242 



THE GENESEE FAR31ER 



August 5, 1S31. 



CUCUMBERS. 



My very genteel readers, have you ever had the 

 dispepsia 1 If you have not you can hardly re- 

 alize what an awful calamity you have escaped ! 

 But I would caution you as to answering this 

 question without deliberation. It is a very im- 

 portant one at this time, and may fix your char- 

 acter forever, with a certain portion of society. 

 If you answer in the negative, you will be set 

 down as having sprung from some old fashioned, 

 honest kind of family, which at this time would 

 appear as ridiculous as to see a woman riding to 

 church upon a pillion. But on the contrary, if 

 you declare in the affirmative, and that you have 

 not only had it, but had it severely too, and have 

 been to New- York to undergo the operation of 

 being kneaded, you may take it for granted that 

 you have a sure passport to the most refined so- 

 ciety, Abernethy's opinion to the contrary not- 

 withstanding. There is a certain class of socie- 

 ty at this season of the year for which I cannot 

 but sympathize, and who like a prisoner in his 

 cell, call look abroad upon the fruits sent by the 

 bounty of a kind Providence, with an appetite 

 keen and unsatiated, but which he is not allowed 

 to enjoy. Such is the case with children in our 

 large towns, whose untiring curiosity will discov- 

 er every basket of fruit or esculents which may 

 be brought to market, but who are forbidden to 

 taste them on pain of having the dispepsia and all 

 l he family of fashionable complaints of the day. 

 Now this is enough to try the honesty of any lit- 

 tle hungry urchin, and many a lie has been told 

 about an apple or cucumber, which has been swal- 

 lowed half masticated behind the door to prevent 

 detection. No wonder that substances so swal- 

 lowed should now and then prove rather indi- 

 gestible, but it would be contrary to the laws of 

 nature, if children were allowed to select then- 

 food, if they did not choose that which was con 

 ducive to health, and reject that which was found 

 to be detrimental. 



"Learn from the beast the physic of the field,' 

 raid a poet of nice observation, as indicating that 

 the appetite when unrestrained was a sure guide 

 to health, and so we consider it. Who ever heard 

 of a farmer's children with their pockets full of I 

 green apples, and their hands full of cucumbers, 

 ever having the dispepsia ? But we are crea- 

 tures of habit after all, and there are certain old 

 women in large towns who have made it their bu- 

 siness for years, at this particular season to call 

 Upon their neighbors for the sole purpose of cau- 

 t ioning them against allowing their children to 

 eat cucumbers, "for they are desput bad things," 

 for which advice they expect a cup of tea ; then 

 follows on a set of doctors, half old women and 

 half quack, who will tell that " cucumbers are of 

 a clogging nature, that they stop up the dilatory 

 ducts, and produce cholera morbus ;" and last of 

 nil, the printers to fill up a corner, take up the old 

 witicism of slicing the cucumbers, adding salt, 

 pepper and vinegar, and then — throw them away. 

 Now we believe if parents would furnish their 

 children with more fruit during warm weather, it 

 would be much more for their health, but where 

 they have not had opportunities of becoming good 

 judges of fruit by constant acquaintance with it, 

 it should be the care of the parents to select such 

 as is of the best quality both as a matter of com- 

 fort and economy, and then allow them, unless 

 ivhen economy forbids, a full supply 



HORTICULTURAL. 



There has been exhibited at the Arcade, the 

 past week several kinds of fruits, flowers and ve- 

 getables, very fine for the season, amongst which 

 were 



Wilson's long green cucumbers, very fine, from 

 the garden of B. Hill, Esq. 



Long green cucumbers from the gardens of J. 

 Johnson and Mr. Caldwell. 



Fruit from the egg plant, from the garden of 

 C. M. Lee, Esq. 



Apricots from the gardens of H. N. Langwor 

 thy and Mr. Gifford. 



Juneating or jenetin apple from the garden of 

 S. Saxton, Esq. 



Stubbard, an apple imported by Mr. Floy, from 

 the Bristol nursery, from the garden' of J. Lan- 

 cassell. 



A collection of flowers from the garden of S. 

 Cornell, consisting of Hydrangea hortensis, dif- 

 ferent varieties of Helianthus, both annual and 

 perennial, all double and some of them very fine. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS 



Made at Silver hale, Susquchannah county, 

 Pennsylvania, by Michael Laugiiuan, gar- 

 dener, July 1831. 



From the Argue. 



ALBANY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



Eighth and ninth Exhibitions, July 26. 



6 large blood beets, 6 large red top tur- 

 nips, A peck shell beans, two specimens of 

 top onions— presented by Daniel Gilbert, 

 gardener. 



6 bow apples, 12 July pears; a fine col- 

 lection of flowers, consisting of lilium, bul- 

 liforum and tygrinum ; althea, several vari- 

 eties ; morgiana, rubra and alba, and seven 

 varieties of annuals — from the garden of D. 

 B. Slingerland. 



1 ripe watermelon 15^ pounds, 1 bell 

 squash 8 pounds, 2 citron melons, 12 tema- 

 tos, 12 sugar pears, 2 ears 72 days corn — 

 from the garden of Spencer Stafford. 



A splendid collection of flowers consist- 

 ing of twenty varieties of perennials and an- 

 nuals — from the garden of C. N. Benient. 



Premiums were awarded to Daniel Gilbert, 

 D. B. Slingerland, Spencer Stafford and C. 

 N. Bement. 



CROPS. 



Virginia. In Nottoway, Dinweddie, 



Brunswick, Luenburg, and Amelia counties, 

 wheat has suffered much, — and corn and to- 

 bacco on flats, — from 2 weeks rain. 



Kentucky. The Lexington Reporter, 



says, that wheat, Rye, and oats, have each 

 crop been a good deal injured by unfavorable 

 weather to harvest them. 



Delaware. — Deplorable accounts are received; 

 quantity and quality of wheat greatly effected. — 

 The summer freshets higher than they have been 

 for forty years. 



Maryla id. — Melancholy accounts from Row- 

 landsville. The rains have caused all the creeks 

 to overflow their banks — tore up the roads terri- 

 bly. At Hagarstown, the wheat is indifferent, 

 rye and oats good, though injured in getting them 

 secured; corn flourishing. But for a happy change 

 of weather at Frederick the crops would nearly 

 all have been destroyed ; corn looks well. From 

 the upper country and from the eastern shore, 

 things appear more favorable. 



Pennsylvania. — W T heat sprouted so much in 

 the shock and that which was lodged, that there 

 will not be enough good wheat saved throughout 

 the state for seed. 



Lower Canada. — At Quebec, the harvests 

 promise well. The Canadiuns calculate to grind 

 at least 500,000 bushels American wheat for ex- 

 port, and 2,500,000 bushels of their own raising. 

 The only complaint made in the account of wheat 

 is, that the grain is small. 



Wheat. — We learn from a good source, that in 

 consequence of the unusual quantity of bad weath- 

 er, the wheat crop in the western section of this 

 state, will fall short of an average, crop. The rust 

 has injured many fields in a serious manner; but 

 corn promises fair. 



The unfavorable wheather, says the Pal- 

 myra Sentinel, continues to be a source of 

 alarm to the Farmer. The frequency of the 

 showers of rain, has been remarkable, and 

 has already done much injury to the Wheat 

 crops, and threatens their almost entire ruin. 

 We have heard of many fields entirely de- 

 stroyed. Some have been mowed for feed 

 for cattle. 



Frederick Delano, aged 3 years, son of Mr. J 

 Delano, was drowned las! week ill Butavia. in the 

 doom of Mr. Evan's mill. 



