n 



THE NEW GENEf^EE FARMER, 



Vol 



Tlie f jll'jw.ng I'ominiiiKcaiiim w:ig wii ton fir I'm- 

 Isle "Genesee Farmer," and Jlr. Tucker kindly 

 published it in his weekly paper, (which had only a 

 small circulation,) hut refused ii a place in the month- 

 ly, although he inserted the article from Mr. Thor- 

 burn, of which we complain. As it is a matter which 

 affects our reputation, and that of our eslahliehmcnt, 

 justice to ourselves dcman:ls its publication in this pa- 

 per. And lest our friend Thorburn should coniplain 

 of injustice, we also insert bis communication rcfer- 



CIII>'A TREE COK^T: 



And the '•Rocliestcr Sim«1 Store." 

 Mr. Tuclcer — Since my return from England, I 

 have been looking over the Airricultural papers receiv- 

 ed during my absence, and ol>servo numerous articles 

 on the subject of Thorburn's celebrated China Tree 

 Corn, most of which condemn it as an "imposition," 

 "humbug," &c. Manyoftlic writers obtained their 

 seed directly from Mr. Thorburn, and of course must 

 look to him for any explanation they may require. But 

 others obtained it through different seedsmen, and seem 

 inclined to suspect them of selling a spurious article 

 for the sake of gain. 



In your paper of the 7th of October, is a communi- 

 cation from Syracuse, signed \V., and headed "Gross 

 Imposition." The writer, after stating that he was in- 

 duced to try the corn from reading Grant Thorburn's 

 glowing account of it, complains that it did not answer 

 the description, and proved inferior to our common va- 

 rieties. He then adds : 



"We look upon the matter in this section, as a 

 gross fraud practised upon the ptiblic for the sake of 

 gain. The odium at this time is principally attached to 

 Sir. Thorburn, inasmuch as he has the credit of fur- 

 nishing all the seed; some of which, I am informed, 

 came directly from his store in New- York; most of it, 

 however, that was planted in tins vicinity, came thro' 

 the ^UoclicstcT Si-ril Storr,' but wna said to be genuine 

 seed fr.)m Thorburn's. We look lor a satisfactory ex- 

 planation." 



In the Farmer of November 0th, is a reply to W. 

 from Grant Thorburn himself. But, to me, it is far 

 from being a "satisfactory explanation." lie says, 

 he 'Ukntks f\^, litis not got the true khid,*^ and then 

 adds, "the seed sold by his sons in New- York, Albany 

 and St. Louis, was genuine." I am afraid old friend 

 Laurie is becoming rather uncharitable of late, and 

 einc^ he is so free with his insinuations, I shall have to 

 "unfold a tale" which, I fear, will render his defence 

 of but little service to him. 



Soon after Mr. Thorburn published his wondeiful 

 'Corn story la^t fall, I began to have numerous inqui- 

 ries after the seed. Accordingly, on visiting New- 

 York in October, I purchased of Mr. G. C. Thor- 

 burn a quantity of the corn, and was informed that his 

 supply was limited and selling rapidly. Soon after 

 reaching home, this lot was all disposed of, and I sent 

 to Mr. Thorburn and obtained an additional sui)ply. — 

 This was all sold during the winter, and as the spring 

 apjjroached, the demand seemed to increase. By this 

 time, I expected to hear that Mr. Thorburn's stock wa.i 

 entirely exhausted, as he had stated that he only raised 

 a smnll patch of about 200 hills ; but to my surprise, I 

 was informed that his supply was still adequate to the 

 demand, although orders poured in upon him from 

 every quarter. O, rare Laurie Todd ! thought f, your 

 corn isceitainly "something new under our sun," and 

 well did you name it "Prolific," for it seems to pos- 

 sess the miraculous properties of the ancient Widow's 

 oil — the more you draw from it, the more there is left! 

 Being rather skeptical on the subject of modern mira- 

 cles, I determined to inquire into the mystery. I then 

 learned that the wonderful "new variety" was an old 

 acquaintance among the farmers of Long Island, sev- 

 eral of whom had cultivated it f->r urtjjinber of years, 

 nnsl w.-ire then selling their cropaifo Mr. Thorburn, 

 to su|iply the immense demand which he had oecn- 

 sioncd. 



Supposing I had contributed my share towards the 

 nameleia "charitable institutions," I now purchased 

 n funhi!r supply of seed from Mr. G. R. Garretpon, of 

 Flushing, which I have the fullest proof wag the same 

 in ^ery respect an was sold by Mr. Thorburn. All 

 that was had or sold at the Uochestcr Seed Store, were 

 the two lot.s from Mr. Thorburn and one from Mr. 

 (^inri-eteon. 



The following letter was lately leeeivcd from Mr. 

 Garretson in relalioit to the seed from him ; 



Flushing, L. I., iVor. r^h, 1839. 

 Mr. M. B. Bateham — 



Denrl^ir: In answer tn your inquiries about the 

 Ghiaa Tre« Corn, which I sold yon last spring, I 



would state, thru it was precisely the taii^e as was ad- 

 vertised and sold by Mr. Thoibuin, under the name 

 of "China Prolific Tree Corn." It w.as raised by 

 Mr. Jonathan Mingo, of Flushing. Mr. Thorburn 

 purchased some of the same man, and I sold Mr. 

 Thorburn some of the same lot as that sold yon. 



Yours, &C. G. U. GiBBET.-^ON." 



Owing to its southern complexion, I always had some 

 doubts of the adaptedncss of the corn to this northern 

 climate, and 1 never recommended it to my customers, 

 any more than to refer them to Thorburn's own ac- 

 count of it, and let them take it on his responsibility 

 alone. My patrons may rest assured that I shall al- 

 ways be ready to give full, and I trust, "satisfactory 

 explanation" of any matters affecting the reputation 

 of the Rochester Seed Store. The task of a seeds- 

 man is generally a thankles?, as well as a diftieult and 

 responsible one. And while I do not mean to shrink 

 from any blame or resixmsibility which justly belongs 

 to me, I cannot consent to become responsible for thp 

 statements of every pulling "new variety" monger, 

 who may have a fine patch of corn or potatoes to dis- 

 pose of; even though the profits are to be given to 

 charitable institutions. 



M. B. Batehaji. 



Rorhcstcr Seed Store, Xor. 25, 1829. 



P. S. I am frequently asked, what "charitable in- 

 stitutions" received the donation promised by Jlr. 

 Thorburn; and some persons actually suspect that he 

 pocketed the funds. But any one at all acquainted 

 with the unimpeachable character of Grant Thorburn, 

 considers that to be an impossibilty. The only reason 

 I can give for the non-appearance of any public ac- 

 knowledgment, is, that it would be oQensive to the 

 modesty of the donor, who doubtless wishes to "let 

 his alms be done in secret." Still, as this money was 

 made up of contributions from many who do not think 

 they received an equivalent in return ; justice to their 

 feelings renders it necessary and proper that the receipt 

 of the donation should be publicly acloiowledged. 



From the Genesee Farmer, 

 Astoria, L. I. (late Unllci's Cove, Oct. a4, 1939. 



Mr. Tucker — In your Monthly Farmer for October, 

 page 14.">, is a piece signed W. He begins with Gross 

 Impos'Uion, and then gives my description of the 

 corn. Now, Mr. W., if you will substitute 10th of 

 August, in place of the lOih of July, I assure you in 

 the irords of truth mid sol/erncss, that every word in 

 that description is plain truth. Different climate, bad 

 soil, or spurious seed, might have been Mr. W's. mis- 

 fortune. Because a man, born blind, says the sun don't 

 shine on the 4th of July, this will not persuade us out 

 of our senses. 



Mr. Tucker, this thing wns not done in a corner. In 

 IS3S, scores ol my neighbors saw my corn when 

 growing ; this euininer, hundreds visited my field ; 

 at the offices of the Journal of Commerce, Commercial 

 Advertiser, Daily Whig, and at No. 11 John-street, 

 New- York, and I believe, at William Thorburn's 

 Seed-store, in Albany, may be seen stalks of the corn; 

 having eai's growing on the tip end of the branches, 

 as they stood in the ground. If Mr. AV. or any of his 

 neighbors come to Albany or New-York this fall, they 

 ought to call and see for themselves. There has been 

 no vndorhayid noi- doiijilc dealing on my part in this 

 matter. I put my name to every communication 1 

 made on the subject. I said it is an curli/ corn, and 1 

 say so still. We have earlier kinds, to be sure, but 

 t'ley are small. This season I planted on the \2ih ol 

 j\I.iy, and on the 2'iA of September my Chinese corn 

 was dry and gaJlicrcd into the crili. Mr. \V. says it 

 will not ripen with him. I think ho has not got the 

 true kind. I have advices from all quarters ; in some 

 eases it failed entirely ; in some it turned out better 

 than my own. I will give you the following, from 

 many I received of the same import : 



Chcrgo, Tioga CO., N. V. Get. 10, 1839. 



Fnirxr Thouburn — I am very happy to say to you, 

 that my gardener, (procured for me by your son,) has 

 raised from your iyinncse corn, this season, the linen 

 crop I ever saw of amj corn ; all two and Jicc ears, 

 and the crop will be at the rate of more than 100 

 bushels to the acre. 



Very rcjn^tftdly, your friend and servant, 



^^^ George I. Pimipellt. 



Now, Mr. Tucker, lam a stranger to Mr. P., or 

 rather he is a stranger to me, ns X never knew there 

 was such a man in the world, till 1 received the above 

 letter. I am not sure, at this moment, where Owego 

 lii*, but I pliould think the corn that ri|]cns at Owego, 

 would not be too late for Rochester. I know the Chi- 

 nese corn sold by my sons in New- York, Albany, and 

 St. Louis, wns genuine. After my crop was sold 

 Inst yonr, they obtained n supply from Samuel Par- 



Fons, of Flufhing, L. I. This sensrm 1 planted s^ 

 rows of his corn along side of my own ; th 

 alike in all respects. In 183.-*, I planted only a 

 two hundred hills, producing six or seven bun 

 cars ; this teason I planted a small field ; when 

 milky state, ii was blown down in a storm *'' w int 

 rain, with the exception of ten or twelve hills 

 wag then ten feet high, and being heavy with e: 

 never ro.'e, notwithstanding, I gathered upwar 

 ninety bushels from the acre. 



Without all eontroverpy, Jlr. Tucker, this is a 

 unble corn, and will take the lead of all other to: 

 the middle states, at any rate. Pcrhajis it ma 

 ripen in the northern parts ; but I planted the D 

 on the same field, on the same day ; the Chinct 

 only a week later in boiling. The Editor of the F ' 

 ville (O.) Telegraph, says he has cultivated a pat 

 Thorburn's Qhinese corn this seaeoia — the "yield 

 rages four large, sound, ripe cars, for every k 

 planted." 



I will only observe, in conclusion, that I 

 think the Agricultural Journals, Registers, and 

 merp, have (in general) dealt with I'uis same 

 while the account are as opposite as light and 

 ness ; they have published the daik, without ihr< 

 any light on the subjecL I refer not to you, M 

 for this number, now in hand, is the only one I 

 seen in six months. As your correspondent re- 

 an explanation, I doubt not hut you wdl give 

 place in your Farmer. 



Yours, respectfully, 



Gbast Thorbc 



HATCHING EGGS BY STEAM— THE 

 DON CHICKEN MANUFACTORY, 



What will not the inventive genins of man n 

 plish by the use of steam t Who can cstimc 

 amount, or enumerate the kinds of labor, which 

 kce ingenuity has made this agent perform ? 

 country is famous for its Steam-boats, Stcar 

 Steam-guns and Steam-doctors, but who, in the 

 vcrsal Ynnlcce nation,' ever thought of o i! 

 chicken manufactory? Yes, hatching eggs by t 

 and that, too, not only as an experiment to sati 

 curiosity, but as a regular and profitable busines 



This novel exhibition wo lately witnessed ii 

 don; and, of all the strange sights of that city, ' 

 few that interested us as much as this. We intei 

 write a description of lite scene ourselves, bu 

 ing the following more particular account ' 

 Chambers' s Journal, we publish it in prefer 1 

 our own: 

 EGG-HATCHIXG EXZHBITI 



A short time ago, while in London, I went 

 among other "sights," the much-talked- 

 hatching-apparatus, or, as it ie called by its pro 

 the Eccaleobion — a word fioni the Greek, 

 ing to bring to life. The establishment ie siti 

 Pail-Mall, opposite the Italian Opcra-IIou 

 consists of a large handsome back npurmcnt, 

 by a passage from the street. — The first feci 

 entering the room is tbnt of rather a warm | 

 phere, along with the slight smell of a poult; 

 which the place litcrully is. On one side, on y, 

 is a huge oblong case against tlie wall, ekvat. 

 or four feet from thclloor, and used ns a hatchin 

 on the opposite side, running nearly the lengt 

 room, is an enclosure formed of paling, scpai 

 distinct divisions for dillerent sizes of birds, ai 

 taining, close to the wall, a row of coops or hi 

 the little creatures to run into. At the farihe: 

 the room is a glass-case on a table, in which t 

 of one day old are ke|jt and nursed; and in 

 tre of the room is a table with a number of 

 n which lie the yolks of eggs at diflerent si 

 advancements toward mnturity, but which bcinji 

 are of course useless for hatching; they oulj 

 the progress of the chick. Such is th? gcncrai 

 of the establishment, which is fitted tip w 

 steam-pipes running round the room to prcscr' 

 tain temperature; and with a man, who atte| 

 oven, and a woman to look after the poultry 

 enclosure, the whole is before the eye of the viii 



The first thing we do is to take a peep into t 

 where the process of incubation is performed! 

 oven executes the office of the parent hen, and 

 maikable perfect manner; in fact, much beti 

 most hens could perfoim the operation. — Eve 

 who has any thing to do with hutching poultry 

 that the great dJIleulty consists in keeping 

 upon her eggs. Some hens are better hatehi 





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