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THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Dec. 



OVEU PRODUCTION. 



StPPOPK every farmer in the United States shqjild adopt the 

 phm luiil ili)un by yourself, the consequence would ho 

 doiible crops, iScc., and there is more raised now than the 

 fanunr can sell at a fair price. — //. Genesee Farmer, Vol. 

 12, p. ^229. 

 O.v lliis subjpct 1 wish to make a few remarks : 



Irt. One oi" the grcate.st objections to the present 

 s}stcm of farming, is the cultivation of too much 

 lanil. Many seem to think that ''great and succcs- 

 ful rarniiiig" consists in having many and great fields 

 iinJor cuUivation. Ilcnce tlie object seems to be to 

 e.xtoiid thvir fields and farms indefinitely. The evils 

 of tliis course are numerous : First, Comparatively 

 more labor for comparatively less product. Second, 

 Del'ective cultivation, and consequently deficient 

 crop.?. Third, The exhaustion of a greater extent 

 of iand. Fourth, The necessity of clearing a great- 

 er amount of land, and consequently the waste of a 

 greater amount of timber, fee, &c. Hence, 



2d. Suppo.-e the same amount of labor and manure 

 to be expended on one-half of the present area of 

 land, in such a way as to obtain a product equal to 

 what is now obtained from the whole, what would 

 be th? result ? All the aforementioned evils would 

 be avoided. One half the laud would be left in its 

 original virgin state, for the future use of the owner 

 or iiis children. Half theamountof timber thatis now 

 recklessly, aiul I might say wickedly wasted, would be 

 saved to posterity, v.-iio according to present manage- 

 ment, are likely to surfe/ from our cruel extravagance. 

 3d. As the amount of labor required would proba- 

 bly not equal that now expended, some portion of 

 time would be left to the farmer for his own social, 

 moral, and mental improvement ; a consideration of 

 no little importance. How many farmers now have 

 no time for anything but their daily labors, and how 

 few are properly enlif'-tened even in the proper busi- 

 ness of their pru«"-;-i.on. Hence, 



4th. Tbere -.uld be little danger of a superabund- 

 ance of >'"«juce. The farmer would be faithfully 

 and onV, at)ly employed as now, his products the 

 sa'T._, and liis farm in better condition for himselt 

 u.rA (ar better for the country and for posterity. 



Farmers, try it, and see if it does not prove true. 

 Yju can not lose much — you may gain much. H. — 

 Dijuii East, Oct., 1851. 



"THE CAUSE" AGAIN. — ''THE REMEDY." 



I ruLLY concur in the sentiment "that agriculture 

 has been too much neglected in this country, fcc," 

 and as fully believe that that neglect has consisted 

 more in the manner in which it has been conducted, 

 tlian in the want of labor expended. And I believe 

 it both on account of what I have seen and what I 

 have heard ; for although not now a farmer, (would 

 that I were,) yet I was brought up a farmer, and 

 have long observed the operations of farmers. I be- 

 lieve I gave the principal "Causes" in the Septem- 

 ber number of your excellent paper, page 211. To 

 the.se I now add the general desire of our farmers to 

 erdarge their possessions, to the neglect of improving 

 well what they have ; and the greater ease with which 

 great crops are obtained from new lands, than from 

 old. Both the.se caii.=es have produced their effects. 

 "TuK Rkmedy." — The remedies are chiefly two : 

 1st. ''.Mure light.'' I know we call ourselves en- 

 lightened, but the light is general — i. «., as a nation 

 we are comparatively au intelligent people ; educa- 



tion is general ; and yet how maoy there are who 

 are very ignorant on almost every subject. So with 

 farming. How few, comparatively, know anything 

 more about farming than simply the mechanical part 

 — plow, soil', reap — and this very imperfectly. How 

 few read, or are willing to read, anything on the 

 subject of their calling. Hence the need of more 

 light, a light that shall enlighten all. 



2d. A''ecessili/. Improvements are generally slow, 

 and especially when they interfere with our usual 

 habits, or when we do not believe them to be improve- 

 ments, (such is the condition of many farmers,) and 

 seldom adopted till necessity compels. This neces- 

 sity is beginning to be felt. Hence we begin to 

 witness some improvei.ients. Let this necessity 

 continue, and improvement will be more and more 

 manifest. H. — Oct., 1851. 



VALUE or ASHES. 



Eds. Gen. Farmer : — As a slight return for the 

 many benefits received at the hands of yourselves and 

 correspondents, I beg leave to lay before your read- 

 ers the following statement of facts. 



On the 25th of last April I planted one-half acre 

 of potatoes on ground that had been manured and 

 broken up a short time previous. The potatoes were 

 dropped in the first four rows, and the ashes applied 

 by the handful to the hill at the rate of fourteen 

 bushels to the acre, and then covered as usual. The 

 next four rows were not ashed ; the same alternation 

 was continued through the whole piece. During the 

 growth of the vines, the appearance was decidedly in 

 favor of the ashed rows. The '-blight" struck them 

 the 6th of August. On the 3d of October I dug 

 eight rows ; the four which were ashed yielded six 

 bushels, and the four which were not ashed yielded 

 throe bushels, and those from the ashed rows were 

 much superior in quality. This gave three bushels 

 of potatoes for one of ashes. Potatoes are now worth 

 from 372 cts. to 50 cts. per bushel. Perhaps 1 should 

 observe that the kind planted, is known in these 

 "diggins" by the name of " l)oor-yards." There 

 was not a dozen rotten ones in either case. John, 

 VV. DouBLEDAY. — East Scott, JS". Y., Oct., 1851. 



WASHING WHEAT. 



Eds. Gen. Farmer : — As most farmers who sow 

 spring wheat (and nearly all sow it here) are obliged 

 to wash it, or u.se some other means to keep it clean 

 from oats and foul seeil.--, I send you my method of 

 washing, which you can publish if you think it wor- 

 thy a place in your valuable paper. It is as follows : 

 I take about three pecks of wheat and put it into 

 a common wash-tub, then fill it with water, and after 

 stirring it up well take off the oats and other foul 

 seeds that rise to the surface ; but as a gooJ many 

 of the oats will not rise to the surface of the water, 

 many find it difficult to separate them from the wheat. 

 I do it in the following manner : — After stirring it 

 up well from the bottom, the oats will be found to bo 

 on and near the top of the wheat ; then with a small 

 paddle or stick stir around the outside of the tub, so 

 as to give the water a rotary motion, when the oata 

 will be seen to gather in a heap at the centre of the 

 tub ; remove them, and stir as before until all arc re- 

 moved. Wheat can be washed much cleaner in this 

 way than it can in any other I ever saw tried. H. 

 Thornton. — Yorkshire, JV. Y.,Aug., 1851. 



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