^\)t iTarmcr's iUoutl)!]) bisitor. 



1G9 



session, no one tensed her ahont it. *In a short 

 time the noise of the (■irriinistaiice died nwny, Imt 

 not till it had gone over the neighborhnod that 

 the family had a watch in the potato |/ot, and, 

 among others, it came to the ears of the owner, 

 Tam Halliday, who was highly pleased with the 

 ' conduct of his beloved Jenny : for he thought 

 that if she had cried or sobbed, and told to whom 

 the watch belonged, it would have brought ridi- 

 cule on them both. Tam was, in short, delight- 

 ed with the way the matter hati been managed, 

 and he thought the watch was well lost, though 

 it had been ten times the value. 



Whatever Tam's ideas were on the subject, 

 Jenny felt conscious that it was her duty to re- 

 place the watch. Accordingly, next time she met 

 iier lover, she allowed no time to elapse before 

 she thus addressed liiui : 



"Now, Tam, ye ken very well how I have de- 

 molished yoiu' good silver watch ; but it is need- 

 less to regret what cannot be helped. I .shall pay 

 you for it every farthiiig. The one half I will 

 give yon wlien I get my halfyear's wages at Mar- 

 tlemas, and the other half soon; jis my brother 

 has awn me three pounds, which he has promis- 

 ed to pay nie albre the next Fastern's e'en fair." 



" My dear Jenny," said the young man, taking 

 her kindly by the liand, "I beg you will say noth- 

 ing about that ridicidous affidr. 1 do not care a 

 farthing for the loss of the walch, mair by toiien ; 

 I have gotten a rise in uiy wages fjae tiie new 

 luitd, for I maun tell ye I'm now appointed chief 

 herd in the Ca's Hope. Howsoever, to take any 

 payujent from you, to rob you of your hardwon 

 penny foe, would he disgraceful. No, no, 1 will 

 take none of yotir wages ; but there is one thing 

 , I will take, if you are willing, and which I hope 

 will make us both happy for life." 



"And what may that be, Tam, now that ye're 

 turned grand lie.id sheiiherd ?" 



"I will take," said he, "yonrself; Imt mind, I 

 do not ask you as a recompense for a paltry 

 watch. No: in my eyes, yoiu- worth is br-yond 

 all estimation. If you will agree to be mine, let 

 it be <i0!ie freely; but whether you are willing 

 CO maiiy me or not, from this time hen-ceforlh 

 the watch is never to be spoken oC 



What followed may easily be imagined. Tam 

 and .lenny were ni.arried as soon as the plenish- 

 ing of the cottage at the Ca's Hope could be pre- 

 pared ; and at the wedding the slory of the watch 

 and the potato pot was made the topic of much 

 hearty mirtj] ■•unung the assembled coujpany. 



The last titne we visited Jenny's cottage, we 

 reminded her of tlie transaction. " Honts," said 

 she, "that's an aiild story now. The laird has 

 l>eeii Site well pleased vvi' iIk; gude man, that lie 

 has gi'en him a present o' that eight-day dork 

 there. It cost eight pounds in Janii- I.ockie's, at 

 the east part o' Dumfries ; and there's no the like 

 in all the parish." 



The Season. 



By T, HOOD. 



i5uininer"s gone and over! 



t'o^'s are falling clown ; 

 And Willi riis&et tinges, 



Autumn's doing brown. 



B0112I1S are daily rifled 

 By the gusty thieves. 



And the Book of Nature, 

 tjetteth short ol' leaves. 



Round the tops of houses, 

 Swallows, as they flit. 



Give likely yearly tenants, 

 jKoticcs to quit. 



Skiea, of fickle temper, 

 Weep by turns and laugli- 



j\iglit and Day together, 

 Takiim; hail-and-hall. 



So September eiideth — 

 Cold, and nicst perveiso— 



But the uioiitlis that follow 

 Sure, will pii!c:h us worse ! 



Salt and £,iine. 



Salt and lime, artiticially mixnred as a nianmo. 

 promises to be a valuable" aid to the farmer in 

 those positions where the soil aboiuuls with in- 

 soluble silicates or geine, and wheie other ma- 

 nures necessary to produce decomposition or 

 fermentation are not at hand. ProC Johnston 

 recommends a mixture of tv\o parts of lime and 

 one part of salt, the mixture to remain incorpo- 

 rated in n shady place, or covered with sods two 



or three months before using. Salt and lime 

 shotdd not be used immediately after mixing, as 

 had results are apt to ensue; btit alter being well 

 mixed in a dry state and lying as directed, it may 

 be applied at the raleof troin thirty to sixty bush- 

 els per acre, either before or at the time of sowing. 

 Mixed with soot, salt acts with great power on 

 roots. Mr. Sinclair mixed six and a half bushels 

 of soot with the same quantity of salt, and used 

 the mixture on lands sowed to carrots. The re- 

 sult was, that unlnannred land gave twenty-three 

 tons of roots per acre, and the manured yielded 

 forty tons per acre; and Mr. Cartwright found 

 that where unmanured soil gave 157 bushels of 

 potatoes per acre, 30 bushels of soot and six of 

 salt, made it produce 240 bushels per acre. Dr. 

 Dana furnishes so beatniful an exjdanation of the 

 manner in which this mantire acts, that it de- 

 serves a place entire: "By mixing rpiicklime with 

 common sail, its soda is let loose, the acid com- 

 bines with the lime, forming a soluble salt of 

 lime, and so long as the soda remains caustic, it 

 has no effect on the muriate of lime, but as soon 

 as the soda becomes mild or ctirbouated, dei!om- 

 position of the muriate of lime is jiroduced, and 

 the common salt regenerated. Commencing 

 then with quicklime atid salt, we pass to a solu- 

 ble salt of lime and the original salt. )f these 

 various changes take place in the midst of jieal 

 or geine, it is evident that the caustic soda acts 

 upon the geiue, and also evolves ammonia from 

 that substance ; secondly, that the muriate of 

 lime, in its finely soluble slate, insinuates itself 

 among the particles of the geine; that the soda 

 19 also equally difliised, and that when the soda 

 becomes carbonated, it produces an almost im- 

 palpable carbonate of liuie, throughout the whole 

 mass, which, by its equal diffusion through the 

 soil witli the geine, acts upon the silicates, as has 

 been heretofore explained." To produce these 

 effects. Dr. D. directs to take one one bushel of 

 salt and two bushels of lime; to make the salt 

 into strong brine, and with it slack the lime. 

 Mix both well together, and let them remain ten 

 days; then let them be well mixed with three 

 cords of peat, shoveled well over for ahont six 

 weeks, when it may be used. A quantity of salt 

 suflicient to destroy all vegetation, may be ap- 

 plied to a soil with safety when a few months are 

 to elapse before the crop is to be put on ; as the 

 chemical changes which take place, partially 

 neutralize its effect during lliis time. A small 

 quantity mixed with the soil in each hill of corn, 

 has been I'onnd to protect it from the wire worm 

 and the cut worm ; indeed there is 110 substance 

 that insects of all kinds more dread than salt. It 

 is probable, theiefore, that furtlier experiments 

 will show that not the least value of salt is to be 

 found in its preventive properties against these 

 depredators. — GayloriTs Essay. 



I For the Farmer's Monthly Visitor. 



Native nnd Imported Cattle. 



Oiieaas Co. T't. JVoi: 8. 1843. 

 Dear Sir — The monthly visits of your esteetn- 

 ed periodical have recently afforded considerable 

 amusement to your readers in this vicinity, by 

 reason of certtiin contributions to the Septemlnr 

 and October numbers upon the subject of .Va/irc 

 C«///e,- I refer to the remarks of " New Hamp- 

 shire" and of "J. A. J." of West Tisbiiiy ; those 

 of the former appeared in the Visitor for Sep- 

 tember, and although the opinions of the writer 

 are in my view erroneous, they are expresspd in 

 a serious, and some« hat candid manner; while 

 the latter enters the li.>ls, with all the dashing 

 boldness of a knight errant. He opens the at- 

 tack by commentling to the lash all persons 

 foolish enough 10 buy improved cattle; iiiid 

 likens the " headlong zeal of the igiioranl," to 

 use his langiia:;e, "to purchase blood stock" to 

 something in the " Merry days of king Charles" 

 and fjirther illustrates smdi (idly by ipiolations 

 from the .sayings of "Tony \ellrr"'and others, 

 from those eililying writings, the Pickwick Pa- 

 pers. Now, sir, if the authorities to which J. ri. 

 J. refers have really any connexion with the sidi- 

 ject, then the gentleman has a decided adv.uil.age 

 of me; fori have never found leisure for sui-li 

 reading, and must remain in ignoianco of them 

 unless they jire republished in the " Visitor" or 

 " Cultivator," whicii for several years have been 

 my evening companions. But of the "Short 

 Horned Durham." and the "Devon," I may he 

 permitted to say I do know i-oriiethiuar : for iiow- 



e\er foolish it may seem to J. A. J., I must co"' 

 fess to the folly of buying, rearing, and sellin^ 

 these cattle; and scores of my neighbors would 

 be compelled to plead guilty to the same charge. 

 And by way of justification we should insist 



Firstly, that the crossine:s of these cattle have re- 

 ceived the approbation of the best Jtidges in this 

 coimtry: To show the truth of this assertion ref- 

 erence may by had to the Reports of the Com- 

 mittees, at the N. Y. State Agricultural Fairs for 

 the years 1842 and 1843: (see Cultivator) and, 

 sir, how came it to pass that the Joint Premiums 

 of that extensive society, inviliii!: competition 

 from the whole union as well as iis own State, 

 were rewarded to the.se breeds of cattle .' If it 

 be true, that they are " illy suiUd to our climate, 

 soil, and tnarhets,^' that they require better owe and 

 feed than can be afforded in this country, if they 

 are less |irofitable lor the farmers of this country 

 than the small native red cattle, how is it that 

 committees, selected from the different States of 

 the Union, could he induced to give these the 

 preference ? 



We might also refer to the improvements of 

 stock in the state of Kentucky through the agen- 

 cy of Mr. Clay, the well known character of the 

 Durham cattle in Oliio and in Massachuselts. 

 But without going abroad we would — 



Secondly, challenge the most rigid scrutiny into 

 our own experience and observation in this vicinity. 

 The stock (Durham) which we have here, was 

 imported through the Province of Canada within 

 five or six years past. Of the purity of the 

 blood there is no question; and thongji ju fir.st 

 it was coinbatted and sneered at by prejudice, 

 and even ignorance, it may now be said to have 

 acquitted itself triumphantly of .-ill the objections 

 arrayed agtdnst it, and is being considerably cir- 

 culated through the northern portion of this 

 county. Facts are so much heller than theoiy, 

 that a few details I hope will be allowed in rela- 

 tion to these animals. 



1 will premise that we have no monsters of 

 "two years old" weighing l.'iOO pounds; but in 

 one town in tiiis county, some thirty two-vcars 

 old heifers of the half breed have' been "sold 

 during this fall, at an average price of tv\eni.- 

 dollars a h(:ad: and they were bought by shrewd 

 and enterprising farmers, men who cannot lu' 

 blinded by ignorant zeal or by mere fancy, but 

 who in their purchases trncf tiie V(due received, 

 a fair and adequate consideration. These cattle 

 would bring in market double ilie price of the 

 common two year olds, without any reference 10 

 breed. Their merits, not their pedigree, com- 

 nieiid them to the purchaser. In size they aie 

 su|ierinr, in shape lliey are perfect. I speak of 

 the uniform chaiacler of the slock, not of siiiale 

 and rare examples. In the town of Derby, 

 where the experiment has been tested morefiiltv 

 than in any oilier in this (|iiarter, the instances 

 are many w here the half lilnnd Dinliam has been 

 reared by the same ILuiiier and in the same fold, 

 with advantages of care, fooil and blood on ihe 

 side of the dam precisely ei|ual with those of the 

 native stock; auM yet any stranger would fix a 

 double value on the foi-mei- over the laller. Nor 

 is there any occasion for buying hull calves at 

 two hundreil dollars a piece, rndouhleilly the 

 best form of the Durham iur this comity is' in a 

 cross with the native: these may be obtained tit 

 the same cost with the common cattle. For 

 whatever may he saiil of Ihe tender and reclili; 

 habit of this breed and of ilieir expensive appe- 

 tite (two ralher inconsistent Iciilures by the way) 

 actual experiment has demonstrntid ihal ihev 

 will thrive on coarser feed in sniruiiertmd poorer 

 hire in winter than ihe nalive calile. I know the 

 history of one herd now in this coiintv of tvM> 

 year ohis, forty in nnmbei-, whicli will bciu- com- 

 parison with any stock of 1 ipial number in New 

 England; in my opinion: and I know that they 

 have received poorer iee<\. and le.>-s aiteiiticii 

 llian is bestowed by a majority of farmers in this 

 State iqii.n cattle of the same age. During lln; 

 last winter they lived upon slr.iv only, iiniil into 

 January; and in the lalier half of the past winter 

 they were actually stinttNl from scarcity of hay. 

 Vom:= Willi respect, VEKiMOIVi'r. 



(To be cotdinitfd.) 



We wish to make <MU' \'isiiur the repo.^iiorv of 

 facl.s, rather than a nieditim of controvcrsv. So 

 far as our correspoudcnts bring out useful (acts 

 we ;uc Ldnd to publish ihcni. We win- im-liiied 



