±&tg£? 



^r5s?^MjSD 



TWO DOLLARS A YRAKJ 



'PROGRESS AXD IMPROVKMKXIV 



[SINOLI-: N'O. FOUR CENTS. 



VOL. X. NO. 5. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y.-F0R THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 1859. 



{WHOLE NO. 471 



HOORE'S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 



EUI1AL. LITERARV AM) FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 



Ii.-I i 



or OH. no doubt, wilt be thought a small 

 , hardly worthyof notice, ami yet we bought 

 n i, costing as $143,458. Thi 



• Agricultural. Lrr- 



Xm n 



TIMELY HINTS. 



■ i... i ) 



before. It* dep ■■■ H ill i 111 ..■■■;,■: [■ 



Rn nhlli wo love tho "inter, Etaquiel and mat, ita 

 bociuI bcan-lifc, its lei-ore lor rending and thought, 

 I the approach of the gay, bloomiug 

 spring, when the bitdj roturn with their sweet mu- 

 >■"■■ i'" treel begin to array themselves in their 

 ► num.. : ri nnents, nnilall nature puts on a smiling 

 ftice. Bat wo had not the least design to he poeti- 

 cal, and only now purpose to mtike a few sugges- 

 tions tbnl nuiv he of service at tl.i 

 failure of the whent crop in many sections of the 



'' lit*. Iki, caused fanners to took about them for 



thi but Substitute*, and considerable forethought 

 uiiil |.l.iKinii;' m necessary to determine the best 

 OTOpi to plant, the best way to procure the seed, 

 IDd tba beat mod« Of cultivation. A desire to aid 



'■' ' ■ ■' ■■■ I" "i" '■ elusions, has 



deroblc though! tothia sub- 

 ject, and iii the present and previous numbers we 

 hare described plants not generally grown in this 

 if perhaps nuy be introduced loodvi 

 " ' ' ■ 'I vumioed the importations 



of ogri cult oral products to ascertain whal we wen 

 purchasing d . ,l, ut might bet 



mostly came from the East Indies, hut 

 gallon* from England, and MO from Canada. 



Hogjind presented ■ bill for Oatmeal of $3,305. 

 No one will believe there is any necessity for pur 

 chasing ground oats. Wus the demand greater it 

 would no doubt be generally manufactured in this 

 country. It is principally consumed, we presume, 

 by Europeans who prefer it to corn meal. It is 

 ground pretty cxtcnuivcly in Canada, in some of 

 the Scotch settlements. Germany and Holland we 

 paid «7*rtl<M>00 (or /'■■■■ 



Many of the /v. N'^'v tind m> import might be 

 grown to advantage here, such as Madder, for 

 which we paidb-i ■..■ ;11 -?;;m ,:-,;. \\, ■ :|I . i n , ■ 

 11 ■■'■' ' ll'. '.'■: nlnch we may speak more par- 

 ticularly hereafter. 



Of fruit we talk sufficiently in our Horticultural 

 Department, and will here only remark that we 

 exported \&$l year 27,711 barrels of Apples, which 

 brought us $i4,3G3, of these U4I barrels were sent 

 to England, 14.570 to Canada and 8S8 to Australia. 

 Boston shipped 7,000 barrels, Genesee. (Rochester,) 

 5,425 barrels, Niagara 3,931 nnd New York 2,836. 

 Tlmt the ruining of our fine, long-keeping apples, 

 for exportation might he made profitable, we have 

 not the least doubt. 



If the Hungarian Grass is as valuable as feed for 

 horses and cattle, and produces from four to eight 

 tuns per acre, as our frieudsat the West represent, 

 it seems tons il mi -hi be profitably grown in some 

 localities on our strong, deep soils, for pressing 

 and •hipping to the large cities. In others it 

 (nlghl be grown to advantage for feeding. 



We shall continue to introduce to the notice of 



ir readers such things as are at least deserving of 

 thought, iu the hopes that some will be induced 



them a trial, and thus add to our stock of 

 practical knowledge. 



' be grown at home, and v 

 l " rl * '■■"■ ihe em.Mderation of the prod in 



hlM 



During the last fiscal year, ending June 30, 1858, 



era wan imported into this country nearly 



100,000. Worth Of potato**. Host of these wei'e 



eastern citieaoa Bermuda*. They 



bnl bi Log raised 



cUmatoof the British Weal Eadii 



npe about the time we plant, and find n readv 



new potato,* The Secretary of the 



importation* amounting 



a England. 



papers 





►alt? here. 



Treasury, however rept 



< Ireland and *2,i 

 Lost fall we saw a statement in 



pOtatOH had been received 

 at thst port in one week, from New Brunswick.— 

 These fact* would teem to show that growiog 

 l good business for those who arowith- 

 in reach of the eastern markets. The Blue Mercer 

 '"along been the fnvon 



I uufortuuatcly 



iwo'growers 



■ ij/lifA f tul,, nud it is a 



irell. We have been told 



I a favorite East, but with the experi- 



Itinkwi ki 



rs that little gem, tbe 



■ 

 ■ n use, and for a few 

 ' pay for them. The 

 great favorite East.— 

 vhltonsahsd potato, 







mnohbcuu 

 i/.-rico*, whi 



A«v.tAWi* getting i 



It is a buii 



Uie .-Viu parn i 



being almost entirely red, and U^" o U^7nd^0mo^ 



Kb. It besw good er«p», ^ .^ 



M as any variety. ^ d xh^s w u 



I plant for shipping. ltori e i Mtgdi|| 



*cw Jersey, we believe. Seed can be obtained 



here at |1 per bushel. 



we imported last year to the value or 



over/ir,, mtilionitf dollars, mostly from the E*« 



ladies and Russia. Lineud OSL 262,143 gallons, at 



?* *^—*Jsf $164,757, nearly all of which was 



I .land. Whether there is any ncees- 



■*"" 'hil large importation of Flax S«d, and its 



**c our readers to judge 



CANAEY SEED. 



AUOHG the many articles n 

 list of necessities, and for which we as a natio 

 send out a considerable sum of money annually, i 

 that indicated by our title. To what extent th 

 purchase* Of this seed may have grown we have 

 no means of obtaining information which might 

 be deemed reliable. In the table of Imports, as 

 furnished by the Secretary of tbe Treasury in bis 

 Report on Commerce and Navigation, all ''Seeds" 

 are included under a general head, and their ag- 

 gregule value is several hundred thousand dollars. 

 The consumption of this city and viciuty, may be 

 taken as a fair estimate of the Middle and Eastern 

 States, and here, from the best figures we have 

 been enabled to make, we may safely place the 

 value of the annual sales at from $4,000 to $5,000. 

 One of our heaviest dealers remarked "that there 

 were twenty persona engaged in the traffic who 

 sold to the amouut of $200, aud upwards, and 

 quite a number whose sales run downward from 

 these figures." For the past year the transactions 

 will be much above the sums stated, as the seed 

 has been scarce and high. It usually costs, in New 

 York, |S,00 per bushel, but now brings $4,50; and, 

 tln'iiu-li subject to fluctuations in price, the amount 

 disposed of is regular, with a tendency to increase. 

 " These things being so," wc have thought a brief 

 description of the plant, its habits, culture, Ac., 

 might prove of interest to Rural readers, more 

 especially as a large number are just now scauning 

 the products of both the Old World and the New, 

 for something that will, in some degree, aid in sup- 

 plying the loss caused by the devastations of the 

 midge. At all events, if this crop be suited to our 

 climate, u is useless to send abroad for that which 

 may be produced at home. 



Botanieoliy, PkalarU canaries 

 re P resenutivcofag eausofgrmM4lliedu ,p hl 

 hot dtsunguooheu by lU poking » p*ir of rndi- beef 



mentary florets at the base of the perfect one, 



each of which is furnished with a broad wing at 



its base. The groin is eventually closed within the 

 valves of the floret, at which period it is hard and 

 tough. The plant is an nunual and is a native of 

 the Canary Isles, from which it derives its name. 



In the early growth of this plant it so strongly 

 resembles oats or wheat, as to be scarcely distin- 

 guishable from these cereals, uoept to the practiced 

 eye. When well cultivated, its usual height is 

 from three to four feet; each head contains up- 

 wards of one hundred seeds, and the produce 

 ranges from thirty to forty bushels per acre In 

 ui angi uvuig may be seen the form of the ears, 

 and also that of the straw. The stalk or straw is 

 hard, woody, and of little value for fodder, but the 

 husk is considered good food for horses, and is used 

 for this purpose in England aud on tbe Continent. 

 In reference to its culture, we must draw from 

 foreign journals Tor the knowledge obtained, nnd 

 on this point the Ci/rb.pc.lia of Ayrkultur, remarks 

 that a deep and adhesive soil is most suitable 

 still a crop of it can be procured wherever a good 

 yield of wheat maybe expected; on poor 

 conditioned soils it is useless to plant it. ] 

 parts of England it followsother grain crops in the 

 rotation, and is frequently sown in the pli 

 wheat or barley, when the husbandman fears that 

 through the richness of the soil these would prove 

 too strong and become lain. The ground intended 

 for this crop is usually plowed in the fall, and as 

 early in the spring as possible the surface is thor- 

 oughly borrowed to |bjj depth of two inches, thus 



providing a flue seed bt$ and Dim bottom; ,. 



ng soil, two essentials to its successful cultivation. 

 The quantity of seed used is about fourgallous per 

 acre, drilled in between one and two inches deep, 

 and covered by a light harrow closely following tbe 

 drill. The drills should be about ten inches apart, 

 and the hoe is freely used between the rows. In 

 its early stages the thin blade first produced 

 scarcely shades the ground, and the weeds are in- 

 clined to occupy oil the room, but these must 

 often feel the hoc-blade, and the surface kept clean. 

 The period of harvesting i s usually after the grain 

 crop — it must be left till the seed in the topmost 

 heads is ripe. If sown as above described, 

 with the cradle, laid in swaths, and thus left until 

 the heads are well browned. Should wet weather 

 occur, and some of the early seed become sprouted, 

 it will not prove of such serious injury to the crop 

 as though it were housed before the late heads 

 were ripened. When tbe latter condition is a 

 tained, il is bound in sheaves while quite dry, ar 

 carried tuthe stack or barn immediately. 



When threshingia attempted soon after harvest, 

 DOnsideroble degree of labor is encountered, and 

 ustomary to keep it in the stack or mow unt 

 the succeeding spring or summer, as the whole 



ay then be much more readily separated from 

 husk. While remaining in this condition, however, 

 i the vigilance of the grower to preserve 

 tbe mice, as it is preferred by these vermin 

 food produced on tbe farm. The weight 

 liel is about the same as wheat — the yield 

 , under like circumstances, is about equal — 

 constitute it a profitable crop, as the straw 

 lless, it should bring a little better price 

 than the grain mentioned. This it generally does ; 

 but when lower, the English farmer, as it is easily 

 •cserved, keeps it over until his demands are 

 implied with. 

 The question naturally arises — Can it be grown 



eTKEL-BLUE 



I "' :CTLI ' ; . ITS FAMILY CONNECTIONS. 



Figure l.~Gaa 



live described species. 

 Ftg, i.—Gtutrophyta, [female depositing egg* 



Fiu- '■■ 



nptodera, Cnava. 

 Grapo Vino Flea-Bee tie, 

 ■pedes. 



Ftg. i,—F!iy!k:treta, Chbvh. 

 cei-bt, Fail Gulleruea, L'l 



Dkaii Rub 



give a short 





Ftg. B.— The Cucumber Ftco-Hevtle, and lu lower side 



Fig. t,—CaWgrapha. Nine apooles are described. 



Fig. J.~Ip» Qttadrimtieuliitti, or 4 dignntOi. There 



[ir '' ten »i ic* .I.-, rii., -,i. This belong) to the nun My 



XitiduUtta*. J, tho clovoto antenna?; /. loo Mud 



Ftg. $.— //■kpa,(3iitijrtmll»)el ! rlii .peel,-,. 



Fig. 9,— Fomtly C-.ui<l„./„t~n dckivala, natural »iie. 



Upper and lower side. Two upcelee. 



tofa 



il myself of your colui 



nall,< 



a farmer? ^To this query we reply 

 ' i gorder 



byt 



experiments, made 

 have proved successful as far as gTowth and ma- 

 concerned. The following, nurratcd by 

 dealers in this commodity, proves its 

 perfect hardiness:— "Keeping, os I do," he re- 

 marked, ■' quite a number of birds, I had the cages 

 cleaned upon the side walk, and a considerable 

 quantity of the seeds were carried and deposited in 

 is places by the wind. Going out one morn- 

 sweep up some saved for my pets, I was much 

 surprised to find thatacrop bod sprung up, taking 

 the curb-stones and the bricks, and an 

 prored that, though the stalks were 

 dwarfed to live or six inches in length, the heads 

 fairly developed, and the seed entirdv ma- 

 tured." When it is known that the " field of ope- 

 " chosen for this remarkable crop was on 

 the loath side of one of our principal streets, and 

 tbe sunlight could reach the little straggler 

 for life but a few hours morning and evening, all 

 doubts as to iU capacities for endurance wil be 

 dispelled. 



which wos submitted to my 

 inspection, with a view to learn its name; its per- 

 nicious habits were made lamentably manifest to 

 Mr. G. P. PspFrtn, of Wisconsin. Mr. P. sentseverol 

 specimens of the small creatures, so brilliant iu 

 their coat of lustrous metallic blue, to J . U. GaBBBB, 



R«(]., of Floral Retreat, in this oi ■ taken from 



his gTape vines, on which they had made sad havoc, 

 by eating out the undeveloped fruit clusters, and 

 other tender parts of the vine, early hist spring. 



I know Mr. G. is a subscriber to the II i km , and 

 for the benefit of its readers generally, and Mr. P. 

 in particular, (who is, uo doubt, also a subscriber,) 

 I submit tbe following: 



The Utile beetle in question belongs to an t 

 sive family of leaf and bud-destroying in 

 comprehended aniongtheCiiTSOMtt,iA\s, including 

 the Flea-beetles and Qalerucianx, formerly c< 

 ered distinct families. There arc a number of 

 genera each, embracing a greater or less uuinbci 

 of species, which it is difficult, in many cases, t( 

 dishngiti.-h apart, owing to their close rescnihhincf 

 and minute size. Fig. 1, illustrates the Qastro- 

 physa cyana; a, the hind leg; b, tbe gradually 

 thickened antennas; c, the strong jaws. Fig. 3 

 female, as I have seen them so early as the 5th of 

 May, with their abdomens enormously swelled, 

 prior to laying their eggs, which those did, on the 



dersideof the leaves of the dock, ( /, 



of their damaging anything, 



foli 



efroni 



well to have an eye on them, they so nearly 

 resemble Fig. 2, the GnAPTODenA caALruEA, as to 

 be readily taken for the same insect. This latter 

 is the insect in question ; its anlenme Fig, 8, </, are 

 of a uniform thickness in the 11 -joints, and its 

 thorax has a transverse depression, which theother 

 has not. Fig. 1, 1 copied from a specimen found 

 January 2d, two inches beneath the soil, near a 

 grapevine, "alive and kicking," certainly not be- 

 low the frost line. I considered the little fellow 

 rather early in making his way out of his winter 

 quarters, and if so, likely to meet with o cold recep. 

 tion — so I humanely gave him a place in my cabi- 

 net, in company with his "kith and kin." 



The colors vary greatly in the samespeciew, as Mr 

 1I.UUUS also remarks, from a dark purple, violet, 

 Prussian blue, greenish blue, to a deep green color, 

 and not always steel-blue, as the specific nami 

 fcSoJyfc a implii;-. 



.vithstanding their bard names, long enougt 

 Polios count, they are not entitled to rani 

 among the " big-bugs,"— but the wee creatures an 

 not without notoriety, and are found to afford mat- 

 ter for history, like other depredators; and such 

 was their importance in Europe that they were 

 made a matter of especial investigation by tbe Dun- 

 caster Agricultural Association. A report by Mr. 

 Ridcwat was published in lS£4g Mr. H. Lb Ken, 

 also, wrote a prize assay on their history, which 

 was read before the Entomological Society, and 

 published in the 2d vol. of their Transactions. 



In ( 



S "" 1 -' Vl ""- "'■''' •-nl'N'h .lr-(„.||, ,1 ,,| II,.- | 



-.and budB.aoas to be rendered barren for the as on 

 In 1830 aud 1831, he found the vine law ,,,i. ,.,| 



by "small chestnut -colored smooth u n,' ,.n.l 



suspecting these to bo the larvio ol M,.- 



' ', ho fed them in a tumblcr.coutaioingsoino 



moist earth. "After a fortnight or so," ■ ol 



tie beetles were found in the tuHbloi hTotfte, 

 ■ in la no douhj thai flic formor wore tho lot i ■■ ol 

 this beetle, and that they undergo their trODslW 



Illations in the ground. Kollkr rec uemls ii 



strong tea or decoction of wormwood, an plants 

 wetted by it will not be touched by the lieu br,-i|, ■■-,. 



Perhaps n decoction of wol loOTOB \\«\A-t bfl 



equally well, as suggested bj Mr HAttiug A de- 

 coction of tobacco I know is good when [| can DC 

 applied. 



The Turnip flea-beetle or Turnip fly, as it is often 

 called, is known as tho llaltka and r, ,■ , . ,,,,,! 

 colled Pnri.LsniKTA StrIOLAta. Fig. A. /, the an- 

 tennte, g, tho hiti-l l-< Thi.; .ui : . be found on tho 

 turnip, horse radish, mustard aud crticiii-i on. |, laiM i 

 generally, from May throughout the summer.— 

 They cut the seminal leaves, as do tho (Jul umbci 

 flea-beetle, Fig. , r >, showing tho top and bind legs 

 beneath, enlarged. Theso are very injurious hi 

 gardens. Fig. 4 are more oval or oblong in shape, 

 each wing-cover has a buff, wavy lin. , pv] i 

 are of a uniform black color. The tines on Fig. 4 

 are sometimes reduced to men' ilni.-i, nlun they 

 were supposed to be a different apeciea and called 



'..■/■■■.■'■ ■ '■ . , i : . . i . I . . I 



a species of CaUiyrapha, of which there 

 described. Fig. 8, the little IU na 

 nalis?) I, tho antenna} gradually elavated; m, an 

 enlarged wing-cover, showing the ridges aud cren- 

 their external margin. Fig. is a beau- 

 tiful little insect of the finest gold and pnrple, like 

 tortoise under its shell, which has a trans- 

 parent border. The larva) of those are dirty little 

 fellows; they form for themselves a covering of 

 , which they hear over their backs by tbo 

 of an elongated forked appendage on the 

 extremity of their body, reaching nearly to tho 

 head when bent over. This belongs to the Uomjv- 

 didai, and is one of two species of Deloyala, I 

 think. There are a number of other genera belong- 

 ing here. 



Fig. 7 is a species of Ips, igua&rimaeviriafl 

 found very destructive to the tomsUi. This is 

 copied from one (bond embedded m 'ho fruit; j, 

 the antenna) with its club-shaped cud; k, the bind 

 leg. The genus Irs belong' to the family NUidv- 

 Uda, embracing a number of equally mischievous 

 little scamps that require seeing to. 



Not to burthen your readers with too long a 



yarn, I will close »' lJ) t,,c f«W here touched upon, 



but the subject U bf no means exhausted, trusting 



i .ii led by BllSe who hare no taste 



II (n«y be highly interesting to others 



who arc curious in such matters, J. SrAurrsa. 



country they are by no means un- 

 known. Mr. David Thomas gave a I 

 «ing account, which was pnUiabed 

 vol. of Siliikan's "AmerUan Journal cf S<i**** 

 and Arte," in which he states, "these brilliant 

 insects were observed by me in tbe spring of lost, 

 in Cayuga county, N. Y , creeping on the vines and 

 destroying the buds, by eating c' tbe central sne- 

 Sarrsviso Beep os Potatoss— a correspondent culent parts. Some bad borrowed even half their 

 England Fanatr writes: — " About length into the buds. When disturbed, (hey jump 

 years ago I fattened a heifer for beef wholly rather than fly. and r*m»m where they foil for a 

 a feed small potatoes time without motion." During the same season, 

 aa much hay as was these beetles appeared in unusually great number? 

 i dui uhm woiex, and I bad as good in New Ilaven, Coon., and its ticinity, aud the 

 e fattened on corn meal." ; injury done by them was " wholly unexampled."— 



xUISTNG PIOB. 



Mr neighbor, Jon* .Sxasts, of Darien, is tbo 

 moet successful producer of pig pork in Western 

 r York. Hehaajast daughttHd slitter of five, 

 *n months old, some of which average four 

 hundred pounds, dressed weight! I am sorry I 

 have not the exact figures to give you, but I will 

 get them. Last year his pigs ontweigbed, u>riffM 

 It, any recorded in the Rural, ile raises a 

 between the Snffolk and the Byeficid 

 bor, quizzing bun, said, "Siaats, I don't 

 like tbe marks on your pigs" 



" I do," says S*aatb;" they aro all marked four 

 hundred at a year old I" 



What breed are tbey V asked a neighbor. 



- : 



