Vol. l._No. 25. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



19. r > 



*o send him every year, two cases of such 

 cheese to Aix-la Chapelle ; and in order 

 that the cheese merchant might not send 

 cheeses without seeds, he directed the bish- 

 op to cut each in two, and afterwards to fas- 

 ten the parts by means of wooden skewers." 

 — Foreign Review. 



DOMESTIC HORTICULTURAL SOCIE- 

 TY OF THE WESTERN PART OF NEW-YORK. 



This society will hold their Summer Ex- 

 hibition at Canandaigua, on Thursday the 

 30th inst. At 8 o'clock A. M., Mr. Blos- 

 som's long room will be prepared for the re- 

 ception of such specimens of Fruits, Flow- 

 ers and Vegetables, as may be offered for 

 exhibition or premiums, and will be open 

 for public exhibition at 1 1 o'clock and during 

 the remainder of the day. At 12 o'clock an 

 address will be delivered at the Episcopal 

 Church, by Doct. Cutbiish. At 2 o'clock 

 a dinner will be prepared at Mr. Blossom's, 

 for the members of the Society, and such 

 other citizens and strangers as may choose 

 to partake of the same. For a list of premi- 

 ums to be awarded at this meeting, see Gen- 

 esse Farmer, No. 11, page 86. 



FLORAL. CALENDAR. 



Juno 24. 



The white-wood tree (Liriodendron tuli- 

 pifera,) is now in full flower, and should be 

 examined by those who are expecting to 

 plant ornamental trees. 



The common sumac (Rhus copallinum) 

 and purple fringe tree, or Venetian sumac, 

 (Rhus cotinus) called also Jupiter's beard, 

 are now in flower — the latter is very curious 

 and worth the notice of those unacquainted 

 with it. 



The common milk-weeds of different va- 

 rieties, are now mostly in flower. The or- 

 ange colored, (Asclepias tuberosa) is quite 

 fragrant and ornamental. 



The pond lily, (Nymphaa odorata) is now 

 in perfection, and is certainly one of the 

 handsomest flowers of our country. 



About two weeks since a large number of 

 those birds, commonly called chimney swal- 

 lows, were observed to convene on a farm 

 near Painsville. They formed themselves 

 into regular lines, took a circuitous flight 

 round a large sycamore, and entered its 

 trunk by a hole atth'e top. Several persons 

 resolved to ascertain the number of swal- 

 lows thus concealed, and for that purpose 

 closed up their place of entrance, and cut an 

 opening at the bottom of the tree. On view- 

 ing the cavity inside, it was found that the 

 swallows had fixed themselves in layers of 

 six or seven deep, packed regularly on each 

 other round the whole extent of the hollow. 

 Marshals were appointed to take a census 

 of this feathered community, who counted 

 to the amount of three thousand six hundred 

 and ninety, when owing to the interference 

 of some volunteer assistants an irregularity 

 in the counting took place, and the remain- 

 der of the swallows, which were supposed to 

 have been more than equal in number to 

 those taken down, were suffered to escape 

 without enumeration.— Tuscaraica3 Chron- 

 icle. 



Note by the Editor — For eight or ten years 

 those birds collected in numbers similar to 

 those described above, in a button-wood or 

 plane-tree, growing upon the flats of the O- 

 riskany creek, a little south-west of Hamil- 

 ton college, Oneida county, and were to be 

 seen at evening sporting in a large circle, 

 one part of which passed over the top of the 

 tree which had been broken off, leaving a 

 large opening for their entrance, and from 

 the numbers which we have seen enter, they 

 must have lined the tree a number of thick- 

 nesses. 



MOWING. 

 They who have not been in their youth 

 accustomed to do this work, are seldom 

 found to be able to do it with ease or expedi- 

 tion. But when the art is once learnt, it 

 will not be lost. 



As this is one of the most laborious parts 

 of the husbandman's calling, and the more 

 fatiguing as it must be performed in the hot- 

 test season of the year, every precaution 

 ought to be used which tends to lighten the 

 labor. To this it will conduce not a little, 

 for the mower to rise very early, and be at 

 his work before the rising of the sun. He 

 may easily perform half the usual day's 

 work before nine in the morning. His wor 

 will not only be made easier by the cool 

 ness of the morning air, but also by ihe dew 

 on the grass, which is cut the more easily for 

 being wet. By this means he may lie stil 

 and rest himself during all the hottest of the 

 day, while others who begun late are sweat- 

 ing themselves excessively ; and hurting 

 their health, probably by taking down large 

 draughts of cold drink to slake their raging 

 thirst. The other half of his work may be 

 performed after three or four o'clock ; and 

 at night he will find himself free from fa- 

 tigue. 



If the mower would husband his strength 

 to advantage, he should take care to have 

 his scythe, and all the apparatus for mowing 

 in the best order. His scythe ought to be a- 

 dapted to the surface on which he mows. — 

 If the surface be level and free from obsta- 

 cles, the scythe may be long and almost 

 straight ; and he will perform his work with 

 ess labor, and greater expedition. But if 

 the surface be uneven, cradley, or chequered 

 with stones, or stumps of trees, his scythe 

 must be short and crooked. Otherwise he 

 will be obliged to leave much of the grass 

 uncut, or use more labor in cutting it. A 

 long and straight scythe will only cut oft' the 

 tops of the grass in hollows. 



A mower should not have a snead that is 

 too slender ; for this will keep the scythe in 

 a continual tremor, and do much to hinder 

 its cutting. He must see that it keeps per- 

 fectly fast on the snead ; for the least de- 

 gree of looseness will oblige him to use the 

 more violence at every stroke. Many wor- 

 ry themselves needlessly by not attending to 

 this circumstance. 



Mowing with a company ought to be a 

 voided by those who are not very strong, or 

 who are little used to the business, or who 

 have not their tools in the best order. — 

 Young lads, who are ambitious to be tho't 

 good mowers, often find themselves hurt by 

 mowing in company. 



Mowers should not follow too closely ater 

 each other : For this has been the occasion 

 of fatal wounds. And when the dangerous 

 tool is carried from place to place, it should 



be bound up with a rope of grass, or other 

 wise carefully secured. 



"ftlr.de Lisle introduced in England, 

 the mowing of wheat. The method is this : 

 The scythe he uses is at least six inches 

 shorter in the blade than the common 

 scythe; and instead of a cradle, has two 

 twigs of osier put semi-circular wise im> 

 holes made in the handle of the scythe, near 

 the blade, in such a manner that one semi- 

 circle intersects the other. 



"By this method of mowing wheat, the 

 standing corn is always at the left hand. — 

 The mower mows it inward, bearing the 

 corn he cuts on his scythe, till it comes to 

 that which is standing, against which it gen- 

 tly leans. After every mower, follows a 

 gatherer, who being provided with a hook or 

 stick, about two feet long, gathers up the 

 corn, makes it into a gavel, and lays it gen- 

 tly on the ground. This must be done with 

 spirit, as another mower immediately fol- 

 lows." — Com. Farmer. 



As reaping is slow and laborious work, it 

 would be right for our countrymen to learn 

 this method of mowing their wheat ; which 

 will undoubtedly answer also for other sorts 

 of grain. — Deane. 



HOW TO PICKLE WALNUTS. 



Scald slightly, and rub off the first skin 

 of a hundred large walnuts, before they 

 have a hard shell : this may easi'y be ascer- 

 tained by trying them with a pin. Put them 

 in a strong cold brine, put new brine the 

 third and sixth days, and take them out and 

 dry them on the ninth. Take an ounce 

 each of long pepper, black pepper, ginger, 

 and allspice ; a quarter of an ounce of 

 cloves, some blades of mace, and a table- 

 spoonful of mustard seeds : bruise the whole 

 together, put into a jar a layer of walnuts, 

 strew them well over with the mixture, and 

 proceed in the same manner till all are cov- 

 ered. Then boil three quarts of white wine 

 vinegar, with sliced horse-radish and ginger, 

 pour it hot over the walnuts, and cover close. 

 Repeat the boiling of the vinegar and poui 

 it. hot over, three or four clays, always keep- 

 ing the pickle closely covered ; add at the 

 last boiling a few cloves of garlic, or shal- 

 lots. In five months they will be fit for use. 



LARGE STRAWBERRIES. 



There were exhibited by Judge Buel, at 

 the horticultural show on Tuesday, fifty 

 strawberries of uncommon size and beauty. 

 On weighing them, the committee found 

 that forty-seven berries, divested of theii 

 stems, weighed a pound.— three averaging 

 a little more than an ounce ; and it is said 

 every berry exceeded four inches in circum- 

 ference. These strawberries were of the 

 kind called ftlethven, or Methven Castle, 

 from the place where the variety originated, 

 and are of the color and flavor of the com- 

 mon field variety. They were gathered 

 from plants put out in August last, the ruD- 

 ners of which had not been clipped. 



There were also exhibited at the same 

 time, from the Albany nursery, more than 

 100 varieties of hardy roses, 7 varieties of 

 honeysuckle ( Lonicera,) 6 of the pink (Di- 

 anthus,) Chinese peonies, dahlias, and more 

 than 40 varieties of choice border flowers. 



We were presented, by Judge B. with 

 two bowls of the Methven strawberry, most 

 of which measured four inches in circum- 

 ference, and of a rich flavor. — Alb. Arg. 



