- .-r-.- -v^ T I-* " 



6 



g()c JTarmcf^g illontl)b ili0itor. 



tlie modern improvements in agiieuilure. VVlio 

 would have tlioiii^lit ii jiossible, n lew years ago, 

 tliat f{as-\vorks would ^ield a powerCul manure? 

 We now know on what the exhaustion of our 

 Boil dwpends: it is, the most |irecious ingre- 

 dients of tlie soil, v^hi(,■ll we remove in the 

 crops, and tlius impoverisli our fields. J5y ana- 

 lysinj: the nslies of plants-, we learn what we must 

 replace in order to restore the original tertiliiy of 

 the soil. 



" Africa and Peru supply us with the mineral 

 elements of bjead and flesh, in guano; and 

 chemical works tiow produce the other iijineral 

 suhsiunces which are indispensable lo turnips 

 and potatoes. (tJhcers.) It is evident to all that 

 the present age has entered npun a new jmth ; 

 we have now to do with the real, not with the 

 imaginary value of manure. (Ajiplanse.) As we 

 have now learned how to measure the value of 

 nn acid or an alkali, so we can now ascertain the 

 true value of a manure. This, therefore, is pre- 

 cisely what we Inust expend on the soil, in order 

 lo obtain a profl: for the capital of tlie farmei- 

 consists of his labor and his ujanure. Much, 

 certainly, remains to be done. The mineral 

 food of the plants of all countries must be as- 

 certained by the analysis of their ashes; we 

 must determine which substances are essential, 

 which accidenlal; we nuist endeavor to finri 

 out in which plant one ingredient or another 

 may be replaced, as lime by magnesia, or jiotash 

 by soda." 



The English papers announce the death of 

 Lord Western, oi' Felix Hall, Essex, lie was in 

 his 78th year. M" was a devoted patron of agri- 

 culture, and as such, his name will long rank 

 with those of Sfiencer, Coke, and others of his 

 country. His Ihnn has for several years been a 

 leading object ni' cnriosily with the agricultural 

 tourist ; and a uolcomc and ready hospitality was 

 always extended to those who called to inspect 

 either the farm or the mansion. He was never 

 marrie<l, has no brothi^rs, and the title is said to 

 be now extinct. 



Prince Albert's annual sale of Live Stock. 

 — This great sale, which lately took place at 

 Windsor, attracted, as on former occasions, great 

 numbers of butchers and salesmen. From the 

 prices obtained, we should suppose the bailiff 

 might be able to cany out the instructions which 

 it is said were given iiy his Royal Highness when 

 he undertook the management of the fariTis, viz: 

 to " be sure and make litem pai/.'" 



Hereford Cattle. — Mr. .John Walker, of 

 Burton, the fanious breeder of llerefords, who 

 is just removing to another farm, recently sold a 

 portion of his stock. I'he sale began with the 

 cows and two year old heili^rs, some with calves 

 and SOU]!! in calf These realized high prices, 

 ranging from 20/ to .58/ each; the yearling heif- 

 ers sold crpially well, fetching from 18/ to 35/ 

 each, and weaning calves from 10/ to 27/ each. 



Grazing Stock.— At the late exhibiiion of the 

 East Cmnberland (ICng.) Agricultural Society, 

 Mr. Ellison, one of the judges of slock, macie 

 some good practical remarks on Ihi' proper (i)rm 

 and qualities of domestic animals, lie said he 

 had been a grazier for a nundier of ye.ars, and 

 the residt of his experience was, that a short 

 backed, short legged animal, anrl one that would 

 do with a short bite, \vas best, and would be foimd 

 soonest fat for the butcher. There had l)i;cn a 

 very great improvement in the breed of sheep 

 within the last forty years. Leicestcrs were now 

 much run upon, and the reason was, that they 

 were a short, compact animal th.-it would suit any 

 bite, ami be made (it for the butcher in a short 

 time. The great objixt in rearing slock as well 

 ns croiw, was that the capital lai.l out should he 

 returned as speedily as possible. In respect to 

 pigs, there were certainly some goo<l anim.ds 

 shown, but in his opinion, the object to be aimed 

 at in raising improved breeds of pigs, was to "ivc 

 them smaller bones and larger carcases. 



Care of Auimals in Winter. 



In the cold climate of the northern section of 

 oiir country, buildings, <jf some kind, arc re- 

 quired for sheltering all domesiie animals, and in 

 geiieral we think all should hr. fed under cover, 

 or in yards attached to barns and sheds. There 

 » much less wiistn in this way, and ihu animals' 



are much more qifiet and comfortable than when 

 the (bod is thrown out in the dirt, and thev are 

 forced lo eat imder the exposure of wimf and 

 storm. In dry, cold weather, when the air is still, 

 sheep may be souietimes foddered on clean, hard 

 snow to good advantage— they will eat t'oiMei- 

 here which they woidd refuse anywhere else. 

 Hut it is only in dry weather that ihcy can be led 

 in this way — as soon as the snow soliens, or the 

 weather becomes moist, they will not e.at their 

 (odder clean, out of doors, and they must be (ed 

 from racks or mangers in the house. Sheep do 

 not like jcc/— they always prefer to keep both their 

 food and their bodies iln/. 



Large (]ocks of sheep should be divided, put- 

 ting the bucks and wflhers together, the ewes in 

 another lot, and the lambs and weak sheep in 

 another. Subdivisions of these may be necessa- 

 ry, liir too many must not be kept together. 

 Some very good sheep-(;irmcrs think not more 

 than a liiindred should be ailowed to riui together 

 — others allow more— hut Uiuch depends oji the 

 room given lliem, tlie facilities fijr (ecdiiiir, shel- 

 tering, &c. A hospital should be provided— self- 

 interest, as well as humanity, demand it— and at- 

 tention to the sick and leehie will be Nvell re|iaid. 

 A little nursing at the [>roper lime oflcu has such 

 a tnagical effect on the invalid, that he comes out 

 in the S|iring ns brisk and hale as the best of the 

 (fock- a much more gratifying fiicl, truly, than 

 to see his carcass hanging on a tree fijr thecrows 

 to [lick. 



If it is designed to raise early lambs for mar- 

 ket, the ewes should be at once provided with 

 warm, dry shelter, and fed svith a little grain, and 

 some roots, such as potatoes, tiirneps, or beets. 

 This will ensure a strong, healthy lamb, with 

 plenty of milk to feed him. 



Cold weather gives catlle and other stock sharp 

 appeiites, and this is the best lime in the wintei- 

 to feed out poor fodder. Give it to the stock in 

 small quantities at a titne, replenishiii!; the man- 

 gers as often as they are cleaned, till the animals 

 get their fill. It is not good policy to make milch 

 cows cat too much poor fmhler— it had better be 

 fed mostly to the young cattle, such as sieersand 

 two-year-old heifers. 



Considerable advantage is sometimes derived 

 fi-om cutting fodder with a machine. Clover hay 

 and straw, cut fine and mixed together, may be 

 fed in this way without waste. Corn-fodder, if 

 the stalks are small and well cured, will all be 

 eaten if it is cut pretty fine. But it is not so with 

 large stalk.«, which are veiy coarse and fibrous, 

 and the sap of which becomes sour before they 

 can be cured ; cattle will not eat such much 

 sooner than they would eat I heir hoofs. It is of 

 hut linle use to cut stuff for cattle to eat which 

 is absolutely !i)!e(j/f/i/c. It is true that animals 

 will sometimes reject long fodder which is really 

 nntricious, and which woidd be eaten if passed 

 through a cutler; but the idea should never be 

 taken from this, that culling substances which 

 .arc little else than woody fibre, will convert them 

 into ])roper food for animals. 



In ihe westei-n section of the country, where 

 large herds are kept, sheltering and feeding un- 

 der cover is attended with more inconveidence ; 

 hut we are saiisfied that the extension of the 

 practice even there, would be (()lloweil by ad- 

 vantages more than counterbalancing the trouble. 

 There is a great differeneo in the management of 

 larmers in that region— the contrast between good 

 and bad faruung being as strikingly shown there 

 as anywhere else— but it is often" the case that 

 the Slock is permitted to range at will over the 

 wlicde farm. The loss which is sustained from 

 ihe \vast(.' of food, the injury dune; to liie land by 

 the treading of the cattle ujien it is wi't and sofi, 

 and, as a matter of course, the great waste of 

 (lesh in the animals, is incalculable. The prac- 

 li<-e of fi'eding catlle almost entirely on corn- 

 tiiddei-, uhii;h in that country is very Ion;; ami 

 coarse, is ipiito nn obstacle lo"harn or yard fi-ed- 

 ing; but where this cannot bo adoiiti'd", the stock 

 should be fed on dry lands, with, if possible, a 

 strong, blue-grass sod, and by all means shehered 

 from the bleak and culting winds, by a (wvm or 

 belt of trees.— .;//). Cu)l. 



many years, and having found a reinedv, give it 

 lor the henelit of your readers. 



The roi in pomioes commenced in this section 

 of the country about ten vears ago ; one-third of 

 a crop was frequenlly lost by it, and olien in the 

 sprmg, hundreds of bushels have been thrown 

 from the cellar (|uite useless. For some verus 

 |>asi 1 have used slaked lime, which 1 sprinkle 

 on the potatoes as soon as they are cut for seed, 

 aud shovel them over in it, and plant them im- 

 mediately. Since I have adopted ihis plan, I have 

 not lost a jiotato, eilher in the ground, or after 

 they were put in the cellar; and such of my 

 neighbors as follow my example, are alike fortu- 

 nate, and ill no way troubled wiih the rot. 



When oilier potatoes were troubled with the 

 rot— three varieties of mine were exempt from 

 It, viz: the "Cups," "IJIack Apple," and "Red 

 Apple ' potatoes. I shall be glad if auv of your 

 correspondents can explain why llicv,"wiili the 

 same treatment, were not subject to the rot like 

 other kinds. 



I find it best to plant each kind of potatoes 

 separate, otherwise if the .seed he mi.\cd, a few 

 years will (iroduce quite a diflerent kind of tio- 

 taloes. 



I have often raised seed from the potatoe balls. 

 The potato will obtain its growth in four jeai-s; 

 hut the second year, the best variety may be so- 

 lecled for yielding and fiir the table. 



About seven years .since, I lai.-ied from the hall 

 an excellent kind of potato, resembling very 

 much the '•White blue nose," which! call 

 "Howwds;" they yield largely, and are of fine 

 flavor, and prefcrr-d here to ihe "White blue 

 nose." 



It any of the above varieties of potatoes are 

 wanted in your neighborhood, 1 can shin them to 

 Koston,and if you will accept a barrel as sam|ilc, 

 1 will forward them as you may direct. 

 Yours truly. 



JOSEPH WALTOX. 

 Sumt Andrew's, .^t«,' Brumwick, Nov. 20, 181-J. 



Tlie fact is worthy of consideration that sci- 

 enlilic, experimental farming has added more to 

 the population of ihe Island of Great Britain, 

 within the last 44 years, than it had increased' 

 during Ihe 4'.-3 years ending with the close of ihe 

 18lh century. 'J'his wonderful and sudden in- 

 crease of the human flimily has occurred in spite 

 of the wars which desolaled Europe for 1.5 years 

 in this cenliiiT, till the great bailie of Waterloo; 

 and in spite of the lens and hundreds of thou- 

 sands of native Englishmen, uh • have emi^'nited 

 to British colonies, to disiant .-oysts and islands, 

 and to foreign nations. As vet the prolific liuht 

 of science has hardly begun to shine on the culti- 

 vated holds of " old England." It was but yester- 

 day that the governm'ents of Europe saw the 

 folly and madness of human butchery, and wisely 

 resolved " lo heal their spears into pruning luioks, 

 and their swords into ploughshares." This is 

 now done, and wiih the increased means for the 

 support of our race, the human family are mul- 

 tiplying on the continent wiih a rapidiiy ;hat has 

 no parallel in the history of the world. Labor 

 .saving mncliincry in a thousand forms, serves to 

 keep millions from mechanical pursuiis. In all 

 these operation.*, steam peiTorms ihe labor of 

 human hands. Hence, rural industry 

 cheap, and the price of all agricultural" 

 is coiiftanily on the decline.—, //i. Cull. 



IS very 

 M-oducts 



from the Albany f'ultivator. 



Ilcmedy for the Uot in the Potato. 



IMn. Editor: — 1 notice in the November imni- 



ber of the Cultivator, complaints made about the 



"rot" in (lotatocs. 1 was troubled with it (or 



Everybody's Clinpter. 



TiiE Potato.— It is principally to the (iimous 

 IM. I iirmentiir, that France owes the;;(Miernl use 

 of polaines. 'J'he following anec.lnte may give 

 some idea of the assidniiy wiih which this phi- 

 hmthropic indiyidiial labdrcd to ui'ucridize their 

 culture: it is well alteslcd that he (iirmed some 

 spots of ground, in ihe vicinity of Pari.-^, fiir Ihis 

 sole purpose, though the preju'dice nirainsl pota- 

 toes WHS ihen .so siroiig, th„t few 'of the poor 

 persons to whom he ofiered the root.s would ac- 

 cept of thi'iu. However, M. Parmenlier soon 

 sus))ected that peo[ile occasionally stole his po- 

 latocs to eat them; he Has well idcased at this, 

 and coniinueil lo plant uhat I;.' lio|»-d would bo 

 pin loiued, righlly concluding ihat ihe experience 

 o( the thieves would coniribiite lo diminish the es- 

 tablished prejudice. Afler much Irouble anil inanv 

 years, he hail succeedcil in propogating> polatoes 

 in several situations, when the dreadful .scarcity, 

 the consequence and ed'cct of the revolutionary 



