398 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



JlllV 



1826- 



have no cattle to be comparec! to them in the f cept where land is reri/ rfear and labour rcci/cfteajs. 

 United Kingdom, for purilii of blood, for uptitude I have recourse to it this moment from necessity, 



to feed,for hardiness as well a.sfor the richness of 

 their milk, and/or work when required ; as I have 

 repeatedly found, by a variety of exppriments upon 

 my own farms and elsewhere. That they may 

 answer in America as well as they are now uni- 

 versally acknowledged to do in Bigland, I most 

 cordially hope, and my wishes will then be grati- 

 fied." 



The following remarks are by Ddctor Mease, 

 of Philadelphia, who has paid mucl attention to 

 the qualities of the various breeds which have 

 within a few years been imported inti this country. 

 " I cannot conclude without saying a few words 

 on the North Devons. The merits of this breed 

 are well known, and properly esti?iated in Eng- 

 land. They are good milkers, and make excel- 

 lent beef, and the best working oxen of any breed, 

 walking as fast as a horse. Lord Somorville did 

 all the ploughing of a large farm with them. He 

 and Mr Conyers have given the fullest account of 

 their good qualities. Mr Coke deserves the ever- 

 lasting thanks of every true friend to agriculture 

 of the United States, for his generous present to 

 Maryland of his improved specimens of the breed; 

 and I look forward with pleasure to the time when 

 their descendants shall be diffused throughout the 

 farming districts of the country." 



The fullest reliance may be placed on the truth 

 of the following e.xtract, which will be readily un- 

 derstood, and duly appreciated by the farmers in 

 this country : 



Communication Board of Agriculture, London, 

 vol. 4. — Ten North Devon cows of Mr Conyers 

 produced, on an average, five dozen pounds of 

 butter per week in the summer, and two dozen in 



the winter ; or in other words, 218 lbs. per cow. 



His 30 cows, in 1802, averaged an annual income of 

 £1-3 14a. or .$00,52 per head. 



although my crops of grass are much better than 

 most of my neighbours, inconsequence of my land 

 having been deeply ploughed. It is absurd in A- 



but they aftarwards became so convinced of it^ 

 utility and importance, and were so desirous of be- 

 coming purchasers that another importation of the 

 same number as the first, was mads from Spain in 

 177.3. The Saxons have now not onlv wool hut 



merica to have recourse to the expedients adopted j sheep for exportation, of a quality even superior to 

 m countries where land is dear, aniihe population | the best of Ihe same articles produced in Spain. 



surcharged. 



" From a large field of mangel wurtzel, which 

 had been very thickly dibbled, a vast number of 

 small roots with ample leaves have been taken. 



" You are ingenious in the theory by which you 

 would account for the advantage of slirrins deep- 

 LY between rows of growing vegetables. I deny 

 the fact. The momentart/ effect is favourable, but : kind of vvool grown in Europe." 



Rees' Cyclopedia says " the price of tlie best sort 

 [of Saxon wool] is greater than that of the finest 

 Spanish wool ; a sufficient proof of the estimation 

 in which it is held by the manufacturers. It is 

 better suited for the finest kerseymeres, and the 

 more delicate articles of the woollen trade, as it 

 can be spun to a greater length than any other 



the ultimate influence of deep stirring is not use- 

 ful.f I liave raised, I believe, more weight of mat- 

 ter than any man in America, from an acre. I 

 have at this time in despite of the extreme drought 

 and heat, as fine mangel wurtzel as I have ever i 

 had. I plough 13 to 16 inches deep." 



t JVbte by the Editor. — We derived our ideas on 

 the subject of deep tillage to growing vegetables 

 from books of husbandry, American as well as 

 English, which, however, may be incorrect. If we , 

 had leisure and room we might quote a number, 

 but will confine ourselves to an extract from Cob- 



There can be no doubt but sheep of the Saxon, 

 or [wliat is the same thing] the Merino breed, 

 may be bred to as great perfection in New Eng- 

 land as in any part of the world. R. R. Livings- 

 ton, of New York, who has v.ritten an excellent. 

 " Essay on Sheep," and who derived much of his 

 information on the subject from his own experi- 

 ence in sheep farming, says, 



"For my own part, I believe that the change in 

 the Merino sheep brought into any northern coun- 

 try provided they are plentifully fed, will be for 

 tlie better, and particularly into this state [New 



NEW ENGLAND FAR MER. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, JULY 7, 1826. 



INDIAN CORN FOR FODDER, SOILING 

 CATTLE, STIRRING THE SOIL DEEPLY 

 AMONG GROWING CROPS, &c. 

 Extracts from a letter from a distinguished Ag- 

 riculturist in Pennsylvania, to the Editor of the 

 New England Farmer. 



" I observe a notice upon sowing Indian Corn 

 for "fodder," independent of the farinaceous mat- 

 ter.* I have often so used it. I have this season 

 put in a quantity of it. I yesterday sowed six 

 bushels on an acre and a quarter. I am sure it is 

 not too much. I have within a few days sown 

 several acres of old sward, which had not been 

 ploughed for fifteen years with Indian corn. A 

 slight dressing of stable manure was applied to 

 the surface — the corn was sown thereon, and turn- 

 ed under with a very shallow furrow — the land 

 was rolled and after briskly harrowed. I am now 

 putting Indian corn on a piece of rye land, from 

 which the crop has just been taken. The corn is 

 sown as in the former instance and turned over as 

 before. 



" Mr QuiNCY soiled his cattle with Indian corn 

 some years since, if I mistake not. Y'ou are aware 

 that I am oonosed to the soiling system in toto, ex- 



* See page 374 of the current volume of the N. 

 fi. Fanner. 



bett's Ameiican Gardener (paragraph 187) " The ^'°'^^] «'t'ere the pastures are good, the air and 



best protector against frequent droun-htis frequent ^'^''^''^ ?"■"&, the winter's cold, and the summer 



digging, or, in fields, ploughing, and always deep. ^^'^S*^ furnished with shade. I should have pre- 



Hence will arise & fermentation am\ dews. The " ' 



ground will have moisture in it, in spite of all 



drought, which the hard unmoved ground will 



not." Mr Cobbett is here speaking of" IVatering 



Plants," which he condemns, in general, but says 



" When plants are covered by lights or are in a 



AoKse, or are covered with clotlis in the nighttime, 



they may nood nuiterinir^ aud in euch cases, it must 



be given them by hand." 



We would sooner place confidence in the author- 

 ity of our correspondent, from whose communica- 

 tion the above is extracted, tlian in any dicta of 

 Mr Cobbett, who with all his ingenuity is often 

 eccentric and sometimes erroneous in his notions 

 about agriculture, &c. All writers on this subject 

 however, agree, if we mistake not, in the utility of 

 frequent stirring the ground among growing veg- 

 etables, in cases of drought. The question is 

 about the depth of such stirring 



sumed this in reasoning a priori and I have found 

 my theory confirmed by actual experiment." 



We wish our farmers would have so great a re- 

 gard to their own interest as to reflect that it costs 

 as much to keep a poor animal of a breed of liftle 

 value, as a good one of a superior race. A little 

 attention to this subject would not only be the means 

 of rewarding those who make exertions and incur 

 expenses to improve our domestic animals, but 

 would prove a substantial and invaluable benefit to 

 the interests of agriculture. 



THE CANKER WORM. 



The Massachusetts Agricultural Journal, vol. iiii. 

 No. 4 contains some remarks on the Canker worm, 

 by the Hon. John Lowell, from which the follow- 

 ing is extracted. 



" I had the turf dug in around sixty apple trees, and 



This is an im- ^^^ '^^"''h 'aid smooth. I then look three hogsheads of 



portant and disputed point in husbandry, which we «#''e or air slacked lime, and strewed it an inch thick 



should be glad to see elucidated by our correspon 

 dent ; and others who like him are able to illumi- 

 nate any subject of the kind to which their atten- 

 tion is directed. 



SAXONY SHEEP. 



We hope that the attention of wealthy and en- 

 tnrprizing cultivators will be turned to the notice 

 of the proposed sale of Saxony slieep inserted in 

 this day's paper. Those who neglect the golden 

 opportunity now about to be presented, of adding 

 some of these invaluable animals to their farming 

 stock will probably hereafter regret the omission. 

 There is no probability that another flock of Sax- 

 ons will soon be imported, so carefully selected or 

 of equal value to that which it is proposed to sell 

 at Brigliton, on the 13th inst. as advertised. 



The Saxony sheep dre descended from Spanish 

 Merinos. The government of Saxony received 

 from Spain in 1765, one hundred rams and two 

 hundred owes, of the best blood. During a few 

 years, the improvement of the Spanish cross was 

 opposed by the common prejudices of the farmers ; 



round tny trees, to the extent of about two or three feet 

 from the roots, so that the whole diameter of the open- 

 ing was from four to six feet. 

 I " 1 tarred these trees as well as the others, and al- 

 I though I had worms or grubs on most that were not 

 limed, I did not catch a single grub where the trees 

 were limed. 



"I do not mean to speak with confidence. 1 am how- 

 ever strongly encouraged to believe the remedy perfu t 

 It was ascertained by Professor Peck, that (he insert 

 seldom descended into the ground at a greater distant e 

 than three or four feet from the trunk, and to the depth 

 of four inches, or thai the greater part come within that 

 distance. The lime is known to be destructive of all 

 animal substances, and I have little doubt that it actu- 

 ally decomposes and destroys Ihe insect in the chrysalis 

 state, at least, 1 hope this is th« case. 



" I here arc many reasons which should encourage Ihe 

 repetition of this experiment. The digging round Ihe 

 trees is highly useful to them, while tarring is very in- 

 jurious. The expi nse is not great. A man can dig 

 round fifty large trees in one day. 1 he lime is a most 



