^5M ssA 
VOLUME III. NO. 2-3. 8 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.—THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 1 852. 
{ WHOLE N<*>. 127, 
l*BOG It ESS AND IMPROVEMENT. 
ROADS AND THE ROAD LAWS. 
Roads —Rail, McAdam, plank, turnpike 
and corduroy—are the arteries wherein cir¬ 
culate the life-blood of commerce and civ¬ 
ilization. In larger or smaller currents— 
by multiform means of locomotion—with 
continuous, ever - throbbing pulsations — 
travel goes on ; vivifying, enlightening and 
humanizing tho world. The advance and 
prosperity of a country is ovor in propor¬ 
tion to the facilities of travel—the ways and 
means of social and business communication 
which intersect and cover as with a net 
work, more or less minute, its whole inhab¬ 
it dusurface. 
— This accounts for tho barbarous state 
of soino portions of our own country—at 
certain seasons of tho year. In tho long- 
fall rains, and during the breaking up of 
winter, their roads seem sloughs of Despond, 
worse than any the pious tinkef of Barstow 
ever saw in his prison dream—stretching 
their weary length along the way to market, 
mill and meeting,—preventing, save at a 
ruinous outlay of team and patience, either 
business or pleasure in the way of vehicular 
circulation. One might as well dwell in a 
Mexican chapparal, or hide in the Dismal 
Swamp, as to make his homo on such a road 
and expect to hold any intercourse with the 
“restof mankind,” for at least throe months 
in the year. But we forbear. We would 
not awako unpleasant reminiscenes in tho 
minds of those who have tried staging on 
such turnpikes, only to walk on foot with 
rails on their shoulders, to pry out the coach 
in which they thought to ride, from over- 
the-hub slough-holes. 
'Though upon the most important social 
and commercial thoroughfares, railways and 
plank-roads are or will bo constructed, yet 
the great mjaority of our country popula¬ 
tion must make much use of the common 
turnpikod highway. Hence they, as well as 
the nation at large, are deeply interested in 
their condition,—and tho subject is of es¬ 
pecial interest to tho one hundred and fifty 
thousand farmers of New York, who, it is 
estimated, expend yearly in teaming a sum 
equal to the original cost of the Erie Canal. 
Our roads, in their opening and manage¬ 
ment, are regulated by logal enactment, as 
in other countries, but our laws seem defec¬ 
tive on some accounts — especially in the 
provision for assessing the taxes in labor, 
and applying the same under the direction 
of those with little knowledge or experience 
in tho matter. Prof. Gillespie, in his 
“ Manual of Road-Making,” published some 
years since, remarks in his chapter on the 
“Management of Town Roads,” that “the 
fundamental 'principle of our road-tax is a 
false one. Its contemporary custom of re¬ 
quiring rents to be paid in kind, has long 
since been found to be less equitable than 
money rents. Just so is work paid for by 
the piece'preferable in every respect to com¬ 
pulsory labor by tho day.” And “working 
on tho road” is generally made half a holi¬ 
day by those who assemblo at tho call of the 
overseer. From idleness and misdirection, 
one-half tho labor assessed and expended 
is lost. 
These and other defects are complained 
of in the operation of our present road 
laws. A plan has been proposed, which 
all who oxamino, as far as we can learn, 
think well of, but as yet, nothing has been 
done to secure its adoption. Some reform 
is so evidently needed, that wo hope the 
pooplo themselves will take hold of tho 
subject. The plan spoken of may be found 
in tho volume above referred to, and its 
principal provisions may bo condensed as 
follows : 
1. A general law explaining what a road 
ought to bo, in accordance with tho best 
plans of onginoering and construction. 
2. Tho abolition of the personal labor and 
commutation system at present in forco. A 
town tax, or where the road is a groat thor¬ 
oughfare, a county tax, or, in extreme cases 
; a State appropriation should supply the quality. The straw can bo pitched into 
1 me ans tor the work. heaps in the fall, or burned before it is de- 
3. I his iund to be expended in each two sired to commence digging, 
or three counties under the direction of a If thero is any truth in the Baldwin thc- 
competent professional Road-maker ot soi- ory of shade as a manure, then this mulch- 
ence and experience, empowered to appoint ing process must most effectually enrich the 
in each town an active deputy, as foreman ground, not only for the crop then growing, 
over the labor employed in inakiifg the but for the one by which it may be succeed- 
roads. and to attend personally to all need¬ 
ed repairs through the year. 
By such, or a somewhat similar system, 
the money-tax would not only bo found 
more equitable but less burdensome, than 
tho personal - labor system. Little of it 
would be wasted, and those who did tho 
work would get their wages, which all in- 
ed. Will some of our readers mako a tho¬ 
rough trial and report the result ? t 
DEEP PLOWING.-CANADA THISTLES, 
Editors Rural In No. 15 of the pres¬ 
ent volume, I noticed an inquiry in relation 
to deep or shallow plowing for the corn crop, 
i There are several things to bo considered 
terested would share equally in furnishing. , , , 45 . , . 
. x . , before one can determmo whether deep 
and the roads would be far better than now, 
at one-half the expense. 
plowing should be practiced. If the. land has 
been only lightly plowed bofore, and tho 
But as we cannot now remodel the law, J r . , ’ . 
. . ’ subsoil is ot a compact, inert nature, and 
those who have not heard, or will not heed i i. „ t ™ . . , , 
. . . , , haps I can mako this better understood by 
them, and who yet have the control ot tho • • r ,n J 
. , ’ J ^ giving a little of my experience, 
labor ot many a district. We must refer at t • 1 . 
. x . ‘ , . , , A tow years ago I came into possession of 
again to the matter m our next, and will try, f „ i • i vT i i ... , , x . 
° . x . . , , , ’ ■>’ , a farm which had been cultivated on the 
, having now got fairly started, to make our , • , , „ , , , , , 
I , . A ° , f . , J . ’ “ drivo ahead system, and here I have pur- 
hmts both plain and practical. , ~ , , . , . , , 
1 1 sued a course ot deep plowing which has 
MULCHING POTATOES. proved ot great benefit. But I will only 
- ,givo the pqpticulars in regard to one field. 
\ ery tew of our readers are acquainted This was an old meadow, left rough when 
with what is termed mulching. It has been seeded. It produced light crops of hay, 
practiced but little by our farmers, and will and had some Canada thistles scattered 
not l»e, unless there are strong reasons for over it. It was determined to plow it up, 
its adoption. Noah Webster says, “mulch and plant to c6rn. With a double team, we 
is half rotten straw;” and mulching consists plowed it two or three inches deeper than 
ot putting straw more or less decayed around it ever had been. before, in the spring just 
fruit trees, or on plats of ground which it in time for planting. But in consequence 
is desired to keep moist through the season, of bringing up so much of tho inert subsoil, 
During tho great prevalence of the potato and turning the sod and vegetable matter 
rot, a few years since, tho Hon. I). W. Naill under so deep with a heavy furrow, it pro¬ 
of bam s Creek, Maryland, reported an ex- duccd but a light crop of corn. This ex¬ 
periment made with potatoes, of which the periment leads me to conclude that land 
following account was given at the time, in which has not been cultivated deeply, will 
Skinners Journal ot Agriculture: not produce a good crop of corn iinmedi- 
“ IIu supplied a neighbor with potatoes ately after the first deep plowing. But the 
for planting, who carefully planted the sets- succeeding crops proved to us that deep 
from three to tour inclies deep, in drills cultivation is far preferable to shallow, 
about eighteen inches apart, covering them On tho same field, I have a little experi- 
carefully with straw from three to four inches ; enco to relate of fall plowing and killing 
deep, except a small portion, which was pur- j Canada thistles. Anticipating a pressure of 
posely left uncovered by way ot experiment. | work in tho spring, wo thought to do a little 
Flic covering of stiaw prevented the growth of it in the fall, by plowing preparatory to 
ot weeds, and superceded tho necessity of sowing oats and barley. It was done late, 
cultivation. The result was an excellent that tho grass and weeds might not start in 
ci op ot sound potatoes so far as they were the fall, and that it might not be necessary 
covered. I hose left uncovered suffered with to plow again in the spring. It appeared 
roL to bo in fine order, and was sown as con- 
M Idle at Cleveland recently, we had the templated, without plowing again. The 
pleasure ot meeting Senator Naill, who is oats and barley were very good, and the 
a most intelligent and devoted triend of thistles woreretnarkably good. This exper- 
agricultural improvement. Ho assured us iment put us down on fall plowing thistly 
the statement copied above was correct, and ground for spring crops, unless it is intend- 
that he had continued the experiment from -ed to plow again before seeding in tho 
that time (1847,) to the present, and with spring. On fall plowing, thistlos get tho 
the most satisfactory results. T he potatoes start of the grain in the spring and keep it. 
so raised, had not been affected by tho rot, If thistly ground is plowed in the spring 
and had with a single exception always just in time to sow, the grain will be likely 
yielded a good crop. The cause of tho fail- to got the start of the thistles, 
me in the one case was extreme drouth at- Wo often see it recommended to plant 
tei planting, so tho straw became thorough- corn on thistly ground, and thus kill them 
ly dry, and with the ground remained in by hoeing. I do not doubt but it can bo 
that state too long to enable tho crop to re- done, but that it is not generally , I know 
co\ei from its effects. by observation and experience. Corn, as it 
We deem this an experiment well worthy i s generally cultivated, is no very great det- 
of trial by farmers, where potatoes are in- riment to tho growth and spread of thistles, 
juied by the prevalence ot the rot. It can Who ever went through a field of corn in 
be easily made, where wheat straw is plenty, tho fall of the year, that was grown on 
^ e should recommend the use of damp thistly ground and cultivated in tho usual 
stiaw from tho barn yards, to be spread manner,—that is, two or three times culti- 
evenly to the thickness ot tour to six inches; vating, and twice hoeing—without finding a 
as to tho latter thickness, our informant fine growth of young thistles from the bro- 
rather gave the preference. If put on bo- ken roots of the cultivated crop ? They do 
tore a rain which would wet the straw it not go to seed in the corn, we know, but if 
would be preferable, where thoro was a ten- they do not seed tho next year, it will not 
dency to extreme dryness in the soil. bo from the death bloiv they received Ly the 
It would porhaps bo difficult to say why cultivation of tho corn crop, 
the covering ot straw should prevent the We succeed best in destroying Canada 
tot, though if the vines are first infectod by thistles by turning them into meadow and 
some insect or malaria, the straw may serve mowing them, or by summer-fallowing thor- 
as a protection. The subject is well worthy oughly. In meadow, if they are cut with 
tho attention of the curious in such matters, tho hay, it is generally at a stage of their 
Tho straw ronders hoeing unnecessary, and growth that gives them a mighty pull back, 
we aro assured the yield of potatoes has and wo have experimented on many patches 
been abundant, and thoso too of tho best in this way. * 
MULCHING POTATOES. 
Two years ago, the field above alluded to 
was summer-fallowed, plowed three times, 
and harrowed four or five times before sow¬ 
ing. At harvest there were no thistles to 
be seen, excepting around two or threo stone 
heaps where tho plowing could not affect 
them, and a very few poor, sickly, feeble 
plants that got their heads high enough to 
bo cut with the cradle. There was none to 
hinder binding, where two*years before we 
could not bind oats on account of their great 
growth. r. s. 
15— Vilie, May, 1852. 
ERADICATION OF RED ROOT. 
Messrs. Editors :—Having several sub¬ 
jects on hand for the “editorial mill,” I 
commenco with that of Red Root, or as it is 
sometimes called, Pigeon weed, which is fast 
gaining ground among us. On many of the 
best wheat farms in our vicinity it is getting 
a foothold which will render it necessary for 
tho owners to turn their attention to the 
cultivation of other crops, and will (if not 
soon attended to) prove not only an eye- 
soro to our far-famed Genesee, but cause a 
material reduction in the value of our lands. 
Every reader of our agricultural journals 
has seen hints upon this subject, but hints, 
though good in their place, are entirely in¬ 
adequate to the importance and extent of 
the evil. It requires action, and that im 
mediately. Something may now be done 
by passing through the fields and pulling it 
up by tho roots, but where much is found, 
little will be accomplished in this way, short 
of untiring vigilance. 
In 1849 I commenced reading th9 Gene- 
seo Farmer. A neighbor who called, took 
up a number and remarked: “ You take the 
Farmer, do you ?” “ Yes,” I replied.— 
“Well,” said he, “ I wish I hall all the money 
which my neighbor, Mr. H., has paid for 
that and other works of the kind, which 
now lie mouldering on his shelves.” 
“ Ah !” thought I, and I wanted to speak 
it out, “how much better farmer is your 
neighbor than yourself.” 
“But what,” the reader will ask, “has 
that to do with your subject ?” 
—Well, I was about to say that in passing- 
over my fields lately in search of red root, 
I looked over tho fence (our farms join) to 
see if my money loving, anti-book farmer, 
had any of the vile weed. “ Lo ! and be¬ 
hold,” it inado my heart sick to see in a field i 
of fifty acres of otherwise promising wheat, ; 
nearly one-third red root. Had my neigh¬ 
bor taken the volume of the Farmor refer¬ 
red to, he might have mouldering upon his 
shelf a remedy for red root—simple and ef¬ 
ficacious. It is this: Soon after harvest, 
harrow thoroughly the stubble ground in¬ 
fested with the weed, in order to cover all 
the seed (it seeds very abundantly) and in 
May or early in June following, plow the 
same very neatly so as to turn under and 
perfectly cover all the plants—then follow 
with the harrow. This method will destroy 
all the plants growing from the seeds of tho 
previous year. But you may have seeds in I 
the soil several years old. waiting only to be 
brought near the surface to germinate, ren¬ 
dering a repetition of the remedy necessary. 
Hence I would recommend after harrpwing 
the stubble, hoed crops for two or three 
years, thus exposing many-surfaces and | 
causing seeds long dormant to germinate. 
My object in introducing this subject is 
two-fold. First, to give warning to farmers 
that this powerful enemy is encroaching 
on our wheat lands, and they should be on 
their guard against it; and second, in the 
hope to hear from some of your correspond¬ 
ents who have tried other experiments to 
rid themselves of the pest. 
Irondequoit, Jr. 
Guano. —It is said that the amount of 
guano annually used in Great Britain for 
the last five years, has cost two millions 
pounds sterling, or about ten millions of 
dollars—more than oqual, yearly, to the cost 
of tho Erie canal till its first completion.— 
In addition, great quantities of lime, bones, 
shells, and immense piles of yard manure 
have been applied to the land.— Ex. 
N. Y. STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Editors ok the Rural : —It is tho privi¬ 
lege, yes, the duty of every citizen to inves¬ 
tigate tho acts of our public functionaries, 
for they are but our servants to transact 
the business which we collectively cannot 
conveniently perform. In all our concerns 
the economical expenditure of the public 
funds appears to be the most difficult to 
manage. Men who are prudent and eco¬ 
nomical in the management of their own 
affairs, too frequently lose those valuable 
traits when handling the public purse, es¬ 
pecially when they have the privilege of 
paying themselves, and remunerating their 
friends for their services, which is unjust, — 
for it is robbing their employers to enrich 
themselves or their favorites. To bo liber¬ 
al with the people’s money is not generosity, 
but public pilfering. 
It was hoped that our State Agricultural 
Society would have been an exception to 
this general rule, and its money matters 
managed with tho most r’g'd economy,—for 
that institution is a producer’s association, 
for tho express purpose of stimulating and 
encouraging the practical operator in useful 
improvement, and to elevato his character 
in society to the dignity which the useful¬ 
ness and importance of his vocation de¬ 
mands. 
Such being the legitimate object of the 
Society, it was hoped that our wealthy cit¬ 
izens, our statesmen, and distinguished mem¬ 
bers of community, whose duty it is ( and 
interest, too.) to encourage ail useful im¬ 
provements. would have been proud of hav¬ 
ing an opportunity to spend both time and 
money in promoting those great objects._ 
But it has not been so ; for it appears from 
the Treasurer’s report that there was about 
$3,000 paid out of tho funds of the Society, 
and by tho citizens of Rochester, for tho 
accommodation of tho honorary officers of 
the Society, and invited guests, who honorod 
the producers with their presence at the 
Fair, — when the practical operators, who 
made tho exhibit, had to pay their entrance 
fees, and provide their own dinners, which 
did not look much like republican equality, 
nor the patriotism of ’76. But I cannot 
believe it possible that those distinguished 
gentlemen who attended the Fair, would 
have condescended to become a tax on tho 
Society, if it had not been for tho great 
liberality of those who handled the money. 
The preparing of the ground for the ex¬ 
hibition, and other expenses for the accom¬ 
modation of tho honorary attendance at the 
Fair, cost the citizens of Rochester $8,000; 
the expense of managing the various oper¬ 
ations of the Society was $7,288 41 ; and to 
the legitimate object of the Society thoro 
was paid $5,155 73,—exhibiting the enor¬ 
mous expenditure of $15,288 73, for tho 
sake of appropriating $5,155 73 to useful 
purposes; which is certainly paying rather 
too dear for the whistle. 
Tho Society was not intended to bo a 
profitable festival to a few but to encourage 
and instruct tho producers of every class, 
in their various vocations, and it is to bo 
hoped that it will hereafter bo more econom¬ 
ically managed—that wo will look back and 
correct our errors in future. 
A Farmer Member. 
Western New York, May, 1852. 
Analysis ok Soils. —An exchango gives 
this method ol analyzing soils for ordinary 
Agricultural purposes:—Weigh a convenient 
quantity of tho earth to bo analyzed, say 1,- 
000 grains dried in the open air; dry the 
same before a fire on paper, so as not to 
scorch the paper; reweigh, and tho differ¬ 
ence will be the moisture. Roast the resi¬ 
due ; re-weigh, and tho difference will bo 
tho organic matter. Pour a convenient 
quantity of muriatic acid on tho remainder; 
when stirred and settled, pour it off, and 
add oxalate of ammonia; tho precipitate 
will bo lime. Mix the remainder with wa¬ 
ter, and stir it well; when a little settled, 
pour off tho turbid mixture, and tho sus¬ 
pended contents aro argilaceous, and the 
doposit siliceous. 
