No. 13. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



187 



matured on llus land in i.u- iii e,i miavo; : ■!" •■-■.•■'!:';. 

 Tbisdisirict of land is also adopted to every other of 

 the straw groins cultivated in our country, and invari- 

 ably produces heavy crops, nnd is a natural groin 

 growing district. Most of the town of Cnienovia is 

 also adapted to the culture of graiu. 



There is in fact but little of the highest lands in the 

 county but what produce good crops of spring wheat, 

 barley and ontf, and liuliun corn matures on it in fa- 

 vorable seasons. Barley is shipped to ihc Albany 

 market to soma extent, but the surplus grain generally 

 (kids a inarliet tt the extensive distilleries in this and 

 the adjacent county of Oneida. This county is sus- 

 ceptible of producing an omoiint ofgroiji for export 

 vastly larger than it rfoes. Notwithstanding, as a 

 whole, it is n better grazing than a grain growing 

 county. It is probable that there will always be suf- 

 ficient of the grains produced in the county for home 

 consumption, and a considerable surplus for market, 

 and particularly of the coarse groins. When the 

 county was new, svinlei" wheat was raised in abun- 

 dance, even on the hill land, and on the first sumjner 

 fallowing of pasture lauds, heavy crops of winter 

 wheat were produced, and were not hove out by frost. 

 No one then doubted but that it would always be a 

 wheat country, and to a considerable extent it might 

 £!ill bo, but for the action of the frost on the hill lands, 

 heaving out the roots of winter v.hent. There is but 

 little hill land that has been pastured a tuw yeai.s-end 

 then Eummer fallowed, but has strength of soil suf- 

 ficient to produce a heovy crop of winter wheat, anJ 

 have it fill well when the action of ibe frost is pre- 

 yented, which has been sufficiently proved ; butspring 

 wheat on the hill lands generally is cultivated, on ac- 

 count of the precariousness of winter wheat : and the 

 variety which obtains most foyor is the Italian. 



it has been ebundanily iiroved, thnt spring wheat, 

 barley, nnd oats, can be sdvautageously produced on 

 our uplands, on greensward turned over. But 0.5 a 

 whole, the true interest and most permanent wealth of 

 the inhabitants ol the co,tiDty, lies in th« cultivation 

 of the grasses, on which the greater portion of the 

 farmers of many sections of the eounly, hove for 

 many years bestowed their chief attention, nnd in 

 rcariug ncnt stock for store cattle, fattening, and for 

 the dairy, and namero^is flocks of fine wooled, and 

 other arades of sheep ; which has beenn lucrative 

 business, having made many farmers wealthy, nnd all 

 those in a thriving condition. The soil of the hill 

 lands of the county, difiers iiiitch from the table landa 

 Bndthe valleys, being generally f/eefiom gravel, nnd 

 is generally composed of n rich loom nnd vegetable 

 matter. The bam, in many places, is of a dark or 

 chocolate color, in other places of a lighter color, in- 

 inclining to yellow. , , . , , , , . 



The native growth of timber is meple, beech, while 

 ash, white nnd red elm, hutt.-.-nui, cherry, some biioh, 

 in many plr.ccs eonsideruble hemlock, butternut hick- 

 ory, and in the northern and northwestern parts of the 

 county white nnd black oak, and hickory : and in 

 Esvampe, white pine, eedar, nad black ash. There 

 are some upland pine lands, but they are not exten- 

 sive, and the limber has principally been converted 

 into buildings. The nentetoek of the county is main- 

 ly of the native breeds ; there are not many Short 

 Horn Durhams, though some. There is yearly a 

 considerable number of neat cattle fattened for market. 

 The principal nrtlcle of food in fatteiung them, is the 

 pntatoe; but liidian meal, barley and oat meal, is 

 bIso u.^;d as feed with the polatoe, and also oilcake. 

 Pork is also fattened cvtensively on potatoes boiled 

 and mixed with barley, and oat-meal, peas, and some 

 Indian corn is fed towards the close of the iaitening, 

 but is not extensively fed. Good and heavy pork is 

 made bv the above mode of feeding. Those who 

 keen a dxiry, fatten hogs on the refuse of the dairy. 



'r'.ecrt-ine consists of vnrioui b.. ■jii.,d crosses, 

 nnd are much improved since the first so tlcmciit ol 

 the county, and ore still improving. Berkshiree, nnd 

 crosses from them, arc becoming eominoo, and n re in 

 high repute. 



Of sheep the Merino nnd Saxony hnve prevailed, 

 with every ininginuble grade, by crosses on the na- 

 tive breeds. 



As a root crop, potatoes prevail vastly over all oth- 

 ers, nnd are extensively cultivated both for fattening 

 domestic nniiiiols nnd for feeding store cattle ; nnd are 

 abundjntly produced, or can be, on mosiaoils in the 

 county. The rutn hnga has been cultivated by some, 

 but has not obtained favor with the farmers generally. 

 Carrots are c-tiltivated to a limited extent by some 

 and fed to milch cnws and other stock, and are held 

 in high repute. Hops have been extensively cultiva- 

 ted from on early dny in this county, nnd yet continue 

 to be, which has been n source of considcrnblc wealtn 

 to those eiignged in that culture. 



The ploughs in use are the cast iron, of various 

 patterns, no one prevailing exclusiv-oly. Doubleor 

 hinge harrows, nr« much used of late years, and arc 

 considered a grant improvement in ihnt nriicle. ' Cul 

 tivators of several models nre used among corn, and 

 are considered an improvement by many, over plough- 

 ing among it, at the time of hoeing. 



Of grasses for mcndow, timothy or herds grass, is 

 mostly cul'.ivated, clover mixed with it tn sonic extent. 

 C 11 wet cr swampy lando, red top or foul meadow. 

 Tne principnl grasses cultivated in the eountj' for 

 meadow nnd pasture, nre red nnd white clover, herds 

 grnes or timothy, red top nnd foul meadow. Spear 

 or June grass, grov/s spontaneously without cultiva- 

 tion. Some orchard grass or Ductylis glomcrnta, is 

 cultivated by sonie. and produces an excellent hay, 

 and nn abundant growth of feed for pasture, and for 

 that purpose is most valuable, starting enrlieriu the 

 spring, and after being mowed or fed of!', enduring 

 the drought better, and yielding feed later in the fall 

 than any other, and its roots never winter killing, and 

 is easily subdued. Its- culture should be extended, 

 nnd pnrticulnrly for pasturage. The greater port 01 

 the county being hilly with numerous valleys of rich 

 land, the hills abonmling with springs, which water 

 the valleyB, peculiarly adopts it lor a grazing and stock 

 growing county ; and nil the best grain districts will 

 also produce good meadows nnd pi.sturage. The fat 

 cattle and sheep, pork, butler, cheese nnd lard, nre 

 principally sent to, or purchased for the New York 

 market. 



Store cattle nnd swine are either sent to, orpurchas- 

 ed for the different eastern markets. Tne aggregate 

 annual value of grain, store and fat cattle, pork, lard, 

 and store swine, store sheep and wool, hops, an. I the 

 products of the duiry, thct are sold nt the difrerent 

 markets, 1 have not the slatisiics of belbre me, but 

 which I think amocnts to nearly $8,000,000. 



Wool is one of the principal staples, some of whic 

 finds n market at the manufactories of this nnd the 

 adjneent counties; but it ii mostly purchased by wool 

 staplers for the manufactories in the Now England 

 Stales. 



In addition to farmyard manures, gypsum is used 

 to n considerable extent ns a fertilizer, paiticularly on 

 pnsture nnd meadow lauds. 



In regard to rotation of crops, the practice thnt most 

 prevnils, and particularly on the gravel table lands, is, 

 to spread the stable and bBrn-ynrd manures on the 

 gfensward of pasture or meadow lands, carefully 

 turn it under, pas; over a roller, drag with a light 

 harrow, and plant Indian corn, dross the crop with a 

 cultivator, and hoe twice ; and it ie not uncommon to 

 obtain a yield of from sixty to eeveuiy bushels per 

 acre. The succeeding spring this land ie sown with 



baiiey,uiid ruiiidiy pioduc8d a licnvy crop ; the siuh- 

 ble id then turned under andbO»nto winter wheat, 

 and needed to grasa ; the whom yielding gcnernlly n 

 heavy crop, nud llmlaud left in a better condition than 

 before. The same rotation prevnib to sonie extent on 

 the up or hill Innds, cy.eept sowing spring grnin, gen- 

 erally after barley ; the crop of winter wheat being 

 more precarious on such land. 



In regard to the culture uf cilk, a number have 

 coiniuenced die business on n fcuinll scale, nnd their 

 experimenio linvw gciiornlly been sntisfnctory, demon 

 strating thnt it can be nindo a kcfa.ti»o employment 

 for fnmaleo, end the labor of ohildicn. In foci, there 

 cnnnot 1)0 for females so lucrative a domestic employ- 

 iiieiu, to ihose who wish to be indusLrioiis, as tlioeul- 

 ture of silk, and uf mauufaclaridg ihe raw mnteriul 

 inlo sewing silk nnd various articles of drees, both for 

 use and ornament, for wliieh the ingenuity of the 

 fair of our country nre dis'.inguified. But the males 

 must furnish the pluuinlion of mulberry trees, 



The MorUB Oregona, or Oregon Mulberry, was in- 

 tiodaced into this place by me, some five years ago, 

 orfive years next spring. They prove lobe hnidier 

 thnn nny oili'T kind or variety with which I nm nc- 

 quuinted, and I have ten different kinds nud varieties. 

 My new plant has endured the rigors of our severe 

 winters, v.'iiho.ut injury, whore the Italian, or Moras 

 alba, standing beside thcin, wonid be killed, both tl e 

 branches and the main slein. 1 have them growing 

 nt an elevation of about IMO feet rbove the level of 

 the tide waters at Albany, nnd nearly 43^ N. latitude, 

 and flourish well.. The leaf of this new plant is lar- 

 ger thnn the Multicaulis usually ie, and is much thick- 

 er and more heavy, being a more fleshy leaf thnn any 

 other of the mulberry siiecies known to me, with but 

 very little woody fibre in the leaf; and it contains 

 much more milk juice, nud less nf water, thoiini:/ 

 kind known to m«. 1 have fed the leaf of this new 

 plint 10 silk worms, four oeasoiis, and in all catcs my 

 worms did better, fed with this leaf; were nioie 

 healthy, and mmle better cocoons, than thotc fed on 

 the other kinds ; and in all cases, produced a finer 

 nnd more flexible filament, nnd of a richer nnd more 

 brilliant lustre than I have ever seen on nny silk other 

 than this, either foreign or domestic ; nnd the silk 

 has been so pronounced, by hundreds of the best 

 judges ol the article. Thit- tree wiJI certainly be an 

 acquisition to silk cultnriels, particularly in the north- 

 ern Stntcs, ns the culture uf silk progresses, nnd the 

 merits of this tree becomes known. 



In regnrd to the vnlue of lands, there is but liillo 

 improved or partly improved, in the remotest siiua- 

 tions but will sell for $;0 per acre ; and better lands, 

 and more favorably situated, ar« valued from ,-§25 to 

 $35 per acre : while the best situations, of larms, 

 both in regnrd to tlK-roughfurcs, soil and buildiiiga, me 

 valued nt° from $40 to $160 per acre. Fnriiis have 

 been sold ns high ne $G0 per acre : but the nveinge 

 lue of Innri in the county, 1 think, would not ex. 



cd $:>5 per ucre^ 



^qphe Names of Pltints and Flowers. 

 Itiapiopoeed to substiiute plain English for ibe 

 do"-Utin terms at present applied to plants nnd flow- 

 ers-annl-.einiiou which would, we think, be advan- 

 tageous, and meet with general approval. Crablir, 

 whom nothing was too minute to efcupe, hoe odraira- 

 t>ly ridiculed this botanical pedantry : 

 " High-sminding words our worthy gardener gels. 

 And at bis club to wondering swnins repeote ; 

 He there of Uliusund Rbndoilendron epenUs, 

 And Allium cnlls his Oiuone nnd his Leeks. 

 Nor weeds nre now ; from v.nence arose iheweed. 

 Scarce plant--, fair herbs, nnd curious flowers proceed ; 

 Where cuckoo pints nnd Dandelions sprung, 

 (Gross -names had they our plainer sues among,) 

 There Arums, tin re Leoiuoilous we view, 

 And Arlemisia gio.v. wheie Wormwood grew 



