34 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[August 26, 



other nntive cadle, so far as regarded ecus, with 

 some of the English hroeds. I iiimed at doing 

 tliis with strict imparliahly. Ailcr stating- the 

 very estraordiuary, and till then unheard of pro- 

 duct in hotter, of a native New I'.ngland cow, 

 (Mr Oakcs') 1 gave the i>roduct of a still more 

 extraordinary cow, that of Mr Cramp, of the old 

 Sus=ex English breed. I compared the common 

 products of ~^hole dairies of English cows, with 

 the common products of wlwle dairies of riative 

 ■American cows. Six of these were in Massachu- 

 setts ; — and judging from their products, surely 

 not selected. This im[)artialily, on my part, 

 should have prevented the remark of my res- 

 pected friends, the Editors of the Mass. A. Re- 

 pository— " that it is not precisely correct to 

 compare individual exceptions in our country, 

 with general and average statements of whole 

 counties in England." Besides, four of the six j 

 dairies in Massachusetts were reported by | 

 Agricultural Societies, r.iii! evidpniiy represent I 

 the average products of the dairies'in counties,] 

 or in districts of considerable extent. — My com- 1 

 parative statements are in my first letter.* The 

 lirst statement was derived from the Tours of 

 Arthur Young, whose character as an agwcul- ' 

 tural writer is of high standing, and perhaps has ! 

 Bot been surpassed by that of any man in Eng- j 

 land. He, I believe, was the first person who' 

 travelled over his own country, to nliserve, and 

 record for publication, whatever seemed impor- 

 tant r.laling to its husbandry, whether this was 

 good or bail, with a view to correct the hitler, 

 and to hold up the former for imitation. With 

 the same view — the improvement of the hus- 

 bandry ofhis own country— he travellrdihrough 

 others, particularly France, Spain and Italy ; and 

 on his return, presented his countrymen with 

 the fruit of his discoveries and oliseri atiom. Bo- 

 sides his farming tour*:, he published an exten- 

 sive work entitled "Annals of Agncullure ;" 

 containing hi.s own enlightened views on sub- 

 jects directly, or.iii their consequences, bearing 

 on agriculture, and the communications of niP- 

 meroiis correspondents, practical farmers and 

 others, under their proper signatures — a circum- 

 stance which added to ihe value of their com 

 munications. These are comprised, if I mist ike 

 not, in about 40 octavo volumes; but very kw 

 ot which, indeed, have fallen in my way. A 

 man thus employed could not personally .attend 

 to the best management of a farm ; and Young's 

 doubthss, was not in the best order. This gen- 

 tleman Mr Powel has attempted to discredit, l)y 

 calling him " a bad farmer ;' as if the ill man- 

 agem^nt of his own farm were an evidence of 

 incapacity to jiirlge of others, or detrartpd from 

 his character for veracity in describing the.n 

 He was, in fact, a practical farnier, and al the 

 same time a (iroficient in lili'raliire and science ; 

 as ills numerous v%ritings will show. He con- 

 tinued his labour's in this uiy ; and in 1792 

 whin Ihe British Uoaid of Agiicnllure was in- 

 stituted, in consider itinn of his long and distin- 

 guished sprvices in that line, and of "his eminent 

 qualili.-ations for the ofhre, be was appointed 

 the Secretary, with a hanilsome salary. 



From Mr Young's Tours, 1 st.itpdj that Ihe 

 medium product of Engliwl'i d,,,rie", when hp 

 wrole, was only Uvo firkins of buiier. being I 12 

 pounds, a year, per oow, and cheese aboiil one 

 third in value of the butler; althou?h the ave- 



rage quantity of milk a day, was five gallons per 

 cow; that in one district where some ''good 

 cows" gave from 6 to 7 gallons of milk a day, 

 the dairies averaged but 2^ firkins, or 140 pounds 

 per cow ; and in another district, 3 firkins, or 

 168 pounds of butler, a year. Such quantities 

 of milk, to yield no more butter, must have been 

 been very thin ; and compared wilh the milk 

 of Oakes' and Cramp's cows, like milk and 

 water. Five gallons of milk a day, per cow, 

 would be 140 quarts a week ; ami supposing it 

 continued for 13 weeks, would yield, al 6 pounds 

 of butler a week, requiring above 23 quarts to a 

 pound, ...... 78/6s 



the head of the fog [fall-feed] in autumn, and 

 generally hay most of Ihe winter." 



I shall pursue the subject in some additional 

 'el'ers. T. I'lCKEKING. 



Salem, Avgvst IC, 1825. 



13 weeks, with less milk, at 4lbs. a week, 52 

 13 weeks, with stiii less milk, averaging > „ 

 3 lbs. a week . - . - ^ 



In Ihe year 169 pounds ... 1G9 



In these cases, I suppose Ihe butler making 

 season to last about nine monllis;* Ihe milk aii<l 

 butter |psse;iing materially after the first ihree 

 months from the time of the cow's calving. If 

 a cow g«ve 5gallons of milk a da\ , for 9 months 

 or 39 weeks, (he whole quantity would be 5460 

 quarts, which divided by 168 (ihe number of 

 pounds of buller it produced) would give 32 

 quarts and a [lint of milk loi each pound of Iml- 

 ter.--I am inclined lo think that on a mediiim. 

 from 10 lo 12 quarts of milk, of our common (la- { 

 tive cows, yield a pountt ol Imlter. I I 



In another district visited bv Mr Young, a qai- i 

 ry of middling cows gave from 2 to 4 gallon! of | 

 milk a day, yielding from 4 lo 7 pounds of but- j 

 ter a week, averaging 12 quarts of milk a iliy, ; 

 84 quarts a week, and 5i pounds of butler — 

 This milk, so much less in quanlily than in ihe ■ 

 former instances, must have been much richer;! 

 still, howpver, requiring 15 qu iris to a pound of 

 bultcr. — The Lincolnshire breed of cows, of 

 which Ihe best gave on an average, 6 gallons ofj 

 milk a day, and 7 or 8 pounds of butter a week, 

 requited from 21 lo 24 quarts (jf milk for each 

 pound of butter. For what lenglh of time these 

 best cows gave such quantities of milk and but- 

 ler. Young does not mention: but cerlainlv it i 

 could be only for a portion of Ihe milkin£r sea- ' 

 son, while Ihe (laslures and Ihe cows ueie in 

 the best condition for a dairy. j 



Marshall, also a distinguished agricultural wri- 1 

 ter, followed Young, alter an interval of about! 

 20 years. He linished his survey of Yorkshire! 

 in 1787. From thai county great qiianlilies of 

 buller are sent lo Ihe London inarkel. A good 

 cow, Mirshall says, was calculalod lo yield 3 fir- 

 kins, or 168 pounds of luiller by the year, and 

 56 pounds ol skim milk cheese. But he adds, 

 that taking a dairy round, 21- firkins, or 10 lbs. 

 per cow, were esteemed a good |)roducc. 

 I In the account given in my letter No. 1. of 

 English cows, I saiil they were, in general, larg- 

 -er than ours, and fed in pastures vastly superior 

 '—so rich that 2 acres, U, and ofte'n 1 acre, 

 sufficed lor a cow during Ihe whole season. I 

 inow ad.l from Mar.-iiall's Yorkshire, a fact which 

 j merits observation. "Here (says he) as in all 

 coimlries where ^'•"''i^ gives place lo \\\f dairy. 

 , milked coxes are indulged iKith the best Ihe farm 

 ^,Tt,'ili flj:urd : the best land for pasture in summer. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



CULTURE OF CORN AND POTATOES. 



East Bridgereater, August 23, 1 825. 

 Sir. — The following is Ihe result of some ex- 

 [lerimeiits 1 h.>\o m.ide upon the culture ol In- 

 dian Corn and Poiaioes, some years since 



which may be relied upon as authentic: 



About the year 1802 many of mv neighbours 

 bad a belief, that if Ihe stalks of Indian Corn 

 were cut at an earlier period, the ears would fill 

 I better. I had my doubts, but was determined to 

 be satisfied. I had at'out one acre and a quarter 

 near my house, on which I made Ihe experi- 

 ^ mcni. I began lo cut Ihe stalks as soon as the 

 ears began to fill, and continued to cut until the 

 'stalks wfre almo«t ii«elp<s for foddpr. When { 

 h.iivesled, the fiisl cull ng bad large cobs, but 

 small shrivelleil giain, hardly north hariesling- 

 iht List very |dumi>, full ears. I found a small 

 increase of the grain alter Ihe branches of the 

 stalk were entirely dry, but iiol sufficient to bal- 

 ance Ihe injury done to the fn(|<ler ; but Ihe fod- 

 der that was cut when Ihe branches were first 

 dry, \\as about as good as n hen I first began to 

 cut. 



in Ihe year l."05 we had a severe drought from 

 the latter part of June to the middle of August. 

 The [lotatoe lops were dry ; supposing llial their 

 growth was al end, and they would he injurect 

 by remaining in the ground, some of my nVigh- 

 bours began to dig them ; 1 dug about a quar- 

 ter of mine, and. as other business clnin,pd rny 

 attention, 1 dug no more until near Ibe middle 

 of Octolier, when 1 had more than double the 

 quanlily from Ibe «ame number of hill-, and they 

 were much more palaleable. The next year I 

 planted some for early u-e on a piece of dry 

 warm land. The lalier end of .\ugust the Ions 

 were dry, and as I had other potatoes Ihal were 

 larger, a few bills were left until ihe 28lh of 

 October, when I dug those that were left, and 

 found them murb larger ihan they were Ihe last 

 of .Auirusl. Since that time I leave my potatoes 

 in Ihe ground until I Ihink they iviil siiffer inju- 

 ry from frost ; — and forbear culling stalks until 

 the branches are entirely dry. 



Yours, "&,c. AGRICOLA. 

 P. S. One of my neighbours, who was called 

 the best piacliral firmer in our vicinity, made 

 a similar experiment Ihe same year wilh a sim- 

 ilar result. A^ 



From Ihe London Farmer^i Journal. 



* N, K. Farmer i\o. 'Mi. vol. lU. 



j * II appears to have- been the |)raclice. in F.ajlisli 

 I dailies in jjeneial, lo let their cqws go dry, belMxe« iwo 

 I end tl^ifc months. 



ON DIPPING SHEEP. 



Yorl^shire, Jan. 13, 1825. 

 Sir, — As no one has favoured your corres- 

 pondent B. in your journal id' the Isl ult. wilh a 

 method of dipping sheep and lag«, 1 have pre- 

 sumed lo state my method ; i. e., first protidea 

 I tub 40 incbe-i louir at Ihe top. 36 inches long at 

 llhe bottom, 23 inchps deep, 18 inches wide at 

 I the lop, atjd 13 a! the bottom; such a tub vrill • 

 ! contain a 20-slonc (160 1h>.) sheep; then pre- 

 I pare Ibe wash ; say for 25 .^heep cr lambs, :i lbs. 

 'of soft soap dissolved in two gallons of soft »•> 



I 



