Vol. 1.— No. 36. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



285 



FOR THE GENESEE FARMER. ~ 



NEW THRESHING MACHINE. 



Messrs. L. Tucker & Co. — Feeling a deep 

 interest in every subject tending to promote the 

 prosperity of this wheat growing country, I can- 

 not refrain from offering a few remarks on a new 

 threshing machine lately put into operation on 

 the farm of G. C. Latta, Esq. at the mouth of 

 Genesee river. Mr. Latta is a well known mer- 

 chant, and I may add without flattery to him, an 

 extensive and scientific farmer, and always ready 

 to patronize any real improvement in agricultural 

 science. His wheat field this year of about 100 

 acres, has yielded about 2000 bushels of as fine 

 and plump grain as has ever been produced in 

 this country. Rufus Beach, Esq. of this village, 

 having put into operation a n> w threshing ma- 

 chine on this farm, and from a report of its suc- 

 cessful operation, I was induced to visit it. The 

 machine itself occupies but a small space, much I 

 less than a common fanning mill. The horse 

 power by which it is driven stands out side of 

 the barn under a shed, and is driven by four hor- j 

 ses, and when upon a walk drives the cylinder of 

 the machine from 12 to 1500 revolutions per min- 

 ute, by the watch ; it cleaned in ten minutes 50 

 sheaves of wheat in the most perfect manner. — 

 If the machine could be fed for a whole day with 

 the same rapidity this might be assumed as a da- 

 ta for a day's work ; and it appeared to be fully 

 established that the quantity of wheat which can 

 be threshed in a day is only limited by the num- 

 ber of sheaves which an able bodied man can take 

 up and place in the hopper of the machine, after 

 they are unbound and placed within his reach by 

 another person. It passes through almost in the 

 twinkling of an eye. The straw leaves the ma- 

 chine uncut, and very little disfigured, but falls 

 promiscuously in a heap 8 or 10 feet in front of 

 the machine. So perfect was the operation that 

 on examining the heads of the straw after thev 

 had passed through, they appeared nearly as per- 

 fect as before, yet not a grain of wheat was left 

 in the head. This was the white flint wheat and 

 rather damp. 



The machine is strong, and from the simplici- 

 ty of its construction, would require but little re- 

 pair for years. The cost of a machine with the 

 necessary gearing for a horse power as I am in- 

 formed is $125. 



It is but a few years since threshing machines 

 were attempted to be introduced, and at first they 

 where so faulty, both in the plan and workman- 

 ship, and so many failures had followed great 

 promises, that the farmers had little confidence left 

 in their utility ; but continued exertion has final- 

 ly overcome every difficulty — the wheat grower 

 will reap the advantages — it enables him at once 

 to choose his maket, and if the expense of a ma- 

 chine is too great for our small farmers, a few in 

 the same neighborhood can unite to receive its 

 advantages. 4 



It is supposed that three horses will be sufficient 

 to drive the machine after the gearing has be- 

 come smooth and well fitted by a little wear — ■ 

 oxen also were used with equal success. W. 



To the Editor. — On reading over my commu- 

 nication in your last Farmer, I have discovered an 

 error of mine, which I find on reference to my' 

 rough draft was copied incorrectly. The error 

 consists in the advantage of having the yarn four 



weeks earlier for the weaver. This you will per- 

 ceive should be 16, which in a manufacturing 

 point of view is of primary importance. I should 

 like a notice of the error in your next. 



A CONSTANT READER. 



FOR THE OENESEE FARMER. 



The " speck of war" in the direction of our good 

 city (New- York), seems to increase ; or rather, 

 there are two specks. I had just disposed of one 

 adventurer in the New- York Farmer, when the 

 worthy and truly respectable Editor of that paper, 

 apparently catching the spirit of reproach from his 

 correspondent, also advanced to the charge. This 

 movement was totally unexpected ; and I cannot 

 persuade myself that it has proceeded from an un- 

 biassed operation of his own mind. 



Several gentlemen of great respectability at dif- 

 ferent, times and in different parts of the country 

 had remarked to me that a considerable portion of 

 the reports of our Horticultural Societies, was too 

 vague and indefinite to give any correct idea of 

 the articles exhibited. In conformity to these welt 

 founded complaints, I have therefore endeavored 

 to point out some of the most prominent deficien- 

 cies, certainly with no unfriendly feelings to any 

 person ; and not without a hope that it would stim- 

 ulate some of our eastern brethren to bestow a lit- 

 tle more culture on their minds as well as on their 

 gardens. How these strictures have been receiv- 

 ed at Albany and Troy, I have not heard. Of 

 one writer in the New-York Fanner, the readers 

 of this journal, have had notice ; and I will now 

 lay before them the manner in which I have been 

 received by another. 



" It is not unfrequently the case that a plant is 

 ' exhibited, the specificname of which,none at the 

 ' exhibition positively know; and in this case, the 

 ' genus only is given, that such a one as " &." 

 " may have sufficient occasion to become bewilder- 

 " ed in conjecture." — That the balance of our wor- 

 thy editor's mind, has not been well preserved on 

 this occasion is sufficiently evident ; and I am sat- 

 isfied that his good sense will never permit him to 

 repeat such a sentiment in his cooler moments. 



" With respect for the motives of Q., (he contin- 

 ues) we cannot but think that the organ of hyper- 

 criticism is disproportionably large, or that he is 

 very ignorant of the heterogeneous nature of our 

 societies, and the manner in which they are con- 

 ducted, and of the difficulties attending the correct- 

 ing of the press." 



I have been a corrector of the press ; and know 

 that its difficulties, great as they are, may be over- 

 come ; for compositors are not more intractable 

 than other people ; and' when they perceive that 

 an Editor is particular, and that they gain noth- 

 ing by negligence, they will also become particu- 

 lar. 



Neither am I very ignorant of the heterogene- 

 ous nature of Horticultural Societies, having par- 

 ticipated in their deliberations, and also in the offi- 

 cial duties of Exhibition-Days. I have not been 

 so unreasonably exact as my antagonists pretend. 

 I have recommended well known English names 

 for common plants; and of others, the native local- 

 ity, or the time of introduction may be given, even 

 if the specific name was not positively known. 

 But many flowers only require to be numbered 

 (not named) as parts of a bouquet or collection. I 

 dislike the pretence of giving a name token no 

 (proper) name is given 



If 1 have complained when there was no cause 

 of complaint, then my organ of hyper-criticism 

 may be too large ! But if I have only pointed to 

 mistakes and omissions which obscured and ren- 

 dered of no value the reports in question, — then I 

 would recommend to our worthy Editor to exam- 

 ine his own organ, and calmly to consider wheth- 

 er the charge of hyper-criticism may not lie at his 

 own door. Q. 



FOR THE GENESEE FARMER. 



PARASITIC PLANT. 



I have waited in hopes that some " Professor ol 

 Botany" in compliance with the Editor's request, 

 would give us some observations on the " Para- 

 sitic Plant" mentioned in No. 27 of this journal ; 

 but as nothing of this kind has appeared, perhaps 

 I may be indulged with a few remarks on the 

 subject. 



I have no doubt that the plant in question is O- 

 robanchc americana. Ncttall in speaking of 

 the species of this genus collectively, says, "Herb- 

 " aceous and subcarnose plants, destitute of ver- 

 " dure, mostly brownish or approaching to white, 

 "parasitic upon t/te roots of plants." And in re- 

 gard to the " beech drops" (Orobanche Virginia^ 

 na L. Epifagus americana N.) he says, " parasi- 

 ic only upon the roots of the beech." If each of 

 those species, like the " beech drops," is confined 

 to only one kind of plant, then a very interesting 

 question arises, — What are the plants on which 

 these different species are parasitic? Botanists, 

 so far as I know, have not determined this point 

 in regard to the four remaining species of Oroban- 

 che which are indigenous to the United States. 



About eight years ago I was led to suspect that 

 O. americana was exclusively confined to the roots 

 of the red oak ( Que reus rubra.) Since that time 

 when traversing the woods, I have omitted no op- 

 portunity to extend my observations respecting 

 this subject, and I have not yet found one of those 

 plants except within a few feet of a red oak. I 

 have also taken up the roots, and have found this 

 parasite perfectly engrafted. D. T. 



Greatfield, Cayuga co. 8 mo. 20, 1831. 



FOR THE GENESEE FARMER. 



The writer of the following interesting notice 

 was lately on a visit in Cayuga county. It is 

 copied from a letter dated Warminster, (Buck's 

 co. Pa.) 7 mo. 7, 1831 ; and there are many read- 

 ers of the Genesee Farmer, travelling through the 

 country, who could with very little trouble to them- 

 selves," and with very considerable pleasure to us, 

 write similar paragraphs. To young men more 

 particularly such a practice would be very useful, 

 by fixing their attention on proper objects, by ex- 

 tending their knowledge of the resources of out 

 country, and by improving them in composition. 



D. T. 



" I came by the Delaware Water Gap where 

 the rocks are piled up it is said more than 1200 

 feet high. At Slateford, 3 miles below the Gap 

 and 20 miles above Easton, James M. Porter has 

 a manufactory of Cyphering Slates. The labor 

 is nearly all performed by means of water-power 

 machinery ; they smooth and frame a slate in two 

 minutes ready for sale ; and the workmanship is 

 superior to that of the imported slates. The qual- 

 ity of the slate is about equal to the best Welsh, 

 and superior to the German. They made at this 

 place last year 4200 dozen of slates, and expect to 



