THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



79 



Italian Seed Wheat. 



Fruncestown, April, II, IKIO. 



Hon. Isaac Hii.l, — D'Mr Sir—^ observed in 

 your useful Montlily Visitor an invit-alion to tiie 

 "ShaUers to send you for seed some of their "Black 

 Sea Wheat." Now, sir, if you will accept of a 

 sample of our lt;ilian seed, and make a fair, impar- 

 tial experiment, by cultivating the two kinds in the 

 same field, and testing the quality of the proceeds 

 of caeli Oil your tiililc, I think that you will he con- 

 vinced that'the Italian is not an inferior kind of 

 grain. I should recommend to sow not more than 

 at the rate of five pecks to tlie acre of the above, 

 as the straw grows larger than the common wheat. 



The reason why I send you so small a quantity 

 as half a bushel is, because I apprehend you will 

 not have confidence in its superior utility until you 

 are convinced by ocular demonstration. Yon will 

 probably find the above sample at the Post Ofilce, 

 freight paid. 



Respectfully vours, &c. 



THOMAS EATON. 



p.g. — Since writing the above, we have been a- 

 ble to close the sale of all we had to part with, 

 amountintj- to one hundred and sixty bushels. 



T. EATON. 



The sample of wheat has been received ; and we 

 are under great obligations for the valuable pres- 

 ent. It will be sown along side of about three 

 bushels of the Loudon Black sea Wheat, on the 

 ground where our largest Brown corn grew last 

 year : time of sowing. May 22d. 



Messrs. Ellis & Bosson, seed merchants of Bos- 

 ton, wiUacceptour thanks for the valuable variety 

 ofGarden and other Seeds sent us the presentyear. 

 The most of these seeds, on our premises, have al- 

 ready been put into the ground. 



One bushel of the Wright Potatoes from Hadiey, 

 Massachusetts, have been received through Gen. 

 M' NiEL of Boston, from A ndrew Wright, Esq. 



A friend at Orford, N. H. has likewise sent us a 

 bushel of potatoes, two of which have been cook- 

 ed and are first rate. If we mistake not we are in- 

 debted for this acceptable present to Joits B. 

 Wheeler, Esq. 



Col. White, Counsellor for Grafton and Coos, 

 was so good as to bring us a few Potatoes of excel- 

 lent quality, raised on liis Ox Bow farm in Coos. 



All the kinds received will be fairly tried, on 

 ground well prepared. 



Ploi-chi-ng. — Of the Ploughs which have been 

 presentvd to us, the Prouty and Mears Plough ex- 

 ceeds all others that ever we have seen. We have 

 broken up six acres of sward land with one of them; 

 and the ploughing transcends all our former ideas of 

 ploughing. The strength of team is not over two 

 thirds — the sod is completely turned to its place, 

 and the ground is broken precisely as it should be. 



The Farmer of "eighty ye.irs since" in 

 greater honor than the Warrior or Civil- 

 ian of later days. 



A subscriber to the Visitor at Exeter, N. JI. has 

 sent us a single copy of the "Federal Orrery" of 

 Feb. 8, 1796, printed at Boston, forty-four years 

 ago. This paper isof the size of a common demy 

 sheet, and contains upon each page four columns 

 of small pica type — the advertisements being of 

 the same sized typo as the other matter. It was 

 published twice a week, and the paper before us 

 is numbered 32 of volume 3. The editor was 

 Thomas Paine, who about that time distinguished 

 himself by writing the popular song of " .'Idams 

 and Liberty," which from its excellent high toiu'd 

 national sentimjnt has outlived the party use for 

 which it was at first intended. This gentleman 

 was the son of the late Hon. Robert Treat Paine, 

 Attorney General and Judge of the Supreme Court 

 of Massachusetts, and from the wish not to be 

 identified with a man bearing his cognomen much 

 more notorious than himself, he applied to the Le- 

 gislature of his State, and procured the change 

 from Thomas to Roliert Trent Paine, being that of 

 his father. 



The number of the Orrery sent us contains the 

 account of the grand agricultural improvements 

 made by the celebrated English farmer, Rohef.t 

 Bakewell, eighty years ago. This gentleman, 

 as. the improver of live stock, on principles pecu- 

 liarly his own, v.'iU descend to posterity as a dis- 

 tinguished patron of Agriculture. " The principles 

 he began upon'(say8 the celebrated Arthur Young) 

 wcre^ine forms, sinaU hones, and a true disijositiou 

 to viukc readily fat, which is indeed inseparable 

 from small bones, and fine forms, and true symmetry 

 of the parts." Before Bakewell's day, the rules 



which governed breeders of live stock Mr. Young 

 pronounces a " tissue of absurdities." 



■ftlr. Bakewell begun his imiirovement of sheep 

 (says the late Timothy Pickering in a discourse 

 before the Essex Agricultural Society in February, 

 isyj) liy selecting Irom the best in the neighbor- 

 hood. And so little had an}' correct principle of 

 improvement been known or regarded, that a guin- 

 ea or half a guinea extraordinary would give Mr. 

 Bakev/ell the choice of any slieep of any Hock, 

 .'•nd his uncommon sagacity enabled him, by the 

 best selections and judicious crossings, to form a 

 breed distinguished above all others for the dispo- 

 sition t'j fatten, ciirhj maturitii, nform indicatinir 

 strength tf eonstitution, toeight in the most valuable 

 pai-ts, with lightness of ojf'al. Mr. Young expres- 

 ses his opinion that tliere is not a breed of any sort 

 of live stock in Great Britain, that does not derive 

 its improvement from the skill, knowledge and 

 principles of Mr. Bakewell. Another eminent ag- 

 riculturist declares (and Mr. Young thinks he does 

 not exaggerate) "that Mr. Bakewell enabled those 

 who followed his ideas, to produce two pounds of 

 mutton where only one was produced before." 



Mr. Young adds, tliat Bakewell was the most 

 careful feeder of stock that he ever met witli, and 

 who made his food go farthest. To horses and 

 cattle in stalls, he did not permit more than a hand- 

 ful of hay to be given at a time *, and tlie same 

 economy was used in all other feeding. But his 

 stocks were so large as to require one or more per- 

 sons to be appropriated to that service. This prac- 

 tice on our small farms, and witli our small stocks, 

 cannot be fully adopted ; but it in.ay be imitated, 

 in some degree, during the season (winter) most 

 requiring such attention. By feeding them in this 

 manner, the cattle will doubtless f«i?noj'c, but they 

 will 2raste less: so that while, in the v.'hole, no 

 more fodder will be consumed, the stock will be 

 put into much better plight. 



There are many matters in the experience of 

 old times that arc better than the new inventions 

 and modern practices : the farmers of the present 

 day, looking back to tlie practice of their fathers, 

 will discover some useful methods to have been a- 

 bandoncd which it may be well to look up and re- 

 adopt. We thank our Exeter friend for sending us 

 the paper published forty-four }'ears ago : the arti- 

 cle to which he calls our atti^ntion is worthy a 

 place in the Farmer's Monthly Visitor ; and wor- 

 thy indeed is the name of Robert Bakewell, to 

 be handed down to posterity as the man of all men 

 in tliat praise-worthy occupation whicli stands at 

 the base, and should stand at tiie head, of all other 

 useful occupations. We trust the example of this 

 eminent man, the s iccess of his efforts to i.'iiprove 

 in live stock, that most productive and most sure 

 product of New England, will not be lost on the 

 present generation of farmers. 



[Communieuted for the J^isitor.] 

 From the Federal Orrery, Feb. 8, 17PG. 

 Mr. Bakewell of Dishley. 



Robert Bakewell, the most successful and cele- 

 brated experimental farmer ever known in Eng- 

 land, was born at Dishley, in Leicestershire, about 

 the year 1725 or 6. His grand-father and father 

 had resided on the same estate since the beginning 

 of the present century ; and his father who died a- 

 bout the year 17(i2, had always the reputation of 

 being one of the most ingenious and able farmers 

 of his neighborhood. 



IMr. Bakewell, having conducted the Dishley 

 farm several years before the decease of his father, 

 began, about forty years since, that course of ex- 

 periments which had procured him such extensive 

 fame. He then made excursions into difi'erent 

 parts of England, to inspect the various breeds, 

 and to ascertain those which were best adapted to 

 his purposes, and the most valuable of their kinds. 

 His next step was to select and purchas»the best 

 of all the sorts wherever they could be found ; and 

 this selection, the result of several years experi- 

 ence, was the original stock from which ho after- 

 wards propagated his own. 



About the year 1770, Mr. Bakewell sold his 

 sheep by private contract, at not more than two or 

 three guineas each. Sometime afterwards he be- 

 gan to let some of his rams, and for a few seasons 

 received only 15s.> and a guinea a piece for them : 

 but as the fame of his breed extended itself, he ad- 

 vanced his prices, and by the year 1770, was ena^ 

 bled to let some of his rams for tlie season, for 25 

 guineas. Since that time the price and credit of 

 his stock have been progressively increasing ; and 

 of late years single rams have been let for the sea- 

 son, for the enormous prices of 100 guineas and 

 upwards. It is a fact which has no other example, 

 that one ram, called the Two Pounder, produced, 

 in one seo.son, the sum of 800 gukieas, independent 



of ewes of Mr. Bakewell's own stock, whicli at 

 the same rate, would have made a total, the prod- 

 uce of one single ram — of 1200 guineas ! 



The race of Dishley sheep are known by the 

 fineness of their bones and iiesh, the lightness of 

 their oftal, the disposition to quietness, and conse- 

 quently to mature and fatten with less food than 

 other sheep of equal weight and value. Mr. Bake- 

 well improved his black horses by an attention to 

 the form, which is best adapted to their use. His 

 stallions have been let out for the season for 100 

 guineas and upwards. About ten years since he 

 exhibited his famous black horse to the king, and 

 many of the nobility, in the court yard of St. 

 James's. 



In this place it may be wortii while to insert the 

 following statement of the prices given at an auc- 

 tion for stock, bred from Mr. Bakewell's. 



The sale which we advert to, was that of Mr. 

 Fowler, of Rollright, in Oxfordshire. After his 

 death, one article of live stock, the horned-cattle, 

 sold for a value equal to that of the fee simple of 

 his farm ! Fifteen head alone of bulls and cows 

 sold for 24G01. or at the rate of 1641. each I 



Mr B. at the time of his death, was verging 

 on his 70th year. In person he was tall, broad set, 

 and in his latter years, rather inclined to corpulen- 

 cy; Iiis countenance bespoke intelligence, activity, 

 and a high degree of benevolence. His manners 

 were frJnk and pleasing, and well calculated to 

 maintain the extensive popularity he had acquired. 

 His domestic arrangements at Dishley were formed 

 on .a scale of hospitality to strangers, that gained 

 him universal esteem. Of the numerous visitants 

 induced by curiosity to call at his house, none ever 

 left it without having reason to extol the liberality 

 of its owner. Many interesting anecdotes arc re- 

 lated of his humanity towards the various orders of 

 animals. He continually deprecated the atrocious 

 barbarities practised by butchers and drovers; shew- 

 ing by examples on his own farm, the most pleas- 

 ing instances of docility in the animals under his 

 care. 



He departed this life on Thursdaj', October 1, 

 1705, after a tedious illness, which he bore with the 

 philosophical fortitude that ever distinguished his 

 character. 



Generous Agricultural Premiums. 



Tlie Massachusetts Society for promoting Jlgricul- 

 turc, offers, from the income of its ample funds, 

 the following among other Premiums for the year 

 1840, viz: — 



On the four best cultivated farms, " regard being 

 had to the quantity of produce, the manner and 

 expense of cultivation, and the ireneral appearance 

 of the farm," $200 for the first,"$175 for the se- 

 cond, $150 for the third, and $75 for the fourth in 

 order. 



The notice does not state whether farms beyond 

 the limits of the State may be entered. Claims to 

 be addressed to Benjamin Guild, Esq. of Boston, 

 previous to the first of October next. 



The same Society ofi'ers for the best rotation of 

 crops for tiiree or four years in suscession, $75. 

 Premium to be claimed in December 1840 or 1841. 

 ■ It also offers for the greatest quantity of Pota- 

 toes, not less than 500 bushels to the acre, ,$30. — 

 Carrots, 30; do. half acre 15.— Mangel Wurtzel, 

 $30: do. half, 15.— Sugar Beet, $30; do half, 15. 

 — Ruta Bacra, $30; do. half, 15. — English Turnip, 

 $20 ; do. half, 10.— Onions, $20 ; do. half, 10.— 

 Cabbages, $20; do. half, 10. 



For the greatest quantity of vegetables, (grain, 

 peas and beans excepted) raised for the keeping of 

 stock, regard being had to the size of the farm in 

 proportion to the crop, and to the number of the 

 stock kept, and also to the respective value of the 

 vegetables as food, and the expense of raising the 

 same, $S0. 



For the greatest quantity of Indian corn to the 

 acre, (not less than 80 bushels, 75 lbs. in I ho ear to 

 be considered a bushel.) $30 — do. Wheat, not less 

 than 25 bushels, .$20 — do. Barley, not less than 45 

 bushftls, $20— do.'llye, not less than 30 busheki, 

 $20 — do. dry Peas either broadcast or in drills, 

 $25 — do. dry Beans, not less than 10 bushels, $20. 



For an efi'ectual mode of extirpating the worm 

 that attacks the locust tree, ,$100 — Do. the borer, 

 which attacks the apple tree, $50.— For the best 

 experiment in turning in green corps as a manure, 

 $50. — Forany newly invented agricultural imple- 

 ment or machine, superior to any designed for the 

 same use, a reward from 10 to 50 dollars. — For the 

 best mode of rearing, feeding, and fattening neat 

 cattle, $20. — For the greatest qu:intity of raw, un- 

 manufactured silk, not less than ten pounds, raised 

 and presented before Dec. 1840, ,f20.— For the 

 best Plough that will turn the sod over and lay it 

 flat, regard to be had to the strength of the plough, 



