1838] 



Jb^ARMERS' REGISTER. 



405 



are planted, that the fanner can sow the lupine for j little from dronirlu, provided it has rain about the 



bciiinniiiLT of July, which most commonly iiap- 

 pens. The corn is planted on larfre ridires wiih 

 hoes, and although it is scattered with a great 

 deal of economy, more is nevertheless put in, than 

 is suffered to remain — this is done to provide 

 ao-ainst the attacks ot" insects, which often destroy 

 itT^os soon as it l)egins to sprout — when it is out of 

 harm's way, the superfluous plants are taken out, 

 and each plant is removed trom the other about 

 10 or 11 inches on the rows, but each row is dis- 

 tant about 20 inches or two leet— it is moulded up 

 twice during its growth; while it is growing it fur- 

 nishes an abundant and excellent llirage, of which 

 the cattle are very Ibnd. The Indian corn is a 

 <Treat resource to the people, and furnishes an ex- 

 cellent aliment. Mixed with wheat in bread, it 

 ti-ives the bread a reddish-yellow appearance, but 

 does not injure the taste. The peasantry live 

 chiefly on Indian corn, either in the shape oi'fari- 

 nata, or pollenta. To make farinata, the rneal is 

 thrown into a kettle or porridge pot, containing 

 boiling water, and seasoned with butter, oil, or 

 broth, (couillon,) and salt; it is then stirred for five 

 or six minutes, when the fire is withdrawn. It is 

 served up as a soup, or thick couilli; the pollenta is 

 made like the farinata, but without grease, and is 

 more thick, so that in withdrawing it from the 

 fire, it should be of a solid consistency; it is then 

 cut with a thread, and placed on a gridiron over 

 burning coals for some minutes. These two modes 

 of using the Indian meal, have the advantage of 

 rendering very little bread necessary; for this sub- 

 stance, without having too much taste, has never- 

 theless enough to render it palatable, without any 

 other accompanying food. It is probable that it 

 would be more nourishing, if it was better cooked, 

 for the laboring people complain, that it fills them 

 without strengthening them, while on the other 



I'ertilizing tlic earth, by burying which, is con 

 ceived by ail to be absolutely necessary. 



Second year. — Forages. — After wheat harvest 

 of the second year, the land is turned up afresh, 

 in the months of July and August, and the fo- 

 rage crop IS planted in September. The two 

 kinds of Ibrage crops most in use, are a mixture of 

 lupines, flax, turnips, and the annual trefoil, or lu- 

 pinella; it may appear strange to observe flax 

 ranked among the forage crops, but its grain is 

 very abundant, and easily gathered, the plant en- 

 dures the winter extremely well, grows quickly, 

 and furnishes an abundance of leaves, of which 

 the cattle are fond. As the lupin grows much fas- 

 ter than the flax or the turnip, it is pulled up to- 

 wards the end of autumn. W hen it is well grown, 

 and after being washed, it is given to the cattle 

 that are fond of it — notwithstanding its bitterness. 

 The flax and the turnips, which are choked by 

 its growth, prosper as soon as it is taken away; 

 during the winter, these last are drawn as they 

 are wanted. The flax is mowed in the spring, 

 and towards the middle or end of Ma j', all has 

 disappeared. Among the turnips that are plant- 

 ed, not one half ripen, being relied upon, more 

 for their leaves, than for their roots, in the nourish- 

 ment of" cattle. There are many varieties in Luc- 

 ca; those that are cultivated are large and long, 

 and of a yellow skin, such as the turnips which 

 are called English turnips. In the planes of Pes- 

 cia, they are Targe, flat, and colored red and rose, 

 the produce of the seed removed from one place 

 to another, does not resemble the plant from which 

 the seed was taken. 



In Parma and Milan, more turnips are planted 

 than in Tuscany; in the two provinces, with the 

 exception of the rice-fields, the assolement is for 



two years, and consists of wheat, turnips, and In- ^ _ 



dian corn; or if it is prolonged to three y<"ars, it is hand. Count Rumlbrd remarks that Indian corn, 

 in order to plant beans or turnips, twice in the \ well-prepared, is the most wholesome and nou- 



course of the third year, lor the purpose of bury 

 ing them in the nature of the severcio. The pro- 

 digious quantity of turnips, which covers these 

 rich provinces, must have been very agreeable to 

 Arthur Young, when he travelled over them. 

 The lupinella, or annual trefoil, (trifolium incarna- 

 tum, LinnEsi,) is one of the most beautiful plants, 

 which is cultivated as a forage crop ; its beautiful 

 carnation oblong flowers, the deep color of its foli- 

 age, and the vigor of its vegetation, make it the 

 ornament of the fields; it is planted in September, 

 and mowed between the middle of April, and the 

 middle of May, sometimes it is intermixed with 

 lupines, which are taken up in autumn, its fbraiie 

 is more abundant than that of the flax, but it is 

 mowed only once. 



Third year. — Indian corn. — After the forage 

 crop is gathered in, the ground is completely turn- 

 ed up with the spade; this work is commenced 

 about the middle of April and is continued during 

 the month of May; the preparation of the (ground 

 with the spade always precedes the planting of 

 Indian corn, which constitutes the crop for the 

 third year. It is planted during the three months 

 of April, May and June, although it is sometimes 

 planted as late as July, on moist spots, but there 

 it is of a particular variety, which grows more 

 quickly but produces less, and is called sessantino, 

 because it ripens in sixty days. Indian corn plant- 

 ed in the plane, about the end of April, suffers 



rishing of all grains. 



From tlie American Farmer. 

 PUMPKIN SEED OIL. 



To the President of the Hampshire, Franklin 

 and Hampden ^Agricultural Society. 

 Dear sir — As a member of your society, I deem 

 it to be my duty to communicate to you the result 

 of an experiment that I have made on pumpkin 

 seeds, in the linseed oil mill. 



A number of my neighbors furnished me this 

 year vvith seeds, which, together with my own, 

 made about nine bushels, and on making the ex- 

 periment, I found that they produced about six 

 gallons of oil, and probably when the experiment 

 IS tried upon a large scale, they will produce 

 more. I tried the oil on the screw of the oil press, 

 and find that it answers an equal purpose, to pre- 

 vent friction, as sweet oil, and of course, it will be 

 good to use on the axeltrees of carriages that are 

 made of iron, either alone, or mixed with tar, to 

 prevent fi-iction. I have also tried it in the lamp, 

 and find it to be as inflammable as lamp oil, and 

 without the ofl'ensive smell of that oil; and the light 

 emitted from it is of a greenish-yellow tinge, and 

 is easier to the eyes, and, especially, when reflect- 

 ed from white paper, than the weak glimmering 

 light of a candle, and of course the light is easier 



