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V THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



Gentleman in England wishing Ic liave small ones 

 for family use have Gelected tlie Gmallestof litters 

 for breeders, and procured purposely a smaller 

 stock, whilst others prefering the large size have 

 used the means vie: versa, and run tliei? slocks up 

 to an almost incredible sizfi. Thig may be done at 

 pleasure. 



In the autumn of 1833 Mr. Hawes brought me 

 one female and two males unrelated to each other, 

 and also to those of the former importations — one 

 from the town of Newbury, one from Teal and the 

 other from Reading in Berkshire eobnty, Engiaml. 

 These I procured e.xpressly for a new croas. Their 

 color was the same as tlie others, with points ma- 

 terially agreeing. In consequence of some com- 

 plaint about size, M^j.^iJ^wes selected the males 

 from very large ailimals : one of them at fifteen 

 months old measured from end of snout to root of 

 tail six feet five inches, and girted five feet si.x in- 

 ches in common condition ; the other, two months 

 younger, is nearly the same siie. I challenge the 

 United States to produce two animals of their spe- 

 cies of color different from that I have named as a 

 Etandard color for Berkshires, which willcompare 

 at their age with these two in point of size or beau- 

 ty. I have been oftered two hundred dollars for 

 the oldest by Mr. Munson Beacli of Ohio. 



1 have a sow parcliaaed from the Shakers of, 

 Watervliet, Albany county, at §150, raised by Mr. 

 Hawes, measuring from end ot nose to root ol tail, 

 six feet and ten inches, and girtii.g five feet ten 

 inches, in breeding order. 



The Shakers of Watervliet slaughtered fifteen 

 full bloods lastiVU consisting entirely of runts and 

 callings of litter.s, from fiTtecn to seventeen months 

 old. Their average wright was three hundred and 

 fifly-six pounds. One slaughtered at the Shaker 

 village at New Lebanon, two yeiu-s and a half old, 

 weighed, as was judged, between sex'cn.:and eight 

 hundred pounds. Mi. Shaw of P>.ens::elaer county, 

 N. Y. slaughtered one two years old that weighed 

 five hundred and firty-.5ix pounds. I slaughtered 

 one at sixteen months old that weighed four hun- 

 dred pounds. I sold one to Mr. Curd of Le.x-ing- 

 ton, Kentuckj', which he advertises as the " Mas- 

 ter;" he is supposed by good judges to weigh one 

 thousand pounds. Muiison Beach, Esq. of Oliio, 

 has written ir.e that thera had been great numbers 

 slaughtered in that State, half and three quailers 

 bloods, from seventeen to eighteen months old, 

 weighing from four huiulred and fifty, to five Lun- 

 dred pounds. Mr. HstS'es informed me that it was 

 very common for Berkshires to weigli in England 

 eight hundred pounds and lyiwards. 



Habits. — The habits of tliose animals s.re much 

 more mild and docile than those of other kinds of 

 the great Sv.'inisli family — their ferocity is surpris- 

 ingly softened down. I have never known a sow 

 to eat her pigs — an event that often occurs with 

 other swine. They come to maturity much sooner 

 than the old stock. They are extremely prolific, 

 bearinn- from ten to fil'teen to a litter, and are al- 

 most sure to raise the whole. Some of my own 

 sows and those of my neighbors have raised twen- 

 five pigs per annum fcir succeeding years. 



When two of these animals of nearly equal size 

 are put together, a desperate conflict will immedi- 

 ately ensue : this will be decided once for all, and 

 the two will not fight a second time. These pigs, 

 if fed at staled periods precisely (as tliey are much 

 more accurate observers of time than mo:it of our 

 wooden clocks) will finish the meal and return to 

 their nests, where they will meditate as gravely 

 and profoundly as judges. 



The Berkshires improve ei ery breed by crossing. 

 They give lenglli and solidity to the little Chinas, 

 converting that part of the belly v/hich formerly 

 went to lard into strata of lean and solid pork. 

 Thej' give rotundity and beauty to tlie old r^izor 

 backs, inspiring life and vigor througli their_ (Com- 

 paratively dry bones. The sows will of^ii take 

 the boar within three days after tlie pigs have all 

 been removed, which should not bo neglected, as, 

 a few frustrations will smnetimes prevent the sow 

 from taking the boar at all. 



The young Eeiksliiro pig I CEleem as one of the 

 most beautiful objects in the animal creatida. As 

 he gambols in the sun, his sleek ski-i distended al- 

 most to bursting, as if unable longer to form a bar- 

 rier against ihe genial slreattlB of life, scv they 

 course through tlie miniature veins impatient to 

 tjwellinto the future monster ; he is endowed with 

 an instinct falling but little short of reason, and in 

 some respects far exceeding it. 



Feeding. — This-should be done with judgment 

 and system. I feed my swine three times a day 

 at stated periods, which they well know to a mo- 

 ment ; and as t'ley expect no feed between meals, 

 they will remain perfectly quiet. They will thrive 

 better in thi.5 way than on twice the quantity of 



foott given promiscuously, giving them a continual 

 worry. My practice is to put water witli their 

 food in sueli quantity as to compel them to drink 

 for tlie feed. The tendency of such feeding is to 

 make the swine lay quiet until the next feeding. 



Bkeeijinb time for sows. — I never interfere 

 with the course of nature in admitting the sows 

 to the male farther than to have the litter come in 

 at the proper season, viz: Springer Fall. I have 

 abandoned the long standing opinion that sows 

 never reach their full size for being impregnated 

 young. When the young sow shall not have rea- 

 ched her full strength and maturity, nature which 

 is a great economist in this as in all other things, 

 will diminish the number of pigs accordingly. 1 

 raised a sow which measured seven feet from end 

 of nose to root of tail, and girt six feet; and slie 

 liad her first Iitler at the age of eleven months, 

 and bore eight pigs. For experiment, a gentleman 

 took two sow pigs of the same litter of equal size 

 and vigor. One was impregnated at tlie age of six 

 months — the other at eighteen months— each hav- 

 ing their regular semi-annual litters At the end 

 of three years the six months sow was the largest 

 and by far the best milker and breeder. 1 have 

 known a number of .similar results. 



Sows should be kept quiet after pregnancy, with 

 room for exercise and free air and water : they 

 should be separated to prevent crowding or fight- 

 ing. A clover pasture, without disturbance from 

 dogs or other animals, would be preferable. They 

 should be neitlier over-fed nor starved ; lor by the 

 one you may lose the pigs, and by the latter you 

 will have a swarm of ravenous cannibals, which is 

 about as bad as a total loss. Never admit the boar 

 to a sow when she is in a heated state from driving 

 or worrying. 



Thf. Boar. — The service of the male will he 

 equally good and efficient, and the pigs will attain 

 to their full size, although he may not have gained 

 half his full grown size. lie should not be admit- 

 ted to many sows at fir-st, or at any time, as in this 

 case nature wili become her own executioner. The 

 boar should never go to tlie sow in a warm day, 

 till he shall cool himself in a puddle of water, 

 which ho is sure to do if there shall be one in his 

 yard. I have known instances where neglect of 

 "this precaution has proved fatal to the boar. Not 

 liaving such a reservoir in my yard, I am in the 

 practice of throwing a pail or two of water over 

 them in hot weather. Having done this a few 

 times, when I let the boars out, they would come 

 and lie down to receive the water before they would 

 notice the sow. 



I would observe tliat I received in October last, 

 per the brig Henry Bell, from Reading, Berkshire, 

 England, for a fresh cross, two males and two fe- 

 males, with colors agreeing with my former stock, 

 entirely unconnected with each other, and also 

 with my former breed. One boar I sent to Mun- 

 son Beach, Esq. of Lebanon, Ohio — one of the sows 

 is in the possession of my neighbor, Z. Standish, 

 Esq. wlio has a number of very fine breeding sows 

 of my former stock, and v.'ill be able to supply his 

 friends abroad with some fine specimens of tlie 

 breed. There was such an increased demand for 

 these animals last season, that I have been at 

 much pains and expense in preparing to meet it 

 again. Gentlemen abroad desiring to obtain them 

 would do well to make an early application to me 

 at No. 253 Washington street, Albany, N. Y. 



JOHN LOSSING. 



P. S. The Shakers of Watervliet have a num- 

 ber of fine breeding sows which have been put to 

 my imported boars. Their piggery, for character- 

 istic neatness, decorum, regularity and economy, 

 is surpassed by none in the world. J. L. 



Draining and Subsoil Ploughing. 



The value of deep trenching of the soil seems 

 not to be generally understood in this country. In 

 the renovation of lands that have been long culti- 

 vated, there cannot be a doubt that the stirring up 

 the unilcr soil icliPre it Is Itnrd, and the bringing it 

 grntlually upon the surface so fast as a qualifijing 

 stimulant to the grovntl can be furnish c-d in each sea- 

 son of cultivation to be mi:<,ed zcith the inider soil, 

 will be the most elfeclaal method. This principle 

 of cultivation in Europe is Cfperating a vast in- 

 crease in the products of Agriculture. We are not 

 in tliis country far enougli advanced to be able to 

 profit mucli by the system. Yet 'vc do not doubt, 

 if labor should be applied to much ground of little 

 value in under d'raining and subsoil ploughing, it 

 would turn in the end to a great profit. 



We lately passed by a spot of ground near the 

 rich and beautiful village ef Worcester, Mass. pur- 

 chased about two j'ears since for the use of the In- 

 sane Hospital at that place. The price of the land, 

 from it3 contiguity to the vilbge, was eighty dol- 



lars the acre: it was a rocky sid'e hill — the upper 

 part of which furnished pasture, and the lower 

 part was a heavy soil through which the cold 

 springs oozed from the surface, producing little or 

 nothing in its natural state. Ditches have been 

 dug on this land at suitable distances for carrying 

 off the water: into these ditches, below where the 

 plougli ever strikes, were placed the many rocks 

 which may well be spared from the ground. The 

 land has been ploughed deep, and after the appli- 

 cation of no very extraordinary quantity of man- 

 ure was laid down to grass. The result is, a pro- 

 duct of two to three tons of excellent hay to the 

 acre. Passing this ground in the rail road cars on 

 the 24lh of April, it might be distinguished from 

 the surrounding grounds b}^ the more forward 

 spring of vegetation. 



We cannot do our readers a better service than 

 by copying; the following, which v.'e find in the 

 Yankee Farmer, supposed to be 



From an English Publication. 



"I am of opinion thatsmall stones form the best 

 filling for drains, both as to efTiciency and perina- 

 manencj', and are the cheapest wherever stones 

 are plentiful. The tile, however, is a very ready 

 mode, especially in clay districts. 



It is painful to see the practice, still very preva- 

 lent, of filling drains too near the surface, either 

 with stones or tiles ; for it is obvious that the deep- 

 er drains (not to exceed three ftel)draw better than 

 the shallow ones; and as all land ought to be sub- 

 soiled once, and occasionally trenclied to the depth 

 of sixteen inches, drains filled nearer the surface 

 than eighteen inches are sure to obstruct the 

 plough, and are likely to be injured in many places 

 bv the foot of the horse or the share of the plough. 



In cases where time or capital are wanting to 

 complete the drainage at once, each alternate drain 

 may be executed in the j first 'instance, and the 

 remainder can be done the next time the field is 

 broken up. 



After the draining has been completed, a crop of 

 oats may be t.aken from the field ; and immediately 

 after that crop shall have been separated from the 

 ground, the field sliould be gone thoroughly over 

 with the subsoil plough, crossing the lines of drains 

 at right angles. 



The Subsoil Plough has been constructed on 

 principles appearing the best filled to break up tlie 

 subsoil completely, to a depth sufficient for most 

 thorough cultivation, say 14 or 10 inches, whilst 

 the active soil is still retained on the surface — to be 

 of the easiest possible draught in reference to the 

 depth of furrow and firmness of the subsoil — to 

 have strength and massive weight snfiieient to 

 penetrate the hardest stratum — to resist the shocks 

 from fast stones — and to throw out all stones under 

 200 lbs. in weight. All this has been accomplish- 

 ed and practically proved at Deanston, over an ex- 

 tent of at least 200 acres of various soils ; and re- 

 ports of the successful application of those ploughs 

 in various parts of England, Scotland, an'd Ireland 

 during several seasons, have been received. The 

 plough requires four good horses, an active plough- 

 man, and a lad to drive the horses and manage 

 them at the turnings. Six horses, yoked three and 

 three abreast, may be necessary in some very stiff 

 or stony soils. A common plough, drawn by two 

 horses, goes before the subsoil plough, throwing 

 out a large open furrow of the active soil ; the 

 subsoil plough following, slits up thoroughly and 

 breaks the subsoil, and the next furrow of active- 

 soil is thrown-over ihe last opened furrow of the 

 subsoil; the stones'brought to the surface by the 

 subsoil plough being thrown aside on the ploughed 

 part of the land by a lad : thus the work proceeds 

 until the wliol-3 field is gone over. The lad should 

 carry a bag of wooden pins that he may mark the 

 site of the large fast stones which the plough can- 

 not throw out, and which must afterwards be dug 

 out with the pick, and perhaps blasted. 



This large plough is a sort of horse pich, break- 

 ing up without raising to the surface any of the 

 subsoil. Channels are thus regularly formed for 

 the water to flow from all parts towards the drains. 

 The atmospheric air being also by this means free- 

 ly admitted lo the body of the subsoil, the most 

 sterile and obdurate till becomes gradually melio- 

 rated, and the common plough may ever after be 

 wrought to a depth of from 10 to 12 inches with- 

 out obstruction, and with the power of three hor- 

 ses, yoked abreast, and managed with ease by the 

 ploughman without any person to drive; being 

 thus yoked together and near tlie point of resist- 

 ance, the horses have great power. The furrow 

 turned over being broad in proportion, nearly one 

 half more ground will begone over in a day than 

 with a plough drawn by two horses. 



The charge of subsoil ploughing a Scotch acre 

 may be estimated at 243. or 30s. per statute acte, 



