1-14 



F A R M E U S ' R E G F S 1^ E R . 



[No. 2 



vvliich I heir public servants may find leisure or in- 



cliiiaiion lo dole out to them. 



Thirty years n<ro, what was the state of our 

 nianulactures and nicc-hanic arts ron:ipared to 

 wiiat I hey are at the present dnv? What art has 

 remained stationary? iManupilation has cr'wen 

 way to machiner}' — science has slu^l her eflulgent 

 liirht upon [)rocesses which were before obscure, te- 

 dious and uncertain — and inventive fjenius, roused 

 from its torpor by the spirit of improvement, has 

 been actively at work, in perfecting the mechanic, 

 arts. Where is the man who, in any of these 

 arts, f illows, in his business, the practice of his 

 litlher, that is successfiji in his calling? All is 

 changed — all is improved. And how fares it 

 with agriculture? This primitive art, too, has felt 

 the impulse of improvement, though yet in a par- 

 tial degree. Some portions ol' her labors have 

 been blessed with an abundant increase, while 

 other portions, practising on the model of "our 

 fathers," remain at a fi^arJul distance behind the 

 age. In most parts of northern Europe improve- 

 ment has progressed, and is progressing. J'^ng- 

 lish husbandry has been greatly improved, and 

 Scotch husbandry still more so. France is in the 

 progress of rapid improvement in her agriculture; 

 and the agricultural schools of Fellenburg and 

 Von Thaer are fiist diffusing a knowledge of the 

 science and of the best practices of husbandry over 

 the wide-spread German empire. With us, while 

 some districts, and many individuals, have made 

 creditable advances in agricultural improvement, 

 the mass of our farmers, we regret to say, are just 

 where they were thiriy years ago, apparently un- 

 conscious, that while they have remained station- 

 ary, the world about them has been continually ad- 

 vancing in intelligence and improvement. Much 

 has been done, and more remains to be done, to 

 improve our farming; the spirit of inquiry and in- 

 vestigation is abroad; much useful information is 

 being difi'used in our agricultural journals, which 

 are increasing in interest, in numbers and in circu- 

 lation; and it is hoped that our legislators will ere 

 long find leisure to turn their attention to this great 

 interest, and assist to elevate it to the rank to which 

 it belongs, as well in a political as in a pecuniary 

 point of view. For agriculture, in .'■eality, consti- 

 tutes the foundation upon which the fdiric of our 

 social, tnoral and political institutions are based, and 

 upon which they must ever depend for support and 

 prosperity. 



IMPROVEMENTS IN LOG HOUSES, AND IN THE 

 FORM OP POSTS FOR PLANK FENCES. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Kegistor. 



Powhatan County. 



Since writing the above, I have concluded sim- 

 ply to give you a |)lan upon which we build log 

 houses in this neiuhborhood; not generally though, 

 for some ol" the old fashioned folks will not give 

 up the good old way of doing every thing as their 

 f ithers did before them. Instead of notching the 

 h)gs, we have them flatted on two sides, and put 

 up, one on the other, as you would make a com- 

 mon pen of fiance rails. This is for tobacco houses, 

 or any that we do not care much about the looks 

 of. To make a house look well, square the ends 



of the logs, and by being particular to have each 

 log sawed ofl' the exact length, a log house may 

 be put up with as true corners as a li^amed one, 

 and it is the opinion of all that have tried them, 

 that they will stand much better than those notch- 

 ed, especially if they are boxed (a plank nailed on 

 at the corner, fi'oin the plate to the ground). 



While 1 am writing, I will give you my plan for 

 making plaid< ti?nces, (^though it may not be new 

 to many of your readers, it may be to some). The 

 principal advantage I see in it, is the form of the 

 posts, which I tliink will make them last much 

 longer, though I may be mistaken. I have my 

 [)ost timber hewed twelve inches square. I then 

 liave it split through the centre, with a saw, which 

 makes two pieces, six by twelve; they are then 

 split again the other way: bejiinning three inches 

 from one edge of the timi)er, and crossing to three 

 inches on the other side of the opposite end. I had 

 my posts six feet long; six by three inches at top, 

 and six by nine at bottom; the top was sloped, and 

 a plank five inches wide, nailed on the top of the 

 posts, and on the edge of the top railing, which 

 preserves the posts from the weather and strength- 

 ens the upper railing. Some may think that I must 

 think other peo[)le have very little sense to publish 

 this, with the idea that it will benefit anyone. One 

 of my neighbors thinks it is an improvement, and 

 has adopted it, allhovgh he is one of the old fash- 

 ioned. 



A FniEND TO LUPROVEMENT. 



Finiu tlic Camljiidgc Clirniiiclc. 



laiPROVEMENT OF AGRICULTURE IN BIARY- 

 LAND. 



Extract from the Report of the Committee on Pre- 

 miums rf the Dorchester J/gricuUurul Society. 



Your committee respectfully report that they 

 have deliheratel}^ viewed the subjects submitted 

 to their consideration, b}' the Dorchester Agricul- 

 tural Society, and they oflljr the subjoined '"arti- 

 cles of association" and "scheme of premiums," 

 with some vefiecuons explanatory of their views of 

 the great purposes of this institution, and of the 

 extension of the scheme to objects not usually 

 embraced by similar societies. 



The agricultural interest of Dorchester county, 

 and indeed, of the state of Maryland, is, by com- 

 mon consent, acknowledged to be in a state of the 

 lowest depression, and most deplorable condition, 

 embarrassing to all who are concerned in it, di- 

 rectly, or imiirectly. 



The great staple crop, wheat, has failed, for very 

 many years, to compensate the costs and the labor 

 of its culture. 



The climate has, manifestly, become adversary 

 to the growth of this plant, "once the boast and 

 the wealth of our country." 



To supply this loss by the introduction of other 

 plants, whose physiological character and habits 

 may be better adapted to the present climate, is a 

 problem, which merits the first consideration of 

 this society; and whose solution requires much 

 experiment, cost and labor; and is well worthy to 

 have received, lonij ago, the aid ol"legislative wis- 

 dom, which in many other states has been liberally 

 contributed. 



Your committee will not wiihhold this clear 

 truth, "that without speedy relief, the agriculture 



