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THE GENESEE FARMER. 



FABMER'S CLTTBS. 



The importance of a well organized Farmer's 

 Club can not be over-estimated. Such a club, 

 when kept up with spirit, is a most admirable 

 means of imparting practical information and elicit- 

 ing important facts. Is it not an agreeable and 

 profitable way of spending the long evenings of 

 our cold winter days, for a number of farmers to 

 assemble at some appointed place, and spend the 

 passing hours in the discussion of subjects connected 

 ft'ith the advancement of their mutual interests? 

 Is it not desirable that many of the theories brought 

 forward by tlie agricultural journals of the day, 

 should be discussed, and ventilated, by the very men 

 for whosg benefit they were professedly broached ? 



Our attention has been called to this subject by 

 the perusal of a little work recently published by 

 D. Ayeu, of Little Falls, K Y., entitled "Essays 

 and Discussions on Agriculture, before the Farmers' 

 Club of Little Falls." A few extracts will give 

 some idea of the range of subjects discussed : 



Peas and Potatoes togetuek. — Peas were sown 

 with tlie potatoes at the time of planting, and tliey 

 entirely escaped the rot. The yield of both peas 

 and potatoes was good. 



Wintering Calves. — Particular care should be 

 taken of calves, during the early part of winter. 

 Otber food beside hay should be given, — small quan- 

 tities of oats or roots will be most serviceable. 



Yellow Birds vs. the Midge. — A fanner seeing 

 this l)ird a good deal in his Avlieat, killed one, and 

 upon opening its crop found two hundred weevils 

 and but four grains of wheat, — and in these four 

 grains the weevil had burrowed. 



Salt for Milch Cows. — Without the use of salt, 

 the milk becomes scanty and impertect. The great- 

 est necessity for its use is in the spring, when the 

 cows are first turned out to grass. A few experi- 

 ments in May and June showed that going without 

 salt five days shrunk the milk from one to two 

 per cent, in quantity, and from five to seven per 

 cent, in quality. Later in the season, less difl'er- 

 ence was observable. 



Food fob Horses. — Variety is an essential. 

 Oats are not the only food that will fit a horse for 

 labor or the road. Roots are oftentimes much su- 

 perior. Of these, carrots are the best, and keep 

 the horse sleek and in good health. Heavey horses, 

 while fed on cut corn-stalks, together with a little 

 corn and cob 'meal, will not show apy symptoms 

 of this disease. 



The importance of clean Milking. — Careful 

 experiments showed that the strippings, or the last 

 half ])iiit of milk drawn from the cow, contain 

 more cream than twelve times the same quantity 

 taken frotn the first part of the same milking. In 

 some of the experiments the proportion was con- 

 siderably greater. — [The experiments alluded to 

 were made by Dr. Anderson, we believe, half a 

 century ago, but a^e nonff ^» -worse for that. — 



E»8.] 



Board Fences. — The usual Avidth of boards, for; 

 a panel fence, is about seven inches for the twoi 

 upper boards, and eigiit or ten inches for the lower 

 ones, making 44 feet of boards per rod. By hav- 

 ing the upper and lower boards six inches wide, 

 and two four inch boards between therii, and leav- 

 ing a space of six or seven inches between the* 

 boards, 27 feet of lumber per rod will make a fenc9i 

 high and strong enough to keep out farm stock. 



Sheep in Winter. — The first great want of sheep 

 in winter is protection from the inclemency of tlie 

 weather. Shelter is a prime necessity to them. 

 Confinement is, however, not advisable; but the 

 opportunity of having a refuge to go to when it is 

 necessary, ought to be given. Feed regularly, and 

 give them free access to water. 



Heavy Oats. — That a bushel of heavy oats are 

 worth more than a bushel of light oats, all admit ; 

 and it is equally certain, though perhaps not quite 

 so apparent, that, weight for weighty the heavy 

 oats are the most valuable. It has been found by 

 experiment, that a bushel of oats weighing forty-two 

 lbs. yields twenty- five pounds of meal; one weigh- 

 ing forty lbs., twenty-three and one-fourth lbs.; 

 thirty-eight lbs., twenty-one and three-fourths lbs.; 

 thirty-four lbs., eighteen and three-fourths lbs. ; 

 and a bushel weighing only thirty lbs., yielded only 

 sixteen lbs. of meal. In other words, one hundred 

 lbs. of oats which will weigh forty-two lbs.- pen 

 bushel, will give sixty lbs. of oat meal ; wliile ona 

 hundred lbs. of oats weighing only thirty lbs. peM 

 bushel, aiford only fifty-three lbs. of meal. It willl 

 be seen that two bushels of the heavy oats are* 

 worth as much as three bushels of the light oats, 



Plaster. — The late Jesse Buel, in the CuUiva 

 tor for 1837, said: "It is generally conceded, thatil 

 upon porous and dry soils, plaster does benefit clo 

 ver, corn , potatoes, peas, and generally all plantSK 

 having broad and succulent leaves. But it is an 

 matter of doubt, at least in our minds, whether itsi 

 application is directly beneficial to timothy, wheat, 

 rye, or barley." Subsequent experience, we think, 

 confirms these opinions. 



Large Yield of Large Pumpkins. — A corres- 

 pondt^TJt of ours says: "Mr, W. P. Yensel, of 

 Stovcoburg, Pa., raised seven pumpkins from two 

 seeds. They weighed, respectively, 140, 130J, 75, 

 74J, 61f , 58, 58 lbs., making an aggregate of 597ii 

 lbs. of pumpkins from two vines. Can this be 

 beat?" 



Feeding Turnips to Cows. — If this is done 

 morning and evening, immediately after milking, , 

 lio taste of turnips will be discernable in thee 

 butter.— P., C. W. 



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