28 



<2;i)c iTarmcv's iUontl)lij bisitor. 



?)y a little flowiiijr. I should set tlieiii out as ear- 

 ly a.* jio,-*sil)li? ill the s|iiiiis. 



"5th. As to flouiiij. It is regarded ns very 

 im|iortant to he aMo to flow at plfasiire. Siip- 

 po^•ill;; yoii set out your rools next spiinir; ilNoii 

 call llcuv them a little in tin.' romiiif; I, ill and » in- 

 ter, just so they iii.iy not Ix; iroiiJiled liy llie host 

 iUid eonsiM|nriit he.iviiiL' of ilio },'iouiid, lliey uill 

 come out l>rij;lit and lieahhy in the spiiii;;. 



"Gih. Dmin^' the snmmer uIumi the vines are 

 growing', ami the fruit is npoii them, it is impor- 

 tant to Imik out liir the He.-illier, and iC there is 

 danger of fni.-i, lliisli the w.iier over the gronnd, 

 so as to prevent the hiid elK-rts npoii the vines 

 and the crop. When you can Mow :it pleasure in 

 this vmy, y<Mi are almost sine of a crop aminally." 

 — .Ilbitny Cull. 



Rats and .^Iick. — In the winter season, the 

 farmer has no ■rreater jiest on his premises than 

 vermin. When llie lijiivest has closed iji, and 

 liis frarners ari' well .storcfl wiili the fruits of the 

 carih, the farmer is solely niortitied hy the futili- 

 ty of his efTorls to keep out these little rolihers. 

 They ^et into his sraiii and what they do not eat 

 or destroy, ihi'y at least render very <liriy and nn- 

 pleasaiil. i\lany a rat hole is stopped up, hntaii- 

 ollier one shows itself the iiexl d.iy. M;iiiy a one 

 is r:;iii:ht in the trap; lint il is of no .■iviiil. The 

 supply is none iIk' less diinini.-.hed, and they he- 

 come too cnnniii^' for the trap. Driven to des- 

 peration, he uses nisenie, hut to his dismay finds 

 that the remedy is worse than the disease; for 

 the pull ii\iii<; carcasses do mneh evil in his 

 stores. Now there is a simple way of fjetlin;:;' 

 rid of this evil, and that is to hiiild your crihs, 

 &e., so that the mice could not i;et into them. — 

 There is a simple way of doiii^' this. IMost fir- 

 iners have old worn out milU pans, and those 

 who have not may hiiy of those that have. 'I'he 

 plan, then, is to drive iiilo the •rronnd four posts, 

 on each post put an old niill% pan Ijottom up- 

 wards, and so arraiifj'ed, place your crih or haiii 

 on the post. It will he nllerly iinpos>il>le for the 

 rats or n.ii'e to iicf into a crih so arian^'ed. provi- 

 ded that the pans he ahout twenty inches from 

 the -{ronnd ; hut if a careless Inishandman leaves 

 a rake or hoe handle, or any such tliiii;r, leaiiiii,i» 

 airaiiist the crih, the mice will he iireatly ohIiL'ed 

 to his liindness, as this little piece of careli'ssness 

 will eiialile them to enter and resale lliemselves. 

 'J'liis experiment has h(^eii fnlly tried in the west, 

 iind is all we have descrihed, a irerfect safeguard 

 a"ainst rats and mice. 



Alderitcy Cows. 



Some ueiilleinen have not Ihonght the Alder- 

 licy cow handsome; lint in truth, she is the 

 Imnilsomest of mii'S for Ihe diiiri), altlioiijih she 

 may not till the eye like a tlioron!.-li-lired Dnr- 

 haiii, in. i;ood coiidiiion, so mindi esieemeil liy 

 every experieneed ilaiiymaii; yet there are thou- 

 sands of (iiniilies who want one or two cows, 

 rich ill milk and linller, mild, •renile, and intelli- 

 ^(^nl, on excellent terms with the milk-maid, ami 

 the Alderney, of all others, is Ihe cow. She is 

 vvidl adapted for the lady <d' a Snn^ rural man- 

 sion, and all dairymen would find it to tlnir in- 

 terest to keep I wn pure Ahlerneys to evei'v tweh'e 

 cows, the advantniics of wliiidi ari^ well iindrr- 

 Ptooil ill some palls ol' Seoliaiid, anil perhaps a 

 dairy of tweiiiy wcdi-ehosen animals of this 

 breiil would compete wiih any twenty cows in 

 the United Stales, when linller of superior tpial- 

 ity liiches a j;ood price. In short, tin.' finest 

 specimen of iiii Alderney is a true emhlem of a 

 milch cow, imd any person keepin-; this hreed 

 null ly for the dairy, w ho once itpIs one, feeds 

 and ireuls her properly, will never he uiihmit 

 one. 



A pood Alderney cow in .Jersey, is expected to 

 yield 7 Ihs. of hiiltir a weid<, and many have 

 heeii known to prndnce doiihli! that ipi.iiiliiv loi 

 a sliorl period. Some f;ive from Iti lo IH ipiaris 

 of milk pier day, dining' the inonihs of Alay and 

 June; all 1 I w.is told of niimerons instanees of 

 cows which yielded from 10 to 14 Ihs. of hotter 

 each, in a week. Major IJarii.*', the (Joveriior, 

 inliirmed me that he had a cow which }:ave QH 

 ipiiii Is of milk a day ; hnt ordinary cows diil mil 

 avera^'C more than 10 (piarls a day, yiehliiiL' 7 

 Ihs. of hiilter, each, in a we(d%. It was slaled, 

 that, in slimmer, '.I or 10 quarts of milk wonhl 

 produce a poimd of lintter, and, in winter, when 

 tlio cows ure imrsiiip-fed, the same quantity, of 



hotter may he ohtained from 7 quarts. The 

 ;;ciicral avera^'o yield of viir.h cow, old and 

 yoniiLr, is rather more than Od.'J Mis. of hiitter in 

 a year, or ahoiit 8 quarts of milk per day. 



The cows there, ;ire nniveisally tethered, and 

 are moved, watered, and milked, three times a 

 day. They are fed principally on Incern t>r clo- 

 ver, hnt the quality of' their hotter is never con- 

 sidered so j;ood, when thus fed its when they 

 raiiye on a natural pasture. 



The milk, when strained stands at ahout 10 

 inches deep in the vessel, till tlie (-ream has all 

 risen, which usually occupies three days in sum- 

 mer; and in winter, in order to hasten its rising', 

 the vessels are covered and placed on the hearth 

 at hed-time. Conseqneiilly, skimming: is never 

 perliirined hnt once, and then not heforethe milk 

 lias heeome coa;;nlaled or liirned sour. In the 

 operation of skiminiiijr, the cream is tirst detach- 

 ed (i-oiii the eil^ii; of the vessel all round, and 

 iheii is raised up together, as iiinch as possihie, 

 and hy inclining; the whole mass over the vessel 

 intended to receive the cream, the latter will 

 somelimes slip off at once from the coaanlated 

 milk. At the holioin of the ves.~el there is a 

 small hole stopped wiili a pe", wliii h is ocea.- 

 simially wilhiliawii, in order to drain oft' the se- 

 rious or watery portion of the milk, and thereliy 

 separate it from the cream; — American Jlgricullu- 

 risl. 



Making Bacon. 



15acon is an ariicde of use in nearly every fam- 

 ily in this country; yet very little attention is 

 paid its preparation hy most of our fanners. It 

 is enoiipli (oi- them that the hams are taken out, 

 salted at random, smoked in an imperfect man- 

 ner, and this is then called haeon. The western 

 part of Viririnia is most famous lor its fine haeon; 

 and those at the noilii who have in suhstanee 

 adopted the mode pursued there, find their bacon 

 greatly improved. 



Too heavy hoys are not as sood for bacon as 

 those that are smaller, if ei|uallv well fattened. 

 One that u\\\ wei^h two hundred is larye enough 

 as the salt will drive tlirongh the pieces more 

 equally, and the smoking be more perfect. It is 

 essential for first rate haeon, that the pork should 

 be corned, if any thiu<; is used to aid in fatten- 

 in;:, it should he in the first part of the time, and 

 com given for five or six weeks previous to 

 slanghlering. The |iork of corn fed pigs will he 

 hard and coiiinaet,aiid the kidney fiit, instead of 

 being soft and imctnoiis, like lard, will he solid, 

 liki; beef siiet. 



In the best establishments for making bacon 

 three pecks of salt and one pound of salt|ietre 

 are used lor every thousand Ihs. of pork ; the salt 

 to he measured and thesahpelre reduced to pow- 

 der, Ihoroiigldy incorporated or mixed with it. 

 None hnt the best salt slionid be used ill niakina 

 baeiiu. At ihe soulh, that which is produced at 

 the Kanawa works at the first chrystalization, is 

 prelerrcil; at the north, the coarse salt of the 

 Onondaga works, or that produced by evapora- 

 tion is to be chosen as m^i'e pure than any other 

 kind. 



The prepared salt is to be thoroughly rubbed 

 on the meat, and then liberally sprinkled on the 

 outside. Tliere is lilile dan;;er from oversalling 

 Iroiii ([iiaiitily ; it is length of time that produces 

 llie result. TIk; meat is lo be laid, wiih tin.' skin 

 down, in good casks ; the bams and shoulders 

 first, and then the smiiller pieces. Salt most be 

 sprinkled over the bottom of the cask before the 

 meat is laid in. At the liiurth or fifib day the 

 meal innsi he taken up, tmiKagain thoroughly 

 rnhbed with the salt. At this period of the pro- 

 cess, some use a teaspoonful of powdered red 

 pi'pper to each piece, and the whole is replaced, 

 afier any blood or iinpnre brine that may havie 

 formed in the cask is removed. In about two 

 weeks, ihe smaller piiM'es will be fully salted, and 

 should he taken from llie cask, and the remain- 

 der repiudicd ; those that were tit the boltoni 

 should he placi'd at the lop, as pressure will pre- 

 K'lil the passage of the brine through the meat, 

 if the position of the pieces is not changed. The 

 slionlders will be Btriick tlirongh in about three 

 weeks, and tine hams in linir. 



i^mokinir is the ni'Xt important part of the hnsi- 

 liess, and should be well done, or good baiemi 

 cannot be made. Smoke houses are usually too 

 small ; tine meat hangs loo crowiledand too near 

 the fire. 'I'lie pieces should by no niciins touch 



the wall, or each other ; but space for the free 

 circulation of smoke should in all cases he allow- 

 ed. The time rctpiiied for sailing is the same as 

 that of smoking— four weeks for bams, three 

 weeks for slionlders, and two weeks for the other 

 Ijieces or middlings. Damp weather is improper 

 for simdiiiig meat, as the hueon, from the damp- 

 ness that is apt to seltle on the meal, ac(piiies a 

 hitter flavor, in some respect like that given by 

 pyroligneons acid. Sound maple chips, (u- blocks 

 of hickory wood, are chosen for smoking meat; 

 lliongh the celebrated llamhur:; bams are smok- 

 ed with oak wood alone. The smoke hou.se 

 shonid be at a moderate temperature, astbat will 

 greatly assist in |ireveiilirn; the appearance of 

 dampness on the meat. Two fires a day if prop- 

 el ly made, will finish the smoking in the time 

 specified above. Some throw, occasionally, pow- 

 dered red pepper on ihe fire, as it is said to pre- 

 vent tin; att.icks of insects on the bacon after 

 smoking, ;iiid somewhat improves ihe flavor. 



II" the smoke-house can he kept perfectly se- 

 cure against the entrance of insects, and is dark 

 and cool, the bacon may he left in it till it is wan- 

 ted for use ; hnt there are few houses of this des- 

 I'ription, and, on the approach of warm weather, 

 must be lake'i down and packed away .'^ecore till 

 required for the table. Salt, clean hickoiy-aslies 

 or oats, will secure it from in.seets or drippin:.', if 

 placed in a cool posilion. It is .sometimes kept 

 by while-washing the surfaces, hy dippin;; the 

 hams ill strong lie, which converts the surface 

 into a kind of soap, and sometimes hy sewing 

 them Up closely in cotton. Probably the best 

 mode however, in all respects, is to pack them 

 down in powilered charcoal, which will not only 

 efl'ectually exclude all insects whatever, but, by 

 keeping the meat d-y, and correctiui! any tenden- 

 cy to unpleasant flavor, keep ihe meat in good or- 

 der for any length of time. — Gen. Far. 



Drainins; and Fencing. 



Although the advantages of draining are al- 

 most universally conce<led, yet, how rare it is, to 

 see in our travels in ibis country, well drained or 

 thoroughly reclaimed swamps, or wet, low lands. 

 Such lands, abounding in almost every district, 

 when neglecled, are not only unprodiictive and 

 improfiiahle, snbtracling materially fioin the val- 

 ue of a farm, but are iiiisightl\, and more or le.s.s 

 prejudicial to heallli. On the contrary, when re- 

 claimed, such lands, of all others, are the most 

 intcresiiug and productive. They have been de- 

 positories fiir treshels and floods for ages, and 

 have received iiinie or less of the manure and 

 surface soil gradually carried lioin time to time 

 from the surrounding knolls ami hill sides. — • 

 When tlioroiighly drained and slirred up by pro- 

 per cnltivalioii, and the inert vegetable suhstanco 

 brought into action by the application of the usual 

 decomposing agents, such lands are distii^giiished 

 lor their enduring ferlilily. 



iMucli money, however, is friiille.ssly expended 

 ill the operation of draining. Very few of onr 

 native .■American Itirmers are skilled in the art, 

 and like every oilier branch of finning, it will 

 pay bcsl w lieu w ell performed. It is by no means 

 necess.iry lliat a hog or swamp .•-lioiild have a 

 "great liill" or inclination, to be well drained. It 

 is customary to dig ihe ditches ilown to the gra- 

 vel, insleatl of di^'gin^ three or lour inches in 

 depth into the gravel stratum, which, by the bye, 

 is one great secret in the business of draining. 

 Where springs abound, either above or below the 

 surface, ihey must, of course, alt he let down into 

 vniUrdrain.'!. An expert ditcher will not ofiim be 

 deceived about the loc;ilion or source of blind 

 springs uniirr the snrfiice, which generally do 

 most mischiief Snidi spring's develope themselves 

 hy the peculiar cbaiacler of the vegelation whcli 

 covers lliein, or can be discovered by the trr.iul. 

 The localion of drains is of the utmost impin'- 

 laiice. Twenty-four to thirty inches will in must 

 places be finind a siifiicient depth. 'J'hirly imdi- 

 es wide at tne lop, .-lopeil lo eigbleen at the hot- 

 lom.arc ibe common dimensioiis ol'a good ditch ; 

 but if the gravel substialiiin he more or less shal- 

 low, till- depth should always be determined hy 

 il. Slimes, fiir many reasons, foim ibe best ma- 

 teriiil for filling such drains. .M'lershovidling Ihe 

 holtoni of the drain enlirely clean of ;;ravi'l or 

 mud, the Inst la\er of sKme IJ>r a foot in depth, 

 shiinld be set in a vertical position, leiivMig no 

 •qiening or culvert ; the stone afterwards may l)0 

 levelled promiscuously within eight inches of the 



