124 



^l)t jTavmcr's iiloiul)lij Visitor. 



tivniiiig .■ii;riciiltui-e as n science. Cuptiiiii B:ii'- 

 olny lias made a rorliiiii! Iiy alteiiding to tlie 

 cliaiijres of crops anil hriMMlinK of stofk. Let 

 others take tiic him iiiirl do likewise.— fu/-mere' 

 Cabinet. 



. F ic tli8 F.irncr's M >ntlily Visit jr. 

 Meteorological Joiiinal kept at Concord 

 by A.-CilANDLER. 



Spoke.n Fon. — Decidedly the hest ihiii^ we 

 have .seen the |ii'e.<oiU season in llie way of ilhi.-^- 

 Iratioii, is a cut accoiiipanyini! a eoniiiuiiiiiMfioii 

 in the June No. of the Fainier's and Mechanic's 

 Journal, pnhlislied at Chajrrin Falls, Ohio. It is 

 not iIk; beanty ol' the Bn;;ravin;; that siiikes one, 

 hnt the tnitli, we had almost said sad Initlilid- 

 iws.s of the cut, that will lix, tlie attenlioii of all 

 farnier.-i who may meet with -it. . The man wlio 

 drew that, had an eye for nature, and llie pa.-it 

 season furnished hut too many similar siihituts 

 for the iK^ncil of an amateur.. The ctit repre- 

 sents a sheep — slie looks as tho<ig!i she mi.i:hl 

 he the last of a flock — endeavuri.!; to shelter 

 her.self behind a broken and dilapidated l(;n(;e, 

 from the pieroinj; blasts of Marcli. Her wool 

 Iras fiilen off in lariie patches on her rump, 

 sides, li.ick and neck; her slirunken form 

 speaks of lack of liay and want of turnips; and 

 every tliinjj imlicales a sheep that had seen bet- 

 ter days, but had now reached the lowest depth 

 of |)overly. 1 wo or three crows are seated on 

 the fence near her, apparently deliberalinj; wheth- 

 er they should cominence pickirij; her ribs now, 

 or wait a few hours lousier for the scanty ijieal 

 fhe would fuiiiish; whilft otiiers ace seen on the 

 winjr,.hasteiiing to join the consultation or the 

 fiiast. — 'lib. CuU. 



Maximum hei;;lit of the Birnmeter, 30.11 on the 13tli 

 31iu;aiuin ■• •■ " 29.40 •* 2d. 



Wean '■ ' " 29.70 



iMa:iir>.)a:ri ■■ •■ Ti,ermometer, 90° on the 2tl. 



Mini.nuin ■• •• ■■ 42° •' 21st. 



Mcili ■' ■■ •■ 65''2. 



Remaiiks. — Tile Qd day w.-is very warm ; ther. 

 00-^ ill the shade; brisk soiuh wind most of the 

 day, smtceeded by a reh■e^liill^; thunder shower 

 at 5 P. .^i. — 8ih ; fiiice llie ijd, the weatlier has 

 been rather cool ior July, and ve.i;etaiitin has pro- 

 jrressed slowly ; to day it was warmer, but about 

 G I*. M. there come on a hail norm uud thunder 

 shower from the north, wbieli lasted about half an 

 hour. — ISih ; yesterdiy il was cloudy all day 

 with two or three very light spriiiklin-is of rain ; in 

 evening it began to r..in steady,Mnd continued un- 

 til this morninj; between 6 and ~ o'clock. It has 

 Siven the jj;ro!ind a good so.iking, which it very 

 much needed, for not leiviiig had any rain since 

 the Sill, the ground had .".otto hi; very dry. The 

 month has been ipiiti! cool so fiir, es()eci;dly in 

 the mornings. — 20th, cool lirisk N.W. windy dav, 

 faint bank of Aurora at 9 o'cloci; P. .M.-i!24li"i : 

 ligjit sprinkling of rain in P. I\l.— 27lii ; li^ln 

 sliovver in the^nighl.— SDih ; cloudy and liihl 

 rain. The nij>hi.s continue very cool and almost 

 overy morning for 15 (fays past the sun has been 

 obscured by a den.se fog for an hour or more 

 after he had ri.3en. The ground i.-i very dry and 

 the crops suffering for v.ani of rain. 



I'ur the Farmer's Monthly V"isilnr. 

 Machines for Sowing .Seeds, DrilSiug, <Src. &c. 



The prolltie genius of our people has from 

 time to time invented and patented a very con- 

 siderable nnmlier of machines for the sowing of 

 seeds; some liir one kind, some for anolher, and 

 others v\itli scales of graduation ))romising an 

 adaptation lo each vaiiely of grain or seed to be 

 buried in the soil, 'i'liese inventions, many of 

 them showing great ingimnily and admirable 

 contrivances, liavi; been brought belbre the pub- 

 lic wiih tfie recommendation of names respec- 

 table and numerous, and no doubt given in kind- 

 ness and sincerity, as ihi; just aid that men who 

 study lo facilitate the labors of their fellow men 

 should receive at the hands of llieir neighbors 

 and friends; btit of all these inventions, of all 

 these cirntrivances, is there one that has come 

 into general use, one that has survived the green 

 age of noveliy, and foinid a place in the utensil 

 house of every respectalile and prudent farmer? 

 If there be one or more, I should !i';c to be in- 

 formed of if, and invite for myself and olhers 

 who may entertain a similar desire, tiiat the an- 

 swer may be made, and the machine |iointed out 

 ihrongh the pages of the Visitor. 



1 have been among tlie credulous, the uiliing 

 worshipper at the temple of inveulion, and have 

 seen some of these macliines that appeared to 

 meet every difficulty, and overcome every objec- 

 tion that could be suggested ; but 1 have been 

 like the more competent inventor, comjiletely 

 disappointed in my e.vpectations: complicalion 

 in the inacliinery, and the variety in the size, 

 shape and cnndillon of the various seeds, or seed 

 of llie same kind, have overthrown my exjiccta- 

 tious, when e.-iperience and practice have beei; 

 brought to the trial. 



Another difficulty is supposed to e.xist rii 

 the soil and .season. Mechanism is certain: the 

 the principles founded and preserved by the 

 Great Author of the Universe, are at all times 

 and every where alike under circumslances that 

 form a part of the same laws; but more seed is 

 necessary for one piece of hind, than anolher; 

 and more is proper to be sown at one season 

 tli.an another; ami can the undevialing princijiles 

 that belong to machinery meet these eircmiistan- 

 ces.' 1 am apprehensive not, and lliat what- 

 ever tviay be desired orTlreamed of will never 

 be accomplished, and that in this no improve- 

 ment will supersede the moile practiced since 

 the days of Adam of |)!anting the seed by the 

 haijd of man, aided by e.Y|ierioncc and judg- 

 ment. 



Great improvements have been made, as we 

 all know, ill llie implements of agricullure, 

 and there is room doubtless for ."^till liirilier ad- 

 vances in the plough, (or instance, that e.hridger 

 of labor, and inslroment that forms as il were 

 llie basis of civilization. The rude, the clumsy, 

 llie inefficient instrument thai was first used for 

 this [im-pose — what a contrast to the well adap- 

 ted and even scientifjc utensil we now have, and 

 find so common tha.t few imagine, and still ftjwer 

 aio uwure of the [irogress that lias been made. 



We in this country are not, it is believed, behind 

 any other in the gu|ierior excellence and variety 

 of onr ploughs, as we find them so various that 

 they are adapted to jinr various soils; but if 

 travellers sny true, there are parts of F.nrope 

 alinosl wliere they were centuries back, and ill 

 ■'Xsia apjiarently just where they were. France 

 has been behind -England, hut her aiiriculuiral 

 socielies have been making and are slill effecting 

 chaiigesfor the better ; laigland is before France, 

 and 1, judging from a set of ploughs imported a 

 tew. years, since by a native of ihat country, a 

 farnisr in this, believe that we siirpa.=s them lioth 

 in the excellence of- our ploughs — for he could 

 not use them willi any salisfaclion. 



The cradle also is an .American tool which I 

 have been informed is-d.iit i>sed in Europe at all. 

 One man with this will accomplish the work of 

 many with -the sickle, doing it ei.|ual!y welL 



I havo thonght also that the hoe, ihat common, 

 instrument, might be improved something in 

 shape, and also hi size. Vv^iuld not a heavy boe 

 answer best iii a hard soil, and v.ould not all 

 hoes he inifiroved by a circular edge so it would 

 enter the ground by 11 drawing cut instead of a. 

 s(]nare one ? 



Do not the long handled spoon shoveSts work 

 e.isier from tlfis very shape, by which they slide 



to til?, soil, upon the doiilde principle of wedge 

 and wedge? Every one whose years have. nuido- 

 him a'-qnainted Hiih the use ol' a razor, knows 

 "low iiiiich easier the (h'awingcut is iliaii lairanri 

 square at right angles; and do we not find it 

 ii'iewilb almost if not all edge tools? Yet we 

 make a common hand boe square on the edge, 

 which every laborer shows nut to be adapted, by, 

 nsiiiL' the corner in hard groniid. 



Sufficient has been said perhaps for llie day 

 and occasion, and if any thing instrnclive or- 

 advantageous has been simgesled, niv eiid.ia ac- 

 complished, A FAR.MEK. 



Lov£WELi.'s Fight. — W.e had intended before- 

 now to have rorn cted one or Iwq. lin[iorlaiil er- 

 rors which occurred in ihe brief notice sf Love- 

 well's Fight with, the iii.lians. near what is now 

 the town of Frjburg, embraced in the hastily 

 written sketch of onr l.de j.iunt lo ibe White 

 jrniiiilaiiis. Tiie year of ilie tight, (either in. Ihe 

 hurry ol' writing or in setlnig-np the manuscri|it.) 

 was erroneously printed '■ J775," instead of I72.T 

 as it slionkl have been — the battle occurring on 

 the 8tli of Hay of the latter year. Through a 

 niisconceplion of the account as given by !>■. 

 Belknap in his Mistory of New Hampshire, viee- 

 also stated that "all but nine of the whiles were 

 eillicr killed or dangerously wounded, and at last 

 CO mpeiled lo surrender to the Indiitns." This was. 

 nol so. Uelknap says in regard to the result of ilie 

 right — " I'liis was one of ihe most lierce and ob- 

 stinate battles which had been fought with the 

 Jiidians. They had not only the advantage of 

 numbers, but ot placing themselves in ambush, 

 and wailing with delihi.-ralioii the inoinent/jf at- 

 tack." Afler the action conmieiiced under the 

 !:)Ost discouragin;! circumslances to the whites,. 

 " prudence as well as valor dictated a continu- 

 ance of Ihe engagemeiK, and a refusal 10 surren- 

 der; milil the enemy, awed by their brave re- 

 sistance, yielded them Ihe honor of llie tieliL — 

 Al'wr this encoiinler, tile Indians resided no morij- 

 at Pigwackei (Fiyhnrg) until the peace." 



For Ihe Farmer's Muathlv Visitor. 

 Comparative value of Crops. 



How few of us firmers calcuhite, or turn tiiiiv 

 views to the relative value of crops produced 

 upon the same qnaiitily of land ? In every de- 

 partment, and every calling of life, if we will 

 1)111 aiten lively observe, shall we not find that Iho 

 successful people aie_tliose who calculate, w'.ho. 

 hahiluaie liiemselves in be governed by results, 

 and who resort to facts iind figures, rather than 

 lo what is done by others, or what their own hab- 

 i;s had taught them? In iiialIersoi'>cicnce, when 

 the great powers of nature are rendered subser- 

 vient to human skill, we resort 10 calculation, as 

 we knosv beforehand. Except we do this, we 

 must fail altogetlier; but in agriculture we are 

 not constrained to this — we do not think suffi- 

 ciently often of the quantity of land devoted to 

 each crop, and the amount of praduce that we 

 gather in. 



Let ns look at the matter then a little closelv. 

 and come to one acre of land : if iriie fur one. 



