THE CULTIVATOR. 
From one of these, we succeeded in procuring the per¬ 
fect insect, a beautiful moth, between six and seven in¬ 
ches across its wings, and resembling in every respect, 
except that it was larger, the one figured as 25, in Wil¬ 
son’s Lepidoptera. The silk from ’these cocoons was 
coarse, but almost as strong as wire, and could it be 
procured in sufficient quantity, would make the most 
durable of cloths. 
Xtemslrow our m* 3. 
Grass Seeds. 
A writer in the Farmer’s Cabinet, desirous of ascer¬ 
taining the number of seeds contained in a bushel of 
some of the commonest kinds of cultivated grass seeds, 
from the process described, arrived at the results given 
in the table. 
He caused, he says, “ one-sixteenth part of an ounce 
avoirdupois of the kinds noted to be accurately weigh¬ 
ed. The seeds in each parcel were then carefully coun¬ 
ted, from which it was ascertained the number of them 
contained in a pound, and also the number contained in 
a bushel, the weight of which was known. The seeds 
were all perfectly clean and of the best quality. 
“ Timothy seed, rated at 40 lbs. per bushel, number 
of seeds in a bushel, 60,600,320 ; Red Clover seed, 
(American,) 60 lbs. per bushel, number of seeds, 24,- 
084,480 ; Dutch Red Clover seed, imported, 60 lbs. per 
bushel, number of seeds, 16,819,200; Dutch White Clo¬ 
ver seed, imported, 60 lbs. to the bushel, number of 
seeds, 43,829,600; Orchard Grass seed, 12 lbs. per bush¬ 
el, number of seeds, 5,818,380.” 
It will be seen that the imported Dutch Red Clover 
is larger than the American Red Clover seed, and to 
have the plants equally thick, one and a half bushels 
of the imported would be required to one of the Ame¬ 
rican. — 
“ Chevalier Barley.” 
As a proof of the great ease with which new and 
productive varieties of grain may be introduced, and 
the advantges which would result from such a course, 
we extract from a work on the “ Present state of the 
Agriculture of England,” the account of the barley na¬ 
med at the head of this note, and which is rapidly su¬ 
perseding in cultivation most others* in that kingdom. 
Of its discovery, Dr. Chevalier, on whose farm it origi¬ 
nated, gives the following account: 
“ An extraordinary fine ear of barley was observed and 
selected by a laborer of mine in the parish of Debenham, in 
1819; in the spring of 1820, I planted 27 grains in my gar¬ 
den; in 1825 I planted half an acre of this species, and half 
an acre of the common species, the land under precisely si¬ 
milar cultivation. The product of the first amounted to 
eight and a half coombs; and of the last to six and a half 
coombs; (34 and 26 bushels.) The ears of the first averaged 
34 grains, the second 30 ; the grains of the first heavier as 
four to five. In the course of 5 or 6 years it was generally 
accepted and approved in my neighborhood, and I promoted 
its fair trial, charging only the current market price for it.” 
Bees. 
Mr. Keith, of Maine, in a communication to the 
Monthly Visitor, after describing several modes of 
managing bees, and the ill success that attended them, 
thus in substance gives the result of an experiment 
made by placing them in a garret. He finished a room 
in his garret impervious to rats and mice, to which was 
a door secured against children and intruders. In this 
room was placed a swarm of bees, the hive on a level 
with and near the places made for their egress and in¬ 
gress. The young swarm soon filled their hive and 
then commenced building all around it, filling in with 
the finest comb, and without the support of slats or 
bars, the space from the roof to the floor of their room. 
Mr. Keith, by the aid of a candle was able at any time 
to inspect the progress of his apiary, and witness the 
formations of the column of comb. There was no 
swarming, and of course the work had the benefit of 
all their increase in numbers. After the second year 
of their operations, Mr. Keith commenced taking honey 
from the room, doing it in the winter when the bees 
were dormant, in the central parts of the mass; these 
external combs always composing the best and purest 
part of the store. For many years Mr. Keith’s table 
was abundantly supplied in this way with the choicest 
of sweets, until in 18—, his dwelling house was destroy¬ 
ed by fire, and his bee-hive “containing at the least eight 
hundred pounds of honey, and of living beings a mul¬ 
titude which no man could number,” shared the com¬ 
mon fate. 
From what we have seen, and have been able to 
learn on this subject, the mode of treating bees as 
above described is superior to most others, for the fol¬ 
lowing reasons. It prevents in most cases any swarm¬ 
ing ; the bees are not as frequently attacked and de¬ 
stroyed by the bee-moth ; there is no necessity of de¬ 
stroying the bee as is the common but cruel practice; 
and the store of honey is always at command. The 
honey bee is one of the most valuable of our manufac¬ 
tures ; and that and the silk-worm almost the only in¬ 
sects that contribute by their industry to the comfort of 
man. — 
Sorrel. 
A great pest on the farm is the common sorrel, not 
only being useless in itself, but occupying ground which 
might be filled with profitable herbage. Sorrel too, 
while it springs from sour soils, contributes to increase 
that sourness, by depositing in the earth, the acid which 
the plant has the power of secreting. To destroy sor- 
rri if is only necessary to destroy or neutralize the acid 
essential to its growth; and this is fortunately within 
the power of every farmer by the application of lime. 
Lime and sorrel cannot exist together; the alkali of the 
one is fatal to the acid of the other, and where the 
sourness of the soil is corrected, the sorrel will disap¬ 
pear as a matter of course. A writer in the Cabinet 
says: 
“ We had a few acres infested with sorrel, much to our 
inconvenience; on a part of this we spread sixty-six bushels 
and two thirds of lime to the acre, on the balance we spread 
two hundred bushels of ashes. The sorrel on the limed 
part has nearly disappeared, while on the portion on which 
ashes were spread, it is as thick as ever.” 
Tompkins County Agricultural and Horticultural 
Society. 
In pursuance of the recommendation of the Court 
and Grand Jury, issued in September last, and in pub¬ 
lic notice, a large and very spirited convention of the 
farming population of this county, was held at the 
Clinton House, in the village of Ithaca, on Wednesday 
last, February 12, to take into consideration the proprie¬ 
ty of forming an agricultural and horticultural society 
for this county. 
At 7 o’clock, P. M. the convention was called to order 
by Mr. W. A. Woodward, on whose motion W. R. Col¬ 
lins, Esq. was called to the chair, and on motion of Mr.L. 
A. Morrell, R. Halsey was appointed secretary. 
On motion of Mr. W. A. Woodward, 
Resolved, That this meeting form itself into a society 
to be called the Tompkins County Agricultural and 
Horticultural Society. 
The following gentlemen were appointed by the chair¬ 
man, a committee to recommend a constitution for the 
consideration and adoption of this convention, to wit: 
W. A. Woodward, Caleb Smith, and Lewis A. Morrell. 
On motion of Mr. L. A. Morrell, the chairman ap¬ 
pointed a committee consisting of one from each town 
represented in this convention, to recommend to the 
convention a board of officers for the society, as fol¬ 
lows: L. A. Morrell, Lansing; J. Wallenback, Enfield; 
W. Pugsley, Danby; John Boynton, Groton; Caleb 
Smith, Hector; W. T. Lawrence, Newfield; Wm. Cobb, 
Dryden; Reuben Judd, Ithaca. 
Mr. Woodward, from the committee on a constitution, 
made the following report: 
Constitution of the Tompkins County Agricultural and 
Horticultural Society. 
Sec. 1. This society shall be called the Tompkins 
County Agricultural and Horticultural Society. 
Sec. 2. The object of this society shall be to advance 
agriculture and horticulture in this county. 
Sec. 3. Every person desirous of connecting himself 
with this society, shall pay to the treasurer one dollar 
at the time of his becoming a member, and one dollar 
annually thereafter, on the first Wednesday in October, 
during his continuance as a member. Any member 
wishing to withdraw from the society must pay all dues 
and give a written notice to the recording secretary of 
his intention. 
Sec. 4. The officers of the society shall consist of a 
President, nine Vice-Presidents, a Recording Secretary, 
a Corresponding Secretary, a Treasurer, and an Execu¬ 
tive Committee consisting of one member from each 
town in the county—all of whom shall be elected by 
ballot on the first Wednesday in October, annually, and 
shall continue in office one year, or until others shall be 
chosen in their stead. 
Sec. 5. There shall be an annual meeting on the first 
Wednesday in October, at Ithaca, (or at such place as 
the board of managers shall direct,) for the purpose of 
holding the regular fair and exhibition of domestic ani¬ 
mals, manufactures, and articles the produce of the 
farm and garden. Fifteen members shall constitute a 
quorum at all meetings of the society. 
Sec. 6. The officers of the society, five of whom 
shall form a quorum, shall constitute a Board of Man¬ 
agers for the general administration of the affairs of 
the society. They shall have full power to enact such 
by-laws as may be deemed expedient, to appropriate 
the funds of the society to the proper objects of the 
institution—to appoint committees—to convene special 
meetings of the society—to hold the Annual Exhibi¬ 
tions and make all arrangements necessary therefor ; 
to award such premiums as may be offered by the soci¬ 
ety, and determine all matters connected therewith; 
to take charge of and distribute plants, seeds, books, 
&c. or whatever may be transmitted to the society; 
and to correct, arrange and publish addresses and other 
communications, together with the proceedings of the 
society, at such time and in such form as they shall 
deem best calculated to promote the objects of the so¬ 
ciety. 
It shall be their duty to appoint yearly, two members 
from each toAvn, who with the member of the executive 
committee from the same town as chairman, shall be 
standing committees to superintend the concerns of the 
society in their respective towns, whose correspondence 
shall be addressed to the corresponding secretary, and 
who may be requested by the treasurer to collect money 
due the society in their respective towns. 
Sec. 7. The President, or, in his absence, one of the 
Vice-Presidents, shall preside at all meetings of the 
Board of Managers, or the society, and at all exhibi¬ 
tions or fairs held by the society. 
Sec. 8. The corresponding secretary shall, under the 
direction of the Board of Managers, receive and an¬ 
swer all communications addressed to the society or 
any of its officers, and perform such other duties as 
may from time to time be assigned to him by the Board 
of Managers. 
Sec. 9. The recording secretary shall keep a record 
of the proceedings of the society; he shall also be re¬ 
cording secretary of the Board of Managers, keep a 
record of their transactions, and perform such other 
duties as may be assigned to him from time to time by 
the Board of Managers. 
Sec. 10. The treasurer shall receive all sums due the 
society, and all donations in money made for its benefit, 
and disburse them only on the orders of the President. 
He shall keep an account of his receipts and disburse¬ 
ments, and report the same annually to the Board of 
Managers, and oftener if required. He shall execute a 
bond to the society for the faithful performance of his 
duties, in such penalty and with such securities as the 
Board of Managers shall require. 
Sec. 11. The Board of Managers shall have full pow¬ 
er to fill all vacancies that may occur, by death, resig¬ 
nation or otherwise, among the officers of the society, 
and the persons so appointed shall hold their respective 
offices, until the next annual meeting of the society, or 
until others are elected in their stead. 
Sec. 12. No persons but such as have been members 
for thirty days previous to the annual fair, and continue 
to pay their annual dues, shall be permitted to compete 
for premiums. 
Sec. 13. The constitution may be altered or amended 
by a vote of two-thirds of the members present at any 
stated meeting of the society. 
On motion of Mr. W. G. Grant, the report of the 
committee was unanimously adopted. 
Mr. Morrell, from the committee on officers, reported 
the following: Nicoll Halsey, of Ulysses, President. W. 
T. Lawrence, of Newfield; Peter Hager, of Hector; 
Luther Hedden, of Lansing; A. B. Pugsley, of Caro¬ 
line; Julius Ackley, of Ithaca; Henry Brewer, of En¬ 
field; Sylvester Nash, of Groton; Benj. Wood, of Dry¬ 
den; and J. C. Mandeville, of Danby, Vice-Presidents. 
W. A. Woodward, of Ithaca, Recording Secretary. L. 
A. Morrell, of Lansing, Corresponding Secretary. W. 
R. Collins, of Ithaca, Treasurer. 
On motion of Mr. E. Cornell, the report of the com¬ 
mittee was unanimously adopted. 
On motion of Mr. E. Cornell, Resolved —That an exe¬ 
cutive committee, consisting of three in each town in 
the county, be appointed to obtain members to this so¬ 
ciety ; and that the president and vice-presidents be one 
of said committee in their respective towns, when the 
following were appointed: Ulysses, Nicoll Halsey, Elias 
J. Ayers, Horace Cooper. Hector, Peter Hager, John 
Sayler, Thomas B. Sears. Dryden, Benj Wood, E. W. 
Cady, R. C. Ellis. Groton, S. Nash, Joseph Pennoyer, 
Nathan Benson. Danby, J. C. Mandeville, Elbert Cur¬ 
tis, Francis Nurse. Newfield, W. T. Lawrence, Isaac 
S. Smith, Hobert Estabrook. Enfield, H. Brewer, B. 
V. Gould, Jared Treman. Ithaca, J. Ackley, E. Cor¬ 
nell, R. Halsey. Caroline, A. B. Pugsley, L. W. King- 
man, S. B. Green. Lansing, L. Hedden, L. A. Morrell, 
Charles Davis. 
On motion of Mr. Morrell, Resolved —That a general 
meeting of the officers, and of the town executive com¬ 
mittee of this society, be held at the Clinton House Itha¬ 
ca, on Tuesday, March 3d, at 1 o’clock, P. M. at which 
time a prompt and full attendance is desired. 
On motion of Mr. Morrell, Resolved —That as the 
sense of this convention, agricultural papers are invalu¬ 
able as a medium of conveying intelligence of improve¬ 
ments which are being made, connected with tilling the 
soil, of domestic stock, and in short, of ev’ery thing per¬ 
taining to the interest of the farmer, therefore a sub¬ 
scription to the Cultivator, published at Albany, is re¬ 
commended to the farmers of this county. 
On motion of Mr. Cornell, Resolved —That the presi 
dent and recording secretary have 1,000 copies of the 
proceedings of this convention, and of the constitution 
published in pamphlet form, for the use of this society. 
On motion of Mr. Woodward, Resolved —That the 
proceedings of this convention be signed by the chair¬ 
man and secretary, and a copy handed to all the papers 
in this county, and to the editors of the Cultivator at 
Albany, for publication. 
On motion, Resolved —That this convention now ad¬ 
journ. WM. R. COLLINS, Chairman. 
Robert Halsey, Secretary. 
All communications addressed to the corresponding 
secretary, must be directed to Lake Ridge, P. O. Lan 
sing. 
Remedy for the Bots. 
Messrs. Editors —In looking over the January num- 
>er of the Cultivator, I was surprised, in reading the 
article on bots in horses, although the subject was ably 
treated, that there was no remedy pointed out to relieve 
the noble animul from suffering and death. Having 
seen many horses die with bots, and many remedies 
given without effect, I xvas induced by a merchant in 
Cambridge, to try the following for a horse of my own, 
after I had tried most of the remedies in common use 
without effect, and had given him up for lost: 
Half pint vinegar, half pint soft soap, half pint gin, 
and half pint molasses, well shaken together, and pour¬ 
ed down while foaming. To my great surprise, the 
horse was in five minutes wholly free from pain, and ate 
freely—the next morning I was on my journey. I 
have since recommended and given the same in perhaps 
fifty cases, with the same good effect; not in one in* 
stance has it failed to effect a perfect cure. 
Troy, Jan. 29, 1840. ISAAC LOVEJOY. 
