No. 



/. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



101 



likely. Then boil ihe roots for tliem the firsidoy; 

 half boil tbem the next, nnd the third day feed them 

 raw, and you will have no further trouble. 



I raise the carrot and sugar beet, but do not think 

 my land as well adapti d to them as to the ruta bnga. 

 Last year my while bceia yielded about 51)0 bushela to 

 the acre, and carrots 450 bushels. I should prefer 

 carrots to the ruta baga for horccj, if as easily raited; 

 but with nie they are more expensive. 



Farmers think it costs too much labor t) raise ruta 

 baga; but if they will try it, and note the cxpentes, it 

 will satisfy them they get well paid for it. As I have 

 kept an account with my crops for several years, I 

 have ascertaiiud that mure value may be realized Irom 

 ruta baga than almost any other crop. I givp yon the 

 occount of one acre raisi'd last year, on land which the 

 year previous was sward, turned over and cropped with 

 peas. 



Rent of land to cover int rest and taxes $3 00 



Ploughing 1 50 



Thir;y loads barn yard manure, 7 50 



Ridging before and after manure, 1 50 



Planting and seed, 1 50 



Hoeing and thinning, four days, 3 00 



do. do. ad. time, 2 days, 150 



Horse and man with cultivator, three limes, . . 1 50 

 Harvesting and pitting, two hands and team, 



two days 



6 50 



600 bushels ruta bagas a 16 cts. $97 93 



$27 50 



Nettgnin, $70 42 



Cost only 4^ cents per bushel. 



I call the miinure only '2.^ cts., as it only fits it for 

 after crops, and is nearly saved — I used to make 

 but one hundred loads of rotted manure, and now I 

 make three hundred from the same means. 



As many of your renders have never seen the " Ru- 

 ta Bagn Hook," would it not be well for you to pub- 

 lish a description of it from the Cultivator, vol. 7, p. 

 124 ? I consider your paper invahinble to the farmers 

 in this region: as it is more particularly calculated for 

 Western New York than any other; and wish it was 

 in the hands of every farmer. 



You may publ'sh any, all, or none of this, as you 

 may see fit. If you wish, I may give you an account 

 of some other cmps heroalter; but 1 can hold the 

 plough better than I can wield the pen. 

 With respect, 

 ER.^STUS SKINNER. 



Pratisburgh, June 18, 1~41. 



Rejnarhs. — Thank vou, Mr. Skinner. We like 

 your mode of wielding the pen, and should be happy 

 to hear from you often. We will show the Ruta Ba- 

 ga Hook next month. — Eus. 



Pioagliiaig level Laud iu broad Ridges. 



We have some acres of level land with a hard close 

 subsoil, through which the water soaks very slowly; 

 «nd sometimes in rainy weather stands for days to- 

 gether in the furrows. — (Why don't you drain it ? 



We intend to — one thing at a time;) but in the mean 

 time we have been gathering it up into broad lands of 

 fifty feet ■ r thereabouts. This is done by plough. ngs, 

 repeated in the same order, without leveling it hack 

 •gain; and a very fine effoci has been produced. In- 

 stead of the soil soaking for a month or two during 

 our wet spring, ai||l seeming almost prepared when 

 dry, for the brick-kiln, it becomes light, mellow, and 

 greatly increased in fertility. Crops, double in value, 

 whether of grain ur grass, may now be readily ob- 

 tained. 



As the middle part of the land is much elevated, so 

 the dead furrows are proportionably depressed; and 

 m tlie bottom of these, now a fwi or cig'jtc^n inches 



below the original surface of the land, we intend to 

 moke covered droins, perhaps three feet deep which 

 sholl freely discharge all the wotcr that soaks down 

 from the lands into them. 



In conclusion, we would just remark, that the 

 lands are raised without extra expense or labor, the 

 work being done in the ordinary routine of cultiva- 

 tion, t 



Locust Tree Insect. 



A correspondent in Seneca county informs us that 

 hiahicust trees arc infested with "small insects about 

 a quarter of an inch long," and he thinks they will 

 inevitably destroy the trees, unless we or our corres- 

 pondents can point out a lemedy. 



We are not informed in what manner this insect 

 commits its depredations — whether it preys on the 

 wood, the bark, or the leaves — nor are we informed 

 whether it is a worm, a caterpiller, a beetle, or a fly — 

 but it id an insect about a quarter of an inch long! 

 Very definite indeed ! Who can tell what it is, or 

 how to destroy it ? We know ot but one insect that 

 infests these trees, ond that is the locust borer, which 

 in its perfect state, is a beetle about five-eighths of 

 an inch in length, of a dark brown color, with bright 

 yellow stripes across its wings and body. In iin 

 larva state, it is from one half to three quarters of an 

 inch in length, and docs its inischief by boring holes m 

 the body ond limbs of the trees, so that they break 

 off or die. They first made their appearance in the 

 Eastern states, we believe, about 15 or 20 years ago, 

 and soon destroyed mony of the trees there. They 

 began to appear on the trees at Rochester about eight 

 years ago, and in four or five years they destroyed or 

 disfigured nearly all the large trees about the city, and 

 they are still prosecuting their work of destruction. 



We have not discovered them in many places be- 

 5'ond the vicinity of the city, but they are doubtless 

 extending themselves, waging a war of extirmination 

 against locust trees; and we have no doubt this ia the 

 insect found by our correspondent. We only regret 

 that we are unable to ofl'er him a remedy against their 

 ravages. Scroping off' the rough bark and giving the 

 tree a coat of white wash, has been practiced here as 

 a preventive, but with only partial success. They do 

 not seem to increase very rapidly at first, and their 

 numbers can be reduced by picking them out of their 

 holes with a barbed wire. The perfect insect may be 

 seen at this season of the year, running rapidly about 

 the body and large limbs of the tree. 



American Society of Agricultiive. 



We last month published the address of Mr. Robin- 

 son on the formation of a National Agricultural So- 

 ciety. We now give a circular and form of a subscrip- 

 tion paper received from him. If any of our renders 

 desire to send their names or contributions to aid in 

 this laudable enterprise, we shall be happy to forward 

 the same to Mr. Robinson or to Mr. Ellsworth. 

 To the Editors of the Nac Genesee Ftirmir ; 

 Gkn. — The obj»ct of the annexed form of a subscrip- 

 tion, is to ascertain whether thcie is a sufficieninum- 

 ber of the friends of this great measure in the Union 

 nt this time, willing to lend their intiuence, to war- 

 rant a call of a primary meeting to organize the So- 

 ciety. Should the indications oppear favorable, a 

 committee of the friends of the cause will take upon 

 themselves the responsibility of naming a time and 

 place for the meeting; of which yon will be duly 

 notified. 



I fondly hopo you will promptly lend your own 

 name, and procure a few names of other friends of 

 agricultural improvement in your vicinity, and then 

 forward the subscription by mail in time to reach 

 Washingtin by the 10th of August; addressed to the 



'lion. H. L. Ellsworth, Commissioner of the Patent 

 Ofiice,/or Sulon Robinson.' 



If you are averse to obkingyonr friends to give pe- 

 cuniory aid to this measure in its incipient slate, 

 please moke use of the first part only of the paper. 



I hope you will charge ibe liberty I take, to the 

 zealous ardour I feci in promoting ihlj great National 

 object. 



I have the honor to subscribe myself your agricul- 

 tural friend and humble servant, 



SOLON ROBINSO.X. 



Laki C. H., Indiana, Juua Zd, 1341, 



[form of SCBSCalPTlOS PAPER.] 



Nntional American Society of Agricnltnre. 



" To tlecate the C/uiriirfer and Standing of the Cul- 

 ticiitcrs of ihe 4'licyiciin ^'oiL'* 



The subject of forming such B Society, bring nr.w 

 agitated in the United Slates, we do hereby pli-diie 

 oiiieclves to the (;upi>r.rt of such a socety, aeccid:ng 

 to our nbiiity; and wc earnestly hope tb.it tho cciivu 

 leading friends of the niensuie will mkc the nectsfniy 

 steps to organize the society in the course of the year 

 1841. 



Knowing ihaifunds will be nrce6S!ii7 to bring tMs 

 great beneficial iS'-itional Inetitutir-n into active opera- 

 tion, particularly as we ho:'e to Fee a National School 

 of Agriculture connected with' the Society; and hImi 

 a seieniitic Jnurnal worthy the proposed name and 

 rhnrncier of such an institution — liir^se of us who have 

 added certain eurvs to mir niimee, have freely conliib- 

 uted those sum^^, and placed lliem in the bands of 



to be expended in aiding the foniiotion of such 

 a Society. 



New Varieties of Turnip Seeds. 

 A large assortment of Turnip seeds from Eng- 

 land, have lately been received at the Rochester Seed 

 Store, including, besides the more common vorictice, 

 several kinds quite new, or but little known in this 

 country. We extract the following disciiption of 

 some of them from the London Fanners' Mif^osine. 



Grccn-Toppcd YcUotc-Bnlhirk — This turnip at- 

 tains n medium size. Its chape is globular, or soine- 

 wbat llatiened, with a very smiijl tap root; it is an old 

 variety, and is held in deserved estimation. 



Ox-Hcart Vdloie — is an excdlent turnip: oithorjh 

 it comes early to matiiritv, aird attains a considerable 

 size, it is by no means deficient in hardiness. 



Hood's new lars^e Yilloic — is a very superior, 

 farce, globularly shaped, bo.'riy turnip, rcniarkr.bly 

 perfect in symmetry, and 1.56 rather a lightish grien 

 top. It was introduced by Charles IJuod, Esq., nn 

 eminent farmer at Inverbroia, Sutherlnndshire, a 

 gentlen'.riii who has devoted much attention to tie 

 cultivation and improvement of field turnips gener- 

 ally. 



Pomcrnniiin Gl.ohc. — This variety was int.'oduceit 

 some years since from Pomernnia, and may be co;i- 

 sidered the most i:eit"ect globe tiiriri'p in shape, as well 

 as the most regular or uniform grower. lis skin is 

 of a smooth witi'.e, and somewhat shining or trarsaj- 

 rent-like in appcorcnce: leaves snioolhish, oi" a desk 

 green colour with whitish nerves. 



Red Tunkard.— In size, shape, nnd texture, t^•s 

 variety may be considered as occupying nn inieiirrc-^ 

 diate place between the white and gitcn tankcid. It 

 is of a briaht red clover on ibe upper surface, and 

 white on the under. 



Laicloicn Hijhrid. — This vaiioty, which wag raised 

 by James Wnalit, Ivq., of Law town, near Perth, 

 may lie coiisicerr d as bearing ihc same relation to the 

 Swede ne Dole's hybrid. Its leaves arc dnikijU 

 green, rather tmnll and smoothifh. reels roiindiflj oi 

 somewhat hciiri-tbcpeJ, being often tapered on :I,b 

 underside; v.iiite below and green above ihe surface 

 of llio ground. They are pnsccsted of more solidilv 

 and firmntEs of lexturc than nitst of the while £ort6. - 



Lritishiim Green-Topped Ox-Ajcrt.— This is an 

 excellent variety, grown in soir;e of ibt si'uthern dis- 

 tricts of Englrmd and in E^ootlnnd. Itccquind tl!;ij 

 name from liaving been first introduced Ly JVjeasr^. 

 Willmolt and C>.,u( Lewisham. In color turd eboi'o 

 it very much .lescmblco the I.siwiowr hybrid, but is 

 somcwbai softer in texture ocU Lot^lsrgcr tuU li^wr 

 green coicvcd Ica^Ts, 



