THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



hnil it until the water lias all evaporated. A little 

 of this applied to a burn will check the inflamma- 

 tjon instantly. It has been known to cure danger- 

 oil.'! scalds, when physician's remedies have failed. 



ELDEB-BERUV SYRLT. 



~ P;-ess the jnice from the berries through a thick 

 cloth, so that it may be pure. To a quart of juice 

 add a quart of molasses. Tut it in a cool place. 

 This is an excellent cathartic for any person, espe- 

 ciallv for children, as it is to them quite palateable. 

 ^ PRUDENCE. 



B— c— w— n, Aug. 1839. 



Shaker Village, Merrimack Co., jV. II. Dee. 1 i:^, 1 S39. 

 Ho.N-. Isaac IIii.l,— i'sfccmfrf Friend .—We have 

 taken several copies of the " Farmer's Monthly 

 Visitor" the past year, and are much pleased with 

 its contents. Our farmers and gardeners have de- 

 rived much new, interesting and useful informa- 

 tion and instruction in perusing them. 



yVii have examined the several numbers for this 

 year, and are of the opinion, if properly stitched 

 and bound, they will make a superior first class 

 book to be used in district schools in this Society 

 and at Enfield the present winter, at least a part 

 of the time ; as they contain a great variety of 

 reading — written in general in easy, fluent style, 

 and treat on such subjects as are important and es- 

 sential to be familiarly uuderstood by all of the ris- 

 ing generation. 



Please therefore send us twenty-si.^ copies of the 

 first volume in addition to our former subscriptions, 

 and oblige 



Your friends, 



FRANCIS ■\VINKLET, 

 ISRAEL SANBORN, 

 , AVILLIAM WILLARD. 



For tlie Knrmer'8 Monthly Visitor. 

 Hon. I. Hill, — Dear Sir :—l have just risen 

 from a second perusal of your Visitor, not less in 

 teresting than instructive, and no less instructive 

 than effective to diffuse information, and a profita- 

 ble medium for the enterprising farmer of tlie Gran- 

 He State to communicate their ideas mutually, and 

 thereby becoming an Agricultural school for the 

 general instruction of farmers. An agricultural 

 periodical is the best and only agricultural renova- 

 tor that every fanner may afford. 



I have no doubt, sir, but ere long there is to be 

 a surprising change in tiio alTairs of tlie husband- 

 man. The most vigorous and active of our youth 

 are now seeking their fortunes at the far west; 

 many are reaping the rewards of misguided ambi- 

 tion in the grave. Others too, under the misappre- 

 hension of the lite of the agriculturist, liave chang- 

 ed the line of employment for several successive 

 generations of their venerable forefathers; and 

 their bright geniuses are found to be the source of 

 many misfortunes to themselves and much to the 

 embarrassment of their wiser brethren, who have 

 been contented to be found yet at the plough. 

 J- How numerous are the blessings of the social 

 farmer, combining the joy and comfort of his con- 

 tented lot, compared with the speculator or gentle- 

 man .' No tide of capricious fortune clouds his 

 brow. Social comfort and domestic happiness are 

 allotted to him : he tastes by his fireside enjov- 

 ments that the highest stations know not of. 



Our first parents tilled the earth ; and it is on- 

 ly by the watchful care of the husbandman that the 

 existence of the human race is prolonged. 



Besides, there is still another roa.'ion in favor of 

 the occupation: it affords les.s inducements to mis- 

 chief than any other occupation. Casting ourej-es 

 over this land, where do we find the profligate anJ 

 criminal, but among the idle .' Visit the State pen- 

 itentiary ; and observe those miserable vagabonds 

 strolling through our cities : how few of them ev- 

 er knew the labor of the farmer ? 



Happy in the end would it be for many youths 

 who are now so opposed to this profession, were 

 they obliged to serve a good seven years appren- 

 tiship at this or some other good trade ; and then 

 to be turned out in this wide world with one hun- 

 dred dollars, good health and an industrious con- 

 tentc<l disposition. But lest I shall tire your pa- 

 tience, I will close by wishing you good success in 

 the worthy capacity of an editor. M. 



papers, and carrying out into practice whatever he 

 thinks reasonable and practicable. I should like to 

 inform your readers concerning his farm, and his 

 general manner of conducting it, but must defer it 

 to a more leisure opportunity. 



In the course of our conversation referred to, I 

 mentioned the manner in which the Brown corn 

 was procured, and he replied that he had for sev- 

 eral years, pursued tlie same course. And he not 

 only selects his corn after the manner of Mr. Brown, 

 but also his Swedish turnip, carrot, and nearly all 

 the seeds which he saves or plants. 



Some fourteen years ago, he obtained some 

 Swedish turnip (Ruta Baga) seed direct from 

 England, and has been improving upon that ever 

 since. His method of selecting turnips for seed, is 

 the following: When he has pulled tliera and 

 thrown them into heaps, he gpee among them and 

 selects the finest, and generally those of a good 

 siie, taking those that have no stalk. He remark- 

 ed that while many farmers in his town had raised 

 turnips from teed bought at the stores, and which 

 run up to tall stalks, five or six, sometimes, growing 

 on one turnip, his, from seed raised by himself, 

 grew without stalks, spreading forth into large 

 leaves, with fair, sound bottoms. I think his course 

 is worthy of attention. I observed on many of the 

 turnips which I raised the past season, that some- 

 times eight and nine stalks grew to one bottom. I 

 have no doubt but that it arose from sowing degen- 

 erated seed. 



One thing more in regard to ruta baga. Mr. K. 

 says that thev are next to Indian corn, in his opin- 

 ion, i«/>rfi/r;iHij' by 7na7ntre. And in tliis opinion I 

 am myself fully confident, by my own experience. 

 Last summer 1 sowed nine rows of ruta baga seed, 

 about three rods in length. They were all furrow- 

 ed in the first place in the direction of the corn and 

 potatoes which followed. In all the furrows, ex- 

 cepting one, I shovelled in pulverized manure from 

 the hog yard, and then drew on the mould to raise 

 a ridge. The mould was drawn on to the furrow 

 in which there was iio manure, in the same man- 

 ner. I then drew a drill upon the lop of the ridge 

 and sowed the seed. In the row which had no ma- 

 nure, I had one bushel of turnips. In the row ad- 

 joining, which had manure, I had three bushels. — 

 Had I put in a double quantity of manure, I believe 

 I should have had a double quantity of turnips. 



I meant to have written more about Mr. Keely's 

 method of preserving seeds, and some other things 

 brought out in our conversation, but my time for 

 writing at present has expired. 1 wish you much 

 success in your enterprise, and if I can contribute 

 in any manner to the usefulness of your paper, 

 will gladly do it. J. W. POLLARD. 



Hampton Falls, Dec. 12, 1839. 



ing," which was far from being true. C. 



Concord Silk Farm, December 16, 1S39. 



P. S. Perhaps 1 ought to add to the above, to be 

 strictly correct in the account, that I did not plant 

 quite the whole ear of this corn, for I gave away 

 enough to plant ten lulls, and also further that a- 

 bout one dozen of the hills planted were lost en- 

 tirely, besides a number more injured by water 

 standing on them, during the uncommon rains. of 

 last s])ring. 



Farming in Vermont. 



method of Improving Seeds. Excellence of 

 the Ruta Baga. 



For the Fanner's Hontlilv Visitor. 

 Mr. Editor:— I have recently had an interest, 

 ing conversation upon agricultural improvements 

 with Mr. John Keelt, of Haverhill, Mass. who is 

 known in this vicinity as one of the very lipst far- 

 mers. He is both a scientific and practical farmer 

 — getting all the knowledge ha can from books and 



Chinese Tree Corn. 



Gov. Hill, — D^ar Sir : — As there ha* been con- 

 siderable said respecting what is called the Chinese 

 Tree Corn, I will with your liberty add my experi- 

 ence also in raising a small quantity of it the past 

 season. I received one ear from the store of Messrs. 

 Breck & Co. Boston, last spring, which cost twen- 

 ty-five cents. I planted it on tlie 'Ith of May, in 

 the best part of a field with sufficient manure to 

 raise of the common yellow corn about fortv bush- 

 els to the acre. The hills were planted about f'our 

 feet apart, wiiich made rooni enough to plant a hill 

 of early potatoes between each hill of corn. The 

 potatoes were dug in July, and did not at that time 

 obstruct the growth of tlie corn. It was hoed three 

 times, and began to silk the 6tii of August. Some 

 of the ears were in the milk and fit for boiling the 

 15th of September, and on the Sfrth, some of the 

 earliest ears were sufticienlly ripe, and were gath- 

 ered for seed. The severe frosts of the Cilh and 

 9th of October injured a part of the crop, which 

 was not fully ripe. It was harvested the 11th of 

 October, and measured five bushels of ears. 



It is a stately kind of corn, growing from eight 

 to twelve feet high, and also very jirolific — on some 

 hills I coniited twenty-six ears, and only three ker- 

 nels were planted in the hill. 



It will be seen by the above dates that this vari- 

 ety of corn i.s three or four weeks later than our 

 common yellow corn, which makes it out of the 

 question to be cultivated for a field crop in this lat- 

 itude. But to the lovers of green corn for the ta- 

 ble, I would recommend the cultivation of it in tlie 

 garden. It is certainly in my opinion very fine ;and 

 there are but few if any seasons when not enough 

 would ripen for seed i.i a warm location. It is the 

 more valuable for this purpose, ay it is in a proper 

 state for cooking when generally all the other kinds 

 are flinty enough for the mill. Tlie greatest sin of 

 Mr. Grant Thorburn of New I'ork, as I conceive, 

 was in his recommending it as an early variety, 

 'ripe enough for cooking in two monthsafler plant- 



Cai.fdoma County in Vermont, which is sltiiat^ 

 ed in the same parallel of latitude with the upper 

 and most northern county of New Hampshire, is 

 one of the best grazing di'-tricts, producing beef 

 and pork and butler and cheese of greater excel- 

 lence and quantity in proportion to the population, 

 than any other region of New England. Much of 

 that county forty and fifty years ago was settled 

 from tlie State of New Hampshire, and from Essex 

 and Middlesex counties in Massachusetts. In a 

 very few years after leaving this region, those who 

 had made the first clearing on their farms returned 

 in sleighing time with their span of horses and 

 lumber boxes loaded with the rich product of their 

 industry; large fat hogs, firkins of butter, new 

 milk cheeses, sometimes herds-grass and clover 

 seed, wlieal, flour, oatmeal, &c. iVc. The county 

 derived its name f'roni the most ancient name of 

 old Scotland herself, as well it might ; for Eome ol 

 the best farmers that can be found in New Eng- 

 land settled in that county ; and to their example 

 jirobably do we owe the greater improvements 

 made by the Yankee Bettlers themselves. The but- 

 ter and cheese of Barnet and Rylg.^te are no- 

 where exceeded in New England. For several 

 years has the highest premium at the annual fair 

 and exhibition at Boston, been awarded to fiirmers 

 in Barnet for the best butter. The difl'erence in the 

 value of this article is much greater than the dif- 

 ference in the price which it bears. Butter is re- 

 duced in price one third or one fourth in the recent 

 fall of produce generally : the same butter that sold 

 for twenty-five cents six months ago, now sells for 

 eighteen cents. For our own family use we pur- 

 chase butter, supplying with our few cows some 

 of our neighbors with milk. We bespoke at the 

 exhibition at Boscawen a firkin made by our friend 

 Mrs. MoRRir.L of Canterbury, whicii obtained the 

 second jirtfmium, and paid I'or it twenty-two cents 

 a ])ound. This butter goes further in the using, 

 and was actually cheaper than some other butter 

 we about the same time took at the store at 

 eighteen cents the pound. We mentioned in a 

 former number the excellent butter of Mr. New- 

 man, whose farm is on the high grounds of Wash- 

 ington, forty miles to the westward : he turns out 

 for the American House in this (own from five hun- 

 dred to a thousand pounds in a year. With the 

 butter furnished for Mr. Gass, he sent the editor 

 of the Visitor a firkin of fifty pounds and the bill 

 receipted attwenty cents the pound. Thisseemed 

 not to be exactly right when good butter was every 

 wliere selling at eighteen. Nevertheless we paid 

 the bill. We are now able to say thai our two fir- 

 kins of butter at the highest price per pound were 

 the cheapest purchases of butter we have marie 

 since the month of June last. We might have prais- 

 ed both perhaps quite as much if cash Ijad not 

 drawn quite as liaril upon the pocket. They may 

 liereafler consider us in price, when they leari that 

 our family will siand along side of any other of its 

 size for the consumption of excellent butter, if not 

 of bread, beef and pork. 



The Barnet butter that obtained the grand prece- 

 dence at Boston could by possibility be but little 

 better than our Canterbury and Washington sam- 

 ples. But there was, twenty-five and thirty yearn 

 ago, something facinating and romantic in the an- 

 nual visits of the Ryegate and Barnet Scotchmen, 

 who never failed to call and pay us their year's 

 newspaper subscription wlien they passed down 

 with their freighted sleighs. Tliey were generally 

 tall men, and their comfortable winter dress of 

 homespun was surmounterl with a large cap made 

 from the fur of the bear, the wild cat or the fox : 

 they were real Cameronians, jilain hearted men, 

 whose tongues disguised" not the honest purjioses 

 of the heart, nor failed to s|ieak tt) the face the 

 faults they discovered in otlu-rs. Last summer we 

 passed the Connecticut river on the opposite side 

 from these Caledonian towns in Vermont; but we 

 have not yet stept foot aiuong them. We intend 

 to do it hereafter. 



Meantime we take the liberty to introduce a new 

 Ploi'gii whicli is coming into use among the Cal- 

 edonians of the Green Mountains. We are sorry 

 that the person sent by thr- Barnet farmers t<3 try 



