44 



-^l]e iaimcr's iHont!)lij llisitor. 



ecinnce. secure to fiir Carn.'ers ten ilohars" wdrlh of a^ri- 

 cullurnl products, wljpre ihey now pet hut spveu dnllnrs' 

 wuitli. For wliiil purpose Joes the luisbnndrn m t<»il so 

 hard tlirou^Iitnit the vear7 Is it rmt to iran^lorm cciniii 

 cl'-meiits ot earth, air and water, into cultiv.iled plants; 

 nud Utese ngain, into doinoslic aniin ilc, bed', purlc, mul- 

 tiMi, htiKfT, chot'E-c iind wool / And what .to lliese cle- 

 mcnla of earth, a'r and water, which the well or ill appli- 

 ed iabi r of* the I'trniLr changes into wheat and "dher f^raiii, 

 into grass and roots? Where is the practical itgritul- 

 turalisl to I'liid the raw nrilcrial of one frond ripe whcit 

 plant ; and how must the necessary ingredients he ci.m- 

 biued, and applied l<* the soil, so as to realise the Inrgesi 

 cr-p at the Ie:i!>t expense 1 



To siy nnihnig of the gaseous and earthy elements 

 necess:iry to niiUe good firm wheat straw, \\^• now laj^e 

 f'vrr 1:2,(100.000 bu>liel3 i>f the raw material of whejt 

 bread 'roni our fiE'ld:^ every year, and never st"p to enquire 

 whelfipr this pysteni of cnllnre will or will not rob <iui 

 wheal lantls of all their brtsid-bearinu; elements. Not 

 one p;ulicle in a thousand of the elements ol bread, alter 

 entrnni; human mouths, ever tinds Us way bick again on 

 to the lipid iVt-m whenre it was taken. If ue are certain 

 that (he b'Mievolent Author of our bt^'r.v^ will crentr ane,.', 

 annudty. UOOO.OnO bu^liels of those pirlicular i.iaredi- 

 eais which in ike th.u amount of wheat, and will keep 

 good all the eli-'incnls of straw not returned utter the 

 harvest, then peiha;)s our lields may not snd'er by contin- 

 u tus cr')p,'iiig wiilinut renovation. Uut Ilcjiven will not 

 ere lie one particle of nnttor f4)r our especial benefit, 

 though the two-aud-a-half millions ol' people in New 

 Yoi-li ph-iil waste the raw uiateriil of 50,000,000 bushels 

 of i^r.ii'u every year, until they shall have nu more to 

 wast.-^. 



'V,i prevent farther loss, an.! regiin all the fertilizing 

 ele nents taken from ojr cnltivaled lands since their first 

 fietljpment. are objects of groat public iinprrtirice. AJaii 

 is iniJi:?btpd to agricultural science for the inv.du ible dis- 

 covery that not fir trom 97 percent, of all the elements 

 ol cultivated plants exist in the air in exhauslless quanti- 

 ties. These are cirb m, nitrogen. "Xygen and Jiyilrtigen. 

 the two latter f rmm^ water, Tlie cumbustion oi' wuod 

 nnd coal, the respiration of all aninnls, lerinentrition and 

 the deconipositinn of all organic maiter throw into the 

 atmosphere a vastiinr^unt of the ingredients necessary 

 for the recnnstruntion of vegetables and airimaU. To 

 Bay n^llnng ot' water and its elements, which pfiy an im- 

 pj.-tmt |j Kt in all orj inic structures, carbon is the largest 

 uulI ni'ist expensive element in the prctduction of pi nils 

 and don»?stic animals. It is the bisis of vejet.ible mould 

 — ■' the fit of the land" — snd, combined with the con- 

 slitneuts (d" water, forms veritable fat ii\n\ butler. It is 

 some conso! ition to ';now that there jiro no lesa than 

 (■even tons of pure carbon diffused throngh the nir over 

 every acre of land, whether barren or fertile, upon the 

 Jiabitablc globe. 



The earthy part of the wlieat plant forming less than 3 

 per cent, of its sfdid substance, consi?ts ot' silica, (flint.) 

 lime, potash. Biida, ma;znesia, alumina, (the b.isis o' clay,) 

 rblfprine, sulphur, phosphorus, and a irace of iron. .•\il 

 these minerals are iiulispensablc to the production of oie 

 good wheat plant. Hence, if a firmer had an abundance 

 of all the other elements in his field to grow fm-ty bu;hcis 

 of wheat on n.i acre, and it should be dostltute'of phos- 

 plmrus, that defect would be fatal to the crop. There is 

 good rc.'.snn lobflieve that if a practical wheat grower 

 will roslore to his field every ypar all the raw milcrial of I 

 that bread-bearing plant, a large crcp can be harvested 

 from the same soil year after year, as well as to let it lie 

 idle, or to cultivate other grain for three or four vears and 

 ih n grow wheat again. Persons unacquainted with the 

 very compound n iture of wheat, are apt to imagine that 

 the applicition of one jirtilizin^ element, lime^ for in- 

 stance, ought to KuIU'e to produce a good crop. They 

 !ire ignorant of the fart that e\ery kernel and stem <if 

 wheat has twelve othor indispensable insrrcdicnts in its 

 compo.sjtion. Millions of diys of Snrd fiber are annually 

 thrown awriy in Now York aione, in a vain attempt to 

 transmute one mineral into another. Our farmers are 

 searching for some strange philosopher's stoiie that will 

 rhange lime into potash, polish into magnesia, magnesia 

 into ti;nt, dint into cliy, clay into sulphur, suljdiur into 

 iron, iron into phosphorus, phof^phorus into nitrogen, ni- 

 trogen into carbon and cirbon into oxygen. VThen a man 

 ca.i make llie half of a thing equal lo'the whcle. then he 

 may nise a go iii crop of v/heat wliere his soil licks one- 

 half of the elements of that grain. 



Your committee believe it practicable to increase tlio 

 annual produ.-ls of our present rural industry .33^ per 

 cent, without the aid vi' one dollar id' additional capital ; 

 that is, they believe tliat full one-lhird of a\1 ai,'ricuHnral 

 liboj- IS (itrrilly thrown away by its mi. application. The 

 uniform laws of nature'will not vary nor accommodate 

 the needless ignorance of m m. Henctj it. follows ilmi 

 man must apply his labor in strict con ormitv to the un- 

 erring laws that govern the changes of matter, or toil <in 

 through life giving two days' work for ihoac ticcessnries 

 and cotiif..rls, which an understanding of the laws of na- 

 ture would have secured to biui in es.-hange forone day's 

 work. The vviiolu doeirine of eternal l;:ird work and pe- 

 nurious li\ ing as the be.U means of acquiring wealth or 

 the comfiuts of life, your conimiltce deem unsound. 

 The inevitable effect of this popular system is to degrade 

 and brutdy, rather than t j elevate tur race. iMor^^mus- 

 cular labor, mere luechariical jiower. no matter howyreat 

 its force, w-tliont ndeiuate knowledge to gu-.dn and direct 

 it. \s far more liUely to act wrong than righl. for the sim- 

 ple reason that U\"\X' are Jive wrons loai/s io do. almost 

 evpry thing, where there is one ri^hl way. 



All men have intellectual organs thai require devel- 

 op nenl and peculiar nourishment, not less than slom icbs 

 wiiitdi need daily food. Hns not the Creator of man 

 riiini!est3.1 his apprnbilio.T of ha:iian eiforts to acqu;je 

 wisdom, even woiiJIy wi^dou), by making the ignorant in 



al! climes, and in all ages of the world the servants o\' i\\k 

 wise ? 



A knowledge of the ar-s of ploughing, sowing nnd 

 rrapiug may do for the purpose of wearnig out a produc- 

 tive hum. but soinclhiiig more IS necessiry to en.ible its 

 owner to give back annuaity lr> c ich of its cultivated 

 fields the precise elements removed by the liarvest, and 

 that too at the lea>t possible expense. 



Suppose a farmer now cwttivutes six acrea of land in 

 wheat, to h irvest 100 bushels, how is he to manage so as 

 lo grow 133 bushels at the sain'i expense? It he can 

 raise 33J bushels per acre on tour acres, that will t;ive 

 him the amount desired and save the wb-ole erisi r.d' culti- 

 vating two acres of land. This saving iiviy be s«t down 

 at .S,'3 p< r acre, which will give JJIG surplus to lie expend- 

 ed in purchasing the raw material to p.oduce the extra 06 

 bushels of whe;il on the fi'ur acres to be cultivated lyj' a 

 new process, .^s abr.ut I.'-l per cent. ( f ripe wheat pj.iirts 

 consist of cirboii and water, charcoil must be an iniftort- 

 ant element in fertiltziiig the soil. Of the oiii^r 6 p<:r 

 cent, about one-half is nitrogen, and the other moity is 

 made up of silica, potash, soda, magnesia, alum. iia, phos- 

 phorus, Mtlphur, chlorine, and a trace of iron. Let the 

 whcat«jroxver take 100 bushels of charcoal, grind it tine 

 in a bark null or pnlver;2e it well with flads on a threshing 

 floor, anti add theielo five busfiels of grouiul plaster. 

 This would not cost in most farming diotncts in this 

 State over ;jj'7, and if the coal and L'_>p^uin be placed iu a 

 vat r)r hirge tub and saturated with the urine of c iltle, or 

 partly moistened with the liquid e.xcrt'tions of the human 

 species, and have five bushels of leaclied ashes mixed 

 with the mass, it will contain all the elements of |33 

 bushels of guod wheat. In case the urine can not be had, 

 theadditiini of four bushels of salt will give all the soda 

 and chlorine that is needed, while the ashes will furnish 

 hU the f)otash, silica and magnesia required. Tlie plaster 

 will } leld the sulphur and lime, and a bushel ot hone dust 

 w-ill give tl'.e phospfiorus. \ l.itle copperas will supply 

 the-necessary iron, and the charcoal will not only yield 

 carl' >ii but it will also ;ibsorb ammonia always toui.d in 

 rain water when it conies from the clouds. 



All these constituents x)f wheat can be bett applied to 

 the soil before sowing the seed, but a top dressing of a 

 compound of coal, plaster. ashes and suit, moistened with 

 whatever urine can be collected, may be applied to win- 

 ter or spring whea4. in .April or Aiay, with sign.d benefit to 

 the crop. Deep ploughing and tlKU'ough diaining are iin 

 portant aids in wheat cultire, for reasons which vyur 

 committee will not stop to explain. 



The liberal use of fVeslily burned lime is very beneficial 

 by the vay of correcting any acidity of soil; and also by 

 absorbing carbonic acid from the air, to be gitfen up lo 

 the roots of plants, and thereby proaiote their gniwth, 

 A pint of human urine contains ammonia enough lu sup- 

 ply a buihel td wheat with ail the nitrogen it needs. 

 And it is worihy oi' remark that wheat well bupjdied with 

 nitrogen in ammonia, wiH contain trom ten to twenty per 

 cent, more "gluten than it would it it lacked thai element, 

 while the wheat that abounds in gluten will make from 

 seven to filtccn percent, more good lircad than the same 

 nu intily of flour composed almost eiitirel) ot" starch. 



l;i Fland'?r^- farmers pay forty shillings, or nearly ten 

 dollars a year fur the uriut of ;i single cow for that length 

 of lime, to bo used iu the culture of wheat and other 

 crops. Common sense would seem to teach every agri- 

 culturalist th.it he should re.^tore to iiis lields every parti- 

 cle of the liquid and solid excretions of all animals that 

 i'f^et] upon his crops. 



\ little study of the science of animal plivsiolocry 

 woutd convince every practical firnier that not far trom 

 one-liiird of all the grass, hay, roots, and gram that enters 

 the mouths of hi? domestic animals is needlessly lost, 

 owing to some removable defect in their organicstrucTure. 

 Le>s than one-half of the solid matter taken into their 

 stomachs is voided by the bowels and kidneys. On an 

 average, more than three'fourths of all the carbon thai 

 e.iisls in the food of all respiratory animals escapes 

 through the lungp. The action of these important organs, 

 which never cea^^es night nor diiy. governs tne elaboration 

 of muscle, fnf, milk, and wool, in such domestic animals 

 as are kept for their strength, as the hopee or.j'ox; itieir 

 milk, as the cow ; their llesli and fat, as thcpi^; and 

 ih'isr wool, as the sheep. 



,^ Your committee do not fee! at liberty, inviting as is the 

 subject, lo extend this report so far as to explain the means 

 antt process by which the organic Ftructure of our six 

 millions of sheep, two millions of neat cattle, and as 

 many swin". can be greatly improved. The loss in o.ic 

 winter by the throwing away of animal heat in this State 

 alone, wirch heit. be it known, is generated not by burn- 

 ing cheap firewood or coal, but by the comliuslmn of the 

 carbin in Jny , gr;tin. and roots, or'ol fat iii the Muunai. is 

 not less than four millions of doll irs. A man that eats 

 half a pound of beef, two pounds of potatoes, and half a 

 pound of bread, will expel with moderaie exercise, car- 

 l)on enough from his lungs iu -i hours to heat '^70 pounds 

 of water from oJo up to blond heat. A knowledge of 

 physiology would be of great practical service to our 

 rural population by teaching lliein how to avoid many of 

 the exciting causes of disease and protracted suiTering. 



Your committee respectfully suggest tiiai the Lr-iiisla- 

 lure might authorize the Stare .\jricultural Society to 

 empfjy a practical and scientific fanner to gi\e public 

 lectures throui^hout the State upon prai;iical and scien- 

 tific hu>.bandry. at no higher compeusaiion lo be drawn 

 'roin 'he State Treasury than the pay of a member oJ 

 this House, to the tireat benefit of the agricultural tnler- 

 est of the State. Having visited every rural district and 

 learned the condition of the soil, and in a good degree 

 the precise wants of its cultivators, such person, if oih- 

 erwi^e competent, could compile a work adunr.iblv adapt- 

 ed tn all the peculiar circumstances of our firmers, \\ liich 

 might be placed in all our school district libraries, at the 

 expen.se of t!ie tunds of such libraries. A work on prac- 

 tical and ecientiSc husbandry, embracing all the disc<»v- 



cries and improvemerts recently made in this most inr 

 portant branch of productive industry and carried home 

 to the fireside of every practical farmer, could not fail of 

 being eminently serviceable (o the communitv at large. 



In the opinion of yotrr committee, practical science to 

 be truly useful, should be carried home to the understand- 

 ing of every mind wbirh controls 3 pair of laboring 

 hands, that those hands may work at al! limes to the best 

 advantage. The knowledge of the few no matter how 

 prof lund. can never conipensale for the Isnorance of the 

 many. There are moral considerations, whirh might be 

 urged with great propriety in favor of agricultural and 

 mechanical schools, and pul}lic lectures upon the natural 

 sciences, inseparably blended with the every day opera- 

 tions of life; but )our committee may well leave them 

 tu ihe good sense of the House. 



All of which is resnectfully eobmitted. 

 DAMKL M:B, 1 



JOHN JAMISON, Committee 



WAHiNEK ABBOTT, S on 



JAMKS GKOOM, AsricuUure. 



JOHN L. COLK. J 



From the .Mbany Cultivator. 

 Food of different Nations, 

 We Iiavp heeu iiiucli interested Iiy the exnnn- 

 iijiiioti of ;i Keport inride liy Mi". Senior of Eiig- 

 laiitl, on the siiltjcct of pioviriloti for tlic poor. 

 It id ilie result ot tin extensive obsei vation, nn*l 

 wide L-orres)»nnfIence, Tlie foDinving is^ivenns 

 the quality ofJboi] used liy an agricuhtirnl iid)orer, 

 having a wile and lonr children. 



AMERICA. 



jYew York. — Tea, coffee, wheat bread, meat 

 tuire a day. 



Massnchiisefts. — Potdtry, meal or fi.sh, wjih rye 

 or Inrlian Inead twice or ihrice a day. 



Mexico. — IVlaize prepared either in porridge or 

 their cakes, and heans, with ciiiiej n liot jiepper 

 of which ihey eat larjre qiianiiiie.-^ as seasonin£j% 



Cnrthagena. — Chiefiy animal Ibod. 



Venezuela. — Maize, ve^jeiables, and frnit. 



Untguay — Animal lood, 



Hnyti — Plantains, sweet potatoes, and other 

 vegetables. 



EUROPB. 



Ao/'ifwy. — Herrings, oat meal porridge, pola- 

 loes, Oat meal bread, bacon, and salt beef perhaps 

 twic3 a week. Brainly in general nse, distilled 

 (Vom grain or potaloes. 



Sweden. — In the sonth, potatoes and salt tish ; 

 in the nortli, p.o) jidue and rye bread. 



Russia. — Rye Itread, buckwheat, and sour krout; 

 sonp seasoned with salt and lard. 



litnmark. — R}o l)read, iid'erior cofiee, cheese 

 and butter. 



llanscafic Towns,— Rye bread, potatoes, l)acon 

 seldom, porridge, cheap fisli. 



Mccklenherg; — Good sotind food, occasionally 

 meat, Ihm'V. 



JVurttmberg. — Poa sonp, potatoes, rye bread, 

 meat once or twice a week, 



Holland. — Kye, cheese, potatoes, beans and 

 pork, biittt.M'milk, meal soti[), beer, 



Belgium. — Bread, potatoes, and milk. 



France. (Havre.) — Bretid, vegetables, cider, 

 rarely meat, cdftVe and tnulasses, 



France. (Briitawj.) — Barley bread, potaloes, 

 cabbages, 6 ll)s. of poik weekly. 



France. (La Loire.) — Bread nnd vegetables, 

 iiacon or other meat now and then. 



France. (Bordeaux.) — Rye bread, Indian corn, 

 salt, and bmcher's meat rarely. 



Piedmont.—Ko meat, a little wine, bread of 

 maize ami wheal floiir. 



Porlugal.—^iih fisJj, corn bread, vegetable soup 

 wild oil or lard. 



Grecce.^Corn or wheat bread, olives, f>ulse, salt 

 fisli and meat occasionally. 



European Turkey. — Bread, rice, greens, olives 

 and onions, meat about once a week. 



Mafia. — Millet sonp, barley bread, cheese,herb.'?. 

 w hen in employ ; ont of work, bread and soup 

 onlv. The same remarks apply to Sicily nnd 

 Itafy. 



Mr. Wallace gives the following as the weekly 

 expendimre of a larm laborer in Ejigland, whose 

 liimily consisted of himself, wile, and two chil- 

 dren, and whose wages were 9s. weekly, or about 



Two peeks of oal meal, Is. 6d. Five peckg of 

 poiaioes, 2s. Id. Milk, Is. Loaf of bread, 6d. 

 Malf onnce of tea and Iialf ponnd of sugar, 5d. 

 One lb. of bacon, 6*i. Fish, 6i\. Coal, oil, soap, 

 Is. -id. Tobacco, 3d. Rent, Is. 



The food of the Irish laborer is mostly pota- 

 toes ; of the Scotch, oat nnd barlev bread," nnd 

 finb. 



