68 



THE NEW GENESEE FARMER, 



Vol. 



For the New Genesee Farmer. 

 Clover Machines— Raising and Cleaning 



Clover Seed. 



Messrs^ Editoks — Tlie attention of the public hoe 

 boen culled at different times to the 6iibject of Ritten- 

 bouse & BlacU well's Patent Clover JInchine, for clean- 

 ing or liu'ling clover eced; and I will take the liberty 

 of again calling their attention to this subject. 



Living in atlistrict where large quantities of clover 

 seed ore rolsed, and having been extensively engaged 

 in purchasing and selling the seed, and also, having 

 beon engaged in cleaning it with one of Rittenhonse 

 & Blackwell'e machines, propelled by water power, I 

 have had uiony opportunities for acquiring informa- 

 tion upon the subject. 



I am satisRud that Rittenhouse & Blnckwell's clover 

 machine is the best one now in use, as it can hull the 

 seed luster and j^leaner, and can be propelled by lees 

 power than any other ; which must give it a pre- 

 ference where horse power is to be opplicd. 



I have seen the certificate of a number of gentle- 

 men with whom I am well acquainted, some of which 

 (as I nnderstniij) have been forwarded to you for 

 publication; and I can say, I have no doubt of the 

 truth of the stateo.ents made by them. 



The power of two horses is nccesoory to propel a 

 machine, and any horse power con be applied to this 

 machine as well as to a thrashing machine or cotton 

 gin, by regulating the size of the pulley block or band 

 wheel, 80 as to give about 800 revolutions per 

 minu'.e to the cylinder. The concave is placed by 

 means of nuts and screws, as near to the cylinder as 

 jt can be wiihoulH'utting the seed, which of course 

 must be regulated by the man who may use the ma- 

 chine. 



The chaff should be thrashed out with the flail, as a 

 thrashing machine cuts up the straw too much, which 

 mingles with the chaff, and renders the process of hul- 

 ling much slower. Some persons use a hand bolt 

 abiiut 1'2 feet long, the reel of which is covered with 

 thin boards bored full of holes five-eighths of on inch 

 in diameter, through w'hich the chaff is passed before 

 it is passed through the clover machine. 



After the chafi" has been hulled, it n»y be cleaned 

 through any fanning mill, by arranging the mill n.s 

 described in your September number for 18-10, which 

 perhaps it woidd be well to republish. 



In the number above referred to, you make some 

 inqurics about the plan adopted for raising the seed, the 

 best soil, &c. 



In this vicinity the farmers usually sov? their seed 

 in April, the same as if designed for meadow. The 

 second year it is cut for hay, about from the 25th of 

 June to 1st of July. Another crop springs up which is 

 for seed. This is cut when sufficiently ripe, and if 

 not peifectly ripe it should be cut before any frost 

 comes upon it. The farmer must exercise his 

 own judgment as to the fit state of the seed for being 

 cut. It should, if possible, be secured without getting 

 wet, otherwise much seed will be lost in the hulling 

 process. Where land is sown for the purpose of pro- 

 curing a crop of seed, a'. least a bushel lo five acres 

 sboiil J be used. From two and a half to three bushels 

 of seed is a fair average crop per acre. I have known 

 Bevcn bushels raised. 



Almost any land is good for raising the seed, al- 

 though some kinds of soil require a free use of plaster. 



I would here observe, that farmers cut clover three 

 years in succession for the seed. Yet it is better for 

 the lond that tlie clover should be ploughed under the 

 third season. Yours respectfully, 



N. P. LEE. 



IViitriino, Sciiccaco., N. Y. 



P. S. — After the seed has been passed ojice through 

 tlif fanning mill, it should lie passed thvotigh a fine 

 riddle, with the meshes i"nfficicntly small for clover 

 seed alone to pasa through. 



IjOW nnd High Prices. 



Messrs. Editors — Much has seen written of late 

 upon the improved system of agriculture, upon Leg- 

 itlotive aid, nnd upon agricultural societies, — all of 

 which are subjects of high importance, calculated to in- 

 crease and multiply the real and substantial wealth of a 

 country. The only difficulty in the improving sya 

 tcni and the rotation of crops, increased outlay on the 

 farm, &c., is the low prices of produce. And yet, 

 perhaps, for the lost year, considering the crisis of our 

 country, this has been for the nation's interest. But 

 it is only a desperate state of affairs that can render 

 such a depression of prices even tolerable. Until we have 

 more to encourage us than we have at present, under 

 the low prices ol all produce, and a prospect of none 

 better under a continued reduction of the tarifi', but 

 little improvement in agriculture can be expected, as 

 there can be but little or no profit derived from it. 



These ideas may be considered vague by some, but 

 they are nevertheless true; that when a business of- 

 lers a fair emolument it will receive the attention of 

 enterprising men, and it will become a courted and 

 popular occupation. Whereas, without this reward, 

 it will be neglected. During the high prices of from 

 ISoG to '40, more encouiogement and more improve- 

 ment was realized throughout our country, than in 

 any number of ycors previous. Not but that prices 

 were too liigh for our country's benefit during some 

 part of that time; but the attention and progress in 

 all parts, in forming during thatperiod are sufficient to 

 prove the truth of my remark. In regard to Legisla- 

 tive aid, it is needed not so much from our State Leg 

 islature, as from our national. Nothing short of an 

 increased tariff, to promote and foster the mauutoc- 

 turing interests, can ever place our farming interest 

 in a prosperous and healthy condition. At present, 

 we can only look for fair prices in the result of a short 

 crop in Europe or our own country, which, at most, 

 can be but accidental; and then our country may 

 grow rich only on the misery of another. W^e must 

 correct this state of things which we are now practi- 

 cing, of buying of other countries millions and tens 

 of millions of those articles which we con as well pro- 

 duce and monufacture ourselves, if we would be on 

 independent ond prosperous people. And there is no 

 woy to effect this object, unless we become so poor we 

 cannot buy, but to lay on a duty on British and French 

 goods corresponding to their duties on our produce. 

 The objection now raised to the toriff, that it is at va- 

 riance with the interests of the cotton planters of the 

 South, will, in my opinion, cease to e.xist in a few 

 years after we adopt that system. We moy soon so 

 increase our manufacturing business as to create a 

 home market for a great share of the cotton grown in 

 our country. The idea of making all, producers, ond 

 relying on a foreign market, cannot be considered a 

 wise policy, for a free trade with England con never 

 be realized, whether it might prove beneficial to us or 

 not. British ogriculture will ever be protected — so 

 ought American manufacturing to be. By driving 

 all into the business of groin growing, ipe encourage 

 so rapid a settlement of our rich wheat country to the 

 West, not yet hardly begun, that in a few years we 

 should be able to supply almost half of Europe with 

 bread stufl", for which there can be no demand. By 

 these remarks I intend to show in opposition to your 

 able correspondent " S. W." that low prkes of agri- 

 cultural produce arc not in general more licnejlcial to 

 the nation's prosperity than high prices. A surplus 

 will alwoys couse a decline in price; but fair prices for 

 produce and fair prices for labor, ore blessings of pros- 

 perity; whereas, the reverse is a check to enterprise, 

 and by no rule can be made beneficial to notionol 

 wealth or prosperity. A SUBSCRIBER. 



Siccden, N. Y., April 20, I84L 



The Flowers of Spring. ^^ 



Though the season is backward, and the balmy doj 

 of the Inst month have been few, yet some brigb 

 fiowers hove come forth, exholed their odors, and pni 

 sed away. 



The SnoiF drop, while like the snow that often in 

 vests it, is always the earliest flower of the spring! 

 ond seems regardless of inclement weothe.-. No 

 riety, except that with double flowers, has sprung fn 

 this plant; but another species from the Crimea 

 been described, though we believe not mentioned 

 any American Cauilogue, and perhaps it has not yci ju 

 crossed the Atlantic. 



Next to this flower in earlinesa stands Erantliis hyt i 

 malishom Italy, with its yellow bloom scarcely ihre fi 

 inches above the frozen soil. Its generic name mei 

 earth-flower from its humble stature. 



Then the Crocus follows, consisting of several 



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epe Ml 



185 



cies, — all nearly allied, though varying greatly in co) 

 or — pure white, deep yellow, and rich purple, wit 

 many intermediate tints. Some florists advertielm 

 more than a hundred kinds, but none icitK rcdfutccri 

 The Crocus, unlike the Snow drop, opens its cup aB 

 looking upward to the sky, but closes it on the ap 

 prooch ol a dork cloud as if fearful that somethini 

 would drop in. No garden should be without thea 

 ornaments. 



The Bulbocodium moy be considered a vernol Col 

 chicum, to which genus it is nearly allied. Its pale re 

 flowers contrast finely with the Crocus. 



Differing entirely in form nnd color, comes fort 

 the Persian Iris, as delicate in tints as in fragranc 

 which "scents the garden round." There is one ch 

 cumstance however, respecting this flower, whic 

 may be peculiar-: the olfactories of many persons ar 

 unable to detect its odors. 



No shrub is so early in bloom as the Mezereon; bn 

 its frogronce and beauty are i ejected by some florisi 

 because it bears acrid or poisonous berries. If w 

 were to eat every thing that comes in our way howe^ 

 er, our journey on earth would be short; ond we hav 

 not been able to discover why other berries — those ( 

 the Nightshade for instance — are not entitled to c 

 much consideration. 



The Siberian Squill, resembling n hyacinth in mir 

 ioture, seems to peep out as if holf afraid of the seoson 

 but OS the spring advances nnd a milder air surround 

 it, it raises itself to the htight of three or four inchee 

 It has no rival ot this time in the delicate form and co 

 lor of its flowers. 



Primulu teris spreads into numerous varieties un 

 der the names of Primrose, Polyonthus, and CowslJ: 

 (modern botanists to the contrary notwithstanding; 

 and seems to pass into all colors except blue. Somi 

 of these kinds almost equal the Auricula in beauty. 



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For the New Genesee Farmer, 



" Bots and Hoise Bees," 



Messrs. Euitobs — Since the appearance of you 

 last number, the inquiry has been made, whether thi 

 nits or eggs of the hot-bee must be hatched in thi 

 stomach of the horse or not at all. The reply is, tha 

 the bot has rarely, if ever, been found in any aiiiiiin 

 but the horse. This is its appropriate place lor habi- 

 tation and food, as the apple tree is for the canker- 

 worm. In general, all such auininls are endowed 

 with the instinct «hich leads to the deposition of iheil' 

 eggs where they will obtain their oppropriote nutri- 

 ment. The wisdom of this general law is most ob\i- 

 ou9. The tick is found almost wholly on the sliecp,- 

 ond on the stcinc he w.iuld soon die, as was once re- 

 marked by a former of the luuse in the same situation, 

 of starvation. The hrvas of the gad, or gondfly, finds 

 ts home and food on the bock ol cattle. They uften 

 abooiid, loo, upon those which hav* inferior strength 



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