing in a 

 crop of olover. I have also been infor- 

 med that this method has been practiced-, 

 both for wheat and other crops, upon light 

 land, by filming the sward Und,er, and sowing 



