PEACH AND NECTARINE TREES ON PLUM STOCK, ETC. PEACH AND NECTARINE TREES ON 91 In England and some other parts of Europe, where the atmosphere is surcharged with moisture, and the power of the sun's rays is so feeble that it causes but a moderate development of growth, and but an imperfect maturity of the wood on trees of great vigor, it has been found advantageous to curtail or diminish the expansion of the peach, nectarine, and apricot, by engrafting them on the plum, which is a tree of less sap and of much slower growth. The result of this practice is, that as the plum furnishes and tread the earth down tight; it will be a rare thing if they fail to grow. Though, whether from failure to grow, or from being killed by frost, or something else, I observed in all these hedges, the same unsightly gaps that mark nearly all the live fences in the United States. These frequent gaps in the hedge are filled up with one, two, three, or perhaps a dozen pannels of rail fence, and in the joining together of the live and dead fence, holes are very apt to be left, through which that animal which strange man permits to run at large, to the eternal torment of himself and neighbors, will be very likely to insinuate his porkship about " roast-so much less sap to support the development of wood, ing ear time." "But why don't they fill up these gaps with new sets, if it is so easily done """ Exactly the question that I will answer after the most approved Yankee fashion, by asking why we are not civilized, Christianized, rationalized enough to enact laws, or rather to repeal all laws, all over the Union, that compel one man to fence against every other man's cattle, some of which nothing but a Cherokee rose hedge would stop, and even that must be free from gates, bars, or gaps? And again, "if this hedge can be kept from spreading so as not to occupy four acres of land in every mile of length, and it makes such a beautiful as well as efficient fence, why is it not more extensively used? Exactly the other question that I will answer after the same approved fashion, by inquiring why you-" what me?"-Oh, yes-you are the very man I mean-I want to inquire if you love peaches, apples, grapes, and other fruit? "Why, certainly." Well, the hedge is not planted just for the same reason that you have never planted fruit trees and vines. the growth is retarded, and the expansion of the tree STUMP MACHINE.-This machine consists of a circular square or oblong cap, supported by three "And how far north will this rose flourish ?" legs, and has a hole through its centre perpendicuI cannot say; but I believe that it would be danger-larly, sufficiently large to admit a screw of suitable ous to rely upon it north of latitude 33°. Major size. The length of the screw depends upon the Green, of Madison County, latitude 321°, told me distance the weight is to be raised, or the object to that he had 60 or 70 yards of Cherokee rose hedge which the machine is applied. The nut rests upon growing very thriftily around his yard, in the win- the top of the cap, where iron or steel washers ter of 1831-2, and nearly the whole of it froze to should be placed, to prevent too much friction. death. In the spring he cut it all off, and but here The nut is turned by a lever being attached to it, and there a sprout came up. His house stands on a the length of which will depend upon the purpose high piece of ground-the soil, reddish yellow clay to which the machine is applied. A horse will -timber, mostly black oak, rather scrubby. Whe-raise forty tons when attached to a lever twelve ther this has any influence, or whether this plant feet long, and lead himself around the machine by will answer for fences further north, I cannot say; a pole from the sweep near the nut, reaching just but I do say to those living further south, it is well forward of the horse, and the machine can be moved worth your attention, and you ought to try it from place to place by one or two men. forthwith. And as your paper, Mr. Editor, circu-venience of the improvement consists in the appli lates so extensively at the South, if some of your cation of the lever and screw in the manner, and to southern correspondents would give you an article the purposes mentioned. every month upon this subject, it would not be too much of a good thing. It is also worth the trial whether the " Michigan Rose" will answer a good purpose at the North for hedging. Here, upon the prairies of the North West, where it is supposed there is no timber, fencing material is altogether too plenty and cheap to think of using hedges yet awhile. But as we contrive to burn up what rails we have once a year, we shall soon come to the necessity perhaps. SOLON ROBINSON. We regret to say that Mr. R. continues so ill that he will be obliged to give up his tour South this season, but we hope to see him there next winter. The con ANALYSIS OF MARL ON THE HUDSON.-We have often spoken of the immense beds of marl lying on the Hudson river above the Highlands. The follow. ing is an analysis of a specimen made by Mr. Jas. J. Mapes, for Frederick F. Betts, Esq., of Newburgh. Carbonate of lime, ...63.34 Woody fibre, moss, and decomposed veg, matter, 7.92 ... 5. 5.42 1.66 Parts 100. 92 EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN.-STINGLESS BEES. EXPERIMENTS WITH CORN. acreable results, in bushels of 56 lbs.; the grain I PROMISED last summer to furnish you the re- was shelled in January. The loss in weight on the sults of some experiments in which I was then en- sample measures, from the last of October, when gaged with different manures on corn. The husked, to the first of January, when it was shelled, excessive drouth of the season undoubtedly affected was 22 1-2 per cent., on the gross weight, being in the results materially. Yet, as we have small accordance with the results of previous experireason to suppose the past to be the last dry sea-ments. I should state that experiment No. 1 son, they may be as valuable as though the eco- (covering 3-20 of an acre) included the outside row nomic result had been more favorable. It is not on the north side. any single result, but the average of many that Field No. 1, soil a free loam, in places gravelly; must be our guide. The experiments were all con- subsoil sand and gravel. In 1841, in corn; 5 cords ducted under my own eye, and with all possible half-rotted stable manure plowed under; seeded to care and exactness. The ground covered by the grass in spring of 1842 on winter grain. Topdifferent manures, varied from one-tenth to three- dressed with 25 bushels ashes per acre; again in fourths of an acre, and was of an uncommonly uni-'44, with 3 cords of compost. Average yield of form character. The different manures were ap- hay 1 ton per acre. April, 1845, sod inverted 8 to plied side by side, in strips through the whole 10 inches deep; rolled and harrowed. May 12th, length of the field. I have reduced the whole to planted with white flint corn, 4 by 3 feet apart. No. 1. 1 acre, no manure. 25 50-56 bushels. ...... " ..... The hen manure was scraped up from the floor (of earth) of the hen-house from time to time, and contained considerable sand, &c. Same field adjoining the above on south side, sod inverted, rolled, harrowed, and 8 cords of half-rotted stable manure harrowed in, planted as before. No. 7. 1 acre. Stable manure alone... แ 5,50. 353" 32 11-56 32 21-56 4 3-12 "10. 50 46-56 CC 51 30-54 15 66 hen manure. Rahway, New Jersey, January, 12, 1846. STINGLESS BEES. L. 66 7,50. "494 " " 11. 1 66 "220 lbs. Guano (Peruvian). 6,50. 534 " Your readers can draw their own inferences as seemed intent on clearing their house. A hole in the to the economy of the different applications. The side of the log, about three-quarters of an inch in stable manure costs, spread in the field, $3,00 per diameter, answers the purpose of the entrance as a cord. The concentrated manures are charged, like- common hive. They are not so large as the comwise, at their cost in the field. mon honey bee; but they have a neat aspect for an insect. As they are such harmless little creatures, it would please me very much to get a swarm of them. But I fear the number is so reduced, that it will require an apiary-man of more skill than I possess, to take the best care and make the most of them. I wish such a person would present himself, and take the colony under his protection. Something novel and curious at any rate-perhaps something useful might arise from it? An entomological description is desirable, but this must be postponed, on account of its nicety and difficulty, until a future day." I LATELY noticed among the exports of Campeachy, wax, the produce of wild stingless bees; this reminded me of a notice I had once seen of a hive of stingless bees sent to Dr. Mitchell. The following is the notice alluded to, being an extract of a letter published in the New York Evening Post in 1830, from Henry Perrine, Esq., U. S. Consul, dated San Juan, Baptista de Tabasco, Mexico, July 20th, 1830, to Samuel E. Mitchell. If Mr. Mitchell made an entomological examination of this interesting little insect, I never had the good fortune of seeing it published; indeed, since the publication of the above, I have not seen the little Colony in any way noticed. Dr. Mitchell died in September, 1831, and I should think it almost certain that he left an entomological description of the insect. The probability is that this little colony, by being so much reduced, or by the severity of our climate, did not survive through the ensuing winter. "I send you by Capt. Powers, of the schooner Washington, a hive of stingless bees, which you may dispose of as you think proper." Dr. Mitchell then says: "The bees have arrived in a lively condition, and though they were received only yesterday (Sept. 1st), are now making their excursions to and from their habitation with great vivacity. Their dwelling place is a hollow log, part of a natural excavated tree, in which these little creatures delight to live. The little swarm, after having been released from its imprisonment, came forth, and the members visited the flowers of the Will not some of our enterprising ship-owners contiguous garden. It was observed as a proof of in the Mexican trade, cause to be sent to this countheir economy, that after being immured during the try a few hives of these stingless bees, as there voyage, the notable insects came forth loaded with is much more attention paid and interest felt for bees the remains of their deceased associates, or with in the United States now, than was in 1830? I some excrementitious or foul matter. They thus have no doubt they can be placed under the care of competent apiarians that would watch their habits CASTRATION OF CALVES. and wants; and if our climate should at first prove I WAS for a long time troubled about having too severe for them, they should be placed in a calves altered. My family have bred cattle for green-house to winter, where they would be an in-sixty years, and yet always employed a man to teresting and harmless appendage to any gentle-castrate all the males that were made steers. I subman's collection of green-house plants. Their in-mitted to this inconvenience myself for a long time. troduction would be only second in interest to the At length I was forced by chance into the performintroduction of the Alpaca, which I am glad to see ance of the operation myself. I soon found there you so much engaged about. HENRY WATSON. was no mystery about it. East Windsor, Jan., 1846. GROWING WOOL. A calf that is to be altered, should undergo the operation as early as possible after being dropped. Throw him down and let one person hold him; he is the best. Press the testicle down into the bag. Cut through the skin on the back or front side, to the testicle; pull the testicle out of its sheath and draw it out, until the cord which attaches it to the body is some way out of the body. At about two inches above the testicle in the calf, the cord is quite small, and enlarges as it goes up. Cut the cord at the small part; it will at once draw back into the sheath. Do the same to the other testicle, and let the calf go. THE growing of wool is one of the most interest-need not be tied. Have a sharp knife-a pen-knife ing, pleasant, and profitable employments. Our resources and natural advantages for wool-growing are not surpassed, if equalled, by those of any other nation. With us, as a nation, the business is yet in its infancy, as well as the manufacturing of the article. The quantity raised is annually increasing, and expensive establishments are continually springing up in various sections of the land; and it is reasonable to suppose that the time is not far distant when the skill, enterprise, and perseverance of our people, will enable them to compete with the world in the manufacturing, as well as growing, of this important staple. Our wool and woollen goods will ere long find their way into the various markets of the world, as our cotton and cotton goods have at the present time. The sale of wool depends much upon the manner in which it is prepared for market. It should be thoroughly washed, and no dirt of any kind tied up in the fleece. For washing I prefer a clear stream, with a gravelly bottom, it being free from either sand or mud. Each sheep should be thoroughly soaked in the water, and then suffered to return to the land; then they should be thrown in again and the washing completed. I have never known this practice to injure the sheep, and the washers are more apt to get the wool clean than when they are thrown into the water but once. After washing they should not be driven on a dusty road, while the wool is wet. They should be kept in a clean pasture until shearing, which should take place in from four to eight days after the washing. If they run beyond this length of time, the wool will get dirty, and the prospects of making a good sale are thereby lessened. The fleeces should be tied up in a compact, regular form, and packed away in as neat and orderly a manner as possible. The wool should be kept in the dark, as its exposure to the light will in a few days give it a yellow color. Salem, Jan. 20, 1846. G. BUCKWHEAT CAKES.-You gave a method of making with soda and acid. These are not in every farm house. Here is my method. If you wish to have them made in five minutes, take some salæratus or pearl ash; dissolve it and put it into the batter, when mixed; stir well, and then pour in some vinegar; effervescence will at once commence, and directly the batter will be light, and may be baked. The cakes will not be as good as if raised with yeast, but will be good, When the batter has been put to rise with yeast, and does not, put in some salæratus or pearl ash and vinegar, and soon the cakes will be light. If it be a bull that is to be altered, the best way with him is to put him in a narrow stall and tie his head fast and close to the manger; put a rope round his neck and pass it down, and make a noose about each hind leg between the forelegs, and draw his hind legs well under him, and fasten the knots. So fixed he cannot move. His testicles will hang down, back of his legs. Take the knife and make an incision on the front or back of the testicles; cut through to the testicle; draw it out until the small part of the cord appears; cut off the cord at the small part. This done to both testicles, the ope ration is over. Put nothing in the wound. Let it be done in good weather, or if bad weather, house the animal a there is no danger, and in a few days he will be well. In general the things put into the wound cause all the trouble. It is cruel to cord them, and frequently they are lost by it. Rams may and should be altered in the same way, Never cord them for mere humanity. New York, Feb., 1846 A. S. ANNUAL MEETING OF ONEIDA COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. THE Annual Meeting of the Oneida County Agricultural Society was held at Trenton, on the 8th of January, and considering the day, which was stormy, was fully attended. The following gentlemen were elected officers of the Society for the ensuing year. For President, Dolphus Skinner, Deerfield; Vice Presidents, Squire M. Mason, New Hartford; Henry Rhodes, Trenton; David Uttly, Western; Calvary Wetmore, Vernon; Horatio Seymour, Utica; David Gray, Marcy; Eli B. Lucas, Kirkland; John J. Knox, Augusta; Henry B. Bartlet, Paris; Pliment Mattoon, Vienna; Corresponding Secretary, John P. Burgett, Utica; Recording Secretary, Benjamin N. Huntington, Rome; Treasurer, William Bristol, Utica; Managers, Israel Denio, Jr., Rome; Lucius Warner, Vernon; Chauncey C. Cook, Kirkland; Lewis Benedict, Verona, Lewis Eames, Lee. Some of the premiums awarded were-On winter wheat 66 bushels, 56 bush. 54 lbs., and 41 bush. T. 19 lbs., per acre. On spring wheat, 34 bush., and 28 bush. 40 lbs. per acre. On Indian corn, 89 bush. | dergoing acclimation. My opinion is, that Novem5 lbs., 79 bush. 48 lbs., and 75 bush. 12 lbs. perber would be the most favorable month for the introacre. On barley, 63 bush. 27 lbs., and 63 bush.duction of blooded stock, and that they should be 9 lbs., per acre. B. N. H. Rome, January 10, 1846. fed on hay or corn-stalk fodder, with very little grain during the winter, and be kept sheltered. If this course were pursued, I am satisfied that there The above is one of the most flourishing County would not be more than one failure in twenty Societies in the State, and is composed of a very ac-experiments. tive, intelligent, and enterprising set of men. We The present stock of cattle in Texas is generally a knew that Oneida was famous as a dairy county, mixture of Mexican, and cattle from the United but we were not aware that she was in the habit of States. They each show a distinctness of characturning out such heavy grain crops. It shows, ter. The Mexican (or Spanish) cattle are not so however, that the Mohawk Flats and the fertile up-heavy or compactly built, but are taller and more lands are still good for large crops, when judiciously active; nor do they weigh as well in proportion to called upon to yield them. The Society has our appearance when slaughtered as the American best wishes for its success, and we are much obliged to our correspondent for his details. CATTLE OF TEXAS. THE following letter of President Houston was addressed to a gentleman in this city, and kindly handed us for publication. It is the best description of Texas Cattle we have yet seen, and we trust its publication may serve to call the attention of stock breeders to this interesting section of our country. Galveston, Texas, Dec. 1st, 1845. cattle. They are more active than our cattle, with remarkably long, slim, and sharp horns: they are not so good for milk as ours. A cross of the breeds I consider an improvement, and for oxen decidedly so, for it blends the power of the American with the sprightliness and activity of the Mexican cattle. There is a fact in the natural history of Texas, which has heretofore claimed but little notice, and which seems to me not unimportant. When the first colonists, under Mr. Stephen F. Austin, arrived in Texas, they found herds of wild No present to me at this time could have been cattle on the Brassos and its tributary streams. more acceptable than a fine Durham, as it is my inten-There was no tradition of their origin, nor has any. tion to carry out the object which first induced my thing satisfactory on the subject yet been ascertainlocation in this country-that of stock breeding. ed. They have receded as the settlements advanced, The present condition of our country, in consequence of annexation to the United States, will leave men free to pursue the more pleasing and profitable business of agriculture and herdsmen, than has been allowed for many years to our citizens, while under the various influences of excitement and uncertainty. Fortunately for us, we shall soon be at rest, when our natural facilities will be inquir-gentle. Calves have been caught by our pioneer ed into, and our resources developed, by those who have capital and possess enterprise. Doubtless no country on earth possesses equal advantages to Texas as a stock-rearing community. Stock here requires no feeding either in summer or winter, and costs no trouble nor expense save marking and branding. Salting is not necessary, as salines or licks are in every part of the country; so that in fact, an ox weighing one thousand weight, or the most valuable cow, would not cost a farmer one cent in its rearing. and are now above the Falls of the Brassos, and principally upon Little River. They are of a brindle or reddish color, and are represented by those best acquainted with them as more wild, and, when wounded, much more dangerous than the buffalo. The males have occasionally attached themselves to herds of tame cattle, and become very settlers, and reared. The cross is said to be an improvement upon our common stock, imparting to their offspring an appearance, in color and proportion, of the wild cattle. The males I have been assured by hunters and other persons, are as large as the finest Durhams. I have seen work oxen, said to be half breeds, much larger than any others which have fallen under my observation in the United States or Texas. For years past I have endeavored to procure the full bloods; but in consequence of other duties I could not use the attention necessary to ensure success. I will now renew my exertions with increased interest, and I hope it will be in my power to produce a cross of the Durhams with the original Texas cow. Should I be fortunate in my efforts, I shall be happy to apprise you of the result. SAM. HOUSTON. Our prairies are clothed with the most nutritious grasses, sufficient for countless herds. Heretofore, the Durhams have not prospered in this country; but this, to my mind, is readily accounted for. They have generally come by water, and remained on the seaboard, where the insects are more numerous than in the interior; and where, too, the climate is not so congenial to the constitution as the rolling country, not only of cattle, but likewise of horses. INDIAN CAKES.-Boil some corn meal, as mush, Some Durhams have been introduced from Missouri, for five or six hours; then mix it as a batter, and and remained in the interior, about one hundred add some wheat flour to make the cakes hold tomiles from the seaboard, and they have done well.gether and turn easily; and two or three eggs, There is no good reason why blooded cattle with salt to season; bake on the griddle till brown. or blooded horses should not do well in Texas, if MUSH. It is very common to make mush by proper care be taken of them the first year. The boiling only a few minutes. This is all wrong. It change of climate, from a northern to a southern should be boiled one or two hours, and if longer it latitude, will have an influence upon all animals, as will do no harm. It will be necessary to occasionexperience has shown; this fact being known, ally add some water to keep the mass thin and preshould not be disregarded, while the animal is un-vent burning. THE GRASS LANDS OF WESTERN NEW YORK. THE GRASS LANDS OF WESTERN NEW 95, acts as a sponge, and under the influence of frost, becomes mixed with ice so as to bear a resemblance to a honey-comb. Hence, as soon as the fibrous roots of the trees (which, while they remain, prevent heaving) have decayed, winter wheat is actually lifted out. Ir we draw lines from the outlet of Lake Erie to the northeast corner of Wyoming county, and thence to Pennsylvania, the tract of country south and west is not generally favorable to the production of winter wheat. It is of the kind called grass land. What may be the effect of the subsoil plow by At its first settlement, however, winter wheat and producing mixture of the hardpan with the upper all other crops of the Middle States were eminently soil we shall hereafter state from the result of exsuccessful, and the region was valuable for abun-perience. It is a common idea that the hardpan dant production, and numerous springs and streams contains lime, and would thus correct the supposed of excellent water, and the peculiar salubrity of its deficiency in the upper soil. Some specimens havclimate; exempt mainly, as it ever has been, from ing been subjected to severe chemical tests, with a the ordinary diseases of a country recently settled. view to giving the result, it was found that they At the first settlement of a thickly wooded coun-yielded scarcely a trace of lime. Yet as the deeper try, grain must necessarily be the chief production, hardpan is not so impervious to water as that near for domestic animals cannot be kept in large num- the surface, and as it crumbles upon exposure to the bers. Of all cereal crops, wheat is the most valu-air, there is room to hope that its effects would be able, and receives the greatest share of attention. highly beneficial; and particularly so to the growth But that which necessity reasonably originates, be- of winter wheat. comes, in the course of time, habit, and frequently Spring wheat nowhere yields better grain or in continues in full force long after the cause has greater abundance. Nor is it easy to find any ceased. Thus it was, for many years, a part of the region where, with the same amount of cultivation, farming system in this region to sow winter wheat, can be raised better crops of barley, oats, flax, where experience annually demonstrated that it buck wheat, beans, turnips, carrots, parsnips, and could not succeed under the ordinary mode of culti-potatoes; while as to grass and clover it is provation. The farmers were discouraged. Expe- bably excelled by no portion of the Union. Two dients might have been attempted, but in the new tons of hay to the acre are far from being an unland of the west they could do as they had done before. Custom had taught them to like the axe better than the plow, and emigration became the order of the day. Yet the soil was not exhausted. Spring wheat and a proper system of plowing the earth into beds so as to drain the soil, were scarcely known, and yet more rarely practised. usual crop; it is the quantity commonly obtained from land well seeded down and occasionally manured. The quality of the hay is excellent. The same retention of moisture which prevents the growth of winter wheat is admirably favorable to grass. It is long before a summer drought is felt, and the grass, suffering little from this cause, grows luxuriantly in the fall, and sprouts up in the spring as early as in any part of the State. Strange whims and conceits existed here. Many people believed that not only would cattle and horses refuse to eat clover hay, but that if eaten it From causes already mentioned, the price of this was poisonous. Others thought that the land must land has greatly decreased. Discouraged by the be seeded down after clearing, and that in the end bad success of bad farming, many are anxious to the good grass would die out, and that it must be let sell at low prices. There are instances where alone, for if once plowed up it would be destroyed half-cleared farms have been sold for $4 to $5 per for ever. And so it would have been. Under the acre, and good grazing farms, with the common operation of a retentive soil, an impervious subsoil, buildings of the country, can very easily be bought and a surface abounding in the inequalities called for $8 per acre, even within twenty or thirty miles cradle-knolls, sufficient plowing to raise the land of Buffalo. Assuming the average price of wheat into ridges, so that the water might escape, was land in this State to be about $40 per acre, five nowhere more necessary; and abundant examples acres of the former can be bought for one acre of now illustrate that it has been followed by effects wheat land. If four sheep can be kept on one acre the most beneficial. It may be added, that the first of the grass land of this region (and most farmers crop raised in doing this, will at least repay the ex-say this is below the average capability), it is easy pense incurred. for any practical farmer to determine how the profit from twenty good sheep, after deducting the necessary expense, compares with the profit, after similar deduction, from the average annual produce of one acre of wheat land. There has been much speculation as to the causes why winter wheat cannot now be produced. It is generally supposed, even among chemists, that they result from a deficiency of lime in the soil. But if so, would not the production of spring As neat cattle thrive here, it is found that the wheat be also affected? In fact we must not look butter and cheese of this district, when properly exclusively to chemical causes for an answer to the made, cannot be surpassed. Access to railroads, question. The soil is for the most part light loam, Lake Erie, and the canals, renders transportation to friable, often abounding in vegetable matter, and the seaboard cheap, safe, and rapid, whilst the convery retentive of moisture. The subsoil generally sumption of provisions in the cities of Rochester approaches the surface, and is composed of sand, and Buffalo furnishes a ready market for any surpebbles, and clay, forming an exceedingly compact plus of such productions as are of a perishable mass, or hardpan, scarcely to be broken at all by nature, or too bulky for distant transportation. the common plow, and through which water cannot penetrate, except in small quantities. The rain is therefore retained on the surface. The upper soil Probably no great length of time will elapse, before well-fed beef, mutton, and pork, will be sent hence to Albany, Boston, and New York, and a larger |