THE CULTIVATOR. 
132 
close our already too protracted remarks, by calling upon the ag¬ 
ricultural-interests in the several counties to weigh the matter with 
all deliberation, and if they concur with us in the belief, that 
much good may result from the proposed meeting, to give it their 
cordial and efficient support. We would in particular address 
those who are just entering upon the stage of business life—who 
are anxious not only to acquire fortunes, but reputations for pub¬ 
lic usefulness, and who are to give a character to our agriculture 
in coming years. “Nothing,” said an ancient sage, “can be 
more despicable than an old man, who has no other proof of hav 
ing lived long in the world than his age,” “ It should be the ob¬ 
ject of our ambition that we should all signalize the period of life 
allotted to us, by some exertion, either mentally or bodily, which 
may be useful to mankind, and give us a claim to their remem¬ 
brance, to their respect, and to their gratitude.” 
Agricultural Fairs have diminished in our state, while they are 
increasing in number and interest elsewhere. The states of Mas¬ 
sachusetts, Ohio and Indiana, and we believe some other states, 
have made liberal provisions for these fairs from the public treasury. 
In Massachusetts, most of the agricultural societies have a perma¬ 
nent fund, the interest of which only is annually expended. The 
fund of the Worcester county society amounts to $8,000, mostly in 
bank stocks, which gives them an income of five hundred dollars a 
year. The distribution of this sum annually in the county, in excit¬ 
ing emulation, and in rewarding rural skill and industry, has done 
much there, as it would be likely to do every where, to increase in¬ 
dividual wealth and comfort, and thereby to promote the public pros¬ 
perity. 
It seems now to be reduced to a certainty, that agricultural fairs 
cannot be sustained in New-York, with any degree of usefulness, 
without the efficient patronage of the legislature. It is for the far¬ 
mers themselves virtually to decide, whether this patronage shall be 
had: for we have little reason to doubt the disposition to grant, 
what the unequivocal and expressed wishes of the yeomanry may 
ask on this head. We repeat, that there is now no diversity of opi¬ 
nion as to the benefits which have arisen from former appropriations. 
We are yet young in agricultural improvement. We have no doubt 
the products of our soil may be doubled, with the laborers which it 
now employs. This would soon add millions to our wealth, while 
an annual appropriation from the treasury would return to it com¬ 
pound interest in the form of increased revenues. 
EXPERIMENTS. 
In our farming operations of the past season, we have made some 
experiments rather out of the ordinary routine of practice, the results 
of which we here state, for the benefit and admonition of others. 
1. We drilled in half a pound of ruta baga seed between the rows 
in a field of corn, after the last dressing. On harvesting the corn, 
about the 13th Sept, but a few drawn plants of the ruta baga were! 
found. The corn stood well and stout, 3 by 2\ feet, and pumpkin Ij^^tyj^rry 
vines covered the surface. The turnips did not fail for want of nou¬ 
rishment in the soil, but from the absence of heat, light and air, to 
elaborate this food, and to produce a natural development of the 
plants. 
2. We drilled buckwheat between rows of China beans. We 
manure, and of cultivating, harvesting and securing the turnips for 
winter, 1 estimate at $18. The product of the 100 rods may be 
put down as follows ;— 
1 ton clover hay, . $15 00 
350 bushels ruta baga, at Is. 6d..... 65 62| 
Tope, say ......... . 1 00* 
81 621 
Deduct charges,.. 18 00 
Profits,. $63 62£ 
5. We burnt a strip of wheatstubble, first scattering upon it some 
light straw, sowed upon it the seed of the white turnip, and harrow¬ 
ed it in thoroughly, the 4th August. The plants were thinned with 
the hoe, and we gathered a fair crop of handsome table turnips. 
6. We mixed pumpkin seed profusely with our seed corn. Where 
the corn stood well, the pumpkins were tolerably productive; where 
worms thinned it they grew in great abundance. We gathered 
from seven acres more than forty cart loads. With these, our small 
potatoes and refuse apples, boiled together, and soft corn, we have 
put fourteen porkers in good condition for the barrel, and have 
enough in store to keep them thriving till the middle of December. 
We thus expect to make 3,000 lbs. of pork from the refuse matters, 
which every farm may be made to produce, and which are not market¬ 
able commodities. We put down the saving in these matters as a 
prominent item in the profits of a farm. 
lost more in the bean crop than we gained in the buckwheat. The 
beans did not mature and ripen web. 
3- We sowed half a pound of Aberdeen turnip seed, broad-cast, 
upon half an acre of corn, after the last hoeing. The corn having 
been replanted, and yet thin, from the devastations of the worm, was 
not cut up till about the 25th Sept. On the 10th Nov. we gathered 
70 bushels of good turnips, many small ones being left, the crop not 
having been thinned. 
4. Manured 100 rods, or five-eighths of an acre, of one year ley, 
from which the clover had been mown the last of June, ploughed, 
harrowed, and drilled in half a pound of ruta baga seed, on the 4th 
July. The after culture consisted of two dressings, with cultivator 
and hoe, at the first of which the plants were thinned to 8 or 10 
inches in the drill. The crop was taken up the 18th Nov. and the 
product was 350 bushels. The ground and crop were measured. 
The seed was drilled in by a bungler, who made the drills too dis¬ 
tant, often four feet. At regular intervals of 2j feet the product 
would have been at least 100 bushels more. This practice is not 
new, nor is the product great; but the result is given to show the 
profits of root culture. The expense of curing the clover, of 12 loads 
CUT-WORM. 
The ravages of this insect last spring, particularly in our corn 
fields, gives an importance to every suggestion which may promise 
: a preventive. The remedy suggested below has the sanction of 
philosophy as well as experience, and promises the further benefit 
: of being decidedly beneficial to the growth of the corn. The labor 
and expense of making the application are comparatively trivial. It 
is probably the caustic qualities of the alkali afforded by the ashes 
and lime, that kept the worm from the circle of its influence, or de¬ 
stroyed it. We copy the article from the Tennessee Farmer. It 
seems to have been penned by its intelligent and practical editor. 
Judge Emerson. 
“ As soon as the corn is covered with earth, let a hand follow, 
having a bag hanging at his side, containing ashes and plaster mix¬ 
ed, one-third of the latter, and two-thirds of the former, or ashes 
alone, either leached or unleached—the latter would probably be 
preferable—and let him drop a handful on each hill of corn. We 
would recommend, where it can be obtained, the partial substitution 
of lime for ashes, in which case, to preserve the hands of the dropper 
from injury, it will be necessary for him to use a cup, shell, or gourd, 
with which to take up the lime—each bag should be large enough 
to contain as much of the substance used as the dropper can conve- 
We request our readers in this vicinity to give the 
foregoing a fair trial, and to furnish us with an accurate account of 
the result, both as to its effects in preventing the ravages of the 
Cut-Worm and in increasing the crop. In our use of ashes and 
plaster, they were dropped on the seed corn, and covered with it. 
The effect on the crop was decidedly and greatly beneficial. For 
preventing the ravages of the Cut-Worm, there is good reason to 
believe that it would be best to deposite the ashes on the hill after 
j the corn is covered, and this mode will probably be found nearly, if 
not quite, as beneficial in increasing the crop.” 
Large Vegetable Productions. —-The newspapers teem, as is usual 
at this season, with statements of the extraordinary weight of vege¬ 
table monsters. We are too apt, in judging of both vegetable and 
! animal productions, to let our wonder outrun our reason, and to 
graduate value according to size—when in truth, as a general 
rule, the larger productions are of a quality inferior to those of me¬ 
dium or inferior size. 
Take, for instance, among roots, the potato: the very large varieties 
will be found to be coarse, watery and comparatively devoid of flavor 
and nutriment. So of the very large beet, radish or pumpkin—who 
eats them? The farm stock only. In fruits as the apple, pear and 
plum, most of the fine flavored and esteemed varieties are of dimu- 
nitive size. The remark, too, will pretty generally apply in regard 
to animals: the very big are seldom models of beauty or sources of 
profit. 
