74 



THE GENESEE FARMER 



March 12, 1831. 



enabled to nave a very good dish; but a few 

 days after lie had commenced his new process, 

 she said to the mistress, " What is the mat- 

 ter with your coffee, lately — you have got a 

 poor kind, I guess." '• Why 1" asked the 

 lady. " Because." says she, "it has got no 

 strength in it." " Oh," answered the mistress, 

 " wo have got ,i patent coffee pot, which we 

 are trying." 



" Well,"said the poor woman. '• it is a good 

 for nothing Yankee cheat, and it ought not to 

 be used, and it shouldn't if 1 could hinder it." 

 The shoe pinched the poor woman's toes — 

 she was curtailed of her mornings comfort. and 

 it was denounced a deception, much to the 

 proof of its usefulness, and was the real and 

 true test of the fact. 



The wli'j that coffee is betterboth in flavor & 

 effect is equally palpable and conclusive, and 

 is thus explained ; — The peculiar flavor which 

 coffee possesses over any other burned vege- 

 table berry, grain or root, resides in its pecu 

 liar aromatic essential oil. All essential and 

 volatile oils are specifically lighter than water, 

 and in heating rise first, in vapor, and pass off 

 if not condensed ; this peculiarity constitutes 

 the process of distillation. Now in the boil- 

 ing process, the fine aroma which constitutes 

 the value of this king of drinks is distilled off 

 in vapor and lost, and the drinker of it is fed 

 with what in another process constitutes the 

 slops of the still hoyse, when compared tvilh 

 the true article. 



As your correspondent observes, it is but a 

 live minutes' business to make the best cup of 

 eofteo that ever smoked in a Turkish Harem. 



If made in this way, you may, without dan 

 ger to the stomach or bowels, make it so strong 

 that it will bear up an iron wedge, to speak liy ■ 

 perbolically ; only observe to dilute with plen- 

 ty of cream and sugar, and drink the less quan- 

 tity of a much superior article. Speaking of 

 cream, note— coffee and strawberries cannot be 

 good without it, and the fresher the better. — 

 With a brief recipe I will closo this trespass : 



Roast brown — roast often — grind when wan- 

 ted — filter ([nick and strong — reduce with cream, 

 and please the taste with sugar. Y* 



bors have town it repeatedly, and the result .o 

 far as I have been able to ascertain, has never 

 been any more favorable to the flint, than the 

 bove, when sown upon the same soil, and at 

 the same time. It appears to be a hardy plant, 

 and withstands the vicissitudes of the season as 

 well is any variety, and is usally a very flatter 

 ingcrop while on the ground ; the straw ischorl 

 and stiff, which prevents its lodging as much 

 as most of the other varieties; but it fails in 

 yield from the bundle or sere, and is much 

 harder to thrash by hand, than any other that 

 I am acqu dnted with. The farmers in thia 

 section have pretty generally ceased to culti- 

 vate it. The varieties which are held tn the 

 (lightest estimation among them, are the red 

 bald, red and white bearded, and a bearded va- 

 riety, called the crate wheat, which has been 

 lately introduced among us, and is very high- 

 ly recommended by those who have tried it.-- 

 For my own part, I am not much acquainted 

 with any of the bearded wheats, a9 I hive ae 

 yet been able to raise as good crops of the red 

 bald, as any of my neighbors have of the <>- 

 thers. I give it the preference, from its being 

 the pleasantest to work among. 



The above statement and remarks are drawn 

 from but a short and limited experience in ag- 

 ricultural pursuits, and are offered to the public 

 with the hope, that some one more acquainted 

 and better able to throw light upon the subject. 

 may be induced to take it up. VV. 



Yates co. 5th March. 1831. 



OYSTER PONDS, 



IN WESTERN NEW YORK. 



Though the planting of oysters is not exact- 

 ly either Agriculture or Horticulture, yet it is 

 planting. Many years ago, I proposed to try 

 the experiment of raising oyster.-, in small arti- 

 ficial ponds of salt water, in the western part 

 of this state. Will you allow me to repeat 

 the suggestion ? The salines of the West af- 

 ford water salt enough, and salt does not waste 

 by evaporation, so that the cost would be but a 

 mere trifle. Oyster seed— small oysters, such 

 as they plant .n the bays of the sea shore, 

 may be had in plenty, transported by the canal; 

 and with such facilities, ought not the experi- 

 ment to be tried 1 it appears to me that there 

 can be no difficulty in " growing" your own 

 oysters. When the ponds are once stocked, 

 they will supply themselves .with seed. The 

 Onondaga Lake, if all its inlets of fresh wa- 

 ter were detached from it, would become a 

 miniature of a salt water sea, and, by the help of 

 a few barrel* of oyster seed, from the ocean, an, 

 oyster bed, tn the course of a few years. Pos- 

 sibly, however, its springs of fresh water, anil 

 supplies by rain and snow would be more thai'. 

 equal the loss by evaporation ; in which case, 

 it would remain loo fresh for an Oyster Gar- 

 den ! S. 



SELECTION .. 



TOR THE GENESEE FARMER. 

 WHEAT. 



Having read an article in the third ntimbe 

 of the Genesee Farmer, upon the cultivation of 

 wheal, in which the variety known as the white 

 flint is somewhat favorably noticed, I am in- 

 duced to give the following brief statement of 

 the result of my experience in the cultivation 

 of ibis and the red bald wheat : 



In the fall of 182(3, I assisted in the sowing 

 of about twenty acres of ground to wheat, in 

 which there was little or no difference in soil, 

 lime or preparation, and upon which was sown 

 the three following varieties, viz — white flint, 

 red bald, and beaverdam, or yellow bald. The 

 latter produced but a hglu crop of wheat, al- 

 though the growth ol straw was greater than 

 either of the others ; the straw is very long, 

 head short and light, and usually falls down 

 before it fills; at least such has been the case 

 in all the experiments that have come within 

 my observation. 



With respect to the others, there was no 

 perceptible difference in their growth or ap- 

 pearance, except that the Hint had rather the 

 advantage in situation, from being more expo- 

 sod i.o the sun than the others, and consequent 

 ly, was rather more even in its growth. It 

 was a beautiful field of wheat, and I think as 

 well headed as any that I have ever seen of 

 the kind. The following was the average per 

 .acre, while in the sheaf, and after thrashing 

 I give the number of bundles to show the dif 

 l'crence in the heading of the two kinds. a» 

 the growth of straw was about the same : 



Kct) bsld gave 3G0 bundles, yielding 30 bush. 



White linn " 3oG " " 231-2 



Shewing a difference in favour of the Red 

 if six and a half bushels per acre. 



I have tried it since, and many of my neigh- 



FOR THE GENESEE FARatER. 



IMPORTANT TO FARMERS. 



Messrs. Editors — As you look abroad for 

 a part of your patronage, I take the liberty of 

 advising the farmers, through your papor ; to 

 water rot their flax, it being the easiest, cheap- 

 est, and most profitable way of preparing it for 

 dressing, either for market or home use. By 

 water rotting the flax, tho farmer will gain, in 

 saving of labor, yield of flax, and in the price 

 of the same, twenty five per cent. 



The best time for water rolling flax, is du 

 ring the summer Put the flax in small bun- 

 dles, and steep it in still water about 48 or GO 

 hours. The farmer must judge of its being 

 sufficiently rotted, by watching it while in the 

 water. As soon as the lint or coat separates 

 from the stalk, it is then time to remove and 

 spread it out to dry, which will require three or 

 four days ; this depends, however, on the wea 

 ther A week's attention to it, in this manner, 

 is sufficient to have it ready for cleaning. 



Experiments have been fully made as to the 

 strength and durability of cloth made from wa 

 ter rotted flax, and likewise that made from 

 field or dew rotted ; and tho advantage in fa- 

 vor of the former, is about fifty per cent. Wa- 

 ter rotted flax can be bleached immediately af- 

 ter it is dressed, so as to become as v. hite and 

 as soft as silk ; while with dew rotted flax, no- 

 thing can be done. 



The following is the mariner of bleaching 

 flax, and it is in the power of every fanner 

 to try tho experiment: 



Coil it in ash lye of about half the strength: 

 neoessary to make common soap, for two or 

 three hours, then rinse it well in vinegar and 

 water, or any other weak acid preparation, and 

 lay it either in the sun or under cover, where 

 there is a free circulation of air. 



I feel confident, that it our farmers woo id 

 try the foregoing experiments they would be 

 encouraged to cultivate this highly useful, and. 

 hitherto much neglected plant. 



E. QUINBY. 



Note — Wo were pleased with the above 

 communication on flax, which we presume is 

 from a practical man, at least his views of the 

 subjeot are mostly correct, and we would refer; 

 him to the 28th page of the Fanner, also to 

 the United States Journal there referred to, 

 and if he would call .it the office, the Editor 

 would be glad to Convcrso with him upon the 

 subject. 



PRINCE'S UOKIK IL.TTJHE. 



Wc have been very much pleased with the. 

 perusal of" A short treatise on Horticulture," 

 by William Prince, boih as to matierand man- 

 ner. As we are convinced that every work 

 which contributes to the advancemet of Hor 

 ticulture in tne United States, is more or less 

 interesting to our redears, we shall occasional- 

 ly make such extracts from it .is we think wil' 

 be most likely to amuse by instructing. We 

 are anxiously waiting for his forthcoming work 

 on Pomology, which we trust will reduce the 

 Babel-like confusion of names of fruit to or- 

 der, "a consummation devoutly to be wished 

 for" by all classes of society. 



SEASON FOR TRANSPLANTING. 



Sorinii is the season when we find the most 

 in making our rural improvements 



spring 



pleasui 



and from this circumstance, probably, it has 

 become the mos' general season for plant- 

 in™ trees— but experience ha* proved the fall 

 planting to be the most successful, especially 

 in i hose parts of the United States which are 

 subject to droughts, as the trees planted in au- 

 tumn suffer little or none from a drought, when 

 those set out in spring often perish in conse- 

 quence of it. , 



Notwithstanding, with regard to those fruits 

 that have been origi ally brought from warmer 

 climates— such us'the peach, apricot, nectarine, 

 and almond, which are natives ol' Persia, Ar- 

 menia, &c— it is necessarj for us to consult 

 the operations of climate also, and from a I on 

 sideration of these attendant circsmstances, I 

 have come to the following conclusion :— In 

 localities sou:h of New York, the fall season is 

 preferable for transplanling all frees— north of 

 New York, the fall is preferable only for the 

 apple, pear, plumb, cherry, quince, and all o- 

 in,i trees of northern latitudes; whereas, the 

 sprin" is to he preferred for the peai h, apricot, 

 nectarine, and almond, which for the reasons 

 above staled, might, during severe winters, suf- 

 fer from the intensity of the frost. Still I do 

 not mean to assert, that tries of these kinds 

 are certain to be injured by the winter, as 

 in ver^ many seasons they are not in the least 

 affected, still they are exposed to vicissitudes 

 which may or may not occur. Many gentle- 

 ui ii, however, of excellenl judgment, make 

 (loir plantations in the fall, winch only serves 

 to prove, that e\cn in the most intelligent 

 minds a diversity of opinion exists. 



