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CONDUCTED BY IS.4AC ULLI/. . ~ 



"Those who libob in the earth ake the chosen rEOTLE of God, whose breasts he has made his peculiar deposite for subst»ntial and oenuine yiRTHE."— Jefferson. 



VOLUME VI I. 



CONCORD, N. H., JUNE 30, 1845. 



NUMBER 6. 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR, 



PUBI.ISHKIJ BY 



ISAAC HILL, & SONS, 



ISSUED OJI THE LAST UAV OF EVERY MO.NTII, 



At Athenian Building. 



9:5"Ge:(ebal Agents B. Cook, Kcene, N II.; Thomas 



R. Hampton, Waslljngton City, D. C. ; John Marsh, Wash- 

 iiiflton St. Buston, Mass.; Charles Warren, Brinley Row, 

 Worcester, Mass. 



TERMS To single silbscribciti, Fifig Cenls. Ten per 



oMit. u-ii! be allowed to the pcr.-Jon who sliall send more than 

 one subscriber. Twelve copies \vill bo sent for the advance 

 (layinent ol' Five Dollars ; twenty-five copies for Ten Dollars ; 

 sixty copies for Twenty Dollars. The payment in every case to 

 be made in advance. 



^^Money and subscriptions j by a reflation of the Post Jifaster 

 General^ may in all cases be remitted by ike Post Master, free oj 

 postaire. 



{)C?"-VII gentlemen wlio have heretofore acted as Agents are 

 requested to continue tiieir .\gency. Old subscribers who 

 come under the new terms, will please notify us of the names 

 already on our books. 



Soiling, or House-reeding Cattle. 



At a lute meeting of the Farmers' Clubs in 

 Scollaiid, IMj-. Harkiiess read a cotDiniuiicatioii 

 (Voiii Mr. Skilling, of Glasiieviii, from wliicii we 

 make the following eMracis: 



'• How does it liapiieii tlial the BeUian.s have 

 l<C|;tiipiii the higliLst condition an^indiffeient 

 soil, without any such extraneous niamires as 

 lioiips or Ktiaiio, o;- any other imporlalion of the 

 Uind.= This they have ilone for Immlreds of 

 years, and yet their land is never poor or exhaiis- 

 terl, hut in the higliest stale of piodiiciion. The 

 reason is ohvious. There is no witcheiy in iheir 

 iiiiinajremeiit; and if the fanners of Scotland 

 nnnid only follow their example, they would 

 find themselves fully recompensed for their pains. 

 Jf they would deepen tlieir lands, keep more 

 stock, and chiefly house-feed them, saviii<r tlje 

 nmnure— -liquid and solid— raise an abundance 

 of crop for suilin-.' summer and winter food, they 

 would make more fiom ilieir cattle and their l.md. 



Wiien I first adopted the house-feeiliug sys- 

 tem, my neijfhbors lauglied at me, and preilicted 

 that my cattle would die; others said the cows 

 would aive no milk; bu. ihcir predictions were 

 not verified. My covvs had a good appearance, 

 and when driven to water twice a day, [not enough 



— cows need drink fom- limes a day, at least] 



they were wild and full of spirit; aiid when oth- 

 ers were dry, mine were giving milk. 



1 have estimated correctly, that a cow fed in 

 the house will make 25 toiis of liquid manure, 



w hich will be sufficient for an acre of ground 



I can, on an average, keep a co 

 Criiish acres. The cows also 

 milk. 



When my present farm was in pasture, only 

 18 cows could be kept in summer. Now, by the 

 soiling system, it feeds from 20 to 22 cows, 3 

 horses, and from 30 to 40 pigs, all the year round ; 

 and I have as large a pioportion of grain crops 

 as most other people have on farms of ciuial ex- 

 tent— (52 acres.) 



No doubt, the system, if ill-wrought, will fliil. 

 Some who try it, will biing their cows into the 

 house ; they ai-e lied up, and perhaps injudicious- 

 ly confined— kept filthy— not regularly curried— 

 n large quantity of some particular kind of food 

 is put before them, and this repeated, cloys the 

 appetite, and the animals refuse their food.— 

 They are, perhaps, neglected in water— by-aiid- 

 by they fail in milk— get out of condition— and 

 the whole experiment is a failure, from being 

 vn-ongly conducted. The house itself must be 



on every two 

 give much more 



airy, well ventilated, and kept perfectly clean. — 

 The animals must bo vvell currieil and brushed 

 at least twice a day. There ought to be one par- 

 ticular jiersou to superintend and pay attcnlion 

 to the feeding ; and one of the first and most im- 

 portant (larts of his duty is, to ascertain the ap- 

 petite of every beast. Cows, like other animals, 

 will eat less or more ; and they ought to be sup- 

 plieil accordingly as they require it, being kept 

 rather with an apjietite than otherwise. As soon 

 as the animal has eaten its food, all refiise should 

 be immediately taken awaj', and nothing snfl^erd 

 to remain in the stall befoi-e it. Should it seem 

 delicate or careless in eating, let the ibod be at 

 once removed. The times of I'eeiling are also 

 of great importance, and ought to be strictly ob- 

 served and regulated. The cattle will know the 

 hour of feeding as correctly as the clock can tell 

 it, and will be disappointed and fietted if neg- 

 lected. This neglect is prejudicial both to milk- 

 ing and fattening. I give six feeds in the day, 

 Slimmer and winter — beginning at Gu'clock in the 

 morning, ami ending at 9 in the evening — viz: 

 at 6, at 8, at 12, at 3, at 0, and at 9. Tliey get 

 water in their stalls at 10 in the morning, and at 

 5 in the afternoon. They are likewise turned 

 out one hour from 10 to 11, where tliey exercise 

 anil drink if they choose. 



The kinds of food 1 use are chiefly the follow- 

 ing : in summer, at 6, feed with perennial or Ital- 

 ian Rye-grass and clover; at 8, with cabbages or 

 leaves; at 12, with cut hay and straw, mixed— 

 (tliis feed is to prevent the action of too much 

 green food on them) — at 3, upon vetches; at C, 

 upon mangold wurzel, leaves, or refuse of the (arm 

 or garden ; at 9, clover or grass ; or this may be 

 a dry leed, if the state of the bowels require it. 

 In winter, at 6, feed with steamed (bod; at 

 8, with turnifis, raw ; at 12, cut hay and straw; 

 at 3, with mangold wurzel, raw ; at 6, with steam- 

 ed (bod; at 9, with hay and straw. Water must 

 be given or offered, and plenty of salt used in 

 the steamed food." 



With res|)ect to ventilation of cattle-houses, 

 Mr. M'Culloch staled that he considered too lit- 

 tle altention had been paid to this important niat- 

 tej-, as nothing tended more to promote the health 

 of animals than well ventilated houses. There 

 should be a small aperture below and above in 

 ihe \yall, behind each animal, so that by the ad- 

 mission of fresh air beneath, the respired vitiated 

 air (carbonic acid gas,) which is very injurious to 

 animal life, together with the pernicious eflluvia 

 from the skin, urine, and dung, may be forced 

 out by the upper aperture, and in this way have 

 a constant renewal of air. Mr. iM'C. was aston- 

 ished to observe that even in the establishments 

 of many of our most eminent agriculturalists, 

 this iiiiporlant subject was so much overlooked. 

 Vou will often observe openings in the upper 

 part of the hovel, or in the roof, for the escape 

 of the contaminated air, but it seems to be for- 

 gotten that ihere must be an admission of fresh 

 air below, to cause the effective expulsion of the 

 contaminated atmosphere. — London Jk-rkuUural 

 Gazette. 



entific one ; ami after the second or third day 

 finding I could not keep up with him without 

 doing myself an injury, and painful as it was for 

 me to acknowledge it, (for 1 was ambitious,) yet I 

 was comiielled to call my friend to a stand, in the 

 midst of my swath. I said, "Mr. Picket, (for 

 that was bis name,) if you know anything which 

 you can communicate to mc of the skill of mow- 

 ing, I beg of you to do so, for 1 am exhausted, 

 and 1 may as well at once confess that 1 cannot 

 keep up with you." 



He stopped, came back, took my scythe, and 

 explained to me the main governing princifiles. 

 1 adopted them, and in less than one liour, 1 could 

 kce|) up with perfect ease. Indeed, I had at least 

 20 per cent, more physical strength than be had. 

 It was science alone wliich enabled him to lead 

 me to tliis extreme. 



During the following summer, I came in con- 

 tact with about a dozen good mowers, and 1 may 

 say some three or four of them [irofessed fast 

 mowers. I adhered strictly to the science I had 

 learned the preceding summer, (my Professor not 

 being present.) I could lead the field with great 

 ease, but 1 kept the secret to myself 

 And now for the art: I will try to describe it. 

 1st. The scythe should hang natural and easy, 

 and as I have said before, must be kept in first 

 rale order. 



2d. As you approach the standing grass, let the 

 heel of the scythe move to the very point of com- 

 n>encement, and let it stop the instant it has done 

 its work. Thus there is nothing lost by a back- 

 ward or forward swing. If the grass stands up 

 so as to admit of moving on, measure with the 

 eye the utmost capacity forward of your scythe, 

 take a quick, easy gait, moving your right foot 

 well n|) towards the standing grass, and your bo- 

 dy with if, though leaning back by bending the 

 knees a little forward, so as to bring your whole 

 weight to bear upon the scytlie, with.out twisting 

 the body from right to left, as many do — thus 

 giving ease to each clip, and ability to repeat in 

 an advanced position, without fiitigue. 



Note. — If you swing G inches too far back, 

 and 6 inches too far in pointing out, it makes 24 

 inches lois ! This applied to ascientific forward 

 motion, will give you a great gain on ordinary 

 mowers.- John R. Pitkin. 



I'rom the IN. V. Farmer and Mechanic. 

 Science of Mowing. 

 Gentlemen — Having long since promised you an 

 article on the scicnee of mowing, I now sit down 

 to redeem my pledge. 



It was my good fortune — for so I regard it — to 

 have had a few years' experience in early life, as 

 a practical farmer; and as I advanced liom boy- 

 hood, I remember, among other things, my first 

 effort and ultimate success in the science of 

 mowing. For a time I had much difficulty in 

 keeping my scytlie sharp. This, however, I 

 (bund indispensable ; no man can approach any 

 thing like an easy or good mower without it. 



1 had become a good mower, when I fell in 

 company not only with a good mower, but a sci- 



Cucnmbers and Melons for Pickles. 



Cucumbers and melons for pickling, may be 

 planted till the first of July. New land lately 

 cleared from the forest, is best for vines, if it can 

 be had ; next to this, a piece which was the last 

 year in sod and planted with corn or potatoes, is 

 to be preferred. It should be of a medium state 

 of riclmess and dryness — a better crop, so far as 

 our ex|jerience goes, being more, generally ob- 

 tained from such land, than thqt which is ex- 

 tremely rich. Make the hills seven or eight feet 

 apart. A very common error is to make them 

 too close, so that the vines have not room enough, 

 and they smother each other. Hog manure that 

 is pretty well rotted, or that which is in a green 

 state, well mixed with muck and leached ashes, 

 will do well. Tlie manitre of pigeons and hens 

 is also excellent, but is very strong, and should 

 he mixed with double its bulk of loam or muck. 

 Dig the holes of the hills so deep that a peck at 

 least of manure may be put in without coming 

 above the surface of the earth, level it off and 

 plant the seed. To provide against the bugs and 

 worms, it is best to plant a large quantity of seed. 

 If there are twelve to fifteen plants to a hill while 

 they are small, no injury will be done ; but they 

 should be thinned to no more than three, just 

 before they begin to run, and have got well out 

 of the way of insects. 



To keep ofT the bugs, millinet boxes are the 

 best preventives while the plants are small, and 

 that is the time they are most likely to be injured. 

 The boxes are cheap — made of pine boards six 



