1^37] 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



455 



country, but it is louiuled on the same great prin- 

 ciple, iliat (liliereiit plants take up ilitl'erent ingre- 

 dients Ironi the same soil, and from (UU'erent 

 depths, and tliat a new plant will Hourish in a soil 

 where one ot" the same kind previously cultivated 

 could not succeed at all. Thus in England, in 

 Holland and Uelgium, in some parts ot" Germany 

 and France, and in some lew instances in this 

 country, a regular course of cro|)piiig adapted to 

 the soil, has been adopted with tl;e happiest eH'ect. 

 This course which varies from three to six years, 

 according to circumstances, embraces roots, grains, 

 and grasses, and taken in connection with tho- 

 rough manuring, which this system enables the 

 iiirmer to practice, not only improves the quantity 

 and value of each kind of crop, but is deepening, 

 enriching and iertih/ing the soil. Manure, and 

 the rotation of crops, are then the great means to 

 which we nnist look to preserve our now lijrtile 

 plains liom the fiite which has overtaken so large 

 a |)art of the east ; and they are fortunately both 

 easy ol" applicatiou, and entirely within our reach. 



From the New England Farmer. 

 FATTENING SWINE. 



Judge Peters of Pennsylvania, formerly Presi- 

 dent of the Philadelphia Agricultural Society, 

 stated that ''sour tood is most grateful and alimen- 

 tary to swine. One gallon of sour wash goes 

 larlherthan two of sweet. I mean the wash acid- 

 ulated to the degree necessary for distilaiion, not 

 aceteous." Mr. Arthur Young likewise observes 

 that "the most profitable mode of converting corn 

 [grain] of any kind, into food ibr ho<rs, is to grind 

 it into meal, and mix this with water in cisterns, 

 in the proportion of five bushels of meal to one 

 hundred gallons of water ; stirring it well several 

 times a day, for three weeks in cold weather, or a 

 fortnight in a warmer season, by which it will 

 have fermented well, and become acid, till which, 

 it is not ready to give. The mixture should al- 

 ways be stirred immediately before feeding, and 

 two or three cisterns should be kept fermentinij in 

 succession, that no necessity may occur of giving 

 it unduly prepared." 



Judge Peters also observed that "dryrotton 

 wood kept constantly in styes, for fattening hogs 

 to eat at pleasure, is a good thing ; but I will take 

 the liberty to mention what I think a better. We 

 have blacksmiths in this town, and my hogs eat 

 up all the ashes or cinders they make ; we haul it 

 into the pens by cart-loads, and tlie hogs will de- 

 vour this at times, with more avidity than their or- 

 dinary food." 



Charcoal it has been said, will answer as good 

 or a better purpose than either cinders or rotton 

 wood, [f Skvine are supplied with a quantity of 

 coals, (accordin<^ to the statements of several per- 

 sons wlio have tried the experiment, say two pieces 

 a day to each, about the size of a hen's egg, 

 they will discontinue rooting, remain more quiet, 

 fatten faster than they will "otherwise. Charcoal 

 will operate on the human frame as a cathartic, 

 and probably will have the same effect oh the an- 

 imal of wliich we are treating. If so, it may su- 

 percede the necessity of using brimstone, antimo- 

 ny, and other dungs, with which hogs are often 

 dosed. At any rate, it will cost but little to give 

 them constant access to coals, which may he sifted 

 or raked Iroin your fire-place, and they will be 



induced by instinct, to consume such ()uanlities as 

 will promote their health and ex|)ediic their iat- 

 teiiing. 



Wlien you first commence fattening swine, care 

 should be taken not to give them more than they 

 will eat with appetite. If they become gorged or 

 cloyed, their thriving is retarded, and there is dan- 

 ger liom staggers and diseases consequent on re- 

 (iletion, or the gormandizing propensities of those 

 ibur-tboted epicures. 



The practice in Scotland, is to rear swine chiel- 

 iy on raw potatoes, and to fatten them on these 

 roots, boiled or prepared by steam, with a mixture 

 of oats, barley, or bean and pease meal. Their 

 troughs should be ofien replenished with a small 

 quantity of food at a time, and kept always clean, 

 and seasoned occasionally with salt. 



An English farmer fattened eight pigs in the 

 following manner, which may be recommended 

 in case where a constant and regular attention 

 cannot be given to leeding the animals. He 

 placed two troughs in the stye : one he filled with 

 raw potatoes, the other with peas, and gave no 

 water. When the pigs were thirsty they ate the 

 potatoes. In this way, it is probable; that the an- 

 imals could not only do without water, but like- 

 wise needed no brimstone, antimony, nor any 

 other medical substances, for raw potatoes are 

 cooling and drastic ; and may serve at once for 

 food and physic. Instead of peas, probably dry 

 Indian corn, or dry Indian meal might be substi- 

 tuted. 



Rubbing and currying the hides of fatting hogs,' 

 is not only gratelul to the animals, but conducive' 

 to their health and thriltiness. In every stye, »- 

 strong post should be fixed for them to rub against. 

 They should have plenty of litter, which will not 

 only be the means of contributing to their com-- 

 tbrt, but increasing the most valuable manure. 



The following mixture Ibr fattening swine, has' 

 been recommended, and we believe would prove 

 useful : 



Wash potatoes clean, boil and mash while hot, 

 mix in at the same time, oats and pea meal. Put 

 the mixture into a large tub, which must stand till 

 it become a little sour, but not very acid, nor in 

 the least putrid. Keep a quantity of this on hand' 

 fermenting, and give ii to your hogs as often as 

 they will eat. It is asserted that pork may be fat- 

 tened in this way, and making a paviii<r of one- 

 third of the food and time consumed in the usual 

 mode. 



From tlie Horticultural Register. 



BARTRAM, THE SET.F-TAUGHT AMERICAN 

 BOTANIST. 



John Cartram, the celebrated and self-taught 

 philosopher and botanist, was born iiv 1704, at Dar- 

 hv, in the county of Delaware, Pennsylvania. 

 His grandfather ol'thesame name, came over/i'om 

 Derbyshire in Enirland, with the adherents of 

 William Penn, in 1G82. Early in life he manifest- 

 ed an ardent thirst lor knowledge; but the great 

 distance from Europe, then the seat of arts and sci- 

 ences, and the infant state of the colony, rendered 

 it (lifTicuIt to obtain even a moderate education. 

 The diiriculties of his station, however, yielded to 

 the resources of his own mind, and intense appli- 

 cation. Associating with the most respectable 

 characters, he obiained the rudiments of the learn- 



