46 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



The remark of the Express^ that "Jonathan can 

 never succeed in learning John Bull to cat either 

 sour flour or mnsly meal," is expressed in such had 

 English that a tyro or a foreigner must have writ- 

 t«n it. If Jonathan "learns" anything, it is his 

 ovpn acquisition. He can net " learn"" for another, 

 not even John Bull, unless he teaches him the thing 

 learnt. In that regard, almost any American school- 

 boy might teach (not learn) John Bull to use the 

 Queen'^s English with more propriety. The conceit 

 of English editors is amazing. Their sharpness is 

 so keen as to disco^ver tricks and fraud in every 

 American statement of a scientific truth, or agricul- 

 tural fact ; and aQ to cheat " the mother country !" 

 Let Englishmen visit the United States, and put up 

 corn and meal as they believe the operation ought 

 to be performed to suit their markets; then Jona- 

 than will concentrate his energies on improvements 

 in tillage, manuring, and farm economy generally, 

 and perhaps prosper without snubbing. 



Uniocrsilt/ of Georgia, Dec, 1858. D. LEE. 



NO CATTLE, NO MANITKE-NO MANTJEE, NO COEN 



Messrs. Editors : — The above, although a Scotch 

 maxim, will apply with equal force to the farmer 

 of this country. And not only can we trace the 

 origin of a good crop of corn directly to the cattle 

 of a former, but by still closer scrutiny we can not 

 fail to discover the fact that the very b?jsis of good 

 and profitable farming has its scoorce in and de- 

 rives its very existence from the stock connected 

 with the farm ; for, without th« cattle, we get no 

 manure ; and if we are deprived of the manure, we 

 have taken from us the very element requisite to 

 insure success in the pursuit of agriculture; for 

 not only do we find ourselves deprived of a good 

 crop of cora as a natural consequence attendant 

 npon the practice of not keeping the usual supply 

 of stock, but soon we shall find that our grass crop 

 is a failure, caused by the deterioration of the soil, 

 whiclx, iu common with other things connected 

 with our farming operations, has failed to receive 

 the " top-dreeemg" from the barn-yard, which is 

 80 essential ia order that we may receive a reran- 

 nerative crop of hay and a good after-crop of 

 rowen. 



The orchard also depends upon the barn-yard for 

 an annual supply of manure, in order to produce a 

 golden harvest of fruii, so essential to the health 

 And comtort of a family, and also upon which you 

 depend in a measure for the annual filling of your 

 }>uraG, incident upon your fall sales. 



The garden, also, — that great resort for boiled 

 <liuner3, so essential to the health of the tiller of the 

 VfW — the place from which we derive many sub- 

 jeflt« for after contemplation and reference, and in 

 which we pass many a pleasant hoar with our wife 

 or our children — is also dependent upon the barn- 

 yard, which Is an essential element in connection 

 with a good garden — an element the absence ot 

 which can not be recompensed by any amount of 

 imported guano or patent fertilizers. 



The utter dependence of a good crop of grain 

 njjcn the Block connected with tlie farm, must be 

 Apparent to any person who has taken ordinary 

 pains to inform himself. We may send to Pern for 

 ^ano, we may buy all of the new phosphfttea, or 

 »'« may patrociie the plaster mills to our heart*' 



content; and after we have exhausted all these 

 sources, we are sure to fail of being successful cul- 

 tivators of grain, unless we have a good yard of 

 manure to resort to. Certainly we can raise grain 

 by the use of guano, and as certain it is that we 

 may get good crops ; but ask any one well posted, 

 and he will tell you the chances are vastly in favor 

 of the barn-yard as a fertilizer for the successful 

 growing of any kind of grain. 



The subject of stock raising is fast becoming pop- 

 ular among our most astute farmers — those that 

 not only look to the profits derived from the farm 

 for the present year, but who wisely calculate for 

 succeeding years of abundant harvest, and full 

 granaries for years to come. 



It was not my intentioB, when I commenced this- 

 subject, to have continued it to so great a length ; 

 but if you consider it proper, I Avould like to make 

 a few su^estions with regard to the management 

 necessary in order to avail ourselves of the best 

 mode of making a good yard of manure. In the 

 first place, you want a good yard — one well calcu- 

 lated for making manure. Many persons have of 

 late fallen into an error (in my estimation) with re- 

 gard to the kind of a yard requisite, by choosing a 

 too elevated and consequently dry yard. Now w© 

 will admit that a too wet yard is equally objection- 

 able, but we would insist upon on© of as near a 

 medium degree of wetness as can conveniently b© 

 procured, for the reason that the stock can much 

 more easily pulverizs and mix together the contents 

 of a moist yard, than they can of one very dry. 

 The yard should also be often plowed, as frequent 

 stirrings of the soil will tend to help forward the 

 process of decomposition of the refuse straw and 

 hay which should always find its way iato the barn- 

 yard. 



With r^ard to the winter management, I sup- 

 pose every reader of the Oenesee Farmer is well' 

 enough acquainted with the advantages to be de^ 

 rived from keeping the manure from his stables 

 under cover untU wanted for use. If they are not^ 

 allow me to ask of them one favor, which is, that 

 they try the experiment for one year ; and if they 

 are not satisfied that the advantages derived from 

 this course amply pay them for the expense attend- 

 ant upon it, then their experience will diflfer very 

 materially from mine, under the same circura- 

 stane«s. Do not now hastily condemn this prac- 

 tice, nor consider that there is no improving upon 

 the practice of your fathers, who, forsooth, raised 

 good corn without sheltering their manure; bat 

 try it, and let us know the result through the page* 

 of the Farmer. n. o. palmer. 



Lebanon^ Conn., Kot., 1958. 



Fowl Disease. — Having met with a very singu- 

 lar disease among my poultry, I thought I wouid 

 communicate an account of it for your valuabkj 

 paper. We picked up a chicken that was so bloat- 

 ed up that we thought it was just dying. Its head 

 was drawn over to one side. On examining it, the 

 skin appeared as if it had been blowed up; hot 

 upon puncturing the skin, the wind whistled out ; 

 and aft«r repeating the operation a few times, the 

 chicken recovered entirely, and is now one of the 

 handsomest fowls we haye. — Mybok E. Tanheb, 

 Rockland Co., K T. 





