THE GENESEE FAEMER. 



259 



P. B., Chester county, Pa., July 19th, says : 

 "Grass is generally light. Wheat is all harvested, and 

 ill turn out better than it has done for several years, 

 ats are very short, but will be well filled. Corn growing 

 nely, but is backward for the season ; but if no untore- 

 eu early frost should come, we anticipate a good crop." 



M. T., Des Moines county, Ind., July 17th, writes : 

 " Corn looks very well, and Oats too. Wheat is a toler- 

 bly good crop." 



J. b., Amher.stburg, C. W., July 13th, writes : 

 " A good deal of wheat was sown here last fall. The 

 fedi'erranea/i is now being harvested, and is very good, 

 nd free from midge. Other varieties promise even better, 

 (though somewhat hurt by the midge. Crops of every 

 jrt give abundant promise, although corn is rather back- 

 ard, and some anticipate the midge will take his toll out 

 f the spring wheat." 



R. W. S., Woodstock, C. W., July ISth, says: 

 " The unusual frosts on the evenings of the 4th and 

 0th of June caused a panic; but after seeing the results, 

 'e are the best judges as to the extent of injury. All 

 dmit that the fruit was destroyed except in a fevv favored 

 jcahties. Corn and early potatoes were either entirely 

 estroyed or so injured that we cannot expect a good crop 

 rom what is lef^. Tender vegetables, grape vines, &c., 

 .'ere cut down and rendered useless for this year. Winter 

 t'heat sufl"ered to a great extent on new land, being so 

 rozeu that it died to the ground, from which it has since 

 prung up, and is now coming out in he-ad ; so that, if the 

 ceather be favorable, it may be an average crop yet. The 

 Wediterra/iean and some other early varieties were in head 

 t the time, and of course suffered considerably; and in 

 dmost every field of winter wheat some few spots may 

 itiU be seen, by passing through it, where the frost left 

 t»s mark. The greatest evil now existing, in regard to the 

 *'heat, is the midge. The fly made its appearance about 

 he 'j'id ult. in immense numbers, and worked with great 

 jnergy for four evenings ; tiien for about ten days a con- 

 stant breeze prevented tiiem from depositing their eggs; 

 so that the damage by that pest will not be as great as 

 would have been had the evenings been calm. Around 

 the outsides of the fields they are very bad ; and in some 

 townships in this county it is said that scarcely one head 

 can be found that does not contain one hundred of the 

 maggots and some upwards of two hundred. In this part 

 of tlie county it is generally thought that after all we 

 shall have an average crop, if it escapes the rust. The hay 

 crop never was worse — scarcely worth cutting in many 

 places. Spring crops, generally, look well, especially 

 peas. Another mouth will end our suspense. This has 

 been an extraordiuarv season throughout. Such sudden 

 extremes of heat and cold — heavy thunder showers, sum- 

 mer frosts and violent winds — have seldom or never been 

 witnessed before. On the morning of the "glorious 

 fourth " it froze hard enough to damage melons, &c., and 

 before the day was out, the mercury reached as high as 

 So*^. To-day the mercury stands at 94" under the thick 

 foliage of a clump of trees, and 110*^' in the sun. Perhaps 

 by to-morrow night it may be down to 60" or below. 

 This, I believe, is not peculiar to Canada, but to the extra- 

 ordinary season." 



Sow ToRKiPS. — It is not too late to sow turnips. Plow 

 up a wheat or barley stubble, harrow fine, and sow a 

 pound of seed per acre. It will cost but little ; and if the 

 weather is favorable, yon may secure a fair crop. If too 

 thick, thin out with the hoe, and destroy the weeds. E. 

 S. Hayward, of this county, informs us that he always 

 sows a few acres of his stubbles with turnips, and usually 

 with good success. He has raised 3,000 bushels in a sea- 

 son in this way. Fodder will be scarce next winter, and 

 a few turnips will be very acceptable. A bushel on two 

 of plaster per acre at the time of sowing, or after the 

 plants are up, would probably be beneficial. 

 •-•« 



Large Ecvas. — Edson Haemon, of Clarendon, N. Y., 

 sends us six hen's eggs, which weighed 18J ounces, or 

 ofor 8 ounces each. The hen is a cross b«tween the 

 linking and Brahma. 



Subscriptions to the Half Volume or the Genesek 

 Farmer. — We have received already upwards of two thou- 

 sand new subscribers to the present half volume of the 

 Genesee Farmer. Every mail brings letters from friends 

 who enclose a dollar and the names of five of their neigh- 

 bors whom they have persuaded to try the Farmer fbr 

 half a year. We would return them our sincere thanks. 

 In all these cases we have mailed the Rural Annual for 

 1859 to the person sending the club. If any have failed 

 to receive it, we hope they will notify us and it shall be 

 re-sent immediately. 



Are there not many others who could induce five of their 

 neighbors to try the Farmer for half a year? Will not 

 you, kind reader, speak to a few of your friends immedi- 

 ately? Now is the time. We will send five copies of the 

 Genesee Farmer for six months (July to December inclu- 

 sive) for $1 ; eight copies for $1.50; and in either case 

 send you the Rural Anmial for 1S59, (or any previous 

 year,) pre-paid by mail. The subscribers need not all be 

 at one post office. We will send the papers wherever you 

 may desire. 



Our Cash Premiums seem to attract little attention. 

 Our friends who get subscribers to the Genesee Farmer 

 evidently do it for the good of the cause, and not with 

 any desire to secure the premiums. Still we have offered 

 a liberal List of Cash Premiums, amounting to nearly one 

 hundred dollars, and they will be paid to those forwarding 

 the largest clubs, whether they intend to compete or not. 

 There are many young men among our readers who might 

 secure one of the largest of these premiums. We shall 

 be happy to forward to all such, showbills, specimen 

 copies, &c. For terms, premiums, &o., see last page of 

 this number. 



Inquiiies and Answers. 



What is the difference between a Cultivator and 

 HoESE-HOE? — (S. M.) In this country, the terms cultiva- 

 tor and horse-hoe are used indiscriminately. For instance, 

 the New York State Agricultural Society awarded a pre- 

 mium to an implement, in 1854, as the best "cultivator," 

 and again to the same implement, in 1856, as the best 

 " horse-hoe." In England, the term cultivator is applied 

 only to implements used for cultivating the soil previous 

 to sowing the seed, and never, as in this country, to such 

 implements as are used for cultivating between the rows 

 of growing plants. The latter are called horse-hoes, or, in 

 some sections, " scuffles." It would save some confusion 

 if the same rule was observed here by our manufacturers 

 and writers. 



Plaster on Corn and Potatoes. — Will you or some of 

 j'our correspondents be so kind as to inform me, as early 

 as possible, if it is profitable to plaster corn and potatoes 

 once or twice, and draw the plaster twenty miles, at $5.53 

 per ton, besides incurring expenses every trip to the 

 amount of $1.13, which is toll on road, &c. ? I shall be 

 much obliged for any information on the subject.- — W. H. 

 Parkes, Farmington, Oakland Co., Mich. 



In our experiments on corn (see Genesee Farmer for 

 1858, page 139), 100 lbs. of plaster gave an increase of ten 

 bushels of ears of corn per acre. On potatoes, in the 

 same field, 100 lbs. of plaster gave an increase of six 

 bushels per acre. (See Ge7iesee Farmer for 1858, page 105.) 

 If any of onr readers havo made accurate exporimonta on 

 these points, we hope they will give us the results. 



