146 
MOORE^S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL ANI) FAMILY JOURNAL 
The soil for carrots should not be too 
heavy. It should be free of stone, and all 
coarse obstructions to the penetration and 
elongation of the slim spike root—that is 
the frame on which the fleshy part of the 
root is formed. Loams inclining to sand, 
if deeply plowed and well manured, give 
the best returns. 
Many persons denounce the crop, as it is 
so difficult to Aveed—the young plant being 
so small and delicate, and the seed requi¬ 
ring so long a time to germinate, that the 
weeds and foul stuflf completely overrun the 
carrot and confound the Aveeders. But 
there is a process Avhereby the culture is 
simple and far from difficult or tantalizing 
to the grower. After the soil is Avell and 
thoroughly pulverized, Avith 
Ed. New-Yorker : — Agreeable to prom¬ 
ise I send you a synopsis of the signs of 
the times ” in the northern part of the 
“ Sucker State,”—the garden of Eden, alias 
the Paradise of the West A forcible con¬ 
trast Avas involuntarily impressed upon my 
mind, between the stumps and stones of 
the Empire State and the rich loam of the 
fertile prairies—the natural advantages of 
each—their present condition and future 
prospects. 
Many remarkable transformations have 
taken place in the scenery of the country 
in the short space of two years. Old Dame 
Nature has been robbed of the resplen- 
dently glorious garments Avith Avhich she 
has since the creation of the world been en¬ 
robed ; bachelor art has advanced with ra- 
a one horse 
plow, ridge it up by back furrowing, at from I pid strides to secure the place left vacant 
20 or 30 inches apart, and with an iron I by her; the busy hum of industry is now 
heard on the broad plains where a fcAv years 
since the Avolf and badger stalked free and 
undisturbed as the bird of paradise. The 
deer, then in all his native gracefulness, sip¬ 
ped from the sparkling, limpid lake and 
gushing rivulet, or bounded over the flow¬ 
er decked plains unheeding the clarion 
notes of necessity. 
The spring, here, (as well as in NeAv 
Y'ork,) is very backward, and vegetation 
has scarcely commenced to shotot—the con¬ 
sequence of Avhich is an unprecedented de¬ 
mand for fodder. Hay, formerly dull at 
two, noAv sells rapidly at six dollars per ton. 
Winter Avheat looks as though the prevalent 
disease, (the ague) had penetrated into its 
very vitals and was there performing its 
Avork; and the prospects are that the crop 
will come out minus, as it has for several 
years back. 
The land in these “ diggins ” is increasing 
in value at a A'ery rapid ratio. Money is 
A'ery scarce just now, in consequence of the 
gold fever having raged here very furious¬ 
ly. California has seduced nearly one-fifth 
of the population fr€fm the peaceful pursuits 
of agriculture, and transformed them from 
steady “ Suckers,” to adventurers in search 
of the “ root of all evil.” 
Education at the present day is emphat¬ 
ically at a low ebb, and Jcnowledge-hoxes 
are few and far between. The science of 
practical agriculture, however, is receiving 
a powerful impetus Avhich Avill CA'entually 
cause Illinois to rank foremost as a farming 
community. 
With an ardent desire for the success of 
your excellent paper, 
I remain, as ever, 
W. M. Havward. 
Richmond, McHenry Co., Ill,, April, 1850. 
an iron 
toothed garden rake, flat down one-half the 
height of the furrow, and sow in the centre. 
A very simple machine called a marker, 
is very convenient for tracing and for cov¬ 
ering the seed. It is made of a bit of 2 
inch plank 3 inches wide and 18 inches long, 
brought to an edge at the bottom and front, 
which is rounded up, like the bows of a 
vessel; in fact it is in all respects a model 
of a sharp built sea cra'ft, with an old rake 
stale for a handle, bored into the upper 
side at an angle of about tAventy degrees. 
If the machine is covered with a couple of 
slips of tin, meeting at the edge, it is 
greatly inproved. By pushing it before | 
you, it makes a trench for the seed, and in 
J returning pass it by the side and it throAvs 
' a light furroAv over it, and covers all suffi- 
< ciently. 
• tor the first weeding, simply dress each 
^ side of the ridges or back furrows Avith a 
) hoe, as near the plants and as close as pos- 
^ sible, and which almost Aveeds them—as by 
\ this mode of planting the roAvs are exceed- 
. ing straight and well defined, and a little 
> hand Aveeding finishes the process. 
^ At the next hoeing, and before the weeds 
in the spaces get too large, psiss a cultiva¬ 
tor through them freely, hand hoe the ridg¬ 
es and thin out, and all further care for 
the crop is ended. Precisely the same pro¬ 
cess will be found reliable for bagas, sugar 
beets and Avurtzels. 
Try the root crops, farmers. There is no 
difficulty in managing, and you will reap 
more benefit and satisfaction from them, 
than from any other material you raise for 
the sustenance of your animals. 
PLANTING COEN. 
In planting corn on fall plowed green 
sward, if you wish to manure it, wait as 
long as is safe, turn under the manure and 
thoroughly drag the ground. The grass 
that hcis laid all winter and spring some six 
or seven months, has become so bleached, 
tender and effeminate, that a little dry and 
hot Aveather effectually kills it, and is a much 
better process than planting on the fall 
plowed sod—better to cultivate orploAv — 
easier to hoe, and will give a greater return, 
except in great drouths, which it is thought 
to resist better. At any rate a spring plow¬ 
ing is indispensable, when manure is to be 
applied, as nine-tenths of its value is lost if 
it is used as>^ top dressing. 
Ridging for corn is a good process, par¬ 
ticularly in this northern latitude. In the 
first place it is as good as another plowing 
to the young plant, and has a tendency to 
bring some of the manure more directly in 
contact with the plant; and, secondly, it 
raises it a little aboA’^e the cold sub-soil, and 
gives it the advantage of a great deal more 
Avarmth in its early stages. Indian corn is 
almost a tropical plant, and om- ability to 
raise it at all has been arrived at by accli¬ 
mation, and long and careful selections of 
kinds perfecting in much shorter periods 
than their original parents. Therefore ridge 
corn if you plant it in beach sand, and by 
breaking down about half its height with 
the hoe in planting, and covering it with 
good fine pulverized soil. Look to the man¬ 
ner your men plant; they can’t cheat you 
in hoemg, as your eyes are your security, 
but in planting see that it is properly per¬ 
formed. 
SUBSTITUTE FOE EINGING SWINE. 
The Implements of Husrandral — “I 
never felt so proud in my life as while I 
handled them. Every tool seemed to me 
at once the Aveapon and the ornament of in¬ 
dependence. ’\ATth such magnificent arms 
a true man may go forth and conquer the 
wilderness; making the earth smile with the 
noblest of victories.” — Douglas Jerrold. 
If the two tendons that erect and sup¬ 
port the rim of the nose is cut across, about 
an inch and a half from the extremity, it ef¬ 
fectually destroys their ability to root. It 
is best performed when tAvo or three months 
old; but we see no trouble in performing 
the operation at any age, by using a sharp 
knife and cutting down to the bone, which 
has a A’'ery thin covering. 
The usual manner of ringing is an unsafe 
operation, as well as a barbarous one, as 
they often give Avay, and the first notice you 
have, is the disfiguring and injury done to 
the fields by plowing them up in a very 
hoggish manner. 
Tl^js operation is done with no prejudice 
to the animal, and very little suffering; not 
half as much, if you can judge by their mu¬ 
sic, as in the ordinary method of the twist¬ 
ed wire. 
MODE OF PLANTING COEN. 
We have in this section a method of 
planting corn, which may be new to some 
of your readers. After the ground is fur¬ 
rowed one w'ay, one man commences fur¬ 
rowing in the other direction, A boy or 
man follows and drops the corn. Then an¬ 
other provided with an implement some¬ 
thing like the common shovel plow, with a 
square piece of iron about the size of a 
common hoe, screwed fast to the end of it, 
folloAvs the dropper and covers the corn, by 
letting the iron scrape up the dirt from the 
bottom of the furrow, and deposit immedi¬ 
ately on the hill. As soon as the corn is 
covered up, the planter is dropped for an¬ 
other hill, &c. This method here, in our 
new fields, where stumps are very thick, is 
a great saving of time. Two men, and a 
boy tweh-e years old, Avith two horses, can 
furrow out one way and plant eight acres 
in a day. This I knoAv to be true, for I 
helped to plant one of my fields of eight 
acres in this manner last spring. The s?io- 
vel-i)low with a square piece of iron on the 
end of it, will answer the purpose. — Cor. 
Albany Cultivator. 
Exercises of the mind, in reflection up¬ 
on the course of nature, and the processes 
of cultiA^ation are of vast benefit. When 
the various crops in the field are made mat¬ 
ters of study, they possess a value and in¬ 
terest distinct from the amount of money 
they bring in. They become one’s teach¬ 
ers; they give him lessons to be treasured 
up and used; and it is those only who seek 
to learn and benefit by these lessons, who 
really are intelligent and exemplary farm¬ 
ers. A feAV, by dint of unwearied toil, from 
year to year, and by a soul-pinching parsi¬ 
mony, may get money; and this, too, with¬ 
out obserA-ing any lessons, excepting a feAv 
brief ones which were inculcated by others 
wlfile they were young. But those Avho 
stick to the old Avay, through thick and thin, I 
for no other reason than l^ecausc it is the 
old way, are not good farmers; they are lit¬ 
tle more than common laborers, Avho by 
dint of perseverance get some money, but 
little else Avorth having. We are not ridi¬ 
culing the old ways, but only saying they 
should be compared with new ones. That 
the old are, in many cases, the best, is un¬ 
doubtedly true. It is only by comparing 
them, that one can justify himseif fairiy and 
properly, which path will lead him most di¬ 
rectly to the desired object. 
Is your corn best, when planted deep in 
the soil, or when put near the surface?— 
Does the cornfield yield a better crop Avhen 
you spread all the manure, or Avhether you 
put it Avholly or part in the hill ? Is it best 
to make large hills or small ? How many 
stocks should be left in a hill ? Hoav many 
hills upon the acre giv'e the largest crop ? 
Is it best to plant in hills or in drills ? 
For potatoes is it best to spread all the 
manure ? Or Avill you put it in the hill ? 
If in the hill, will you have it above or be¬ 
low the seed ? Are hills or drills best ?— 
Do you cut the seed or plant it whole ?— 
Do you put the seed deep in the earth, or 
do you keep it near the surface ? 
Is grass seed best sown with grain in the 
spring ? Or will you sow it in August or 
September? Or will you seed doAvn to 
grass Avith your wheat, Avhether in sprintr 
or fall. Will you simply turn over your 
bound-out grass land, top-dress and put on 
grass seed? Which, of all these is the 
safest or most profitable ? 
Shall your manure be ploAved under the 
sod, or will you, after ploAving, put it on the 
top, and harrow it in ? Do you find the 
most benefit from it when you use it fresh 
from the barn, or when you let it ferment 
and pulverize before it goes upon the land? 
These and a thousand other questions are 
disputable, and correct answers to most of 
them, you must learn, by observations upon 
your own hind; and the lands of your neigh¬ 
bors. If we will but use our experience, 
and our common sense, in connection with 
books, Ave shall find the books to be valua¬ 
ble aids. —Maine Farmer. 
Common as are the productions Avhich it 
now comes to our turn to examine, and no¬ 
torious as is their noxious influence on veg- 
etation, the history of their development 
is but imperfectly known. They consist of 
little globules changing from a more or less 
deep yelloAv to black, springing from a floc- 
cose web, and filled with sacs containino- the 
reproductive organs, and at a certain stage 
of growth putting out from all parts of their 
circumference long variously formed fibres, 
which lift them up from the surface of the 
leaves in which they grow, and imbibe their 
juices; and they are always preceded by 
delicate threads Avhich are mostly white, 
but occasionally greyish, consisting of little 
bead-like joints, of which the uppermost 
fall off and, it is believed, like so many 
germs, vegetate, and thus quickly gain pos- 
se.ssion of the infested plant. These mealy 
patches are called by botanists, according 
to their degree of development, Oidium or 
Erysiphe, and are too Avell known to culti¬ 
vators under the general name of mildew. 
[From the Boston Cultivator.] 
Mr. Editor:— I noticed in the Cultiva¬ 
tor for March 30th, some inquiries relative 
to the success and efficiency of “ Farmers’ 
Clubs, and ha\'ing enjoyed the adv'antages 
of belonging to such a club nearly 2 years, 
I feel it a duty, which I oavc to the institu¬ 
tion, and supporters of the Club to which I 
belong, and inquiring friends, to offer a few 
remarks. 
The Farmers’ Club in this town, has en¬ 
joyed a degree of prosperity which could 
not have been anticipated, even by its most 
sanguine advocates. It commenced Avith 
less than twenty members, and noAv we num- 
BEES VS. ANTS AND MOTHS, 
In answer to “ Laborer,” who wishes to 
know how to prevent ants and moths from 
making inroads upon his bees, honey, &c., I 
would say, that after long experience, many 
plans, contrivances and expedients, I have 
hit upon the following method, which en¬ 
tirely preA'ents ants, or anything of the kind 
from troubling my bees or honey. I now 
give it to you for what it is worth, and to 
me it is invaluable. It is in this wise, viz : 
—Take cast iron posts ten feet long, set 
them two feet in the ground, and put them 
four or six feet apart, connect the posts to¬ 
gether by No. 4 iron wire, running through 
the top of each post, then take another 
wire, still smaller, say No. 10 or 12, attach¬ 
ed to hive at each corner, (on the top,) then 
bring the four pieces of Avire (from the cor¬ 
ners) together, about six inches above the 
hive, then attach one stran of the small 
wire to them, and suspend the hive to the 
wire, punning horizontally, so as to bring 
the hive about four feet from the ground. 
It is the best method “ out,” and it is also 
an ornament. I haA'e some eighty hives, 
Avith glass cases, &c., all suspended in this AA'ay, 
to “highly ornamented” cast iron posts, ex¬ 
tending around a beautiful garden. Oh, ’tis 
a treat to our city cousins as they come “just 
to spend a few days,” to take a case fiilled 
with its delicious contents, surpassed by noth- 
ing^in whiteness, except a slice of “ Aunt 
Betsey’s” bread, Avhich they spread it on. 
The posts and wire must be varnished.— 
Japan varnish, a mixture of lampblack, is 
the kind; it gives them a beautiful appear¬ 
ance and prevents rust, “one of them.” 
Durham Centre, Ct., 1850. 
Another Remedal —Noticing an inquiry 
from “ Laborer,” in your valuable “ News¬ 
paper,” for a remedy to prevent ants, moths, 
&c., from destroying the bee-hives, I would 
in ansAver say, please nail around the bot¬ 
tom of your hive a thin piece of narrow 
sheet zinc, so that to gain access, the insect 
Avill be obliged to cross the metal, and I 
have no hesitancy in saying none will pass 
the barrier. Try it. 
I have been engaged in selling the Pa¬ 
tent Bee-Hive, knoAvui as “ Colton’s,” for a 
foAV years, and have never heard that those 
w'ho have used zinc, even in common liives, 
complain of moths or ants troubling them in 
any respect. nemo. 
Bath, Maine, 1850.— Dollar Newspaper. 
_ Brysiphe guttata: 2, E.peaicUlata: 'i, E. 
Craminis; 4, E. adunca; 5, E. bicjruis; all after 
Cordii. 
It has not, indeed, been positively proved 
that the Oidium is an early stage of the 
Erysiphe, but the one so constantly pre¬ 
cedes the other, that it is more than proba¬ 
ble that they are merely different stages of 
growth of the same thing. The peach, es¬ 
pecially, suffers from the attack of such a 
parasite, and is only very lately that the 
second or more perfect form is developed. 
If, hoAvever, the young shoots be examined 
late in the season they will be found coated 
with a thin floccose web of the same nature 
as that Avhich succeeds to the mildew 
the Rose, known to the French under the 
name of “ Blanc de Rosier.” The peach 
mildcAv is a Avell-known pest-iiot only of 
forced peaches, but of those groAvn on ex 
posed walls, even in the most favorable as¬ 
pect, and when once it gains possession of a 
spot it is not often that it is extirpated. — 
Various plans are resorted to by gardeners 
to hinder the growth of this troublesome 
parasite, of which, perhaps, the most gene¬ 
ral is flowers of brimstone, at the best 
very doubtful remedy. Where it groAvs 
upon the fruit probably more is done by the 
action of rubbing it on than by the brim 
stone itself, which, in the shape of a crude, 
powder, can scarcely have much effect, and 
possibly the best remedy next to taking 
care that the trees are flourishing from prop¬ 
er attention to soil, and as free an admission 
of air as consistent with the object in view 
of early produce, is washing the walls Avith 
something Avhich may either destroy or 
cover the minute spores, or, as recommend¬ 
ed by a German Avriter, syringing the whole 
plant Avell with a strong solution of brown 
soap. Where trees have been destroyed 
by mildcAv, it is quite useless to plant an¬ 
other in the same position Avithout some 
such precautions. We have seen tliree 
generations in succession destroyed by mil¬ 
dew, in the course of a few years. It is 
not, hoAvever, peach trees alone that suffer 
from this cause. There is scarcely a natu¬ 
ral order of plants in our temperate climate 
which is not affected by it. In tropical 
countries, the genus has not at present been 
detected, unless, indeed, a very anomalous 
production on the leaves of Jacquinia ar- 
millaris be justly referable to it, Avhich we 
have from Jamaica, Beds of seedling 
Whitethorn, and it is said Pansies, are often 
much injured by it. Its effects on Pea 
crops are too visible to escape notice, the 
whole plant being soon clothed with it, as 
if coated with a cinereous wash. Hops, too, 
are notoriously affected by a similar plague, 
and during the last year scarce a field of 
wheat was free from the attacks of Ery¬ 
siphe graminis, but probably from some fa¬ 
vorable turn in the season did not seem to 
suffer from it. It is not probable that a 
sure remedy will ever be found for such an 
universal pest, to the developement of 
which all seasons seem favorable, and which 
is alike produced in the most sheltered and 
exposed aspects, and if, as is certain, though 
many true species exist, one or tAAm forms 
are_ perfectly indifferent as to the plants on 
which they grow, it would be quite hope¬ 
less to attempt a remedy. We have ex¬ 
hibited one or two of the principal forms in 
one figure, from which it will be seen that 
the species are beautiful microscopic objects. 
~M.J. B., in London Gardeners' Journal. 
ber more than one hundred, without cessa¬ 
tion of action on the part of any. We hold 
semi-monthly meetings, from the first of Oc¬ 
tober, to late in the Spring, all which have 
been Avell attended, and the discussions have ^ 
been characterized by sound sense and prac¬ 
tical viwes of agTTCulture, such as cannot fail : 
to interest and instruct any farmer, Avhose ' 
aim is “ upward and onAvard.” The effect 1 
of these meetings, thus far, has been to dis- i 
seminate useful and practical knowledge on I 
the subject of Agriculture; eradicate that < 
selfishness, Avhich is the legitimate off-spring ( 
of an isolated life; make farmers feel their \ 
mutual dependence upon each other, and to \ 
strengthen their ties of friendship and sym- < 
pathy. Farmers of all ages and every rank, ^ 
assemble themselves for a common purpose; ( 
those who possess wisdom and experience, ' 
can have the satisfaction of benefiting oth- < 
ers, while those Avho have not that experi- i 
ence, but the good sense requisite to appre- < 
ciate it, may have the rcAvards Avhich grati- 
tude always brings home to its possessors, i 
a neat and beautiful farm, good fences, / 
and a cheerful dwelling. ’ j 
We held our first annual exhibition Oct. ' 
10, 1849. Such premiums and gratuities i 
were aAvarded as the funds of the Club J 
Avould admit. The contributions of fine ani- 
mals, fruits and vegetables for the exhibition 
AA ere liberal, and the proceedings of the day 
gave a new impulse to the farming interests 
of the tOAvn. We have been fortunate in 
possessing the sympathy and co-operation 
of the ladies of the toAvn, Avhose “ Tea Par¬ 
ties, haA'e amply replenished the pecuniary 
fun^ of the Club; and besides, it cannot be 
denied, that it owes a A^ery large share of its ^ 
prosperity and character to their salutary in¬ 
fluences. In short, this is a condition which 
is necessary, if not indispensable, for the ef- ' 
ficacy oreven life of any club which is worthy 
to be called society. Such a society of prac¬ 
tical and theoretical fiirmers, I know, has 
been, and may be made efficient in improv¬ 
ing, both “ the mind and the soil.” The \ I 
experiments of one man becomes the com¬ 
mon stock of the Club, and these experi¬ 
ments, being made upon kinds of soil Avith \ \ 
which every member is acquainted, he can ) 
at once judge of their adaptation or unfitness ( 
for the soil of his paiticular farm. ^ 
The substitute for an argument is often [ 
urged by those who have a negative feeling 5 
on this subject, namely, that they “ know ( 
how to manage a farm Avell enough now, if ( 
they only had the necessary means, and ^ 
forming a Farmers’ Club Avould not supply ) 
that deficiency.” Noaa' when a person is so ( 
Avise that he cannot learn, we feel compelled \ 
to give him over, as beyond all hope of re- ; 
coA^ery! Such an one Avould be sIoav to ^ 
open his eyes to the fact, that “ he who can- \ 
ses one blade of grass to groAv Avhere none \ 
grew before, is a benefactor of his race;” or ; 
that, while he is roaming about his grain >' 
fields and flowering meadows in mid sum¬ 
mer, in search, and solely in search of that 
momentous dollar, he is continually sur¬ 
rounded by a multitude of objects, Avhich 
are calculated to enrapture the soul with 
their beauty and loveliness, and furnish 
themes for the loftiest contemplations. Who 
would wish to exchange such a situation, 
amid the profusions of Nature’s richest paint¬ 
ings, to be pent up in anything which man’s 
ingenuity can fashion ? 
Lunenlnirs. 
C. A. G., A YOUNG FARMKK. 
BEOWN BEEAD. 
A Down East lady furnishes the follow¬ 
ing directions for making brown, rye and 
Indian bread. We find it in the Maine 
Farmer: 
“ The crust and pieces which are not 
used, I reserve in a box for that purpose un¬ 
til baking day; then, some six or eight hours 
before baking, I put them in a large vessel, 
and turn in boiling water sufficient to keep 
them perfectly wet, or enough to scald what 
meal I may use. I then sift the meal— 
one-third of the quantity to be rye, unless 
I have fragments; then one-half of rye._ 
The meal must then be well mixed; then 
the bread well mashed and added to the 
meal, which should be in a preparation to 
AA'ell scald or dampen the meal—adding a 
httle salt or saleratus; after this add a pan 
of skim-milk; if this cannot be had, a little 
sour milk or emptings—some add a little 
molasses, but I do not like it myself Let 
the dough be well stirred, which should be 
quite thin, and then turned into pots, and 
well baked in a hot oven. Try this, and 
see if it is not a luxury far before the frag¬ 
ment pudding, for none will refuse a good 
slice of hot or toasted broAvn bread; but 
many do object to the pudding.” 
