2 



<^i)e jTormcr's i!Icnt!)Ir! Visitor. 



uiiHertake twenly ai-ies, .'•onie of it will have in- 

 jusflci; (lone it, niul iIk; ri'sitit is ohviousi. 



Deep ploiiiiliiii;; is one of tli«' most eflicicnl 

 agents in tlie iiniiroviniciit ol soils, iis it is in the 

 coniinnution of good soils. Ncner omit it. Jt 

 mil)' p.iy joii scaiitil) for a ye.ir or two; hut it 

 will iiliiinately repay yo'i an hiniilriMl fold. With- 

 out it tliere cannot he r.ny rontinued snccessliil 

 farniinfr, no inalltr what the orij/inal soil may 

 have been. Discard all shallow working ploughs 

 from your farm, except rhe mere seed and culti- 

 vator ploughs. 



Some lands will he heiiefitled hy .50 hnshclsof 

 lime to the acre, and hy it he rendered siifKcient- 

 ly I'alcareoiis ; oilrei's may require 100 hnshels; 

 all this is to he tonnd out oidy hy proper experi- 

 ments, as ahove indicated. Jf the solution of the 

 soils loams freely in the vinegar or muriatic acid, 

 it wants no lime; il' hut partially, it Wiints pioha- 

 bly 50 hnshels to the acre; if not nt all, it may 

 reqiii e 100 hnshels. if it he a red clayey soil, 

 it wants more lime than if it he vvliilc or hhie or 

 yellow. 



If yoti have no lime, and wood ashes are at 

 hand, yon may accomplish all the ohjects you 

 aim at hy their application, .^s ashes are mo:<tly 

 composed ol'ditrereiil kinds of lime, besides their 

 more soluble potash, from 50 to 100 bushels of 

 ashes to the iicre, applii.d in the same manner tis 

 directed for lime, will have the same efTcct as 

 lime, besides giving you the advantage of the pot- 

 ash, the first year. 



Where neither lime nor ashes are to be ob- 

 tained, Plaster of I'aris, as it is called, may be 

 applied to most lauds with advtmtage. The 

 action of plaster continues to be a subject of dis- 

 pute. My opinion is, that it simply serves the 

 j)iirpose of fixing the aminonisi floating in the 

 atmosphere, and that eviilved lioiii dt-cayiiig aiii- 

 nial iiialter.s, and thus securing it to the uses of 

 the soil. No matter what its mode of action is, 

 however, il certainly is a very efficient agent in 

 soils generally, and in the absence of oilier still 

 more effective agents, it should always be used, 

 or at least tried. 



I have said nothing of yeiicinn', the most expen- 

 sive item of farming, liecanse it li;is nothing to 

 do with the main oliject of this paper, and be- 

 cause the cheapest fence is that which eaeli lo- 

 cality Can afford with the greatest ficility. One 

 farmer can build a stbne fence all around his 

 farm, easier than he can a rail fence, simply be- 

 cause he has too many stones on his land, and in 

 getting rid of tlieiu he hniil's them to the line 

 where he intends to make his fence, and in the 

 seasons when he raiinot be more profitably em- 

 ployed, he erects the wall. In the absence of 

 stone, iind where timber is plenty, the rail fence, 

 the posiaiid rail, &.<■., will ofcoiirse he the cheap- 

 est fencing. I have no favorable opinion of 

 hedges, except in the absolute alisence of both 

 stone and limber. They require a long time to 

 prow; and in this country 'hero isliot a single 

 kind of hedge plant tlint has succeeded satislac- 

 torily. There area fi.'iv instances of good hedges 

 being made, hut I will venture to say there is not 

 one in the United States that can be imitated 

 profilably as to cusl, time, and efficiency. If 

 nothing but live fences bad ever l>pi;n in use, aiu 

 some inventive genius had di.-rCovered the use of 

 artificial fencing with rails and stone, he would 

 have been considered the beiiefaetor of his age. 

 For myself, tliou:;li I have travelled much, and 

 have extended my ohservetioiis oier fifteen of the 

 States of the Union, I have never seen a good 

 efficient hedge occupying the place of the ordi- 

 naiy farm fences. And yet theatienlion of fiirni- 

 ers has been directed to it ever since the country 

 was settled; the oldest .Vmericaii wiiters recom- 

 ineiiil then); seeds were inifiorted to pl-int them 

 a century ago ; anil all these effoits have been 

 coiitnmcd to the present day with increased force 

 each _\ear. And yet there is not, so far as I know, 

 a single firm in the United States protected hy 

 hedges, in all its parts, or in any considerable 

 portion of them. The i-conomic-d farmer, there- 

 fore, will look to some other mode of li'iicing for 

 lirotectioi: ; and, as said above, that which his 

 innd afliirds most pleniiliilly and most easily of 

 access, is ihe cheapest and hot lor him. 



I must not omit a lew words more upon dctr) 

 plou^hinir. 1 know it is tin; general opinion that 

 we iiinst not plough so deep as to turn up the 

 '• linril pan" of clay, or the wiiite gravel, &:c. &.c. 

 I am very certain this is a very great popular er- 



ror. If we had a plough that would turn up the 

 earth two (iel deip, 1 do not care what the sub- 

 soil may he, in live years the fertile soil would be 

 two leet deep. 1 admit, that generally a very 

 stinted crop would tie prodiici'd liir the first t«o 

 or three seasons; hut I also assert, that the third 

 or fomtli and all snhsiipient seasons, will pay not 

 onl' lor all the deficiencies ol' the first tuo or 

 three, hut an liiinihed liild interest. \Vlieieveru 

 deep working plough has been ii-ed, the drouths 

 of a dry season are not fi-lt. 'i'he roots of plants 

 pass deeply into the earth, iiiid the hiuiiiijg suns 

 and parching windt, pass over them harmlessly. 

 The subsoil plough is a good thing. It enables 

 the farmer to avail himself of most of the ad- 

 vantages of deep ploughing without any .saciifiix- 

 of the first iiiid second season's crop; hut then 

 it does not turn up this subsoil — it merely loosens 

 it, enabling the roots to pass deeply, 'i'he roots, 

 however, get no other advantage in this deep 

 rooting, than tliat of protection from drouth ; 

 they get no nourishment in those de(ilhs. The 

 protection from drouth, however, is an important 

 consideration, and should always he tivailed of. 

 But ! would seek this advantage ahvay ■ when I 

 could hy the iisi; of the deep plough, even at the 

 sacrifice of a portion or e\eii all the first tuo i.r 

 three crops. 



The saving of manure is the next, and liioiigh 

 last here, not the least ini|iortaiit matter for eon- 

 aideiation. Every thing of a vegetable or animal 

 kind, unless for other purposes, on a liirm, should 

 be gathered and saved for manure. A conveni- 

 ent com|)ost yard and pit should be provided. 

 The dung fi-oni the staliles, and weeds tiom the 

 fields, the chafi" and offid straw, cornstalks, &c., 

 the kitchen waters, contents of clmmhers. i\ni\ M 

 of such things, should be east into the [lil. The 

 pit-slionid he so situated that the dr.iiniligs of 

 urine, &c. from the stables should pass into il. 

 A shed should he built over it to protect it from 

 rains, and the effects of the sun's ra_\s. Plaster 

 of Paris should be sown over the surface of' the 

 manure |iit once a week during warm weather, 

 to catch and fix tlie volatile ammonia tint will be 

 eontiiuially passing off. If such a thing as a lei- 

 sure day happen, (wiiich, by the way, J do not 

 see how a good farmer can ever have even a lei- 

 sure moment,) the leaves from the woods may he 

 profitably gathered and thrown into the" pit 

 Twice a year, say in April and October, the con- 

 tents of the pit should he taken out, thoroiighlv 

 mixed and piled up to digest for a week or two 

 or even a month. In forming the piles, if you 

 have any swamp mud or hog earth, you may very 

 properly add two or three loads of lliis lo eacii 

 load of the contents of the [lit, taking care to mix 

 them well. Alter the pile has stood a sufficient 

 leiigtli of time, the compost may be»carried out 

 and spread over the land, either as a toj) dressing, 

 or to he ploughed in liefore seeding. 



These are my views of the impmvetnent of 

 worii-ont and till other land. I submit them uitli 

 great deference to the fiirmers of my eountry. 

 Should they disagree with me in any or all par- 

 ticulars, I trust they will aitrihnte my errors to at 

 least good motives. 1 de^ire to do some good in 

 my day, and the agricnliuitil interest is, tibovetill 

 oiliers, the most worthy of my efforts in my 

 opinion. Il certaiiily has my be.st affections null 

 wishes. 



GIDEON R. P?,IITII. 



Baltimore, .Vol'., 1844. 



To Wash Wooi.le.n Goods. — All descrip- 

 tion.s of woollen goods sJiould he wiished in verv 

 hot water with soap, and, as soon as the article 

 is cleanseil, immerse it in cold water, let it then 

 be wrung and hung up to dry. They will then not 

 shrink. 



" EvERV Man llts Own Cattle Doctor . Con- 

 taining the Causes, Sym| toins and 'I'reatment 

 of all the Diseases incident lo Oxen, .Sheep 

 and Swine. J{y I'ra.ncis (.''i.ATf.ii. Ivlitid. 

 revised, and almost re-«ritiin hy Wii.i.m.m 

 YoUATT — v\ ith mimeions additions, embracing 

 an Essay on the Use of Oxen, and the Im- 

 provr'iiieut In the Breed of Sheep, &c. By 

 .1. S. Skinnkii." Philadelphia: 1844. Lea &. 

 Blancliard, Publishers. 



This is one of those rare hooks which carry a 

 just reeommendation on their tille page — wliicli, 

 of itself alone, aSfiires us that if we purchase, 

 we shall not he disappointed in our bargain. 



Mr. Skinner hiis done a good and praisewor- 

 thy service to American fin li.ers, in placing wiih- 

 in their reach this valuable «oik, in a cheap 

 form, and enhancing its usefulness by his own 

 arlditions. The veterinary art, with n.s, it must 

 he confessed, has been lamentably neglected. 

 Too often, those who pretend lo be cattle doc- 

 tors are illiterate and conceited char lalan.s — who 

 administer their nostrums at hiip-hazard, not 

 kiKiwing the true iialme or cause ol the disease, 

 and miacipiuinted with the structure and func- 

 tions of the animal's hodv. In such hands the 

 poor brute is at least full as likely to he killed as 

 cured. The work under notice is tlii! proiluction 

 of learned men, familiar wilh the physiology of 

 animals, the nature of their diseases, "and wliose 

 remedi(!S are jirescribed from experience and sci- 

 entific knowledge. 



It is no less bis dulij tluiu his interest, for the 

 owner of animals to acquaint himself with the 

 nature and tan.ses of the diseases to which they 

 are liable, and the remedies best ralciilalcd lo 

 cure them. This knowledge he will very sel- 

 dom obtain from the stupid monntehanks, who, 

 wilh us, offer their services as cattle doctors. 

 The following extracts from Mr. Skinner's pre- 

 face, expres.s our own thoughts: "The henefi- 

 cento of an all-wise Providence in so ora-uiiziiii; 

 n>an as to secure him dominion over aiiimals of 

 inferior physical constrnciion, imposes on him 

 the obligation to exercise that eminent iidvanlnge 

 in !i spirit of mercy, and in niitigatioM of the 

 pains and disorders of tlie brute creation ; and 

 both the ohli-alion and the necessity lo do so, 

 are enhanced hy the consideration that in being 

 domcslicated and made subservient lo our uses, 

 animals lose, in a great measure, that instinct 

 which enables them to distinguish what is nox- 

 ious from that which is wholesome, uiid become, 

 as does the human race in the jiroccss of civi- 

 lization, liable to numerous and couipliealed dis- 

 eases to which tliey .-ue comparatively strangers 

 when roaming in the simple habits and unre- 

 strained I'reedom of nature. * * To say noth- 

 ing of the ihii'j w hicli common lummnity enjoins 

 on every one lo he prepared with common med- 

 icines aiid directions for the use of them, which 

 may eiuible hiui to extend prompt relief to 

 speechless suffering — on the .-ordid score of selj- 

 interest alone, the most ealeulating, it may lie 

 supposeil, will not hesitiite to jirovitle himself 

 with a book which, in teaching liiiii to be his 

 'own cattle doctor,' may enable him to save the 

 life even of the meanest animal on bis estate. In 

 a word, the want of some such work would he 

 an obvious defect in every farmer's library, how- 

 ever small it may be, and this is one of the high- 

 est and most recent anlhoiity, in a country where 

 Ihe subjects of which il treats have been most 

 carefully investigated and are best understood. 

 To have been revised tind sanctioned by Air. 

 YouATT, is of itself a sufficient title lo public 

 confidence." 



We unhesitatingly give this work our iiiu|iial- 

 ified approbation, and think it must meet with u 

 sale coriespoiKhhg wilh its iiieiils. No fiirmer's 

 library can he coinplele without it. We append 

 a cliapter on Bh-edihg; 



'^Bleeding is a most ii.seful and powerful rem- 

 edy in the cure of inflnmmatory cotnplainl.s. — 

 The following are the chief diseases in which 

 bleediiiir is icquired : 



1. When animals in a ihriviiiir stale, rub them- 

 selves iiniil ihe hair comes off, and the spot is 

 coveretl w ith a dry scab ; w bile at the same time 

 the eyes appear iliill, hin-.'uid, red, or inflamed, 

 the bri-ath hot, and the veins puffed up, and con- 

 siderably laiL'cr than usual. 



2. In nil kinds of iinllammatory diseases, as of 

 ihe hrain, lungs, kidneys, bowels, eyes, womb, 

 bladder, udder, or in swelliiiir of the joints. 



3. When Ilie Ldaiids or kernels helweeii the 

 jaws, or those of iIm! throat, me enlarged, and 

 especially if they are only recently all'ected, im- 

 mediate recour.se should be had to bleeding, for 

 otherwise the lungs will probably become dis- 

 eased. 



4. In bruises, hurts, wounds upon the bend, 

 strains in diff'erent parts', anil all other accidents 

 wliieli may occur to ilie animal, and in which 

 there is reason to appieheiid considerable inllam- 

 malion, bleeiling will be proper. 



5. In violent catarrh or cold, bleeding is em- 

 ployed ; but ill .-light cases, a leu lever ilrinks 

 will restore the animal. 



