150 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



In my trials clover has not succeeded well 

 when sown with the large Poland oat. in conse- 

 quence of the oat i^rowing so thick as to smother 

 the clover. 



Barley Trom its productiveness and its agreeing 

 well wiih hogs mighi be occasionally sown in one 

 oJ the fields m |)lact; ol rye.* 



Hogs make much manure where they are fat- 

 tened, and (if they are not I'aliened in a field) 

 their manure bhould be hauled out to be applied to 

 the corn crop. 



It will be perceived that 1 have not included 

 the very popular root crops in my rotation upon a 

 farm where poik is the surplus; and I yive ilie 

 Ibllowing reasons lor rejecting ihem. They are 

 too uncertain. 



The turnip is the most uncertain of all our 

 crops. So uncertain, that a good crop cannot be 

 raised more than one year in tour. The beet, 

 carrot and parsnip have generally been tolerably 

 certain crops, until last season, when the whole oi 

 ihem were destroyed by the blisier Ily and the 

 grass-hopper. Even it they were certain they 

 require loo much labor ai a season when it can- 

 not be spared from the corn crop, Irish potatoes, 

 though li-ee from the last objection, is not from 

 the first. The whole crops were destroyed by 

 the blister fly, (cantharis viiala,; last year. 



The only root that I would recommend for its 

 productiveness, profit and certainty upon the pork 

 larm, is the artichoke (helianlhus tuberosum,) 

 which is easily raised and very much relished by 

 hogs. The apple orchard is a proper place (or 

 planting them. The hogs that are not intended 

 lor market may be kept upon them most of the 

 winter; they afford abundance oT Ibod and the 

 rooting of the hogs in the lall and winter would 

 destroy many of those insects that are so injurious 

 to an apple orchard. 



In parts ot the country where mast is plenty 

 the artichoke would be very valuable to be used 

 those years that the mast liiils. Should the arti- 

 chokes not be heeded they receive no injury from 

 being left in the ground, as they will continue to 

 grow and increase, and may be saved until Irom 

 the failure of the mast they may be wanted. 



Samuel JD. Martin. 



THE FARIH AND FARMING OF THE REV. J. H. 

 TURNER — NO II. 



For llie Farmers' Register, 



In a former communication, when treating of a 

 sound economy, that most indispensable appen- 

 dage to good management, in the hurry of writ- 

 ing, I omitted an illustration which I will now 

 supply. I intended to state, that I keep no over- 



* Last year 1 sowed a small piece of millet, which 

 produced at the rate of 60 bushels to the acre. I tried 

 some hogs that were in a pen, and they readily ate the 

 heads ot it. If this article should succeed equal to 

 my expectations, it will be a valuable article in our 

 rotations upon the hog farm, taking the place of the 

 rye and producing more than double the acreable pro- 

 duct. Some, left in the field for the purpose, was 

 found to stand up well and retain its seed in a sound 

 state the whole summer and fall. It produced not only 

 more grain but more straw than any of the small grains 

 that we are using for hogs, and has the advantage that 

 it can be gathered by hogs with less labor than any 

 other grain that we raise for them. 



I seer. I once had one, but he, though a very honest 

 and respectable man, gave me more trouble than 

 all the negroes put together, 1 constantly had to 

 do the very things which 1 paid him to do. It is 

 a very rare thing that the hired man has any 

 eyes except lor ins own interest. Accordingly, I 

 had to tee every thing, and tell the overseer about 

 it, and direct him to do it ; and this gave me more 

 trouble than to do it myself. 



These overseers, besides, are generally very 

 expensive things. In addition to their wages, 

 their lamilies, if they have any, must be support- 

 ed. An extra horse must be furnished lor the 

 man to ride, and an extra cook for the lady, and 

 an extra cow lor the family ; and when these, 

 together with the multitude of other nameless 

 'extras, are taken into the account, the aggregate 

 becomes very Ibrniidable in the catalogue of ex- 

 penses. Accordingly, it is no uncommon thing 

 ior the overseer to become rich much faster than 

 the employer. Indeed I have several limes 

 known hiin to acquire a handsome (briune, when 

 the employer lost one. On large estates, it may 

 be necessary in some instances to have an over- 

 seer, but in ordinary cases, I do think it would be 

 better to repose the necessary confidence in a 

 faithful servant, and thus invest him with the 

 authority and responsibility of a head man. On 

 small liarms there is no doubt on this subject. 



Connected with this, I will, with the risk of 

 " bringing an old house over my head," say, that 

 the farmers' wife ought in ordinary cases to dis- 

 pense with her housekeeper. Whilst her hus- 

 band is his ov.'n manager in his proper depart- 

 ment, she ought to make her influence lelt in all 

 the departments of her proper sphere. Instead 

 iherelbre of paying another woman to carry her 

 keys, to lock and unlock the meat house, to visit 

 the kitchen or dairy, or to superintend the poultry 

 establishment, she ought to do these things her- 

 self Nor let any active healthy woman (and 

 these are the very women lor larmers' wives) 

 teel that in undertaking these things she will en- 

 cumber herself with over much serving. It is 

 true that these duties, if faithfully perlbrmed, will 

 make it necessary for her to slay pretty much at 

 home ; bui then industry, connected with early 

 rising, and especially a tact lor business, will 

 make the whole comparatively easy. 



I once knew a woman who had a remarkably 

 kind and aflectionate husband, but he was an 

 easy " good lor nothing" sort of a creature — would 

 sit in the house all day, kiss his wife and caress 

 his children, but would do almost nothing in the 

 way of business. This good man's affairs, as 

 may be supposed, regularly became more and 

 more disordered. His estate, which was at first 

 an ample one, got into ruin, and a heavy debt 

 added greatly to their difficulties. In this state 

 of things, this good man, but bad manager, died. 

 The aflectionate widow was almost overwhelm- 

 ed with sorrow. Here she was left with an estate 

 in disorder, with a family dependent upon her 

 for a support, and with a large debt for which she 

 had to provide, and all this in the very midst of 

 aflliction and bad health. At length, when her 

 grief had exhausted itself, she rallied her ener- 

 gies, and showed what she really was. A com- 

 bination of circumstances now called her true 

 character into action. She mounted her horse, 

 and rode over her farm j the broken down fences 



