110 



THE GENESEE FARMER 



April 9, 1832. 



management they may be made t<i take the 

 troe form, and shoot up a tall center stem, 

 with short laterals, like the Antwerp Rhasp- 

 herry, in which case it will have to be staked, 

 and if well managed, they look very fine in 

 this shape, and do nst shade the ground, and 

 the fruit is easily gathered. 



Gouseberries should be at least once a year 

 well pruned, by clipping all long, drooping, 

 straggling limbs, and thinning out those branch- 

 es which are much crowded, and all old crook- 

 ed, rough and decayed snags, in such a man- 

 ner as to give them a free and airy appearance 

 — keeping a proper quantity of bearing wood. 

 The fruit is produced not only on last year's 

 wood, but on spurs and oyes of the wood oi 

 two or three years old. 



They are hearty feeders, and require a rich 

 •oil, and occasion;]! replenishing, by digging 

 in well rotted manures or oomposts. By pro- 

 per attention and care they can be induced to 

 repay, with more than lawful interest, all of 

 your labor. 



The remark"" respecting setting cuttings in 

 preference to roots, apply with greater pro- 

 priety to currants, than even to the gooseber- 

 ry. Every one who has noticed the bushes in 

 old gardens, and observed their squalhd ap- 

 pearance, and the forest of brush and young 

 shoots at the root, will at once be convinced 

 of the propriety of training them in a troo 

 form, with a clean straight stem, and a neat 

 round head ; nut only for the appearance, but 

 for the increased quantity, and the size and 

 flavor is wonderfully enhanced. Anyone who 

 pleases, can, in two or three years, renovate 

 their bushes by starting new ones between the 

 old ones, and when of suffioient size for bea- 

 ring, grub out the old ones. 



The while currant, of two different varie- 

 ty, the Dutch and Champaigne, are coming 

 into reptile, and are larger and not as tart — 

 good bearers, and easilv cultivated. • 



LUCERNE. Meiir.ago Saliua, L. 



This is a plant which has been cultivated 

 from time immemorial in Europe and Asia, as 

 food for cattle and horses. It is a hardy pev 

 rennial plant, somewhat resembling clover in 

 the leaf, but grows much higher. The flow- 

 ers are blue, and produced on spikes. The 

 plant grows well on weak soils, as the roots 

 tun deep, of course dry soils are best sui'.ed to 

 the growth of it. The French cultivate this 

 plant to considerable extent, where it is cut 

 with sickles or other like instruments, and tied 

 in small bundles. As the greatest advantage in 

 taising this crop appears to be its early growth, 

 we think it is not likely to become a general 

 field crop in this section of country. 



Those who are wishing to try the experi- 

 ment, will find about 1 peck of seed to the acre 

 a suitable quantity sown at broad cast. The 

 plants do not arrive at maturity until the third 

 year, when it is considered as giving its great- 

 est crop. Cattle feeding upon Lucerne are 

 subject to be hoven the same as feeding up- 

 on clover. A small spot of Lucerne for feed- 

 ing tender animals early in the spring, may be 

 well, but we would not recommend our firm- 

 ors to go largely into the cultivation of it at 

 firaf, as a plant may be well adapted to one 

 country and not to oihers. Although lucerne 

 ^ias been cultivated in France for a long time. 



it is not considered a profitable crop in Eng- 

 land, and we do not remember to have seen a ' 

 single field of it in crossing the Island. We 

 would caution young farmers against loo great 

 innovations upon our established mode of crop- 

 ping, which if well done will insure acomfor- 

 lablo support to every industrious piudent far- 

 mer. 



The lesson which we had from Cobhett, 

 ought to suflioe for the present generation. — 

 One grand secretin Agricultural operations, 

 whether in regard to animals or plants, is to 

 nurse well what you have. This has rendered 

 many a man famous for his breed of cattle, 

 sheep, and hogs, and his peculiar varieties of 

 corn, wheat, potatoes, &c. We would not 

 advance any thing to check the ardor of young 

 farmers for making improvements, but if they 

 allow themselves to be transported too far in 

 search of new things they often negleot that 

 which is at home, and perhaps quite as valua- 

 ble. So with Lucerne, while we are trying 

 experiments with it, we should not neglect 

 our while and red clovers. 



NOTICES. 



Hkmp.— " B. C n" has answered the 



inquiry of A Orovrland Farmer, in relation to 

 cultivation of Hemp. Although the wri 

 leris unknown to us, yet the article gives evi- 

 dence that he is a man acquainted with the 

 subject, and we hope be will conunue lo ho a 

 contributor to the columns of Farmer. 



Barley. — Our correspondent Wayne has 

 commenced upon a very important subject to 

 the Fanners of Old Genesee, and has assured 

 us that his remarks on the culture of Barley 

 will be continued. 



Threshing Machines. — We have received 

 a well written article ''on the importance to tho 

 farmer of a good, cheap. and durable threshing 

 machine, and a comparative view of those now 

 in use," which will be given soon. 



Death of trees from old age — We have 

 received from a gentleman well qualified to 

 discuss the subject, a reply to the communica 

 tionof D. T. in number 11, on the death of 

 trees from old age, which we shall give next 



week. 



CORRECTIONS. 



The following sentence was omitted in the 

 article on Sweet Potatoes, in the preceding 

 page — it should have followed the Gth para- 

 graph : 



" Place your boxes near the chimney, on the 

 second floor, over the kitchen fire, from 40" 

 to 65° Fahrenheit will be a healthy tempera- 

 ture." 



In the article on Bass Mattiag, in number 

 18, first page, the words " ami dried, for u<e. 

 A fuw of the inner layers will be" — should be 

 inserted between the words wasted and soft in 

 tho 1-Stli line of the last paragraph. 



We were yesterday furnished with a speci 

 men of new potatoes, the growth of ll,e pres- 

 ent year, in a potatoe hole, on the premises ol 

 Col. Williams of this village. They are of a 

 -ize sufficiently large for use ; and have come- 

 to maturity in defiance of the snow and frost 

 of Hie past winter.— Saratoga Sentinel. 



We understand that strawberries, red, 

 ripe and juicy, were yesterday plucked 

 in abundance, from vines growing in the 



STATE CONVENTION OF TEACHERS, 4"C 



We have received a copy of the Address 

 and proceedings of the convention for the pro- 

 motion of Education, held in Utica on the 12th 

 13th, and 14th of January last, and from a 

 hasty perusal should think it gives good evi- 

 dence of the zeal and laudable intentions of the 

 memberB of that convention. The great and 

 leading feature ot the address is an ardent en- 

 deavor to impress community with a proper 

 sense of the great importance of education.anci 

 to atouse them to a greater interest than they 

 generally feel on that subject. The address, 

 though an excellent one, is but short, and we 

 may at some future period find space for its 

 insertion ; at present we must be content witl, 

 the following extracts : 



" There is, however, too much reason 

 to fear, that even if the teachers were 

 willing and competent to introduce sucl: 

 improvements into the System, the peo- 

 ple themselves would be found opposed 

 to any plan, however plausible, if it were 

 recent or novel. The change, therefore, 

 must be effected by convincing the peo- 

 ple of its necessity. To do ibis, facts 

 must be brought to their consideration. 



A judicious reform would be hioh.lv 

 economical. One quarter's instruction 

 from a competent teacher, would be of 

 more real value than that of a year as now 

 afforded ; and the advantage of continu- 

 ous instruction over the present interrup- 

 ted systems, incalculable. Indeed, mo- 

 ney paid to an incompetent teacher would 

 be much better applied if cast into ihe 

 sea ; for under him the child acquires 

 habits of inconsideration and incorrect- 

 ness^ lasting as life. 



When we regard the future prosperity 

 of our nation, and consider that our free 

 institutions will be under the control of 

 those who are now growing up in igno- 

 rance of their nation, the necessity of re- 

 form oan no longer be doubled. What 

 will avail ocr physical advantages, natural 

 and artificial, our admirable institutions, 

 out right of self-government, to a people 

 unenhgMened and depraved ? — for depra- 

 vity ever follows ignorance. Swayed by 



'blind and brutal impulse they must yield 

 to the ins:dious policy of the demagogue 



! — and law be prostrate at th e feet of am- 

 bition, or lost in universal anarchy. 



Beautiful, indeed, to the patriot's ad- 

 miring eye, is our government of fair 

 proportions; but the fairest foim be- 



j conies hideous and loathsome when the 



, soul has fled. 



The Convention earnestly implore 

 their fellow- citizenjs to exert themselves 

 in a cause so sacred, the cause of iheir 

 children and their country, the cau^o of 

 education. Fears nre no ionger idle, or 

 remoustrarrees unnecessary. That com- 



-moo education is deplorably neglected, is 

 no louger a matter of rational doubt. — 

 'hey, therefore, implore their legislators 

 to mterpose then wisdom and authority. 



open air, in the garden of Dr. Williams, 



at Carabridgeport.— [Bosten Palladittip! ' 1'hcy enll tipon tho rich to pity and r'c 



