A COM SOLI DATS ON OF BUEL'S CULTIVATOR AND THE GENESEE FARSVSER 
“AGRICULTURE, AT ONCE THE CAUSE AND EVIDENCE OF CIVILIZATION.” 
Cult. Yol. YII—No. 8. 
ALBANY, N. Y. AUGUST, 1840. 
Cult, and Far. Yol. I— No. 8. 
PUBLISHED MONTHLY, 
BY JESSE BUEL & CO. PROPRIETORS, 
Office jy/'o. 7 Exchange^ Second Floor, 
TERMS— One Dollar per annum — Six copies for $5— 
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tain 25 or more subscribers, and 25 per cent to those who 
obtain 100 or more. All subscriptions to commence with a 
volume. 
WILLIS GAYLORD & LUTHER TUCKER, Editors. 
&-: 
THE SEASON AND THE CROPS. 
Below we give a table showing the comparative tem¬ 
perature of the first seven months of 1838, 1839, and 
1840, that our readers may estimate for themselves, the 
influence of atmospheric agencies on the amount and 
quality of the crops. 
1838 .. 
1839 . 
1840 . 
TEMPERATURE. 
a -a 
s « 
-e _ 
eS Cl . 1 ci 5 
weather, cl’r days.3 
I - # cj rzi 
a 1 a 
a |W 
i-s iPm 
3.2 14 40 39,57 77,81 13 
25 32 35 54,61 71 76 7, 
19 35 37 49i64i7l|.. 6' 
_ >» V 
-v cs - 
^ p 
5 2011 9 IS:'20 
6 14 18 15 12 16 
4i 9!17;18 16! 
The given temperature of any month or season, may 
be inferred in a great measure, from the number of 
clear days it contains. Thus, April 1838, had 11 clear 
days; and the average temperature was 39°. April 
1840, had 17 clear days, and the average was 49°. 
Aprii 1839, had 18 clear days, and the average was 54°. 
The first six months of the year have been remarka¬ 
ble for their sudden and extreme changes of tempera¬ 
ture. Thrice has the change exceeded 50° in less than 
48 hours; and in one instance, reached 55° in that time. 
Such changes are unfavorable to vegetation, and to 
health; but on the whole, the season, up to the 20th of 
July, the time of penning these remarks, must be consi¬ 
dered favorable to the husbandman. While few dis¬ 
tricts have suffered from drouth, the northern and mid¬ 
dle states have been mostly exempt from those heavy 
rains and severe storms that have inflicted so much 
damage in the southern sections of our country. By 
the sudden reduction of temperature of which we have 
spoken, frosts have occurred at later periods than usual, 
in several sections of our country. We learn from Gov. 
Hill’s Monthly Visiter, that several frosts had occurred 
in that state, up to the 3d Monday in June, not of a na¬ 
ture, however, to excite any fears for the corn crop ; and 
we learn from a gentleman who was in that section at 
the time, that a severe frost occurred in some parts of 
our southwestern counties on the 4th of July. 
Before this sheet goes to press, the great staple crop 
of the north, Wheat, will, in most cases, have been cut 
and secured. At this time, it may be said to have esca¬ 
ped; and except in a few instances, to be beyond the 
reach of the three great enemies of the wheal crop, the 
fly, the worm, and blight. The quality of the wheat is 
admitted on all hands, to be excellent; the berry fine, 
plump, and bright, and such as will make the best of 
flour. As to the quantity, there is evidently some dif¬ 
ference of opinion; some supposing it to be an enor¬ 
mous one, while others rate it as not middling. The 
truth probably lies between these estimates, and from 
the best information we receive from all parts of the 
country, the crop must be considered a good one. In 
some districts, the fly did damage; in others, the worm 
has shown itself, but to a comparatively limited extent; 
while the most serious drawback is to be found in the 
freezing nights and thawing days that succeeded the dis¬ 
appearance of the snow, and on heavy clays, or those 
of shallow tilth, caused the roots of the wheat plant to 
be lifted from the ground, and in consequence, many 
perished. The moderate weather, and light but fre- 
rquent rains of the spring months, had a tendency to 
counteract this evil, and many pieces of wheat have so 
far recovered, as to promise a medium crop, that would 
have failed entirely, had the freezing out been followed 
with drying winds and a clear sky. There was doubt¬ 
less more land sown with wheat in the fall of 1839, than 
in any previous year, including tile extensive additions 
made in the western states, and the quantity of spring 
wheat sown has probably not diminished. That there 
will be an abundant supply of wheat therefore for domes¬ 
tic consumption, or exportation, should this product be de¬ 
manded abroad, cannot reasonably be questioned. As 
wheat is the only grain crop of the western states that 
can be grown with any prospect of its paying trans¬ 
portation, and as that section of our great country seems 
peculiarly adapted to the production of this crop, it is 
8 
reasonable to conclude that a large part of our wheat 
will hereafter be furnished by that rapidly populating 
and fertile region. Shall the wheat grower of the At¬ 
lantic states then cease to cultivate wheat? -By no 
means; but to compete in his own home market, with 
the western wheat grower, he must cultivate his land 
more skilfully, and thus grow greater crops on less land. 
If the same amount of grain should be raised on fifty 
acres, that is now raised on one hundred, it is clear the 
profits of farming would be greatly enhanced, by a re¬ 
duction of the capital employed to produce that amount 
of grain. 
Barley appears heavy and good. The ears are well 
set, and the grain fine and plump ; and as a fair breadth 
of this grain has been sown, the crop will be o course, 
a good one. The demand for barley for malting, is in¬ 
creasing annually, and large quantities are floured, or 
used for making pork, feeding animals, and the other 
purposes to which coarse grains are applied. 
Oats rarely fail of giving good crops, when receiving 
what may be called decent culture, and the present sea¬ 
son they are remarkably fine. Perhaps there was not 
as much land sown with this grain, as in some former 
years; but the crop will be abundant, so far as present 
appearances may serve as a guide. Of all the grains, 
there is none that so near combines the quantity of nu¬ 
triment the horse should receive, with the coarser mat¬ 
ter necessary to distend the stomach and promote di¬ 
gestion, as the oat; and consequently, it proves better 
adapted to that animal than any other. It is possible 
that corn ground with the cob, would unite these pro¬ 
perties as well, as it is known that horses fed with 
corn meal and cut straw, do their work admirably, the 
straw in this, furnishing the same bulky matter that 
would be given by the cob in the other. Where corn is 
ground for feeding pigs, as it always should be, mixing 
one-third oats before grinding, has been found an im¬ 
provement of ihe feed, as well as a saving in expenses 
of fattening AVe think the agricultural census now in 
progress, will show in some of our counties, a great pro¬ 
duce of this crop in proportion to the other grains, or to 
the population. 
Every thing now indicates that the Corn crop through¬ 
out our country, will be a good one. Of all the coarse 
grains, this is the most valuable; and perhaps there is 
none, the success or failure of which in the whole coun¬ 
try, would exert so much influence. There are some 
who apprehend that early frosts are to he expected, from 
tendency shown in the sudden changes to sink the tem¬ 
perature to a low point. But within a few years, much 
attention in the most exposed parts of our country, to 
the selection and cultivation of early varieties of corn has 
been paid, and unless frosts more early, and of greater 
severity than usual occur, we may expect a good crop. 
It is too early to speak with certainty of the Root 
Crops. We have seen some fine pieces of the turnep, 
sugar beet, carrot, &.c., but the yield and value of these 
roots is in a great measure depending on a later period 
of their growth. We have observed that land planted 
with the beet this season, appears to show a greater 
failure of plants than the turnep or the carrot. This 
may, in part, arise from bad seed; but the beet is a 
somewhat difficult seed to vegetate, unless in favorable cir¬ 
cumstances, and the weather last spring about the time 
of planting such seeds, was in general so wet and low 
in temperature, that many of the seeds may have rot¬ 
ted before germinating. It has been in some cases 
found useful to mix beet and carrot seeds, before the 
time of sowing with some rich fine earth, kept sufficient¬ 
ly moist and warm to secure germination, and when this 
commences, to plant the seeds at once. In this way, 
few are said to fail, and the plants spring quicker nnd 
more vigorously. 
The crop of Grass will not he a heavy one, but a fair 
medium one at least. Plaster has not shown as much 
power this year, on grass, as in some other years, which 
may be attributed to the occurrence of frequent rains 
and a low temperature during much of the spring sea¬ 
son, or about the time of sowing this article. 
On the whole, notwithstanding partial failures, the 
present appearances warrant the belief that in few, if 
any former years, will the barns and granaries of the 
farmer, have been more abundantly filled, than in 1840. 
CLEAN GROUNDS. 
The great secret of successful farming is to never al¬ 
low any thing to grow that is not sown. It is idle to ex¬ 
pect good crops, while from one-half to two-thirds of 
the nutritive properties contained in the soil, and at 
least that portion of its power of vegetation is consum¬ 
ed by plants not cultivated, or in other words by weeds. 
Our meadows have light crops of grass, but is there not 
an ample one of moss, johnswort, crowfoot, or daisy ; 
we get fifteen bushels an acre of wheat, hut has 
not vegetative power enough been expended on the 
charlock, stein krout, or thistle, to have made the 
fifteen bushels thirty ? Look at our potato or com 
fields, in which the planted crops are maintaining a 
doubtful struggle for existence with a vigorous growth 
of vile interlopers, too numerous to be named. Is it not 
a truth, that we allow one half of the actual value of 
our lands to be thus filched from us, and lose one-half 
our labor? Is it not true that we do not cultivate our 
lands as well as we ought, to get the greatest returns 
for the capital employed in agriculture? Belter to till 
50 acres as it should be, keeping the soil rich, clean and 
constantly improving, than to perpetuate the exhausting, 
improvident, unprofitable methods now so common, on 
200 acres. 
LARGE SALE OF BERKSIIIRES. 
It will be seen by the communication below, that the 
Shakers at Watervliet, near this city, hare sold out 
their entire breeding stock ojf Berkshire begs, to A. B. 
Allen, Esq. of Buffalo, and that they retire from the 
business of breeding them for sale. On the day previ¬ 
ous to the shipment of the stock to the west, we had the 
pleasure of riding out to the neat village of these peo¬ 
ple, and looking over their superior animals; and, how¬ 
ever familiar we may have been with Berkshires, we 
must confess that the splendid array of these noble 
quadrupeds excited our astonishment and admiration. 
While we regret that Albany county should lose this 
choice stock, we are glad to find that it has fallen into 
the hands of so spirited and judicious a breeder as Mr. 
Allen; and perhaps it is upon the whole for the best, 
as at Buffalo it is several hundred miles nearer to the 
Great AVestern Market, and we are not without hopes 
that this greater proximity to purchasers, will ex¬ 
tend the diffusion of the breed, for we are satisfied that 
the pork growers cannot possibly make a more profita¬ 
ble investment than in the improved machines, (if we 
may be allowed the expression) for the manufacture of 
this great staple article. No farmer would want but 
one sight of the beautiful store harrows that we saw in 
the piggery, to convince him of this. Their large fine, 
and delicate forms, could not fail loexcite his admiration. 
Mr. Allen has also purchased a few other very large 
choice animals, of established reputation as breeders, 
belonging, we believe, to Messrs. Middleton and 
Meigs of this city. All these animals have been stint¬ 
ed to Mr. Lossing’s late imported hoars, and cannot fail 
this fall to produce a very choice offspring:. We doubt 
whether, with this addition to Mr. Allen’s stock, Lis 
herd can be beat, or rarely hardly equaled, by any herd 
in England, at least if we may judge from the finished 
engravings which occasionally appear in the British 
Farmer’s Magazine. In the March No. of the present 
year, we find the portrait of a boar bred by the Hon. 
J. Shaw Lefevre, a wealthy landed proprietor, and speak- 
of the British House of Commons, and by the exhibi¬ 
tion of which, at the Oxford meeting of the English 
Agricultural Society, he won the highest prize of ten 
guineas ($50.) Forward, this might he called a good 
animal, but otherwise he has narrow hams, and a hish 
steep rump, and has nothing of the finished air and fash¬ 
ionable range of the Shaker stock. Mr. A. informs us 
that he intends still to enlarge his stock, and that he has 
made arrangements to receive in September next, seme 
of the best that the piggeries of England can afford, 
without regard to price, and unconnected with former 
importations, for a fresh cross. With these additions to 
the previous high bred stock of Mr. A., the person who 
cannot be satisfied from its produce must he hard to 
please. AVe wish him every success in his laudable 
enterprise in the improvement of the stock of the great 
and fertile west. — 
“ Watervliet, July, 1S40. 
“Editors Cultivator —Being situated so far from 
navigation, and it being so troublesome for us to ship our 
stock, we have concluded to retire from the business of 
breeding Berkshire piss, and have accordingly sold out 
all our prime stock to A. B. Allen, of Buffalo, reserving 
only a few sows of medium sizes for the production of 
our own pork. This is a very superior stock, and such 
as has universally taken precedence even among Berk¬ 
shires, wherever sent. Most of these animals are about 
as large of their age, as the superb sow Maxima, pur¬ 
chased of us at one hundred and fifty dollars, by John 
Lossing, of Albany, and faithfully figured and described 
in the May number of the current volume of the Culti¬ 
vator, and one of them we think, when fully grown 
will even be superior; and we earnestly recommend 
this stock to the public, and have no hesitation in say¬ 
ing, that it will not he likely to deteriorate in the hands 
of A. B. Allen, and those who have heretofore ad¬ 
dressed their orders to us, we respectfully refer hereaf¬ 
ter to him. “ STEPHEN WELLS, 
“JUSTICE HARWOOD, 
“ Trustees of United Friends, commonly called Shakers.” 
