360 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 6 



vice to me tlifin the prescriptions of physician, 

 that I attributed my early restoration to heahh to 

 its ajjency alone. Certainly, a favorable chaiij^e 

 did not occur till I used this tea, which I did upon 

 the recomniendaiion ol" a citizen, of one of the 

 upper coiiniies of North Carolina. 



its leaves and stalls, in the ijreen state, are pre- 

 ferred by cattle to any other provender. 1 have 

 thovvn green ofrass and !oil;ler in one heap, and 

 sun-Hovver leaves in another, to try the cattle, 

 and they have ever commenced eating the latter 

 first: this I have tried niten with the same result. 

 The whole plant, cut up, in the green state, and 

 boiled with cotton-seed, or a litile meal, affords a 

 delicious food lor cattle and hoijs. To be con- 

 vinced ol" this, let one taste the bruised leaves or 

 Btalk of the plant; he will find its flavor aromatic 

 like that of the parsnip, with more sweetness. 



This plant is the safest provision crop we can 

 grow to subsist stock during the summer. t 

 have cured the leaves, and understaufl they are 

 packed with hay in some parts of Europe. It 

 may be well, however, to observe, that when the 

 lower leaves of the plant are stripped, it shoots 

 and takes a second growth, and yields less grain; 

 this remark is founded on one experiment only, 

 during a dry summer : I thereliire, cannot rely 

 upon its accuracy. If it be correct, under all cir- 

 cumstances, I feel satisfied, Avhat one loses in 

 grain by stripping, he gains in foliage. My way 

 of cultivating the sun-flower is this : — at the ends 

 of each potato-row, I plant two stalks, in all liiur 

 to the row, and they are worked with the potatoes; 

 in the same way are they planted in thw slip fields. 

 <is soon as the beds are prepared. I also plant 

 them in the garden and the turnip-patch, and in 

 short, wherever their shade wdl ;iot injure an un- 

 dergrowth, and wherever the workimj of the crop 

 in which they are planted will be suiHcient to ma- 

 ture them. In this manner, all is on the side o( 

 profit; the only labor is putting the seed in the 

 ground, and gathering the crop. Besides this 

 method, I plant as many acres as I require, in the 

 check as litr apart as I do corn, talcintrcare to ma- 

 nure them. The best plan would be to plant in 

 the boundary checks of the field, for they would 

 ■arrest the attention of the squirrels and birds, 

 which are fonder of the seed than corn, and thus 

 «ave the corn; any one who has beheld the wood- 

 pecker in our parts, sapping the lite of the milk 

 corn, will at once feel the importance of this sug- 

 gestion. I have, lastly, to remark, when the sun- 

 flower is planted/in the check, it will not debar the 

 planting of peas as we do up here; it will thrive as 

 well, and the peas will cling to them and flourish 

 as much as in a corn-field, or new ground. B. 



N. B. — A tea infinitely better than flax, is that 

 made of cotton-seed: let a double handful or less 

 be mashed, and thrown into one or two quarts of 

 water, boiled, sweetened, and given to the patient 

 through the day. 



From tlie same. 

 EGGS AND TURKEYS. 



Mr. Editor. — It is a common error, that eggs 

 brought from a distance, on board of vessels, or by 

 horse conveyance, will never hatch out. It may 

 be well to know, this is truly an error. A recent 

 case proves, that eggs will hatch when brought 

 one hundred miles on the rail road. Out of twen- 

 ty-lour eggs thus brought, but one failed bringing 



forth a chirk. 'I'hc ijentleman who communica- 

 ted this liii't, has (I 'vuieil rimch atit;ntion to poul- 

 try, and we ho()c he will occasionally infl)rm us. 

 how he manages to raise so many. His yard 

 teems wiih all kinds of fowl. 



Cliickens we all know how to raise, but as few 

 (if u^ can rear 'a irood chance of turkeys,' I will 

 tell what I kiK)w. Next to chickens, of all poul- 

 try, they are the easiest raised. When the eggs 

 hatch out, let the hen and chicks be confined in a 

 garden, or any other jilace where the young ones 

 can sun themselves. Let them be led with homi- 

 ity for two or three days; then carry them to 

 a rail-pen, in a rye^ oats, or buck-wheat patch; 

 confine the hen, atid feed at least three titnes a 

 day with hominy or small grain. The young 

 ones will soon run about catching insecis, and will 

 come to the hen's call. The hen should be thus 

 confined until the turkeys are about half grown; 

 they will range about, and never without the 

 sound of their moi Iter's call. By this plan, we 

 do away with the necessit}'^ of having a turkey- 

 minder. The young ones are not so liable to in- 

 jury li-om hawks or vermin as when they tijilow the 

 hen in her rambles over the plantation, nor are 

 they compelled, in keeping up with the hen, to 

 fatifjue themselves more than is ofood for health. 



Great care n)ust be taken, to keep water out of 

 the pen; it should be ditched all round, so as lo 

 keep it dry; its tljundatinn should be made higher, 

 with drv sand, than the level around, and the top 

 should be well covered; the ditches nigh the pen 

 shoidd be covered with boards, to kee[) the young 

 ones froiTi fiillinir in. You may rely on this plan, 

 Mr. Editor. I hiive seen out ol' eighiy-seven tur- 

 keys, eitrlity-six raised — one having been mashed 

 by a horse. 



IIVFORMATION WANTF.D AS TO THE USE OF 



oxr.iv. 



To tlie Editor of the Farmpis' Efgister. 



Richmond, August 25th, 1837. 



Sir — In Sinclair's -Code of AiJ^riculture,' (page 

 126, Addenda,) I find the followinir note affixed 

 to No. 12, on the com[)arison between horses and 

 oxen as beasts of draught. 



"See an able paper on horses and oxen, by Mr. 

 Madison, formerly President of the United States 

 of America, printed in the American Farmer, 

 published September 3d, 1819, from wfiich, seve- 

 ral hints are ado|)ted. In that periodical publica- 

 tion, there is likewi^;e some valuable information, 

 from George W. Erving, and Timothy Picker- 

 ing, esqs. Indeed, the subject seems lo have 

 strongly attracted the attention of the agricultu- 

 rists of America." 



Has the paper above referred to, been repub- 

 lished in your Register? If it has not, will it be 

 asking too much of you, to request it in the next 

 Register, or as soon as may suit your conveni- 

 ence? 1 was not a subscriber to the American 

 Farmer, at the time of its publication in that peri- 

 odical. The others refereil to, will be acceptable 

 also, if you think them sufficiently interesting. 

 Very respecll'ully, yours, &c. 



L. BURFOOT. 



[We shall take pleasure in complying with our cor- 

 respondent's request, by republishing the several pie- 

 ces referred to in his letter, in the next No. of the 

 Farmers* Register.] 



