46 



THE NEW GENESEE FARMER, 



Vol, 



For the New Genesee Farmer, 

 Hills and Forest Trees. 



Messrs. Editors — During our peregrinations this 

 winter, whicli have not been ' few nor far between,' 

 tbough confined chiefly to this State, we have seen 

 many, very many, beautiful forma; and which we be- 

 lieve might be rendered still more beautiful by a little 

 attention, and at a comparatively trifling expense on 

 the part of the owners, to a portion of them now 

 nearly or quite useless and unproductive. 



We allude to the small gravel and sand hills (in 

 some instances calcareous) so common throughout 

 our State, more particularly in the Western part ot it. 

 Many of these nie so steep that when the surface is 

 disturbed by the plough, (which should never b«,) 

 much, and in some instances nearly all the productive 

 portions of the soil is washed down by heavy tains, 

 and finds its way to the plains below; and as these, by 

 this unavoidable process, (if the surfaces of steep de- 

 elevities are disturbed,) become enriched, the hills be- 

 come impoverished, and very nearly in the same ratio. 



One who has not closely observed these operations, 

 can have no adequate conception of the vast quantity 

 of earth that descends from mountains and hills, when 

 these are disrobed of their natural covering by any of 

 the operations of art, even when undisturbed by culti 

 vation. In many instances these cflccts are ruinous 

 to both, for years at least, and perhaps would require 

 a century to regain their wonted fertility. Now all 

 this may be prevented, and in our opinion ought to be; 

 and will therefore venture to propose the following 

 beautifying, cheap, and at the same time profitable, 

 method of accomplishing bo desirable an object. 



Let the owners of these hitherto naked and com- 

 paratively unproductive and unseemly hills, provide 

 themselves with a few bushels of eheetnuts, black- 

 walnuts, hickory-nuts, butternuts, acorns of the seve- 

 ral kiods, as well as the seeds of the pine and locust 

 —in short, all, or any of the seeds of our native forest 

 trees, which fancy, taste, or utility may dictate. — 

 There are also many shrubs that are eminently beauti- 

 ful, and worthy the attention not only of the horticul- 

 turist but of the agriculturist; all or any of them might 

 be selected at pleasure, to beautify, enrich, and adorn 

 these now uninviting portions of their farms; The 

 seeds should be gathered as soon as fully ripe, and sown, 

 without depriving them of their natural covering, 

 broadcast, in November oi December. This method 

 is to be preferred for the sake of avoiding that detests 

 ble regularity too frequently observable in door yards, 

 lawns, and pleasure grounds, as well as in orchards of 

 fruit trees. The sameness of such a view tires the 

 eye, as does an extended plain without any undula- 

 tion of surface. 



If this has been neglected during the months of 

 November and December, it can be done even now, 

 with as great a certainty of success, as freezing is on- 

 ly required to facilitate the vegetating process. This 

 done, the covering may be performed early in the 

 spring, by means of a shovel plough or heavy harrow 

 — the latter being preferable, as only a slight covering 

 is required; for nature, who never errs, drops them 

 on the surface to be covered only with a few leaves, 

 and the work is completed; and if timely and proper- 

 ly performed, he will not only be astonished by the 

 rapidity of their growth, but in a few years amply re- 

 warded, yea a thousand fold, for all their toil and trou 

 ble: and thus these hitherto neglected portions of his 

 farm, be the most ornamental, and probably the most 

 valuable pait of his whole domain. 



"Happy tlic man whose wish and care, 

 A few paternal acres bound ; 

 Content to breatlic his native air, 

 In liis own ground. 



Whose fields witii bread, whose herds with milk, 

 Whose flocks supply him with attire, 

 AVhoee trees in summer yield him shade, 

 In winter fire." 

 In a future article, should this meet with a favora- 

 ble reception, we may give yon our thoughts on the 

 injuries already done, when little more than half a 

 century has elapsed since the sound of the woodman's 

 axe v as first heard in our noble forest, and in his mad 

 career, cherishing malice prnpense against every tree, 

 bush, and shrub, has well nigh swept the whole from 

 the earth, not only to the great detriment of the soil, 

 but even to the climate and health of our beloved 

 country; and with it the noblest ornament and great- 

 est source of wealth to any country — its majestic for- 

 ests. NATURAL CROOK & CO. 

 Hemlock Hill, near Silver Pond, Jan. 1841. 



Let none deem th s work a usel^ ornament; for 

 whatever beautifies and renders more dear to mnn hie 

 bom:^, can never, by a reflecting aitd Bor.sible mind, be 

 deemed useless- 



Military Fines. 



An esteemed correspondent, in allusion to that part 

 of Governor Seward's message, which relates to mil- 

 itary fines, and consciencious scruples against paying 

 them, suggests, that such persons pay an equivalent 

 of the cost of military service, to be expended in books 

 published by the American Peace Society, for distribu- 

 tion m the common school libraries, and in tracts to be 

 placed in families, for the spread of the principles of 

 peace. He wishes to throw out this hint for public at- 

 tention. As his communication is rather foreign to 

 the objects of this paper, we hope he will excuse us 

 for not publishing it at length. • 



Farming in Allegany County. 



Joseph B. Skifl^, of Hume, Allegany co., gives the 

 following average products of a farm in that place for 

 the three past years, as an indication of the state of 

 agriculture there, and not as any thing unusual or ex- 

 traordinary for that region. 



1838 



Winter wheat 16j 



Spring wheat, 18| 



Barley, 14 



Oats 27 



Corn .50 



Potatoes, 300 



Hay 11 



'39 

 . 17 . 

 . 12 . 

 . 25 . 

 ■. 51 . 

 . 25 . 

 .233 . 



. n- 



'40 

 . 20 

 . 15 

 , 37 

 . 40 

 , 40 



H 



Importation of Silk. 



The Journal of the American Society states that 

 the importation of silk into the United States, during 

 the year ending 30th of September, 1839, amounting 

 to nearly twenty-three millions of dollars. Compar- 

 ed with other articles imported, that of silk is one- 

 fourth more than the amount of any other. The a- 

 moimt of manufactures of cotton imported was $14,- 

 092,397: of iron. $12,051,668; of cloth and cassi- 

 meres, $7,078,806; worsted stuff's, $7,025,898; 

 other manufactures of wool, $3,567,161; and half the 

 value of silk and worsted stuff's, $1,169,041; total 

 woollen goods, $18,831 90. The importation of su 

 gar amounted to $9,924,632; linen, $6,731,278. So 

 that the importation of s]lk nearly equals that of 

 woollen and linen together, and is equal to half of the 

 other fabrics combined. 



,, 

 rich, sandy loam, in a cool situation — if a clay b(i|of o! 

 so much the more favorable — as in hot and dryi 

 tions they do not suffer so much from drought, aa 

 planted upon a gravelly or sondy bottom. 



Planting the roots upon a proper soil, near ths' 

 gin of a river; or other large body ol water, eeej 

 me the best adapted to ensure a perfect bloom 

 exquisitely formed flower, as the continual e' 

 tion from the surface in warm weather, product 

 midity in the atmosphere, much more congeL 

 the nature of the plant, than can be accompliel 

 any artificial means.* 



I admit thit cultivators may obtain some vei, 

 flowers from plantations made upon a dry, sand' 

 but neither will the flowers be as abundant, or ai. 

 as those upon plants growing on the favorable lo^, 

 just noticed; and, if planted upon a strong, riclfiiiui 

 the cultivator will have n much more vigorous gti 

 of plants, but with a diminished quantity of j 

 blooms. 



These remarks will not apply to the striped ani 

 tied varieties, so far as regards the soil. An e 

 ment which I tried last summer, with that novel 

 ty. Striata formosissima, leads me to the concl I :r,iDi 

 that to bring out the colors, the plants will do' it I 

 upon a poor gravelly soil, than elsewhere. 11 lUi 

 periment was as follows : — , 



No. 1, I planted in poor, gravelly soil, in ai 

 situation, and all the flowers but two were beai 

 mottled, 



No. 2, I planted upon a soil, as first recomu 

 above, and not one half of the flowers were mol 



No. 3. Three plants, very highly enriched, 

 ery bloom but one was self -cot cred. [The e 

 suits have attended our own cultivation of the 

 formosissima. — Ed.] __ 



Respectfully yours, T. DUNLJ 



Harlem, N. Y. Nov. 10, 1840, '" 



U 



From the Magazine of Horticulture. 

 On the Cultivation of the Dahlia. 



Agreeably to your desire, I send you a few remarks 

 on the cultivation of the dahlia; and, if you deem 

 them of interest to your readers, you may insert them 

 in your valuable Magazine. 



■phis much esteemed flower, having been for many 

 years a great favorite of mine, I have perhaps devoted 

 more time to its cultivation, and had opportunities of 

 seeing it planted in a greater variety of soils and situ- 

 ations than the majority of your readers; therefore, 



thout hesitation, I give you the result of my expe- 

 rience. 



I have invariably found the best general bloom upon 

 ! those roots ivnicn were piantea ujion a moderately 



From the fVeHcrn Farmer and Gari 

 To the Ladies. 



" No more toil 



Of their sweet gardening labor than sufficed ,_ 

 To recommend cool zephyr, and make ease i 

 More easy, wholesome thirBt and appetite 

 More grateful." h,^ Jj, 



Since the editors of this work are doing so mi i( 

 enlighten the stronger half of creation, as to ifa^ u 

 and means of securing the solids and durables d itp 

 it is but fair that something should be said to enli 

 attention of the gentler sex, in regard to the orm 

 tal. 



Let me be understood, then, as giving yoi 

 and all, an earnest request to take up the sciei 

 cultivation, in what pertains to ornamental gardi 

 "Poh!" — says some good house-wife, lookil^ 

 from a portentious pile ol stockings — "What] 

 use of fuddling and quidling over plants and flo' 

 " Dear me !" says a young lady, between sixteeji 

 eighteen, engaged in the momentous pursuits indd 

 to that time of life — " How is any one to find tini 

 attend to such things 1" " Oh !" says another, 

 admire plants and fine shrubbery, but then they ue 

 expensive ! one must pay so much for them, and It 

 a man to tend them, &c., &c. And there are* 

 others, we must confess, even among our owi, 

 who, should you show them the most peerless of] 

 ers, in its fullest bloom, would tell yovt quite comi 

 ly, "La I that's only a rose, I've seen thonsal 

 'em !" To this last class, any argument on thi , 

 ject of such very common afi'airs would be entireijt 

 of place. 



But as ladies in general, and American ladi 

 particular, never do any thing, even to undergo!: 

 tightest lacing, and wearing the thinnest shoes; 

 coldest winter weather, without having good and 

 cient reasons to sustain them, we must of coureS] 

 a few solid ones, as to why the pursuit of ornai 

 gardening is so particularly to be recommended to 



* Of this, we think, there can be no doubt. Mr. TIlOL 

 of New York, whose garden is situated at Astoria,] 

 nearly opposite Hurlgate, immediately upon the Eastf 

 running to within twenty feet of the water, has not f 

 for several years, to produce an abundant bloom; whi 

 tivators in the Interior, at Jamaica, and at Brockl)^ 

 other places, have been unable to olilain a hundred f 

 from the same number of plants. But. as it ia imp 

 for most cultivators to avail themselves of such a siU 

 the beat means must be adopted for procuring flo1< 

 1 soil and situations as those who .ire admirers, 

 dahlia, possess. This will undoubtedly be best eSet 

 planting in the best soil and most favorable -aspect 1' 

 garden affords. If the soil is sandy it should he well! 

 ed, in order that it may retain moisture a greater IM 



;, and allow the roots to penetrate more rotadiljl 

 greater depth, which will enable the plants to ' 

 Irought. When the e.\tent of a garden will allow! 



hoice of such a locality as Mr. Puhlap recomme] 



hould at once be selected.— Eb. 



II 



