878 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Dec. 



«; 



of ihc CNprnsp altoniling llic employment of iliis mnchine, 

 we m-iv state tlifit the cost of {Wowing 24 iicres with it is 

 ciilcuhiieii at only iwt> lOs., wliiie, if horses were used, the 

 evpense would be £J:i 12s., being a balance of £2 Kis. in fa- 

 vi>r of stc::m power. 'I'ho experiment was made by Lord 

 \\'iiiongli!)y d'ilrs'jy, who has for a considerahlo period been 

 en'!ea\oriiig'to iiitroduee the system of plowing by steam. — 

 li'/ll P.v.ket. 



A fiirihrr experiment has been made, and Lord Willoiigli- 

 by d'Jursljy will shortly invite the committee of the Royal 

 A"{;ricnltural Society to witness the result of his experiments. 

 — t>heffield Times. 



SrKAM I'l-owiNGiN ]v\sT Lothian. — The subject of steam 

 plovxing has for some time past engaged the attention of the 

 Manji:is of TwfeJdalc, who has been long kno-.vn for the at- 

 teni'.on ho has so succi'ssfully bestowed upon agricultural 

 nli'airs, and indeed for the indefatigable zeal with which he 

 prosecutes almost every branch of science or art which he 

 *inakes his study. His h'rdship has at length succeeded in 

 liringing to a great degree of perfection a steam plow, wiiii 

 which some interesting experiments have just been made. 

 Without entering into minute technical explanations, we 

 may state the general principle of action as follows : A loco- 

 motive engine is stationed at each end of the (ield, and mov- 

 ctl as the furrows are completed. The plows, having the 

 Tweeddale mould-board, are fixed on both sides of a frame 

 (the upper being of course reversed) which is turned over at 

 the end of each set of furrows, for the purpose of performing 

 the same operation on its return. 'J'ho implement hag been 

 ftirly tested at Yester, the seat oi the RL'.rquis in Hadding- 

 tons'hiri*, asid performed its work beautifully. On Saturday 

 last, one engine was in use as a primary trial, when the 

 plow h-ame was conveyed on lini;-liing each set of furrows, 

 to the other end of the tield, and the land plowed at the rate 

 of ilireo and a half miles an hour. On iMonday, his lordship 

 had two engines on the field, with the plows constantly at 

 work between them. The operation of turning the frame at 

 the end of the furrow is very perfect, and the success of the 

 whole aQ'aJr undoiditcd, the calculation of work dono being 

 at the rate of 15 acres per diem. There were present on the 

 field, in addiiioft to his lordship's family, Lords Brougham. 

 KIcho, and Cawdor, the Hon. Capt. Gray, Mr. Lawson, of 

 Kdinhurgh. and ^Mr. Biitler, of Faskally, Sir John Gordon 

 Sinclair, and .Sir George tirant Suttie, besides several of the 

 neighboring farmers, who all expressed ihcir admiration at 

 kis lordship's successful endeavors in this most important 

 npplic.ition of steam power. A- good deal of practical criii- 

 ci.sm was elicited ; and we believe the .Marquis, who has al- 

 ways been ready to avail himself of such, still intends making 

 ccrtjui improvements. — iScaUmaii. 



EAT -PROOF GRANARY. 



Eds. Gen. Farmer : — A correspondent of yours wri- 

 tinor from Waukcsiia, Wis., asks for inlorrnation in 

 relation to the construction of a " Rat-proof Grana- 

 ry." Now I am not ambitious to have my name 

 appear in public print, but I think I can inform your 

 correspondent how he can build a granary that will 

 keep in the grain and keep out "the rats." Toil him 

 in the lir.^t place, to plank it with incli and a half hem- 

 lock piank, with tigiit joints ; batten tha cracks, or 

 clapboard, as best suits ills taste ; lay a tight floor of 

 hemlock inch b >ards, an.l cover this floor half an inch 

 tliick with lime mortar, and then lay another floor of 

 inch boards while the mortar i.s soft and nail thom 

 down wcdl ; this insures the bottom of his granary. 

 Pat up the bins ne.xt, one across the batk end four 

 fo -t wide, and one on each side of the same wiJlli, 

 Having four feet space in the centre for an alley and 

 dour way. (Tliis plan is for twelve feet square : he 

 can alter the dimensions to suit his wants.) After 

 this is all done, lath the walls and overhead plaster 

 them with rnortar made of lime and cuarse sand. Put 

 a window in the back side, if he wishes ; nail some 

 tin around the casings, also around the casings of thp 

 door. A granary ctinslructud in this manner will, I 

 think, be sufliciently '-Rat-proof" for all practical 

 purpusjs. J. C. Bates. — Sheridan, Oct., 1851. 



POTATO MALADY. 



Therr is an old saying — "Every thing must liave 

 its day." Several years ago I advanced the opinion, 

 that the potato disease would eventually disappear of 

 itself. I still think so, although the evil seems to 

 prolong its stay apparently " beyond the appointed 

 time." I argue from analogy, thus : Epio mics are 

 periodica], whether they fall on man or heart. This 

 needs neither argument nor illuslrntion. -'ests, in 

 the shape of insects are periodically more trouble- 

 some and destructive than ordinary in one year, and 

 then less so in another. I have known seasons in 

 which they existed in overwhelming numbers, fol- 

 lowed by one of almost entire freedom from. all such 

 annoyances. An example of this kind is now before 

 me : Last year, and several years previous, my peas 

 were full of bugs, scarcely one ercaped ; this year 

 not a bug is to be seen, although I planted earlier 

 than last year. The weevil in wheat first appeared 

 in the Eastern States. It is now traveling to the 

 West, and wheat begins again to be raised in the 

 East. 



InUieyear 1742, a disease similar to the present 

 potato blight destroyed tlie potato crop in Ireland. 

 This, it may be said, was confined, so far as is now 

 known, to a single season, while the present evil has 

 continued for years. True, but it ap].icars now to be 

 diminishing, and may have nearly "run its race" in 

 this part of the country. The great Providenl,ial re- 

 striction, •'Hitherto slialt thou come, but no further," 

 seems applicable to all natural and physical evils ; 

 and I know not»why the potato malady should be aa 

 exception. (See closing paragraph of this article). 



If this view of the subject be incorrect, there is 

 another that may be taken, viz.: That the evil must 

 either be regarded as a judgment or chastisement ; 

 or be designed to lead to investigation for the purpose 

 of discovering some important physical truth ; or to 

 carry out the original declaration concerning man ; 

 or to drive him from the use of the potato to some- 

 thing better. 



1st. As a chastisement, a judgment. That physi- 

 cal or natural evils are sometimes to be regarded in 

 the light of judgments, there can be no reasonable 

 doubt : but there seems no valid reason why the po- 

 tato blight should be so regarded, any more than why 

 the rust on wheat, or the weevil, the blight on fruit 

 trees, &c., should be regarded as such. This idea 

 then cannot be separately admitteJ, as all these evils 

 are of a kindred character. 



2nd. Invtsligation for the. purpose of lending to 

 the discover/ of some important physical or uaLural 

 truth. Whctiicr there was any providential de.sign 

 in the matter, or not, it is well known that the vision- 

 ary investigations of Alchymy laid the foundation 

 for the science of Chemistry : and many of the inven- 

 tions and discoveries of molern times have resulted 

 from investigations pursued for other purposes. Is 

 there yet any important natural law, or physical 

 truth, now unknown, wiiich would be likely to be dis- 

 covered by the investigation of the potato blight! 

 Let us consider the subject. 



3d. To cum/ out the original declaration concern- 

 ing mm — " In the sweat uf ihi/ face shall thou eat 

 bread." It may be that, amid all ihj improvements 

 in modern life, life is in danger of being loo easily 

 supported ; that man is in danger of degeneracy for 

 want of- employment ; and hence it is neccssaiy to 

 furnish additional calls for industry by rendering the 



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