70 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No- 2 



M. Bonnet, of "Bouloijiie snrnier," produced 

 < wo crops of potatoes in the year; the middle of 

 July he dug up tlie roots, and planted them six 

 inches deep, trimming the tops to 8 inches. In 

 the day they were covered, and watered in the 

 evening. In three days they became strouir and 

 looked ji-esh; by hilling them afterwards, he had 

 by the middle of Ocloher a second crop of 10 to 

 15 potatoes to each plant, better in quality than 

 the first crop. 



The crop of wines generally this year, will not 

 be better than 1835, according to present appear- 

 ances. The weather has set in rainy, and already 

 speculations are made, fearinn; injurv may be sus- 

 tained Ity the present crop. The "Raisin," which 

 crives the Champagne brandy, looks well, and ni- 

 dicates an excellent one, and the quality also ex- 

 cellent. 



The nut grass is a pest with you. May it not 

 contain a tanning principie? If is astringent; 

 draw the attention of some able chemist to the 

 subject. 



From the Rritish Farmers' Magazine. 

 HOLKHAM ANNUAL CATTLL: SALK. 



Exhibiilons of fat stock, be they of bullocks, 

 sheep or swine, merely considered as so many ve- 

 hicles for the manufacture of saet, tallow, or ba- 

 con, have never been greatly to our taste; and for 

 choice, we would at any time prefer a vein of one 

 inch of fat upon the ribs, to mure. We shall 

 duubtless be regarded as mere Got lis fir holding 

 these our heretical opinions; but "such is our iate," 

 and we must even put up with the obloquy at- 

 tached to our unpopular notions of meat, meet lor 

 home consumption, rather than bolt the bons hou- 

 ches of our worthy fiiends, the patrons of the new 

 Ijeicester pigs, that have made beasts of them^ 

 selves, or any other precieuses morceaux of the 

 oleaginous, porpoise-like breeds of our acquaint- 

 ance. So fiir do we carrj' this our feeling, that, 

 fond as we are of music, we never could wholly 

 divest ourselves of prejudice even agains| the first 

 and finest of our modern vocalists, solely because 

 she is Grisij nor would any consideration tempt 

 us to select a rib of the unctuous name of Fatrnia. 



However, joking apart, we are not insensible to 

 the value of" specimens of early niaiurity in quad- 

 rupeds, mind; and we hold that a disposition to 

 fatten, by cattle or sheep when young, is, and 

 ought to be, one of the first qualifications in the 

 eye of a farmer; nor are we by any means incon- 

 sistent in asserting, that wirhout attention to this 

 parlicu'ar, the toil and trouble of the breeder are 

 thrown away. It is the abuse, not the judicious 

 use of this quality, at which we have been noint- 

 ing; for though there are some animals which it is 

 next to impossible to fatten; j-et there are others, 

 which, by dint of stuffing and cramming, may, 

 even in the hands of an unskilful feeder, be made 

 to appear better than they really are; for lal, like 

 charity, covereth a multitude of faults. I would 

 instance the common breed of pigs in this couniy. 

 They will get as fat as most others of their spe- 

 cies; but it is all fiit The bacon is very fair, to 

 outward appearance, but what is the substratum? 

 It is deficient \n flesh; without a due proportion of 

 which, the main ingredient of a perfect animal is 

 wanting. A layer of bacon, more or less thick, is 

 laid on to bare bones, or little better; whereas a 



Berkshire pig, to all appearance not half so well 

 made up. is infinitely superior in point of quality, 

 because it combines a full and fair quantum of 

 meat, on wfii(di to apply any reasonable share of 

 lilt. There is a good and solid foundation to be- 

 irin upon. A fi'ieud of ours once took the pains to 

 illustrate, by exp>erinicnt, the deceptive nature of 

 this spvrious coating of fat, for so it may not im- 

 properly be termed. We admit that this illustra- 

 tion of his is somewhat overstrained; still, it fur- 

 nishes an useful hint as to the propriety of due at- 

 tention to lean as well as fiit; and, at all events, 

 proves the truth of the old adage, "all is not gold 

 that glitters." He fatted a pig on oil-cake alone. 

 The animal, to all appearance, did well — in my 

 friend'b own words, -'got fitt in no tune;" and very 

 fat, too — but what sort of fat was it? You shall 

 hear. On being exposed to the fire, it melted 

 away, leaving nothinc but sheer grease! And 

 yet, when living, he was thought "a very pretty 

 pig" by all the neighbors! 



The North Devons sold on Wednesday, the 

 13lh, at Holkham, (the particulars of which we 

 shall now proceed briefly to detail,) were beauti- 

 fiil specimens of quality of meat, and symmetr}- of 

 form; and exhibit a striking [iroof of what may be 

 done with good blood in skilful and intelligent 

 hands. Four bullocks of this very handsome 

 breed, three years' old off, were justly extolled as 

 perfect pictures, and fetched £36 each. Several 

 others averaged £34 each. 



The two-shear Down wethers (splendid speci- 

 mens ofthat truly valuable breed of sheep) fetch- 

 ed as high as £4 8s.; and the shearlings of the 

 same breed £3. 6s. Twenty pigs attracted great 

 attention, and sold for £5 6s. 8d,. each. On the 

 whole, it must liave been highly satisfactory to 

 the noble and venerable Earl of Leicester,* to see 

 his labors so well appreciated by the many excel- 



* It may not be superfluous information to most 

 American readers, to say that this is the title, or 

 nick-name under which the illustrious name of 

 Coke is now disguised and hidden. The Norfolli far- 

 mer, Thomas William Coke — whose great agricultu- 

 ral improvements, and labors, were as valuable to his 

 country as profitable to himself, and whose well-earned 

 fame had extended as far as agriculture was prized, 

 and whose name belonged to the whole world — refused, 

 when it was ofiered at a former time, to permit his 

 name to be exchanged for an ea,rs title. But recent- 

 ly, whether from uxoriousness, or the commencing 

 imbecility of old age, he has yielded his consent, and 

 henceforth will be comparatively scarcely recognized 

 as the Earl of Leicester. As he has consented to be 

 thus degraded, and to forfeit the proud name for vv'hich 

 he had acquired more true honor and respect, than 

 can be justly claimed for any other now borne by 

 living man, it would have been better than an un- 

 meaning, though ancient title, if he had assumed one 

 having reference to the labors of his long and useful life, 

 and the grounds of his great public services and fame. 

 Thus, it. would have been somewhat less degrading to 

 Mr. Coke, if, instead of the earldom of Leicester, he 

 had received the title of "Earl of Turnips," or "Duke 

 (Dux) of South-Down Sheep," or oven the lesser dig- 

 nitv of 'Baron of Red Clover." — Ed. Far. Reg. 



