THE GENESEE FARMER 



" The only person, indeed, who will have cause to 

 repine at the urrangenient now established, will be 

 the Emperor of Russia. In the return of our ves- 

 sels from these waters, he will see not only an acces- 

 sion to our naval ibrce, but a pledge of confirmed 

 cordiality between Great JJritain and America. That 

 such cordiality may long continue, must be the wish 

 of all those who desire tlie peaco und progress of the 

 world; nor could any step be takc^n more judiciously 

 with a view to such an cud, than that exemplified in 

 the treaty jist concluded." 



^ The agricultural progress of all that speak the 

 English language in Nor^i America is intimately 

 associated with, and dependent on, a wise and liberal 

 foreign policy. Such a policy this journal has long 

 aimtd to foster in the minds of its numerous readers 

 in the United States and the British American 

 Provinces. In the face of the Reciprocity Treaty, 

 Avheat is now selling in Rochester at two "dollars a 

 bushel, of which over 20,000 bushels are daily manu- 

 factured into flour. Our Canada friends will find this 

 a good market for most of their surplus produce. 

 Between the depot at Rochester and that at J-^rsey 

 City, there is no change of cars via the New York 

 and Erie Railroad, with its wide track and heavy lo- 

 comotives. 



LETTER FROM OREGON. 



Mr. Editor: — A few remarks in relation to our 

 farming operations here on the Pacific coast may not 

 be uninteresting to some of your many readers. 



We have just got through with harvest. There 

 has been probably twice as much wheat raised this 

 season as in any season before in Oregon ; but not 

 many oats, on account of the hard winter and back- 

 ward spring. 



There is considerable smut in the wheat this har- 

 vest ; but I think it will be prevented next year, as 

 mostof the farmers talk of washing their wheat in a 

 solution of vitriol (sulphate of copper) — one pound 

 to eight bushels of wheat — and then letting it lie in 

 a pile eight or ten hours. This method proved entirely 

 satisfactory last season, as far as I have heard. 



There is no country in the world where deep plow- 

 ing and thorough pulverization of the soil pay better 

 than in Oregon. We have but two seasons here — the 

 wet and the dry. There is usually but little rain 

 through the mouths of June, July, August and Sep- 

 tember ; but it is surprising to see how all kinds of 

 vegetables, and corn, will grow on ground that has 

 been plowed deep and well pulverized, without a drop 

 of rain for five or six weeks. 



_ We can raise good corn here with proper cultiva- 

 tion, and the finest potatoes and wheat in the world. 

 Wheat is sown from the first of May till the mid- 

 dle of February following. The finest crops of wheat 

 I have seen here were those sown in May and June ; 

 but the general time for sowing wheat is in Septem- 

 ber and October, immediately after the rains com- 

 mence. Oats are very often sown in the fall, and :\s 

 a general thing they do the best when sown in that 

 season; but last winter was too severe for them — most 

 of them froze out. 



Wheat is worth $2 per bushel — potatoes $1.25 — 

 9fid other things in proportion. So you can see how 



farming pays here, when I tell you that forty bu^-hels 

 of wheat and five hundred of potatoes can be raised 

 to the acre. 



The rains usually commence in So})tember, when 

 the grass turns green again; and by the lOlh of No- 

 vember the hills arc green with grass, v.liich generally 

 stays green all winter, and is sufficient for the cattle 

 during the winter without any provender — though 

 last winter and the winter before were unusually se- 

 vere for Oregon, and some cattle died for the want of 

 food. Yet others did well, as I had over thirty cows 

 that were not fed a mouthful during the winter, and in 

 March last most of them would have made good beef. 



Formerly more attention was paid to raising cattle 

 in Oregon than to agriculture; but as the large tracts 

 of land granted to settlers are now being rapidly 

 fenced in, persons are compelled to keep less stock, 

 and consequently agriculture is beginning to receive 

 more attention. We have Agricultural Societies 

 formed in nearly every county in the territory. Every 

 thing in relation to agriculture now appears to be 

 progressing in a scientific and systematic manner ; 

 and being more favored than our "golden-haired sis- 

 ter," California, in relation to our land titles, as we 

 have, or will have in a short time, undisputed titles to 

 our land, there is great attention paid to the raising 

 of fruit. I think I never was in a country where 

 there was as much attention paid to the raising of 

 fruit by the masses as in Oregon. 



But what we need more than any thing else here, 

 is a good agricultural and horticultural journal, con- 

 ducted on liberal and scientific principles, as there is 

 no paper in the territoay devoted to the interests of 

 the largest class of persons — the farmers. I tliiuk 

 such a journal would meet with a warm reception, 

 and a hearty support. I do think some competent 

 and enterprising young man would do well by starting 

 such a journal in Oregon. More anon. 



Yours, truly, Philip Ritz. 



P. S. — As we have many flowers, shrubs and trees 

 here that I have never seen east of the Cascade and 

 Sierra Nevada range, I send you some seeds that I 

 think will grow well in the Northern States. There 

 are some beautiful wild flowers here'. 



No. 1 is a beautiful yellow flower. 



No. 2 is a singular white and purple flower. 



No. 3 is a rich, red berry, somewhat resembling the 

 raspberry. P. R. 



CoRVALLis, Oregon, Aug. 5, 1854. 



The best Mode of Applying Guano. — We have 

 printed a good deal on this subject, and will add the 

 following from the Farm Journul, which we fully 

 approve of: "We recommend that it be plowed in 

 as soon as possible after being spread, its most valua- 

 ble constituent, the volatile carbonate of ansmonia, 

 being dissipated and lost by long exposure to the 

 atmosphere. In cases where it has been profitably 

 applied as a top-dressing, it has probably been chiefly 

 owing to particular circumstances, such as a wet spell 

 of weather, or immediately preceding a fall of rain. 

 There is very little danger of covering too deep. We 

 have known it plowed in, and the ground subsoiled at 

 the same time, with marked benefit." — Germaiiluwn 

 Tekgraph. 



