.No. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



101 



ti. 



,. ikely. Then boil tho roots for them the first dny; 

 wlf boil them the next, niul the third day feed them 

 •«w, and you will hnve no fiiribor trouble. 



I raise the cnriol nnd sugar beet, but do not think 

 my laud ns well ndapt( d to theui as to tlio ruta bngn. 

 Last year my white beets yielded about 51)0 bushels to 

 the acre, and carrots -KtO bushels. I should prefer 

 carrots to tho rutii baga for horses, if as easily raised; 

 but with me ihi'y are more expensive. 



Farmers think it costs too much labor to raise rutn 

 bags; but if they will try it, and note the expenses, it 

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

 kept an account with my crops for several years, I 

 have afcerlnined that more value may be realized Irom 



I ruta baga than almost any other crop. I give you the 

 account of one acre raised last year, on land which the 

 year previous was sward, turned over and cropped with 

 pens. 



Rent of land to cover inti rest and taxes, $3 00 



Ploughing 1 50 



Tbirly loads b:ini yard manure, 7 50 



Ridging before and alter manure, 1 50 



Planting and seed, 1 50 



Hoeing and thinning, four days, 3 00 



do. do. 2d. time, 9 days, 1 50 



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

 Harvesting and pitting, two hands and team, ? j. rn 



two days 



$27 50 



below the original surface of tho land, we intend to 

 make covered drains, perhaps three feet deep which 

 ^hall freely discharge all the water that soaks down 

 from the lands into them. 



In oonclnsion, wo would just remark, that the 

 lands are raised without extra e,\peube or labor, the 

 work being done in the ordinary routine of cultiva- 

 tion, t 



600 bushels rula bagos o IC cts. §97 92 



Nettgain $70 42 



Cost only JJ cents per bushel. 



I call the manure only 25 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 readers have never seen the " Ru- 

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

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

 121 1 I consider your paper invaluable to the farmers 

 in this region; as it is more particularly calculoted for 

 Western New York than any other; and wish it was 

 in the hands of every farmer. 



You may pnbliahany, all, or none of this, as you 

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

 of some other crops herealter; but 1 can hold the 

 plough better than I can wield the pen. 

 With respect, 

 ERASTUS SKINNER. 



PraUshitrgli, June IS, 1''41. 



Remarks. — Thank you, 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. — Eds. 



Ploughiug level Iiand iu broad Ridges. 



Wc have some acres of level land with a hard close 

 subsoil, through which the water soaks very slowly; 

 and sometimes iu 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 ir thereabouts. This is done by ploughiugs, 

 repeated in the same order, without leveling it back 

 again; and a very fine effect has been produced. In- 

 stead of the soil soaking for a month or two during 

 our wet spring, and 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 or grass, may now be readily ob- 

 tained. 



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

 the dead furrows arc proportionably depressed; and 

 in the bottom of these, now a fboi or eighteen inches 



Locust Tree luscct. 



A correspondent in Seneca county informs ns that 

 his locust trees are infested with "smart insects about 

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

 inevitably destroy the trees, uidoss 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 is 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 ol but one insect that 

 infests ihese trees, and 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 its 

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

 inch in length, and docs its mischief by boring holes in 

 the body and 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 many 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- 

 yond 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 is the 

 insect found by our correspondent. We only regret 

 that we are unable to ofl^cr him a remedy against their 

 ravages. Scraping off the rough hark 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. 



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

 Officc/ur Solon Hubmson.' 



If you are averse to asking your friends to give po- 

 cuniary aid to this measure in its incipient state, 

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



Ihopo you will charge the liberty I take, to th» 

 zealous ardour I feel in promoting this great National 

 object. 



I have the honor to subscribe myself f oar agricul- 

 tur4l friend and humble servant, 



SOLON ROBINSOIf. 



Lake C. H., Indiana, June '3d, 1811. 



[FOHM of SCBSCnil'TION PAl>En.] 



Xntional AIneric.^n Society of Agiicnltnrc. 



' To elevate the C'hariiclcr and Standing of tin Cul- 

 tivators of the American Soil." 

 The subject of forming such a Society, being now 

 gitnted in the United Slates, we do hereby picdgo 

 ourselves to the support of such a society, according 

 to our ability; and we earnestly linpc that the activ« 

 leading friends of the menEurc will take the neccssaiy 

 steps to organize the society in the course of the year 

 1841. 



Knowing ihni funds will be necessary to bring this 

 great beneficial National Instilution into active opera- 

 tion, particularly as we hope to sec a National School 

 of Agriculture connected with the Society; and also 

 a scientific Journal worthy tho proposed name ond 

 character of such an institution — those of us who hava 

 added certain sums to our names, have freely contrib- 

 uted those sum?, and placed them in the hands of 



to be expended in aiding the formation of such 

 a Society. 



American Society of Agriculture. 



We last month published the address of Mr. Robin, 

 son on the formation of a National Agricultural So- 

 ciety. We now giveacircularandformof a subscrip- 

 tion paper received from him. If any of our readers 

 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 NciD Genesee Farmer ; 

 Gkn. — The object of the annexed form of a subscrip- 

 tion, is to ascertain whether there is a sufficient num- 

 ber of the friends of this great measure in the Union 

 at this time, willing to lend their influence, to war- 

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

 ciety. Should Ihe indications appear favorable, a 

 committee ot the friends of the cause will take upon 

 themselves the responsibility of naming a time and 

 place for the meeting; of which you will he duly 

 notified. 



I fondly hope you will promptly lend yonr own 

 name, and procure a few names of other friends of 

 ogricnllural improvement in your vicinity, and then 

 forward the subscription by mail in timo to reach 

 Washington by the 10th of August; addressed to the 



New Varieties of Turuip Seeds. 



A large SESortmont of Turnip seeds from Eng- 

 land, have lately been received at the Rochester Seed 

 Store, including, besides the more common varieties, 

 several kinds quite new, or but little known in this 

 country. We extract tho following diseription of 

 some of them from the London Farmers' Magazine. 



Crcen-Tfljipcd Ycllmc-Bulloik — This turnip at- 

 tains n medium size. Its shape is globular, or some- 

 what flattened, with a very small tap root; it is an old 

 variety, and is acid in deserved estimation. 



Oz-Ueart YcUoic—is an excellent turnip; although 

 it comes early to maturity, and attains a considerable 

 size, it is by no means deficient in hardiness. 



Hood's ncto large Yellow — is a very superior, 

 large, glohularly shaped, hardy turnip, remarkably 

 perfect in symmetry, and has rather a lightish grf.en 

 top. It was introduced by Charles Hood, Esq., an 

 eminent farmer at luverbrora, Sutherlandshire, a 

 gentleman who has devoted much attention to the 

 cultivation and improvement of field turnips gener- 

 ally. 



Pomeranian Globe. — This variety was introduced 

 some years since from Pomerania, and may he con- 

 sidered the most perfect globe tnrnip in shape, as well 

 as the most regular or uniform grower. Its skin is 

 of a smooth white, and somewhat shinmg or tranepa- 

 rent-like in appearance; leaves smoothish, oi a dark 

 green colour with whitish nerves. 



Red Tankard.— In size, shape, and texture, this 

 variety luay be considered as occupying an interme- 

 diate place between the white and green tankard. It 

 is of a briglit red clover on the upper surface, and 

 white on the imder. 



Lawlown Hybrid. — This variety, which was raided 

 by James Wright, Esq., of Lawtown, near Perth, 

 may be considered as bcaiing 'Jje same relation to ij>e 

 Swede ns Dale's hybrid. It^ leaves are darkish 

 green, rather small and smoothish, roots roundish or 

 somewhat heart-shaped, being ofien tapered on the 

 underside; while below and green above the surliice 

 of the ground. They are posseseed of nu>re solidity 

 and firmness of texture than most of the white sorts. 



Lewisham Grcni-Toppcd Ox-heart. — This is cii 

 excellent variety, grown in some of the southern dis- 

 tricts of England and in Scotland. It acquired ihis 

 name from having been first introduced by Mes.-is. 

 Willmott and Co., of Lewisham. In color and ebai-c 

 it very much resembles the Lawlown hybrid, but is 

 somewhat softer in texture ond has larger and iighlct 

 green colored leaves. 



