THE GENESEE FARMER. 



805 



proves that warmth is tlie equivalent, to a cer- 

 tain extent, for food : Five fatting cattle were 

 kept in winter in warm single stalls; five others, 

 of the same weight and condition, were kept in a 

 slieltered inclosure. The latter ate daily 134 lbs. of 

 food, while the former ate hut 112 lbs. At the end 

 of A|)ril, the beef of the stall- enclosed cattle weighed 

 8,462 lbs., tallovv, 376 lbs. ; while the yard-fed cat- 

 tle's beef weighed 3,210 lbs., tallow, 805 lbs. A 

 Chatauque dairy farmer, who kept each cow in a 

 warm stall at night, from October to April, told 

 nie that they ate one-fourth less hay, and kept' in 

 better order, than the}" did when kept through the 

 winter in an open shed. 



Your last number was very interesting. You 

 can not call the attention of the farmers too much 

 to the imperative necessity of growing those legu- 

 minous '' plants that enrich the soil." They are to 

 be the panacea to prevent that " prospective ster- 

 ility " that is impending under the present practice 

 of soil exhaustion by continued plowing and cereal 

 crops. It is painful to see liow nuicli labor is lost 

 among farmers in trying to grow crops on poor, 

 worn soils. A man near this village jdanted a 

 field of seven acres of corn last year ; this year he 

 put the same quantity of manure on two acres, 

 and he thinks he will get as nmch corn. 



There was a light frost back from this warm 

 Lake outlet last night, but it did no injury. Much 

 corn is ripe, but there is more stalk to grain than 

 usual. "VVe never get a large cereal yield of Indian 

 corn without hot, dry weather enough to roll the 

 leaves, and turn the sap to the ear when filling. 



After all is said and done, we can't gainsay the 

 Scutch adage, "No cattle, no manure — no manure, 

 no corn." Your experiment in growing Indian 

 curn clearly shov/s that the grain-growing region 

 in Western New York is neither wanting in phos- 

 plioric acid or potash ; its nitrogen only has been 

 L'xliausted by cereal cropping. It is only on tlie 

 liiiie plains here that house wood-ashes helps corn 

 and potatoes. Where the deciduous trees *rew 40 

 years ago, wood-ashes has noeliect; but old heaps 

 of leached aslies, tliat have been exposed 40 years 

 to the Weather, seem to collect nitric acid from the 

 atmosphere, which benefits both grain and grass. 

 Perhaps that pliosphatic goano Boussixgault re- 

 fers to, obtained nitric acid in the same manner. 



Waterloo, Sept, 10«, ISCO. S. W. 



AN UNPATENTED SOWING lilACHINE. 



Eds. Gest. Farmer: — I have always found the 

 usual method of sowing peas broadcast from a seed 

 box, not only a slow process, but also a severe 

 drudgery, especially when the land is soft. Last 

 spring I resolved to discontinue the practice, and 

 accordingly struck upon a more expeditions and 

 agreeable method. The horses were attached to 

 the market spring wagon, and ten bushels of peas 

 loaded on. On our arrival at the field, tliree bags 

 were taken off to lighten the load. I then placed 

 a low box in the back part of the wagon, untied a 

 bag of peas in it, placed a horse blanket in fi-ont 

 of it to kneel on, and then told the driver to pro- 

 ceed carefully around the field. I sowed with both 

 hands over the back part of the wagon, and finished 

 tlie land as I went. The tracks of the wagon were 

 a guide to the driver, and the sower, being elevated, 

 could distinctly see where the peas lay. In this 



way I sowed at the rate of sixty bushels a day, 

 allowing eight hours per day. It is easy to regu-/ 

 late the qauntity, as you can drive fast or slow, as' 

 the case may be, and not be as tired after sowing 

 twenty bushels as I)y sowing five in the usual way. 



1 usually sow plaster and clover in the chati' in 

 the same way, and would rather bear the taunts of 

 some of my old fashioned friends about its being a 

 " Yankee way of escaping work," than return to 

 drudgery of the old way. r. w. s. 



'I oodstock, C. TK, Sept., 1860. 



NOTES FROM CANADA. 



The Weather and the Crops.— During the last 

 few weeks we have had delightful weather— the 

 days moderately warm and the nights cool. No 

 frost as yet, except a very slight hoar frost on the 

 morning of the 2d of September. Wheat is now 

 being very generally threshed out, and does not 

 come up to expectation as regards either quantity 

 or quality. A good deal of fall wheat presents the 

 appearance of having been partially eaten. It 

 appears that the midge-worm hatched out after the 

 grain had begun to harden, and not being able to 

 suck out the juices of the grain, had been obliged 

 to content itself with taking a small nibble ofi" the 

 end, and had then probably perished from weak- 

 ness and want of nourishment. I have found a 

 great many grubs in the wheat at harvest time, and 

 in most cases they looked dead and shrivelled up. 

 Should it be the case, that they have come too late 

 and so perished, we may reasonably expect that 

 the midge will be less troublesome in future. 



Wheat sowing is now very generally through in 

 this section, and the summer-fallows were never 

 in better order. Occasional showers have fallen, 

 which has helped along the preparation of the soil. 

 and the wheat has germinated quickly, and looks 

 of a good color. Grain drills are usually employed 

 for putting in the wheat here, and their use always 

 gives satisfacti(m wherever I have made inquiry. 



Orchard Culture. — Great complaints are now 

 being made of the short-livedness of apple trees. 

 Many of the orchards appear to be going fast to 

 decay; the trees are dying, and the fruit is of a 

 very inferior quality to what it once was on the 

 same trees. I am frequently asked, why is this? 

 Now, I think a great mistake has been committed 

 in America with regard to orchard culture. The 

 soil is too little cultivated when the trees are young, 

 and too much so when they get old and come into 

 fidl bearing. AVhile young, the trees are left to 

 struggle through a precarious existence, amongst 

 grass and clover, for years, but as soon as they 

 become old enough to bear being knocked about • 

 without knocking them over, the soil is immedi- 

 ately cropped and cropped again with grain, etc., 

 till it is exhausted, and the roots of the trees man- 

 gled and torn by the plow at the time when they 

 are disproportionately small to the amount of trunk, 

 branches and fruit tliey have to supply nourishment 

 to. What wonder, then, if the trees soon die under 

 such treatment. In England, it is usual to keep 

 the orchard in grass alter it comes into full bearing, 

 and to stir the soil but at an interval of twelve or 

 fifteen years, and then only in order to apply a 

 dressing of lime to the soil, wjiich is the best 

 manure that can be given to fruit trees. 

 Hamiltmi, C. W., Sept. 12, 1860. J. MACKELCA2J, Jr 



