MMaatMba^SM 



110 



THE NEW GENESEE FARMER, 



V&L. 2J 



I^cast Trees iii the West. 



The Peoria, 111., Dcmocretic Press, ip. or. imercsting 

 menner, shows the great profits of ciiltivaling this 

 tree. Jt is of ndvaiitage to cwUivatc it in any section 

 of the U. S. : but here on our prairies, where so 

 much ie eai.l of the scarcity of timber, it is worthy of 

 rmich aiicntion. Dcaides being of moet rapid growth, 

 it furnibbeeoae of the most durable kinds of timber : 

 and if rail-fences arc to be used, (which we trust will 

 not be generally,) the fanner will find it for his inter- 

 est to give immediate attention to its culture. The 

 Press makes the following estimate : 



Prairie, In acres, at ."JsHpcr acre, $30 



Rails and putting up a fence round do. 6.5 



Seed and attention to nursery, 20 



Breaking up prairie, putting it in order, and 



setting out seeds, 40 



Subsequent attention to same, fence, etc. 35 



At 6 per cent, compound interest, this sum, 

 $190 — in ten years will nearly double, 

 making 3S0 



Deduct this from 0,400 trees, 12 years old, 



say at only "lO cent each 3,200 



I/eaves a not profit of $'2,S20 



If we remember right, on the old homestead in 

 Conn., they used to gct.$i per cubic foot for this tree 

 forehip-building ; so that the estimated value of the 

 trees at 19 years -Id may be considered qi.ite low. 



The following are the instructions of the pditor for 

 its cultivation, who says he is qualified by experience 

 10 give advice. He significantly remarks : 



'^ Von II begin tids spring. The locust is raised 

 cither from the seed or suckers ; but as the foriaer 

 mode is best adapted to our ;iresent purpose, we shall 

 confine our remarks to it. Select a rood and a half or 

 two roods of ground that has been under cultivation 

 several years, and which is of a rich loamy soil, neith- 

 er too wet nor too dry ; put it in line condition, and 

 having procured the seed, in order to make them veg- 

 etate freely, pour upon lUem '; 'jjIIii.t -.vni^r and let them 

 souk a few hours. Then ecw them in drills three or 

 four feet apart, and two or three inches distant in the 

 drills, covering thorn nearly as thickly as you would 

 corn. But, we would have you bear in mind that 

 this sbouUl be done while the earth is moist, and when 

 done the whole shiuld be passed over with a roller of 1 

 sufiicient weight to press together i':ie PDrih 'O as to 

 liivor the retention of moisture which will accelerate 

 the gorminuiion of the seed. If these directions are 

 Btrictly adhered to, the seed will come u; na rerlainly 

 and regularly as bccns, and in many cases the young 

 trees will attain the 'jeight of f^ur feet the first season. 

 Care should be taken thot they ho kept free from 

 weeds, and they may remain in their seeding location 

 two years. At the end of this time, transplant them 

 to the ground designed for the purpose, and which 

 must, during the time the seedlings occupy their place 

 in the nursery, bo enclosed, broken up and prepared 

 for their reception. There is no diflicuhy in trans- 

 planting them, and where the roots are taken up care- 

 fully it is n rnre case to see a tree die. To give the 

 above number of trees in the 10 acres they must be 

 set 8 by 8J feet apart. In about two years after they 

 ore set out, the ground will aflbrd a superior pasture 

 to which it may be applied without detriment to the 

 trees." 



" But, you'll say we have made no allowance for 

 paper calculation. True, we will therefore now throw 

 in, to moke up for thot objection, the ten acres of land 

 with the locust stmiips, which will be of immense 

 value for a now growth of trees, that will follow with- 

 out a nursery, and with less care, more certainty and 

 greater rapidity, than the first croii, at the same time 

 afibrding an almost inexhaustible source for locust 

 Btickers." 



Tor the food that was to sustain and nourish them, 

 they had, the last ycor, more than 73 millions bushels 

 of wheat, equal to more than 14 millions of barrels of 

 wheat Hour, a rare article with those who subdued and 

 settled this domain. They had also more than seven- 

 teen millions of rye; upwards of si.x millions of buck- 

 wheat, and three millions of bushels of barley. The 

 value of the poultry that strolled about the yords and 

 enclosures, was more thun nine millions of dollars. 

 The number ol swine was up>vards of twenty millions, 

 and the number of sheep more ihan niaelecn millions. 



These people of the United States had the last year, 

 more than 3u0,U0U bushels of Indian corn, and 

 more than ninety-nine million iiU.'hil.") of potatoes, 

 and upwards of thirteen millions neat cattle, which 

 furnished them milk, butter and cheese, &c. to the 

 value of more than thirteen millions of dollars. They 

 had at their command the labor of more than three 

 millions horses and mules, and upwards of an hun- 

 dred ond si.t millions bushels of oats, and nine mil- 

 lions of tons of hay, on which to feed these and their 

 othur cattle. To sweeten whatever seemed acid or 

 bitter to the taste, they had more than two hundred 

 and eighty million pounds of sugar. Their land yield- 

 ed to them, for their indidgence, more than seventy- 

 seven million pounds of tobacco, and upwards of two 

 hundred and seven thousand gallons of wine with 

 which to cheer their hearts. Such is the income of 

 the soil only; and yet with all this income they are over 

 herd in debt. The public debts alone, in a time of 

 profound peace, are estimated at near two milliona of 

 dollars. — New York Journal of Commerce. 



flU 



The Silk Btisiaess in Peansylvania. 



On Saturday last, we visited the extensive cocoone- 

 ries owned by Judge Blyihe and Maj. Sneively. — 

 These enterprising gentlemen have three cocooneries 

 in the vicinity of our borough '*in the full tide of suc- 

 cessful experiment," and by their estimate they are 

 now feeding between four and five millions of silk 

 worms. As yet the worms are all healthy and doing 

 well, and we trust these gentlemen will meet with the 

 most perfect success in their enterprise, as it will have 

 a tendency lo encourage others to go into the business. 

 We have also, since visited the cocooneries of Wm. 

 Bell and the llcv. John Wiiiebrenner, and in the 

 building of the latter gentleman, we saw a large num- 

 ber of his worms spinning, having come to maturity 

 and spun their cocoons in three weeks, notwithstand- 

 ing they are called four weeks' worms. In regard to 

 the durability of Pennsylvania silk, we can speak 

 from experience. The writer of this article has worn 

 a figured satin vest for two seasons and has it on now 

 for the third, and the service it has gone through has 

 not been of the ordinary kind : yet it is neither worn 

 through at the pockets nor frayed at the arm holes. 

 We sincerely hope that the business may go on and 

 prosper until we are able to manufacture all silk goods 

 worn in this country. — Keystone. (Harrisbmg, Pa.) 



ed, in a great measure by a non-conductor, of mois- 

 ture at the surface, the plants will suffer comparative- ii^' 

 ly but little. This is abundantly shown in practice. ^i« 



Those who have not witnessed from experiments fi'' 

 and observations the advantages of fine loose earth on (iH 

 the surface, as a protection of plants against the jiiB 

 drought, would not be likely to suppose its effects so 

 great as it is, though the theory is plausible and reason- 

 able. Corn and other vegetables that have been weH ge, 

 hoed in extremely dry times, have flourished well, 

 while some parts left for experiment, were nearly dee. 

 troyed by drought. 



We noticed the powerful effects of this protection 

 last season. We cultivated a few acres, mostly dry 

 land, and the drought was severe indeed. Where the 

 soil was frequently stirred and kept light nnd loose on 

 the top, there was a constant moisture a short distance 

 from the top; but where the earth remained unmoved 

 it dried to a great depth. 



A narrow strip, running across the piece, was left 

 for turnips, and remained unpioughed. On this the (3,11 

 soil became dry below the usual depth of ploughing, 

 and the weeds were almost dead lor waiii of mois- 

 ture, while at the side, weeds of the same kind in the 

 the edge of the ploughed ground, were fresh and vig. 

 orous, and the soil was dry only a few inches on ths 

 surface. 



Where some grain was sowed, the earth was dr> 

 down six or seven inches; while by the side of it. 

 where the soil was often stirred, it was dried dowi 

 only three or four inches. And in this latter case, thi 

 moist tarth had a good degree of moisture, while th(|ttti 

 former contained but little. 



On this subject an intelligent cultivator observed 

 that he would rather have six men among lands, stir 

 ring the earth to keep it loose and fine, in a seven 

 drought, than to have the some number of men enga 

 ged in watering the plants. — Yunltee Farmer. 



'ffS 



Ike 



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m 



Tht: I'mltsolthe Soil. 



The Btntistica accompanying the return'sof the lastcen- 

 BU8 show, that the sixteen millions of" people who live 

 vrilhin the limits of the United Stntos possess lumber 

 to the value of upwards of elevt-. r 'Uions of dollars, 

 which, with brick and stoneof an incalculable amount, 

 constitute tho malmiuls for their dwellings. The in- 

 come of their. orchards which grow around those dwel- 

 lings is upwards of six millions of dollars in value. 

 They had more than twenty-six millions of pounds of 

 wool to convert into broadcloths, blankets, and hosiery, 

 &c., with which to shelter their persons from the in- 

 clemency of the weather, more tlmn a thousand mil- 

 lion of pounds of cotton to manufacture into various 

 iifleful and neceesttry garments, and mure thon three 

 hunured thousand pounds of silk for elegant nnl tinn- 

 cy dresses. The amount of their flux and bonip uni- 

 ted, was nearly a niiUion "f tons. 



Protection Against Drongbt. 



In tillage, the best protection against drought that 

 con be conveniently practiced to a great extent, is fre- 

 quently stirring the earth, so as to keep it light and 

 loose. In this way, the earth at the surface is in ma- 

 ny small particles, which serve as a non-conductor of 

 moisture, and retains it below, where the roots obtain 

 a supply. 



On the contrary, when the earth is hard and com- 

 pact, the moisture is readily conducted off through it, 

 even to a great depth in a very dry time. As an illus- 

 tration, if one end of a long bar of iron be pnt into n 

 fire, the heat will readily pass to the other end; but if 

 that bar be cut into pieces of one inch or less in 

 length, and laid along in the manner of a bar, tho 

 Iiieces would touch in some places, and in others there 

 would be a small space between them; and on heating 

 one end, the other would not be effected, os the heat 

 would not pass but a small space through the pieces. 



Again, we will suppose that a fire of intense heat be 

 made on a block of iron, that is four feet square, and 

 ten feet high, tho body of iron would fast become heat- 

 ed downward, even to the bottom. Now, if that iron 

 should be cut or broken into fine pieces, and a body ol 

 iron formed of these pieces, of tho same size 03 the 

 block, and a fire of like degree of heat made thereon, 

 the fire would work down slowly, after penetrating a 

 sm.ill distance through the many particles, and the air 

 intervening between them. We give this as the theo- 

 ry. It is the practice, as in all other things, that we 

 rely on as the foundation of true science. 



There is in a dry time, a great quantity of moisture 

 in the earth, that is continually riling and passing off 

 in evaporation; nnd if ihi* evaporation con te prevent 



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The Duty to lip. tor. 



'The world owes me a good living, and I'll hav. 

 it,' says some blackleg, as he finishes a luxuriant ic 

 past; ' here, landlord, another bottle of your prim 

 Madeira 1' Haifa dozen empty-heeded fops, wlio si 

 gazing on him, by stealth, in silent admiration, ho 

 the sentiment with a shout of applause: 'That's it 

 The world owes us a good living and we'll have it !- 

 landlord, more wine here 1 'we won't go home li 

 morning.' Let's go it while we are young. Wh 

 cares for the expense V The consequence of this ii 

 the pilfering of money drawers, the ignominious loi 

 of employment genteel loaferism, and so on, until or 

 of these enterprising gentlemen, in eager pursuit > 

 the 'good living' the world owes him, puts the wron 

 man's name to a check, or in some kindred way ge 

 a ticket for the marble palace at Sing-Sing, wliei 

 the Stale provides 'a living' for those it conside; 

 deserving, but not just such a one os consists with the 

 own estimate of their exalted merits. 



The great error in this ease is in the original maj 

 im. It is false and detestable. 'The. world owe 

 you a living?' How owes? Have you earned 

 by good service ? If you have, whether on the ai 

 vil, or in the pulpit, as a toiler or a teaCher, you hav 

 acquired a just right to n livelihood. But if you hav 

 eaten as much as you have earned, or — worse still- 

 have done little or no good in the world, the worl 

 owes you nothing. You may be worth millions, an "! 

 able to enjoy every ininglnary luxury without care c 

 effort; but if you have done nothing to increase tt 

 sum of human comforts, instead of the world owin 

 you a living, as foc.ls have babbled, you are morally 

 bankrupt and a beggar. 



Mankind arc just awaking to a consciousness of tl 

 duty resting on every man to be active and useful i 

 his day and in his sphero. All are not called to di 

 or hew — to plough or plane — but every man has 

 sphere of neefiilness allotted him by Providence, ar 

 is unfaithful to his high trust if he deserts it for id 

 pomp or heedless luxury. One man may be fitted b 

 nature and inclination for on artisan, another for 

 sailor, and a third for a merchant; but no man wt 

 overborn, fitted only to be an idler ond a drone,-' 

 Thn.sc who become such are the victims of perveri 

 circumstances, and a deplorably false education. 



" But has not a rich man a ri.oht to enjoy b 

 wealth?" J\Io6t certainly: We would be the last t 

 deprive him of it. He has a natural and legal rigll 

 to possess and enjoy it in any manner not injurious II 

 others, but he has no moral right to be useless becaue 

 he has superior means of being useful. LeihimBUil 

 round himself with all the comforts and trueluxurM 

 of life; let the masterpieces ofort smile on him inhi 

 gollaries, and tho mighty minds of all ages speak It' 

 biiu from his libntry. Let Plenty dsck his board, an 



So- 



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