THE GENESEE FARMEPw 



319 



The Weather and the Crops in England. — The re- 

 ports in regard to the crops in England are somewhat con- 

 flicting. In some sections thej are reported better than 

 hud been anticipated ; yet, on the whole, there can be no 

 doubt that the harvest will fall far below an average. 

 There is no part of Europe where the wheat crop is sub- 

 jected to so low a summer temperature as in the British 

 I.sles — from 50° to 60°; while in Lombardy, where wheat 

 grows in the greatest perfection, it is 73°, and in Sicily, 

 " the granary of ancient Rome," it is 77°. According to 

 Whatelet's " Climate of the British Islands in its EflFect 

 on Cultivation," the mean summer temperature for 65 

 years up to 1836 was 61°; and Mr. W. shows that when- 

 ever the average summer temperature falls two or three 

 degrees below the average, the harvests are very deficient. 

 Thus in 1775, with a summer temperature 1.2° above the 

 average, there was a "plentiful harvest;" in 1779, when 

 it was 2.3° above, the harvest was "one-fourth above the 

 medium ;" whereas iu 1789, 1791, 1792, 1795, 1799, 1S09, 

 I&IO, 181 1, 1812 and 1816, when the temperature was from 

 O.u*^ to 4.8'^ below, the crops were very inferior — man}' of 

 them famine years, in which the "poor perished." 



All the warm, dry seasons, gave good wheat crops. 

 Thus in 1818, the hottest and dryest season of the series, 

 when the summer temperature was 4.3" above the average, 

 the wheat, though short in the straw, yielded admirably; 

 while hay was so scarce that it was imported from New 

 York, and barley was sent from Constantinople. 



From this it appears that the average summer tempera- 

 liue of the British Isles is within two or three degrees of 

 llie minimum temperature required for the perfection of 

 wheat. A correspondent of the Agricultural Gazette states 

 tliat the average temperature in Lincolnshire the present 

 summer was 55^°;^, "No less than 6^" below the mean 

 »unimer heat of a number of years, and 2^° below the min- 

 i-iHuiii necessary for the ripening of wheat." From this he 

 thinks the deficiency of the present harvest will be very 

 Iieat. 



Fair of the U. S. Agricultural Society. — The Eighth 

 Annual Meeting of the United States Agricultural Society 

 was held in Cmcinnati, Sept. 13 — 16. A gentleman who 

 has just returned informs us that it "didn't amount to 

 much.'' The arrangements seem to have been imperfect, 

 and the show itself, as a whole, rather inferior — by no 

 means equal to that at Chicago last year. There were 

 some fine horses on the grounds, including such celebri- 

 ties as the old mare Fashion, Bonnie Scotland — purchased 

 iu England for §10,000, after having won the Doncaster 

 stakes — and Stochbridge Chief, the Black Hawk stallion 

 that took the $1,000 prize at the St. Louis Fair last year. 



Of cattle, there were about 200 entries. McHenry, of 

 Maryland, showed eleven head of superior Ayrshires, and 

 MiiRKTiiAN, of the same State, exhibited ten good Here- 

 fords, purchased, we believe, principally from W. H. Soth- 

 AM, of this State. Brutus J. Clay, and other Kentucky 

 breeders, showed some excellent Durhams. 



A Big Bakers' Dozen. — Fifteen months in the yemr. All 

 who send us fifty cents at this time for the Genesee 

 Farmer for 1861, will get the paper for fifteen months, 

 commencing with the present number. Reader, tell your 

 neighbors of this most liberal offer. 



TuE Crops. — Several farmers in this section and Canada 



West inform us that their wheat, on thrashing, does not 



turn out as well as they expected. Spring barley is a 



poor crop in this section, but the winter barley turns out 



well. There is little barley yet offered in this market, 



and prices will probably rule high. Outs are splenditl — 



never better. Corn, about an average ; it has been too 



cold for it. A good portion of it is already cut up. There 



are some complaints of the potato disease, but the crop, 



on the whole, is large. Fruit of all kinds is abundant, 



and prices low. 



►»♦ 



The Country Gentleman.— If any of our readers want 

 a good weekly agricultural pap'er, we would direct their 

 attention to the advertisement of the Country Gentleman^ 

 to be found in another column. 



We think the Country GentUman decidedly the best 

 weekly agricultural and horticultural journal published in 

 America. 



Swans in the N. Y. Centual Park. — The Yiulners' So- 

 ciety of London have presented the city of New Yoik 

 •fifty swans for the Central Park. One of them died on the 

 passage. The city of Hamburgh is about to send nine 

 swans to supply the place of those which died so suddenly 

 last summer. The London swans .seem younger and more 

 vigorous than those from Hambur<rh. 



Agents. — The large circulation of the Geneaee Fanner 

 is mainly due to our friends who act as voluntary agents 

 for the paper. Will not some of our readers in places 

 where we have no agent oblige us by taking subscriptions 

 to the Farmer and Rural Annual'! We will cheerfully 

 send them show-bills, specimen copies, etc. Now is the 

 time to commence. Our offer to send the three last months 

 of the yeary^ve to all who send fifty cents for next year 

 at this time, affords a most favorable opportunity to in- 

 troduce the paper into sections where it has now low sub- 

 scribers. 



Inquiries and Answers. 



Rye. — (^H. A.) Winter rye can be sown both e-irlier 

 and later than winter wheat. It is not yet too late to sow 

 it. It will do well after corn. It will flourish on heavier 

 soils, but it is more profitably raised on land that is too 

 light and sandy for wheat. From a bushel and a half to 

 two bushels is the usual quantity of seed. The seed does 

 not germinate as soon as wheat, and if the land is wet and 

 cold it is apt to rot. 



Lkached Ashes. — Are ashes, leached at the soap facto- 

 ries, vulyable for manure, particularly to compost with 

 muck or swamp mud? How does their value compare 

 with unleached for that purpose, and of what do they 

 chiefly consist? — H. Van Renpkcan, Tolen, Ohio. 



We do not think they would be oi any particular benefit 



to the muck. ■ They are a useful manure applied alone, 



especially on light, sandy soil. 



What is the Origin of King Philip and Ddtton Corn ? 

 (A-. R.) M'e believe the former was obtained from the 

 Indians; the D niton was originated by Salmon Dctto.v, 

 of Cavendish, Yt., over fifty years ago. 



Preserving Fruit.— (C. R.y Send fifteen cents to E. 

 Darrow & Bro., of this city, and get a copy of Culver's 

 Fruit Preservers' Manual. 



