294 



GENESEE FARMER. 



Dec. 



to 250 feet per annum, pushing down vviih them from the 

 mountains immense masses of rock to the distance of many 

 miles into the valley. Several ages are of coui-se required 

 to accomplish this transit, but these rocks on the passage 

 have been triturated or polished lo a comparr:ive smooth- 

 ness, preseniing tlie phci)oniena of boulder clones, which 

 are entirely different from the geological foi .lutions of the 

 valleys where they have been found. 



Professor A. sl;ited that the whole valley of Switzerland 

 from the Alps to the Jura and even the highest por'.ions of 

 the latter are covered with these immt-nso boulders and 

 rocks of all size:i, consisting of granite) gneiss, limestone, 

 &.e., whose geological characler resembles precisely thai of 

 the rocky peaks of the Alps, and nowucre else to be found 

 in that portion of the country. From this he inferred that 

 at some remote period the glariers covere " this entire val- 

 ley lo the depth of 4,000 feet an , all these boulders were 

 by this means deposited by th ■ process described. This 

 may be illustrated by ihe foll-» ving diagram, a representing 

 the Alps from 11,000 to 13,0 ,0 feet in height, * the glacial 

 formation, and c the Jura range about 4,000 feet high, lo 



^ 



V 



which these boulders might easily have passed on the -ur 

 face of this immense ice field and also he deposited by the 

 melting of the ice over the entire surface of the now fertile 

 vnlley of Switzerland. — That the same causes do no; now 

 exist he attributed to the i'-.cX that the climate has mote dally 

 changed, and also that of the whole north of Europe , -that 

 the change is still progres.-jing, and the entire northr>: n por- 

 tion of the continents i)olh of Europe and America are par- 

 ^icipating in it. 



He concluded by saying that if time permitted he could 

 amply demonstrate that an analagous process to the above 

 Uad deposited masses of the rocky formation of the north 

 .n this region, and that the whole surflice of the western 

 continent presents the some arrangement of boulders, sand, 

 &c., both in the nature and formation of the Alpine valleys, 

 and must have been deposited during some remote period of 

 past ages, in the same manner as those that cover the val- 

 leys of Switzerland. 



Horticulture. — Mr. Winthrop, Speaker of 

 the House of Representatives, said, on a late oc- 

 casion : 



" Horticulture in its most comprehensive 

 sense, is emphatically the fine art of common 



life. It is eminently a republican fine art. Iti , ,. , rn- , r • •. -n 



distributes its productions with equal hand to the ! P^'^^.^^^'^'^l^ afflicts the /arming community, will 



Wire-Worms. 



Messrs. Editors : — Are you aware of any 

 effeclua! means of getting rid of these destructive 

 pests 1 The range of their operations year after 

 year is considerably on ihe increase, as the dismal 

 appearance of many of the wheat fields in this 

 vicinity bears ample evidence. We find them 

 in land which has been under the plow for three 

 or four years consecutively — ^^where the wheat 

 will not be exceedingly injured it is true, but the 

 fact demonstrates how very difficult these worms 

 are to eradicate. 



Some months since, one of your correspond- 

 ents stated that two successive crops of buck- 

 wheat has generally proved an efficient means 

 of destroying the wire- worm on lands previously 

 overrun with them. As fall plowing would 

 doubtless prove of great benefit in the premises, 

 would not land thus plowed, sown with buck- 

 wheat the middle of May and plowed under when 

 in full bloom, and agaip plowed before sowing, 

 be quite as efficacious a method as the one first 

 alluded to? The latter course, combining as it 

 does the advantages of a thorough summer fal- 

 low with keeping the ground covered with a 

 crop, growing so densely as to smother almost 

 entirely all grass and weeds, would probably 

 starve the worms out. Whether ihis process 

 will really have the desired effect, is the object 

 of the present inquiry. 1 would farther remark 

 in this connection, that in a field treated on the 

 buckwheat plan, but 7iot plowed the ftill previous, 

 the wheat is injured to some extent, showing that 

 the buckwheat, of itself, is no protection, or but 

 a partial one. 



A reply in the January number of your valu- 

 able paper, from yourselves or some of your 

 readers who have had some experience in the 

 plans tnentioned, or some other more successful 

 ones, for the extermination of one of the vilest 



rich and poor. Its implements may be wielded 

 by every arm, and its results appreciated by 

 every eye. It decorates the dwelling of the 

 humblest laborer with undoubted oiiginals, by 

 the oldest masters, and places within his daily 

 view fruit pieces such as Van Huysem never 

 painted, and landscapes such as Poussin could 

 only copy." 



Faults and Virtues. — The good man looks 

 with forbearance, the bad man with severity, on 

 the faults of others. The virtues of others 

 always excite envy in the heart of the vicious 

 man; and the respect which he sees paid to vir- 

 tue, is a thorn which rankles in his breast. 



A GOOD book and a good woman are excellent 

 things for those who know how to appreciate their 

 value. There are men, however, who judge 

 both from th6 beauty of the cover. 



be of service in this vicinity, where the matter 

 is but little understood. 



Yours very respectfully, 

 November, 1848. Niagara, Jr. 



Wk have an article in preparation for our 

 next number, on the above subject. Meantime 

 we shall be happy to receive the results of ex- 

 periments, &.C., as the subject is becoming very 

 important to wheat growers in various sections 

 of the country. 



Shelter Domestic Animals. — Warm slieds 

 and stables are to a certain degree substitutes for 

 food in maintaining animal heat. A man or 

 beast out in the cold air all winter, will consume 

 to make him comfortable more food than he will 

 if in a well tempered atmosphere. Guard, then, 

 against cold for the benefit of all that have warm 

 blood. Of course you may run into the oppo 

 site extreme. 



