106 



r HE N E W GENESEE FARMER, 



Vol. 1, 



Caterpillai-s. 

 Wc have seen but two nesis of Catcrpillare this sea- 

 son, one on an apple trcu, and the other on a cherry 

 tree. We destroyed both. What a change has taken 

 place. Fifteen years ago — more or less — wo saw 

 these insects in f warms of many hundreds on the 

 trunks of trees; and when preparing to enter thc^K- 

 pa state, they spread over the fields in such numbers, 

 that it became nCLcssary, in order to Eave our newly 

 transplanted trees from destruction, to visit them as of- 

 ten as once a day. t 



The Striped Bug. 



Every person who cultivates cucumbers and melons 

 niuet be acquainted with the yellow striped bug. In 

 fortner years, wc depended most on our activity in 

 catching them, chiefly in the cool of the morning and 

 evening; bui we have an easier way to manage them. 

 In the hottest weather they are the most active and 

 seemingly the most voracious; and some days ago, 

 when the mercury stood at 60 " , aware of this dan- 

 ger, we visited the cucumbcis, and found the bugs in 

 great numbers. A sprinkling of quick lime however, 

 Bcaltercd them in haste; and wc have not seen n dozen 

 since in the whole garden. 



But the large brown bug that inicsts squashes and 

 pumpkins, must be treated differently, and nothing is 

 better than decapitation. t 



For the Nets Gencsc Farmer. 



Views of the Grasses.— No. 3. 



12. Red Top, Cumiiiun or Fiiic Bent, of the Eng- 

 lish, is the Agrostis vtilgaris ol botanists. Its flowers 

 grow in a spreading panicle, of small loose branches, 

 reddish; culm not much leafy, except towards the root, 

 erect and line looking; saeka a moist soil. This grass 

 is spread considerably over New England, and is ma- 

 king its way over the country. It seema to yield in 

 England hardly a medium quantity of bay for the first 

 crop, and the latter crop is email also. In this section 

 of the country it occurs only rarely so far as my obser- 

 vation extends. Agrostis has its name from the 

 Greek iorfidd or country 



13. WIdti Top. Wlute Dent Grass, of the Eng- 

 lish, is Agrostis alba, of botanists. It is a rather 

 smaller and poorer grass than the preceding, having a 

 yellowish white appearance in the time of flowering; 

 the culm and leaves too are rather light green. It has 

 creeping roots, and seems to exhaust the soil, ond is an 

 unprofitable gross. It commonly attends the other, 

 though I have always found it less abundant. 



By some botanists both these species are considered 

 only varieties, though they have a very permanent 

 character. 



14. Fioriii, or Ciccpitig Bent Grass, has attracted 

 much attention in Ireland in a few years past. As it 

 sends out creepers or i"ioio«5, which muUii)ly the culms, 

 it is named by botanists, Agrostis Stolonifera. Its 

 seed is now introduced into our country. Some con- 

 eidei it only a variety of Agrostis alba, and rank with 

 it another Agrostis found in our country. If this is true, 

 cultivation certainly produces a great change in the 

 grass. Sinclair suys that Agrostis alba jia-cr sends out 

 runners or stolons, while that is a distinguishing char- 

 acter of this grass. Several varieties of the Fiorin 

 Bceni to be known, as the widc-lea/cd, the narrow- 

 leafed, the awncd, and the creeping ; the first is su- 

 perior to the others. Cut at the time of flowering, the 

 first yielded from an "active peat soil," about one- 

 scccH/A less than Meadow Foxtail (Alopccurua), and 

 about two-thirds as much as Orchard Gras3 (Dactylis). 

 This comparison shows that Fiorin is a valuable grass 

 on tte proper soil, and may be found quite an acces- 

 sion to our grasses as peat-meadows come into use. — 

 Its rolative value compared with Timothy in such a 

 si'iiatioji, i yet to be tried. In England the opinion 



js not very favorable to the Fiorm The moist climate 

 of Ireland moy be most favorable to it. 



15. Mezican Bent Grass, the Agrostis Mexicana 

 of Willd. has been introduced from Mexico and culli- 

 votcd in England for about sixty years to some extent. 

 It is not the same as the grass of this name by Muhlen- 

 burg, which Dr. Torrcy considers A. lateriflora o' 

 Micheaiix. The Mexican grass grows a foot or two 

 high, erect, branching, and has scabrous roughish 

 flowers purplish in a panicle. It yields about the same 

 as the preceding, but is not an early grass for spring. 

 It ripens abundance of seed, and should be cut before 

 that falls. It flourishes in other soils than siliceous, os 

 the clayey or calcareous. It is a grass which can easily 

 be produced after the soil is broken up, so that it an- 

 swers for alternate agriculture. — Sinclair. 



16. Upright Bent Grass, is known among botanists 

 as Agrostis slricta. It bears an upright stem, with 

 many leaves towards the root, and all except the top is 

 a bright green, and is often named as red-top, and 

 probably is the English grass of some farmers in 

 Xew England, growing in the rich and low alluvial 

 soils of some rivers. In England it is not considered 

 a valuable grass by itself, as it yields only about three- 

 fifths as much as the true Red Top, agrostis alba. 



Besides these species of Agrostis, several others of 

 this genus aie among the grasses of English agricul- 

 ture, which are even of less value. Agrostis canino, 

 Awned Bent, or Dog-bent grass, is mentioned by Dr. 

 Bigelow omong the plants in the viciniy of Boston, 

 and A. racemose is a native about cultivated fields. 



17. Lolium perennc. L., Rye-grass or Ray-grass, 

 's introduced from Englond, but is rare. It baa the 

 appearance of being n poor grass, though by some En- 

 glish agriculturists it is esteemed considerably, and 

 has long been cultivated. In its appearance it some- 

 what resembles Couch grass, so troublesome in gar- 

 dens. The spike of flowers is somewhat loose, with 

 awnless flowers alternately fixed to the stem, and a 

 calyx or glume of only one valve holding three florets. 

 Spread only in small quantity over New England, it 

 must make its way westward. Its seed too is now in- 

 troduced from England. Several varieties are cidti. 

 vated in England, for pasture and hay. One has been 

 sown on a gross plat in Rochester. 



One species, Lolium temulentum, Darnel Grass, 

 the true Darnel, though a gross, is a very offensive 

 weed among English agriculturists. Its seeds are near 

 the size of wheat, bitter, poisonous, and ruinous to 

 flour for bread ; they make a dangerous beer, which 

 intoxicates, ond the plant has long been called '•drunk- 

 en darnel." — Sinclair. It is to be hoped that it will 

 not find its way to us in the samples of wheot from 

 England. It has been said to be the only grass whose 

 seed is poisonous. It has been introduced into 

 New England and Penneyivanio. 



18. Slender Finger Grass, or Slender Panic Grass, 

 called by botanists Digitaria sanguinalis. Its name is 

 from its finger-like form, and its reddish colour from 

 being used by the boys to make the nose bleed. Scat- 

 tered over dry soils it is scarcely considered here more 

 than a weed. Its seed is said to be used in Germany 

 to form an article of food, like sogo. It is an onnuni, 

 growing in rich soils to be productive, and yielding 

 only litdc hay. Its seeds probably form nutriment for 

 small animals. 



19. Triticum repens, Coiicli-grass, Quitch, Dog's- 

 grass, is of the same genus as Wheal, but an altogeth- 

 er diflerent thing. The calyx is of two leaves with 

 about five flowers on an erect culm. The root is 

 strong, creeping, full of life, perennial, and sends up 

 .shoots in abundance. Horses are said to be fond of 



the roots, and they ore very nutritious. The grass 

 answers for pasturing. On account of its roots it is 

 very diflicult to eradicate thin plan;. It.i leaves shoo'. 



up in gardens about and among pinks or any cespitote 

 plants, or in branches of the currant, and the hkc. Ita 

 leaves are eaten by dogs to produce vomiting, probal 

 on account of their bitter extractive matter. 



Fire Blight in Pear Trees. 



For more than twenty years, we have cscopcd ai 

 serious losses from this formidable disease, though wt 

 have seen it occasionally on our trees: — We cut ofl'tl 

 branch a foot or more, below the dead part, and hn 

 it without delay. This is the only enchantment thll 

 we use against it. After a respite of several yean^ 

 wc found a few days ogo, one small limb with dca'' 

 leaves which had every appearance of Are blight; 

 was burnt; and we presume that one small colony oi 

 insects wos burnt with it. t 



Annual Falrs--Intelligcnce Office* 



To the Editors of tlte New Genesee Farmer — 



1 observed thot by a resolution of the Genesee . 

 riculturol Society, the Executive Committee nre j 

 rected to couse semi-annual fairs to be held lor f 

 and exchange. Without meaning to discourage 

 wish to ask a question. The diflicullies as well nsl 

 advantages of such fairs should be known beforehan 

 I think every farmer will see at a glance, the benelij 

 to be derived from them, if they could be ihorougb' 

 established. But unless they are held in every tow, 

 instead of one for several counties, will it not coi 

 more than it will come to, to drive animals, ten, twcr 

 ty, or thirty miles for sole ? I fcor their worn oppt, 

 once, after such a drive, would greatly injure tli^^ 

 sole. Please dissipate these doubts. 



I wish to propose something, which I think wo 

 be valuable. This is, a sort of intelligence oflict^ 

 on advertising shop, in every town. Many wand 

 buy, and many want to sell, but they know not wh 

 to go to attain their object. I would propose tha 

 person be appointed in every town, if practicable, 1 

 shall keep a blank book, where any farmer nia}^ 

 and register briefly the description of animals he I 

 have for sale; in a short time a large assortment woj 

 be recorded. A purchaser, by glancing at the boi 

 woidd SCO in a moment whatever there were for ( 

 and know where to go. Let such book be kept i 

 central part of the town, and the keeper receive a | 

 fling fee from each person to pay him, and it vrd 

 be attended with little trouble, little expense, 

 doubtless prove very useliil. Such advertisemi 

 should of course be classed — one part of the book b 1 

 ing for milch cows, one tor oxen, one for horses, ai . 

 other for pigs, &c. &c. .1. 



Influence of the ])Ioon. 



Half a century ago, Algernon Roberts, a disti 

 guished farmer near Philadelphia, in his first minn 

 of the process and results of sowing plaster, rcgiilaj 

 noted the moon's age when the application was mad 

 but after one year's experience, he soys, " As I p'' 

 ceived no diflference from the age of the moon wbi 

 sowed plaster, I discontinued minuting it as 

 chimera unworthy of notice." This was proceedii 

 on the true principles of pbilosoi>bical induction, j 

 that period, however, the notion of the moon's in6 

 ence on vegetation wos very prevolcnt, and so invet 

 rate that Judge Peters remarks, " Mr. Roberts rid 

 wnth those who are governed by such chimeras, tl 

 credit of his other facts." Judge Peters added, " 

 worthy old Gcrmon told me, in the presence, ai 

 much to the edification of several of his neighbo: 

 who were great believers in the moon, that our etc 

 tiiins never went right at the wrong time of tl 

 moon !" ♦ 



Sunflower Seed Oil. 



Mes^ks. Epitor's — Your correspondent, C, asl 

 what is the best manner of cxiractiiig oil from sunflnv 



