THE CULTIVATOR. 
109 
Kew-Tork State Agricultural Society. 
The regular meeting of the Executive Committee of 
the N. Y. S. Ag. Society for June, was held at the Troy 
House in Troy on the 16th,—the President in the chair. 
Present, Messrs. Walsh, Vail, Nott, Bement and Tuck¬ 
er, members of the Committee, together with a numer¬ 
ous attendance of the members of the Society in that 
vicinity. 
Letters were read from Messrs. H. S. Randall, H. 
Munson, John H. Beach, Charles F. Johnson, A. Ber¬ 
gen and Jabez Burrows. 
New members were admitted to the Society as fol- 
follows : 
Annual Member s- 
Adams, Myron, E. Bloomfield. 
Beach, John H., Sar. Springs. 
Beach, Wm. A., do. 
Belden, Dennis, Troy. 
Bergen, Adrian, New Utrecht. 
Burrows, Jabez, Mayville. 
Corey, John A., Sar. Springs. 
Cowen, P. H., do. 
Cummings, Franklin, Troy. 
Dater, Jacob, do. 
Dauchy, Charles, do. 
Farrington, Thomas, Owego. 
Fassett, John V., ($2,00) Troy. 
Gifford, Henry, Harmony. 
Gould, John, Essex. 
Harris, Heman, Troy. 
Hart, J. B., do. 
Hart, W., do. 
Johnson, Charles F., Oswego. 
[Paying $1 per year.] 
Kellogg, Day O., Troy. ' 
Lawrence, Wm. T., ($5) Cayu- 
taville. 
Lyon, Charles, Ogdensburgh. 
Merritt, I. J., do. 
Miller, John, Harmony. 
Osborn, J. F., Port Byron. 
Parker, S., Troy. 
Perry, A. S., ($2,00) Troy. 
Pumpelly, George I., Owego, 
Richards, Albert, Troy. 
Richards, George B., Troy.. 
Sackrider, Norman, Norfolk. 
Sage, Norton, do. 
Sampson, John, ($2,00) Troy. 
Slocum, Hiram, do. 
Tuttle, N., do. 
Warren, Jos. M., do. 
Geo. Vail, Esq. of Troy, one of the members of the 
Board, made a donation of $25,00 to the funds of the 
Society. 
The following committees were appointed to solicit 
donations and new members to the Society : 
For Troy and vicinity —Messrs. John Sampson, Geo. 
Vail, D. O. Kellogg, J. H. Willard. I. J. Merritt, and 
A. S. Perry. 
For Lansingburgh —Messrs. A. Walsh, P. M. Cor¬ 
bin and J. Holme. 
For Waterford —Messrs. John House, John Knick- 
erbacker, W. B. Douglass and J. Strachan. 
For Waiervliet —Messrs. Thomas Hillhouse, E. Wis- 
wall, Jr., and C. F. Crosby. 
Mr. Tucker introduced the following resolutions, 
which were unanimously adopted : 
1. Resolved, That the Corresponding Secretary be 
authorized and requested to open correspondences with 
such individuals as he may deem proper, in the several 
Counties of our State, for the purpose of eliciting infor¬ 
mation on the following points : 
The present condition of agriculture in each County, with 
such changes as have already taken place since the period of 
their first settlement—Aspect of the county—Nature of the soil 
—What are the principal products ?—Where are the products 
marketed?—What kinds of cultivation are in use?—What are 
the favorite breeds of horses, cattle, sheep, swine, &e. ?—How 
are the stock generally fattened for market?—What plows, har¬ 
rows, and other agricultural implements are in general use ?— 
What is the general value of the land?—What kind of timber 
generally prevails?—What agricultural changes are requisite 
to advance the prosperity of the county? 
2. Resolved, That the Corresponding Secretary be 
authorized and requested to open correspondences with 
such individuals as he may deem proper, for the pur¬ 
pose of eliciting information on 
The most profitable breeds of cattle, sheep, horses, swine. 
&c., for our country—The best and most economical method of 
rearing them—Their diseases, and the method of treating them 
—The most profitable varieties and best method of cultivating 
the several varieties of grains and roots—The best and most 
profitable method of making butter and cheese—The most eco¬ 
nomical method of fattening domestic animals—The best and 
most economical method of wintering domestic animals—The 
cultivation of fruits—Horticulture—The most profitable grass¬ 
es—Draining—Rotation in crops—Manures—Diseases of plants, 
and the remedies—Destruction of noxious weeds, &c.—Con¬ 
struction and management of farm out buildings, yards, See .— 
Fences. 
3. Resolved, That the Corresponding Secretary he 
authorized and requested to open correspondences with 
such individuals as he may deem proper, in the United 
States and Europe, for the purpose of eliciting informa¬ 
tion on such agricultural subjects as may be of value to 
the farmers of our State. 
4. Resolved, That the Finance Committee be request¬ 
ed to address a Circular to the friends of Agriculture 
in this State, setting forth the importance of the objects 
for which the N. Y. State Ag. Society was formed—its 
inability to accomplish those objects, or any useful pur¬ 
pose, without the aid and co-operation of the farmers 
and the friends of agricultural improvement generally, 
and the consequent necessity of an appeal to them to 
extend their aid to the Society by connecting themselves 
with it, either as annual or life members, or by contri- 
butions in aid of its funds. 
Mr. Bement laid before the Committee a communi¬ 
cation from Solon Robinson, Esq., in relation to a con- 
vention to be held at Washington, to form a National 
Agricultural Society; whereupon, 
Resolved , That the object is one of paramount im¬ 
portance, and the executive committee earnestly recom¬ 
mend it to the friendly consideration of the members of 
the New-York State Agricultural Society. 
Mr. Bement also presented for the inspection of the 
committee, a Probang, on an improved principle, man¬ 
ufactured by Mr.-, an ingenious mechanic 
residing in the vicinity of Albany. Every grazier or 
breeder of cattle, or at least every neighborhood should 
possess one of these useful instruments, whereby the 
lives of many valuable animals may be saved. There¬ 
fore 
Resolved, That the thanks of this committee be pre¬ 
sented to Mr. --, for the introduction of this 
very valuable instrument, and that we recommend it to 
the notice of farmers. 
On motion of the President, 
Resolved, Thai the Executive Committee of the N. 
Y. S. Ag. Society will hold their next meeting at Nib- 
lo’s, in the city of New-York, on Wednesday, the 21st 
of July, at 10 o’clock, A. M., and they cordially invite 
and earnestly entreat the friends of Agriculture in the 
river counties to meet with the Committee at that time 
and place. 
Resolved, That John Miller, Esq. of Harmony, be 
appointed one of the General Committee for the County 
of Chatauque, in place of Mr. Crooker. 
The State Fair. —The following is an extract of a 
letter from H. S. Randall, Esq. the Cor. Secretary :— 
“Please communicate to the Board that I have confer¬ 
red with several influential citizens of Syracuse, on the 
subject of the State Fair being held at that place, and I 
have received their assurance that the citizens of the 
village will take it upon themselves to make all 
the requisite preparations, by the erection of pens and 
enclosures ■ providing rooms for the exhibition of pro¬ 
ducts, &c. to make the accommodation of visitors am¬ 
ple and complete. The selection of this place, seems 
to give general satisfaction, and I have received the 
most gratifying assurances from western gentlemen, 
(and among others the conductors of the New Genessee 
Farmer,) that that important portion of our State will 
be properly represented. With proper exertion we 
shall have a Fair that will do credit to the Society and 
to the State. Every county organization should take 
the matter in hand, and be properly represented ; and 
every man possessing unusually valuable animals, pro¬ 
ducts, &c. should make up his mind to present them. 
These of course, will all be suitably mentioned, even 
where they fail to draw prizes, and it will afford an 
opportunity rarely presented, to dispose of them, in the 
concourse of judges, amateurs, &c. which the occasion 
will call together.” 
N. "ST. County Agricultural Societies. 
Cayuga. —The meeting to organize a Society for Cayuga, is 
to be held at the Western Exchange, Auburn, July 22, at 11 o’¬ 
clock, A. M. 
Genesee. —This Society hold its next Fair at Alexander, Oct. 
13 and 14. 
Livingston. —A meeting was called for 1st inst. to organize a 
Society for this county. 
Monroe. —The annual exhibition of this Society is to be held 
at Rochester on the 15th and Kith days of October next. Its 
list of premiums we have not seen. 
Oswego.— We have received the list of premiums to be 
awarded by this Society at their next Fair to be held at Oswe 
go, Oct. 6, 1841. The prizes, though small, are numerous, 
amounting to over a hundred, and well calculated to draw out 
a general attendance at the Fair. The officers of this Society 
for 1841, are 
Alvin Bronson, Esq., President^ 
Vice 
i, Presidents. 
I 
Samuel Allen, 
Thomas Linley, 
R. L. Lawrence, Treasurer, 
E. C. Clark,Oswego, Cor.Sec’y. 
C. S. Phelps, Rec. Sec. 
Joel Turrell 
Wm. Ingell, 
Martin Wiltse, 
Executive 
Committee. 
Rensselaer. —A meeting is to be held at the Court House in 
Troy, on Thursday the Sth of July inst., at 10 o’clock, A. M., 
for the purpose of organizing an Agricultural Society for this 
county. 
English Turneps. 
The common turnep, usually called the English or 
flat turnep, lo distinguish it from the Swedish or ruta 
baga, is a valuable root, and better adapted to the ta¬ 
ble than any other turnep, and is consequently deserv¬ 
ing a place on every farm. There are many varieties, 
of which the Norfolk and Globe are as productive as 
any, while some of the smaller kinds, among which the 
long turnep holds a prominent place, are best for cook¬ 
ing. The soil best calculated for the turnep is a rich 
mold abounding in vegetable matter, and newly cleared 
lands are found to he admirably adapted to their growth, 
the soil being usually free from weeds, and the ashes 
made by burning being one of the best dressings that 
can be applied to turneps. Where such lands are not 
to be had, old grass land carefully turned over and roll¬ 
ed, and then the surface made tine by repeated harrow¬ 
ing, for the reception of the seed, are found to produce 
good turneps. If the soil is not rich, good compost 
manure should be spread on the surface and harrowed 
in, but as old grass lands in richness partake somewhat 
of the quality of new soils, manuring is rarely necessa¬ 
ry, and in the decaying sward the vigorous tap root of 
the turnep finds ample nourishment. 
Turneps may he sown broadcast or drilled, the latter 
being the preferable way, and if a little bone dust or 
poudrette is drilled in with the seed, the plants start 
more vigorously, and are sooner out of the way of their 
most formidable enemy, the fly. There is usually far 
more seed sown than is necessary, if equally distribut¬ 
ed, and to facilitate this, mixing the seed with ashes or 
sand is practiced by many farmers. English writers 
state the quantity of seed required per acre at two 
pounds, but we know by experience that one-half this 
quantity of good seed on proper soils is better than 
the whole, and were the distribution perfect, one-fourth 
this quantity or half a pound would fully seed an acre. 
It is better, however, to err on the safe side, and sow 
too much, rather than too title seed, as if too thick the 
young plants may be hoed or pulled out. The proper 
time of sowing will, of course, vary with the latitude. 
In New-York, the best time has been found to he from 
the 20th to the 27t’n of July ; in the middle and south¬ 
ern part of Pennsylvania, from the last of July to the 
middle of August; and in Virginia, from the middle 
to the last of August is preferred. The turnep, when 
grown on land long cultivated, is apt to have the bulb 
attacked by the worm, hut in virgin soils, or those 
rarely subjected to cultivation, this evil does not attend 
them. Dressings of soot and ashes have been found 
useful when they are attacked by the fly, and in any 
event such dressing operates favorably on the plant, 
and may therefore be beneficially employed where there 
is the least reason to apprehend danger. 
There are but few varieties of the turnep, that can, 
in our country, be preserved for the winter food of an¬ 
imals. The Yellow Aberdeen is an exception, as like 
the ruta baga, it keeps well in pits or cellars through 
the winter. The common turnep, though sweet and 
nutritive, contains so much water, that when taken 
from the ground they soon become pithy, and are of 
little value, comparatively, for cooking. They should 
stand in the ground as long as they can be permitted to 
do so in safety, as frosts improve them, and when gath¬ 
ered, should be kept in cool cellars or pits, merely 
above the danger of freezing, which, after they are tak¬ 
en from the earth, spoils them at once. 
Spots on the Sun. 
Some wiseacre, in Boston we believe, has discovered 
there are spots on the sun, and many are disposed to at¬ 
tribute the cold and wet season we have had, to this 
cause. Some have even gone so far as to predict that 
we shall have no corn, and that late sown grain can 
hardly be expected to ripen, or come to maturity. We 
hope our farming friends will suffer no anxiety on ac¬ 
count of these spots on the sun. We have for years 
been in the habit of looking at the sun occasionally, and 
it is very rare indeed to find it free.from spots, Some 
of our best seasons have been those in which spots were 
the most abundant; and the same has been observed to 
be the case in Europe. The probability is, that they 
produce no effect whatever on our seasons, but that the 
differences we experience, are entirely owing to other 
causes. The presence of so much ice in the Atlantic, 
is much more likely to produce N. E. storms and cold 
seasons, than spots on the sun. Every thing now indi¬ 
cates a prosperous year for the farmer ; and if any had 
concluded to not hoe their corn for fear the spots were 
going to hinder a crop, they will do well to reconsider 
their decision, cultivate their crops carefully, and let 
the spots on the sun take care of themselves. 
Effect of a wet Subsoil on Trees. 
No man should undertake to plant ordinary forest or 
fruit trees on soils tenacious of water, until they have 
been fully drained. Trees may live on such soils, but 
they can never flourish, nor will fruit from trees so situ¬ 
ated, ever be equal in size and flavor to that grown from 
trees where the ground is properly prepared. Some 
years since, a gentleman at Seneca Falls wished to 
plant his grounds with ornamental trees. The soil was 
a deep clay, very tenacious of water, and several of his 
first efforts entirely failed, nearly every tree perishing. 
The holes were dug large and the trees well set, hut it 
was found that the holes acted as mere basins or reser¬ 
voirs filled with stagnant water. To remedy this evil, 
he had drains dug in such a manner that the holes for 
the trees were kept free from all surplus water, and as 
a necessary consequence, the next planting of trees suc¬ 
ceeded to admiration. We see in a late number of the 
Boston Cultivator that Mr. Phinney of Lexington, well 
known as one of the most skillful farmers in this coun- 
try, who has about six hundred bearing apple trees of 
the finest grafted fruit, has been obliged in establishing 
his orchards, in some instances to "have recourse to 
thorough draining the soil, and always with the best 
success. Mr. P. makes his drains from two to three 
feet deep, according to the nature of the soil, leaves a 
water course of about eight inches covered with flat 
stones, on these brush and briers are thrown, and the 
whole filled in with the earth thrown from the ditches. 
There can be no doubt that a regard to this subject, 
wherever trees are to be planted, whether for use or 
for ornament, especially if the subsoil he a tenacious 
one, would prevent many failures and disappointments, 
and in fruit orchards add great value to the product. A 
sound, healthy soil, is necessary to the health of a tree, 
and particularly to transplanted ones. Every one ac¬ 
quainted with hard, tenacious subsoils, knows that 
where trees grow naturally upon them, the roots never 
penetrate this cold wet substance, but are spread near 
the surface, and when blown down by the wind, their 
roots exhibit a thin shield like form wholly unlike those 
of a tree in a deep and permeable soil. If trees must 
he planted on soils of this nature, let nature herself be 
imitated ; and instead of forcing the roots into pits or 
pools of stagnant water, as all mere holes in such earth 
must be, let them he spread over the surface as much 
as may be, and the holes and covering be proporliona- 
bly shallow. But the best way in this case, as in all 
others where such soils are to be cultivated, is to drain 
first, and then plant or till afterwards. 
Canada Thistles. —J. B. Dean of Tompkins Co. 
informs us that a friend of his killed a “ patch” of Ca¬ 
nada thistles at a single moiving, and on turning to his 
farm book, found that the mowing was done the 24th 
of July “while the moon Avas in the last quarter, and 
the sign of the zodiac Avas in the heart,” and by repeat- 
ing the experiment at the same time of the moon, &c. 
he had succeeded in eradicating the thistle from his 
farm. [Our opinion of the influence of the moon in kill- 
ing thistles, may be seen in another part of this paper,] 
