28 



THE NEW GENESEE FARMER, 



Vol. 3. 



ft' 



we must compare their condition with the condition of 

 the arts in China. Europeans found on their first 

 visit to China, a state of high improvement in the arts. 

 But while Europe has advanced with a most rapid un- 

 provcment, China has made no progress since the 

 Cape of C4ood Hope was douhled by Vasco de Gama. 



It is said that science h,xs not yet done for Agricul- 

 ture all she ought. It is because science has not as 

 yet had it in its power to do more. We may exjx^ct 

 the best results from agricultural chemisty. Its sun 

 has just risen. Its level beams promise great advan- 

 tages. The labors of Liebig encourage the strongest 

 hopej". 



The agricultural movements already made, and those 

 Vifliich are yet to be made, are not in advance of what 

 shoiJd be. The progress of the United States in 

 other things must contribute to the advancement of 

 agriculture. The progress of agriculture is a test of 

 he moral progress of society. In the s.-ivage state, 

 there is no agriculture. In the semi-barbarous there 

 is little. If you will show us fiehis cultivated and 

 adorned, we will show you a people intelligent and re- 

 lined. War is most unfriendly to agriculture, which 

 is eminently one of the arts of peace. It was said that 

 France had no literature ; she had only books on war. 

 Peace has rcniodicd this defect. The same may be 

 B.^d of U.S. We have farmers but no agriculture. 

 We trvist a few years will place us, in this matter, in 

 an advanced rank. If peace is preserved, agriculture 

 mu.5t continue to advance among us. Why should 

 tigricuUuro remain stationary with us 1 The bible, that 

 book of wisdom, speaks of a high state of agriculture 

 a.s consequent upon a condition of peace. Should the 

 prediction of the propliet be realized, the desert place 

 will be glad, and the wilderness will blossom like the 

 rose. 



Mr. Nott concluJad his address with congratulating 

 the Society on the uninterrupted harmony wluch had 

 prevailed in their meeting; and had shown itself so 

 eminently in the choice of officers ; and in the decis- 

 ion respecting the place of the next Fair, a subject on 

 which a division had been feared. This sing\dar vina- 

 nimity had ser^'ed only to cement their union. Rely- 

 ing on this union, it should prompt us to be more 

 zealous in laboring in this good cause. 



Several of die rejected crops are meritorious, if the 

 mere dictum of the growers was proof, and in several 

 caste would have taken the first premiums, had these 

 ovetrtiglue been avoided. 



The committee think it an act of justice to mention 

 the crop of ruta baga turnips of Mr. F. 1'. Root of 

 Sweden, Monroe county, reported as producing 1,200 

 bushels per acre, at GO Iba. weight iicr bushel; also 

 the crops of Mr. G^'orge Shaffer of Wlicatlond, Mon- 

 roe coiiniy, which purport to have produced 1,100 

 buehelsot sugar beets and 603 i-2 bushels of carrots 

 per acre, ai OU Ibe. per busheh 



The commjtiee award. 



For potatoes — to Phineas Hardy of Le Ray, Jef- 

 ferson co., first premium, for 472 bushels per acre, 

 ISIS. To H. D. Grove of Ilooeick, Ren6.selaer co. 

 second premium, for 440 bushels per acre, ."gS. 



For ruta bnga — to W. B. Ludlow of Claverack, 

 Columbia CO., first premium, for 1,C25 1-2 buabela 

 per acre, $15. To George Shaffer of Wbeatlond, 

 .Monroe co., second premium, for 552 bushels per 

 acre, $8. 



Sugar beet— to S. B. Voil of Mount Laurel Farm, 

 Columbia co., firei premium, for 559 bushels per acre, 

 at 60 lbs per bushel, $15. 



(The Reports of the Committees of the New 

 York State Agricultural Society are in type, but 

 necessarily excluded this month for want of room.) 



New York Stats Agricultural Society. 

 We have received through the politeness of Mr. 

 Tucker, the Recording Secretary, the official report 

 of the competitors for the premiums of the Society. 

 We regret that our limits do not allow of the full in- 

 Krtion of these reports ; but in abridging them we 

 have sought to present the moat important parts. 



The Show of every thing but Butter, was smnll- — 

 Of Butter, tsventy lots, from different parts of the 

 State, amounting to over 2,600 lbs., were exhibited. 

 Of Cheese, only six lota v/ere presented, nmouiiting. 

 however, to a'lout 2,000 lbs. There W'^re but three 

 competitors for the premiums on Whe.it — five on 

 Oats — two on Indian Corn — two on Bole/ — four rn 

 Potatoes-'lhree on Ruta Bagas — two on S'ujar Beete— 

 one on Carrot?. 



Br.PORT O.S nOOT CROPS. 



The committee found ihemstlves exceedingly (in- 

 barrossedfrom the want of the formalities required by 

 the rules of the S.iciety, aa well as by the want of evi- 

 dence of the merits of the different applications. 



The committee iinamimonely reject all a;iplicotions 

 f.ir premiuma on crops that have been estimoted by 

 mnasiiringn I'ew roJs or other small portion of the acre 

 required by the rules, and which have not the evidence 

 of a correct survey. 



Sivoral descriptions of the soil, manure us.>d, labor 

 and other expenses incurred in the results stated, are so 

 imperfect that it was impossible to arrive at the lom- 

 parative merits of the ciops, as to expense — which de- 

 fects can be remedied another year, by having i/lank 

 /iir;ns made public tbruigh ib.e agricultural jjress — 

 No man should be allowed to compete for premiums, 

 who is not liberal and patriotic eoough in tho great 

 first cause of national prosperity, to put himself in 



t!idtunu of Orociirin;r ihp npre«..nrv inrmmni i.in 



English anil American Agriculture Compared. 



Mb. Editor. — To improve the condition of the 

 cultivators of the soil, and increase the productiveness 

 of the Earth — arc objects well worthy the attention o' 

 the Philanthropist and Statesman, and it is highly gra- 

 tifying to see the increasing interest that the ablest 

 and best part of the community are taking in these per- 

 euits. We in this country can and are deriving much 

 benefit from the many and valuable improvements and 

 useful experiments made in England. Yet in intro- 

 ducing them here it is very esential that we should at 

 I'lrst test them on a small scale, and prove them 

 thoroughly before we adopt them as our own ; for 

 there is so much diflerence in the situation of the 

 Ai'riculturiss, in the two countries, that what answers 

 the one well, will i\ot io for the other. 



Tho length of the season for agricultural labor, the 

 shortness and mildness of the winter, the low price of 

 labor, the great value of land, and the high price of 

 its products place the English farmer in very different 

 circumstances from us here. Oar inquiry must be, how 

 can we cultivate so as to give ua the greatest return 

 fur our labor. 



There it is, how can they increase the products of 

 the soil, regardless of the expense. I am fully aware 

 that the farmers in this section run over too much 

 cround for the labor they have to bestow upon it. Yet 

 I am equally confident if we were to apply the lohor 

 and exjicnse per acre that ia generally done in England 

 in cultivating, we should not be compensated, the 

 crops would not pay the expense. 



Here roots can be cultivated on ..a small scale to ad- 

 vantage, but never so extensively as in England. Our 

 frequent drouths in eummer, which cause so many 

 'ailurea of the crops, the severity of our winters which 

 makes it necessary to secure them all from the frosts 

 and the shortness of our autumtis which allows so very 

 little time tor thit bitaines.a, oil operate against the 

 extensive cultivation of root-crops. How could 

 the farmers in Western New-Y'ork niana^'e to raise 

 .')'J or 60 Dciee of ruuls ^annuolly 1 Yet more than 

 that ratio is profitably and easily cultivated in Eng- 

 land. The horses which are considered to answer 

 their purpose best, arc not suitable for nst they gene- 

 rally keep two distinct breeds tho one for the draft 

 and the other for .=pecd. Here it is very est niial that 

 we should unite both properties in the ecnie animal. 



Our Sheep husbandry too differs very eseeniially. 

 There the great value of mutton and low price of 

 wool make carcase the principal object, and the fleece 

 but a minor consideration. Here the flvcce is the 

 ,,r;,i,-;r,nl vnlii* ii-,.I ill.? cnrflae of lilthi cnnieiacnci' 



There the primary object is to increose the size of tho 

 animal and optnesa to fatten, here the value of the 

 fleece. Y'et 1 think it would be well for us to unite 

 both properties in our sheep, viz : fleece and mutton. 



In the breeding and feeding of neat cattle the 

 difference between the ton countries ia yet greater. 

 The certainty and ease with which they Boon raise 

 abundance of seed and forjd, the cheapness of labor, 

 the great price of animals and high price of beef, 

 make the heavy and fine breed- of Durhams very pro- 

 fitable to the breeder, for it matters not what quantity 

 of succulent food they consume, nor what amount of 

 care they require— if they do but increase their weight 

 the producer is remuiiorated. But it is very different 

 with the husbandman here. The expense and dificulty 

 in raising our roots compels us to use them sparingly; 

 and the high price of labor will not allow ue to bestow 

 on them that care whicb these heavy and delicate 

 animals require, and if we should, sell these animals 

 fur hetf at the market value they are generally so 

 low that they would not pay the expense. 



The tough and hardy animal that can feed in a dry 

 and often scanty pasture, and live on coarse forage ia 

 the most profitable one for us: Our neat stock have to 

 consume our coarse forage and give u-s som' thing 

 for that which we cannot otherwise take to marJut. 



Although we require hardy animals that can live 

 without much expense. Yet I am confident that many, 

 yes, very many of ua do not pay that attention to them 

 which we ought, even fjr profit, to say nothing of the 

 cruelly of cattsing them to suffer eeverely from hunger 

 and cold. The better we can feed with the food we 

 have to give, and the more comfortable that we can 

 keep our stock the more profitable they will be to us. 

 Yours respec'fullv, 

 mteatland, Mon. Co. 1842. W. GARBUTT. 

 We cannot say that we acquiese in the doctrinea 

 above of our respected correspondent to any consider- 

 able extent. We have not however in this case time 

 to enter into the wide field inuj which the discussion 

 of this subject would lead us. At some future occa- 

 sion, we should be happy to treat the various positions 

 that he assumes. To labor and capital judiciously ap- 

 plied, there is reason to believe that agriculture among 

 us affords a most ample reward and would justify a 

 much more liberal application of them than now pre. 

 vails, either in the culture of our soil, the production 

 of root crop', or the rearing and maintaining the moft 

 improv. d and best live Stock, which can be procured 

 at homo or abroad. 



In the mean time, we hope some of our intelligent 

 correspondents will enter upon the various important 

 topics suggested in Mr. Garbutt'a letter and give ua 

 the lessons of their experience and the rich fruits o 

 their wisdom. 



■00, 



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KIDCt 



Silk Prouuct. 



Wcgive with great picaeurc the following amounts 

 of silk produced the present season in Manheim, Lan- 

 ca.stcr Co., Pennsylvania, and commnnicated by Jno. 

 M. Sumney, who, we hope, will let us hear from him 

 again. Our friend complains that his 'hand does not 

 work well with the pen '; but he may be satisfied that 

 it works so well at the reel. The prospects of the 

 silk culture are constantly growing better. It must 

 succeed, and fully meet all reasonable cxpeciationf.l 

 We need not be impatient. Toemulticauhs fog wii 

 soon be o)Y; and men will work by the clear light of 



day. 



Herr has raised end reeled 552 lbs. of Co- 

 coons. 



Jno. M. Sumney has raised and reeled 534 lbs. o' 

 cocoons, and made 100 lbs. of silk. 



Carson has raised and reeled 133 lis. of 



cocoons. 



J..hn Witsler has rniseJ and reeled 264J lbs. cfco. 

 coons. 



