3«4 



THE GENi-SEE FARMER 



November 19. 1831. 



COMMUMI \ ONS 



FOR THE GENESEE FARMER. 



THE MAN ROOT. 



The ,: Man root" is without doubt the Convol- 

 vulus panduraius. It is cultivated in several 

 gardens in this vicinity; and I have a variety 

 with double flowers, an offset of which I should 

 be glad to send to the Editor of the Genesee Far- 

 mer. It has been in bloom a long time during 

 this season. — 



THE SWEET POTATO. 

 The sweet potato was successfully cultivated 

 perhaps more than thirty years ago by Samuel 

 Falkcnburg, of Romulus, Seneca county. The 

 only difficulty he found was in preserving the 

 :; slips" through the winter; and when these per- 

 ished, in procuring others from the south, in time 

 for planting. Since those days, however, the fa- 

 cilities of intercourse with distant places, have 

 greatly increased. 



I had long wished to cultivate this plant, but 

 had failed in some attempts to procure the "seed." 

 Most unexpectedly last spring, G. T., of Owas- 

 co, generously sent me a supply. Without delay, 

 I placed them in a hot-bed ; and by the time the 

 warm season was confirmed, I had sprouts in 

 plenty for my purpose. My success has been ve- 

 ry encouraging. On opening a hill at the request 

 of a friend, he exclaimed, " This sight is worth 

 five dollars ! lam now satisfied that we can raise 

 our own sweet potatoes." One weighed twenty 

 ounces. 



The soil in which these grew is not such as I 

 prefer ; and I have been much gratified with the 

 still better success of my friend, Dr. S. Mbsher, 

 of Union Springs. In his garden, one slip pro- 

 duced eleven pounds. The largest potato weigh- 

 ed two pounds ten ounces, and another two pounds 

 six ounces. The soil is a sandy loam, which 

 was dressed with well rotted manure in the spring. 

 Muck from the woods, mixed with common 

 earth, in equal portions, firms a very light rich 

 soil; but in this, the sweet potatoes thou nh nu- 

 merous and well shaped, were small. Unques- 

 tionably, a sandy soil is the b ' 



The red sweet potato is the kind we have both 

 tied; but I observe that //. G. Spafford 

 in No. 6 of this journal says, " The whitt 

 earliest and the best for our climate." Again iii 

 No 18, he adds, "Two years experience satisfies 

 me that the while sweet potato is preferable for 

 this climate and my soil. — The crop here is dou- 

 ble in quantity, and the potato no way inferior in 

 quality." Dr. M'Chesney prefers the red and y< !- 

 low to the white j but the climate of his i 

 varies considerably from ours. D. T. 



P. S. The editor of the New Englan 

 er, says, " No economical method of preserving 

 the slips for seed during the winter in New Eng- 

 land, has yet been discovered to our knowledge." 

 Last winter Dr. Moster kept the slips which 

 produced the potatoes above mentioned, in dry 

 sand, in a warm place. Small slender potatoes of 

 (he thickness of one's finger, or even less, are 

 preferred. Those have less surface exposed than 

 large potatoes, and a fur less quantity of succu- 

 lent matter, liable to damage and decay. 



1,3G0,850,407,1U8 gallons are yearly evaporated 

 from the earth and sea. Of course, that quantity 

 of rain, snow, sleet, and hail,, must f*B> 



FOR THE CENESEE FARMER. 



ORNAMENTAL TREES. 



In addition to the list of ornamental trees con- 

 tained in your 93d page, allow me to recommend 

 the Cucumber Tree. It is a species of Magnolia, 

 known in Botany as theM. acuminata. It is ve- 

 ry common about Cleveland, and in many other 

 parts of the Reserve. It resembles the white woo' I 

 or poplar ( Linodendron) more than any other tree ; 

 is as tall, not quite so large, with a smoother bark, 

 and is found in a similar soil. The flower is not 

 so conspicuous, but its abundant scarlet fruit, of 

 the size andfoim of a small cucumber, is highly 

 ornamental, as are also its very large shining 

 leaves. There is no cleaner tree, and its stately 

 form and beautiful foliage recommend it in my 

 view as the finest native tree of this climate, for 

 lawns and avenues. E. Y. 



Cleveland. 



FOR THE GENESEE FARMER. 



PROTECTION OF GARDENS. 



If some of your legal friends will furnish you 

 for publication a brief abstract of your laws under 

 the revised system, for the protection of your gar- 

 dens and orchards, he might render an essential 

 service for the direction of your New- York read- 

 ers, and for the instruction of legislators in other 

 states. In Ohio, the law gives us practically no 

 protection. To plunder gardens, orchards, corn- 

 fields, or woodland, is not a penal offence. The 

 sufferer may commence an action of trespass, and 

 in nine cases out of ten, he will have the costs to 

 pay. So great is the evil in many villages, as to 

 render it useless to attempt the cultivation of th e 

 finer fruits. Imprisonment for debt is virtually a- 

 bolished. By our law, any person in custody up- 

 on mesne or final process in any civil action, shall 

 be forthwith discharged on taking an oath that he- 

 lias no property liable to execution. The busi- 

 ness is done in five minutes. The greater part of 

 the population of any village may every day and 

 hour go with impunity, into a neighbor's land, and 

 take, at pleasure, fruit, corn, or timber, and set the 

 owner at defiance. The only remedy is, an ap- 

 peal to Lynch's law, or the law of force. Z. 



Oh 



FOR THE GENESEE PARMER. 



MILITARY TRAININGS, No. 3. 



The question in regard to the injustice of the 

 military tax, we stated in our last number, 1 1 

 ded entirely upon the utility of the militia system 

 It wns conceded that the only point, was whether 

 the public good required the contimi 

 system. In discussing this bianeh of lip 



ball in the first place, contend that there is no 

 longer any necessity or occasion for the exaction 

 of Military duty, with reference to the internal con- 

 dition, and to till external relations of our country. 

 The reasons which led at first to the establishment 

 of the militia system, no longor exist — our gov- 

 ernment was then in its infancy. We were sur- 

 rounded by numerous hostile ti ibi s of Inchs 

 were liable to be engaged in war with several ol 

 the European nations. A seven years war had 

 reduced us to poverty, and involved us in debt. — 

 Our population was tein, and scattered over a vast 

 extent of territory — and it became a matter of ne- 

 cessity to provide for the common defence by famil- 

 iarizing our citizens to arms and military disci- 



pline. Anterior to our revolution, the frequent in- 

 roads of the Indians upon our settlements, and the 

 barbarous cruelties committed by them, compelled 

 the inhabitants to be constantly armed, and to per- 

 form alternately the duties of a soldier and a hus- 

 bandman. Hence,itwas supposed by the foundersQf 

 the Federal Government, that it was necessary te 

 establish a general militia system for mutual pro- 

 tection and defence — and indeed the exigences of 

 the times demanded some such provision for the 

 security of our new inland settlements. 



But the case is now greatly altered. We have 

 become a populous, wealthy and powerful nation 

 We have a small standing army, and a respecta- 

 ble and growing navy. We have fortifications 

 and garrisons at all important posts. We have 

 arsenels in all parts of thecountry filled with arms 

 and military stores. We have military schools fit- 

 ting young men for the command of our armies, 

 whenever we shall need their services. We are 

 at peace with all the world. Our local advantages 

 and internal resources are such that there is no na- 

 tion that will be anxious to make war upon us„ 

 and there is none near us hardy enough to attempt 

 it. The Indian tribes we have cither civilized 

 entirely out of the way, or are rapidly accomplish- 

 ing the work. The policy of our nation is to be 

 at peace with all mankind, and there is not the 

 most distant probability that our friendly relations 

 with other nations will be interrupted perhaps for 

 centuries. Tl. current public sentiment through- 

 out the civilized world is opposed to war — and 

 the cultivation of a martial spirit is very general- 

 ly condemned and reprobated by all enlightened 

 Christian nations. S. 



MR. CHAPIN'S ADDRESS. 



I'otict id el I'ntni pagl 



The soil and climate of the United States, 

 experiment has abundantly proved, are well 

 adapted to the culture of the vine, and the 

 efforts now making to establish vineyards in 

 the different sections of the country, will 

 result, in a few years it is confidently ex- 

 pected, in affording a competent supply of 

 wholesome wines for domestic consumption. 

 Among the indigenous vines of the United 

 States, from which good wines have already 

 been made, are, the Scuppernong, Isabella, 

 Schuylkill and Catawba. A single vine of 

 the Scuppernong, a native of North Caroli- 

 na, has been known to produce a ton of 

 grapes in one year, which yielded eight bar- 

 ids of wine. Wine made from the Schuyl- 

 kill grape, at a vineyard in the. District of 

 Columbia, President Jefferson pronounced 

 ■ worthy the best vineyards of France. "— 

 The opinion of this keen observer of nature, 

 and patron of science, i-, upon this subject, 

 entitled to the highest regard, from the fact, 

 that added to the other sources of his infor- 

 mation and large experience, in the sum- 

 met of 1787, while Embassador at the Court 

 of St Cloud, he made a tour of obsen ation 

 through the departments of France, and the 

 north of Italy, devoted to the culture of the 

 vine and the olive. Chainpaigne wine has 

 been made from the Slimier grape, at a vine- 

 yard near Georgetown, which was pronoun- 

 ced, by French gentlemen, the best they had 

 drank out of France. 



A competent supply of native wine would 

 relieve this country from a heavy annual ex- 

 penditure for the foreign article. The Uni» 

 led Slates ought, in all respects, tp be indc 



