166 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 12, ISiS. 



JVEW EPTGLAIVD FARMER. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, DEC. 12, 182S. 



FIRE PLACES. 



An open heart and a liberal hand are much bet- 

 ter than an open house and a large fire place. — 

 New England fire ])laces, ajid other contrivances 

 for wanning a|)artnicnls, are not, generally speak- 

 ing, indications of superior skill in the useful arts, 

 nor evidence of paramount acquisitions in the de- 

 tails of practical philosophy. One would think 

 that the warmth generated by the combustion of 

 wood, or other fuel was considered as a nuisance, 

 and that the principal objects of our culinary fires 

 were to heat the atmosphere, and bring on such 

 a thaw as would soonest break up the sleighing. 

 In pursuance of this plan, we (that is, some of us) 

 stick our stoves in the throat of our chimneys, and 

 turn the heat out of doors with all practicable ex- 

 pedition. In lieu of all this, we advise you to 

 /lave a good deal of stove plate and pipe in your 

 rooms which you wish to warm, and let the "pipe 

 go round and round till it has distributed all the 

 heat it is capable of receiving, in the apartment, 

 instead of conducting it to the open air by the 

 shortest possible route. 



L.'VRGE CATTLE and LIBERAL PREMIUMS. 



John L. BoyJston, Esq. of Princeton, Mass. ex- 

 hibited at the last cattle show at Brighton, cattle 

 of the following description, araong others : 

 One pair of two years old steers of the 



Ilolderness breed, which weighed 2,254 lbs. 

 One bull, only 14 months old, which 



obtained the tirst premium in 1S26, 



weighed - - . . 1,014 lbs. 



The amount of premiums, which have been a- 

 waided to the above named gentleman this year, 

 for bis fine stock exhibited at Worcester and' 

 Brighton, including his premium for butter i= 

 174,20 dollars. 



varieties [such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, &c.] 



though with the leguminous ones of beans, tur- 

 nips, iiotatos, &c. (plants which probably derive a 

 large portion of nourishment from the air, or at 

 least cannot be cultivated to advantage where a 

 free circulation of air is wanting) the row husband- 

 ry is not only beneficial in the first instance, but 

 of important use towards cleaning the ground, 

 and preserving it in good condition afterwards. 



Beef Market Day. — A gentleman from Vermont 

 has made a suggestion, that the purchase day for 

 beef cattle at Brighton, should be changed from 

 Monday to Wednesday. This arrangement would 

 make a saving of expense to those drovers who 

 conscientiously observe the Sabbath. 



FOR THE HEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



CRAB AND .-VPPLE HEDGES. 



Mr. Editor — I have long been a reader of 

 your useful paper, and have repeatedly enjoyed 

 the Yankee's privilege of asking questions through 

 this medium. Permit me to ask if the apple tree 

 is known to be in use to any considerable extent, 

 as a substitute for the thorn for hedges ? And, 

 whether it may not serve the same purpose as the 

 thorn, and at less expense .' 



An answer to the above would be 

 received by your obedient servant, 



E. F. WOODWARD 



A'eidon, December 10, 1828. 



H'atefully 



DRILL HUSBANDRY, or ROW CULTURE. 



Much has been said and written in favor of 

 drill or row husbandry, for grain and 



well as Indian corn, potatos, &c. In th=s kind of pear soon after sow 

 culture, wheat, barley, and oats are planted like 

 peas and beans, (in rows) and the soil tilled with 

 the plough, horse hoe, or hand hoe, while the 

 plants are growing. It was introduced into Eng- 

 land by Jethro Tull, who wrote largely and re- 

 peatedly on the subject. Dr. Deanc, however, in 

 his Mw England Farmer, stated his doubts, whe- 

 ther that sort of culture would prove profitable in 

 this country; [see arlicle, JVew Husbandry— Wells 

 & Lilly's edit.] and the writer of the article .%n'- 

 ruHure, in the Edinbm-gh Encyclopedia, .slates his 

 opinion of drill culture as applicalile to Great Bri- 

 tain in the followin,'; terms : 



"The culmiferous grains of wheat, barley, oats, 

 and rye may be raised more abundantly, and at 

 less expense, according to the old ihsjiioned, or 



By the Editor. European writers have recom- 

 mended crab trees and apple trees as suitable for 

 hedges; and McMahon says "the common wild 

 thorn crai will make an excellent ground, or ditch 

 hedge, and will thrive in a poorer soil than the 

 thorn ; and hedges raised from tlie pippins of ap- 

 ples do tolerably well and form strong fences ; 



the former is raised from the i)ippins, and the lat- 

 ter can be i)ropagated in abundance by sowing 

 the pumice very thick immediately after being pres- 

 sed for cider, on a bed of good ground projjerly 

 prepared, and covering the whole with fine light 

 grass as I earth) near an inch deep; a few plants will ap 



in favor of the buckthorn, (Rhamnus cathaHicusj 

 which has been successfully cultivated for that 



purpose, by E. H. Derby, Esq. of Salem, Mass 



See New American Gardener, page 56. 



The prime principles of agriculture 1st. The 



soil ought to be kept dry ; or, in other words free 

 from all superfluous moisture. 2d. The soil ought 

 to be kept clean, in other words free from noxious 

 weeds. 3d. The soil ought to be kept rich ; or in 

 other words, every ])article of manure, which can 

 be collected to be applied, so that the soil may be 

 preserved in a state capable of yieliling good crops. 

 An agricultural code of this kind is not only a true 

 one, but has the particular merit of being simple 

 and distinct, and may be understood by the dullest 

 capacity. Were it carried into execution — were 



the operations of farmers regulated by its tenets 



were their endeavors constantly directed to keep 

 the land in their jiossession dry and clean, and as 

 rich as possible, then the country would be pro- 

 gressively improving. These are the fundamen- 

 tal principles of agricidture, though several other 

 things, such as rotations of crops and the like, 

 inav be regarded as minor or inferior 



SALIVATION OF HORSES. 



C. S. Rafinesque, Prof, of Botany and Natural 

 History in Transylvania, in a communication pub- 

 lished in the American Farmer, says, that " two 

 kinds of weeds, which grow occasionally in mea- 

 dows and pastures, produce this disorder when- 

 ever they are accidentally eaten by liorses and 

 cattle, together with clover or grass. Sheep and 

 hogs never eat them. The first and the worst is 

 the Euphorbia hypericifolia, a small milky plant 

 with opposite smooth leaves and very small white 

 flowers. The second is the Lobelia xnfata, or 

 asthma weed, a larger plant, with alternate hairy 



leaves, blue flowers, and swelled seed vessels 



Both have the leaves ovate, oblong, and slightly 

 toothed. 



"They both blossom at the end of the summer, 

 when of course they are largest and most detri- 

 mental. Being mixed with the second growth of 

 clover and grass, they sometimes become entao" 



ing, but a great crop will come I led thereto, and are eaten by horses, who wouTd 



up in the spring, which may afterwards be used 

 for stocks to graft on, and also for hedges, where 

 more suitable kinds cannot be had." 



Birch, beech, poplar, alder, locust, cedar, hem- 

 lock, and many other kinds of wood have been 

 used for hedges, as well as the crab tree, and ap- 

 ple tree. They all have their advantages and dis- 

 advantages, and the nature of the soil should be 

 taken into consideration in the choice of hedge 

 plants. We have never seen a hedge of apple 

 tree or crab tree plants, but both have been often 

 recommended by writers on agriculture. They 

 would, however, in this country, be liable to some 

 incidents which a cultivator should take into con- 

 sideration before he attempts to make live fences 

 of such materials. The borer, the caterpillar, and 

 worm 



boadcastsys^m,tha„by what .s called the row the canker worm are to be guarded against in 

 husbandry. When these grams are drilled, they ; hedges com,,osed of apple or crab tree, 

 are greatly exposed to the weather, and liable to \ plants must be pruned/ 



be hashed and broken down by every wind 



They also tiller or stool [branch out] so Iqng as 

 any interval remains for the spreading of their 

 roots, which occasions an inequality in the ripen- 

 ing of the grain of considerable importance to the 

 manufacturer. From these circumstances we are 

 led to believe, that the row husbandry cannot be 

 profitably exercised with any of the culmiferous 



The 

 plashed, &c. and would 

 requno a good deal of clipi)ing in order to make 

 them jiresent such a barrier of limbs that cattle 

 and es])ecial!y hogs, might not crowd through 

 them. On the other hand their fruit, and their 

 wood, valuable in the hands of the turner, as well 

 as tor fuel would afford compensation for consid- 

 erable extra trouble and expense. Our present 

 impressions on the subject of plants for hedges are 



probably reject them otherwise. They may like- 

 wise become mixed with the second crop of hay. 

 and be eaten with it by horses. Hence has arisen 

 the vulgar opinion which ascribed this disorder to 

 the second growth of clover. 



"Both the above plants have energetic proper- 

 ties. All the species of the genus Euphorbia are 

 strong drastics, and the Lobelia injlata is little in- 

 ferior to said genus in energy ; it has been use- 

 fully employed in the cure of asthma and other 

 disorders ; it was one of the Indian medical plants. 

 They produce a slight salivation even in man. 



"Some other plants may have similar salivat- 

 ing properties, but the two above mentioned are 

 the most common, being found almost all over 

 the United Slates. They are not uncommon in 

 Kentucky. 



"By attending- to this, it will he easy to prevent 

 the disease, since they are both annual plants, 

 whicli may easily be destroyed in the meadows 

 by pulling them up before they ripen their seeds. 

 Should they grow too thick, horses and cattle 

 should not be allowed to pasture where they grow, 

 and the second crop of hay should be cut rather 

 early (when the weeds are in blossom) and burnt 

 on the ground. 



"Should the horses and cattle happen to eat 



