262 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



inch deep. Should the weather be cold they will 

 lay dormant, but should there be about that time, 

 as we usually have, a spell of very mild, warm 

 weather, the plants will show themselves in the 

 course of ten or fifteen days. <Vt this early stage, 

 they are very tender, and should there be a frost 

 they may be all killed, they therefore should be 

 protected, if this be likely to occur, by some slight 

 covering. This need not be applied after ihey 

 have advanced a little in their growth, as they then 

 become extremely hardy. We have seen every 

 leaf, except the heart-leaves on the plants, killed, 

 and the beets, as soon after as the temperature of 

 the weather ])ermitted, again sending out fresh 

 leaves, anu these plants afterwards i)roduced very 

 fine and large roots. The young plants should 

 receive an early hoeing and earthing up, for they 

 send up a part of their root above the surface of 

 the gi-ound, when they first come through, which 

 being very tender, is soon injured by the wind 

 twirling the plants around, and the sand blowing 

 against them. If they are examined, they will be 

 found very often unable to su])pQrt themselves, 

 aud resting on the ground the outer parts of the 

 root, entirely destroyed, and nothing but the woody 

 fibres remaining ; and these very often reduced to 

 mere threads. We have seen them often com- 

 pletely severed, and the tops with their leaves lay- 

 ing on the ground near the remaining part of the 

 plant. Before we had noticed this, we lost many, 

 and gave the grub worms the credit of destroying 

 them ; but, although the worms will destroy some, 

 yet the wind will destroy many more, if they are 

 not protected. This is done by earthing them up 

 so high as to leave merety the heart leaves micov- 

 ered ; it must not be neglected by those who wish 

 to have regular and well filled beds, and must be 

 attended to early, or there will be little gained by 

 it. The other part of the culture is simple enough; 

 they must be kept clean from grass, and the earth 

 mellow around them. If sown in January, they 

 will, in all probability, be fit for use in May. Any 

 time from the middle of January until May, beets 

 may be sown, but the late crops are not likely to 

 be either so large or productive, owing to the ex- 

 treme heat, and very often drought, which pre- 

 vails during that season of the year. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 

 BOSTON, FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1829. 



HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



It is the design of the promotersof this contem- 

 plated institution, to invite a general cooperation 

 of their fellow citizens, throughout the State. — 

 Such as are dis|)osed to become members, may 

 signify their intention through the medium of some 

 friend, (if a personal application is inconvenient,) 

 or by letter, postage pnid,to Mr J. B^ Russell, pub- 

 lisher of the New England Farmer, or to the sub- 

 scriber. Secretary of the previous meeting. 



Bosto7i, March -Id, lS-29. ZEB. COOK, Jr. 



Fire. — The Green House and work-shop, of Mr 

 Jacob Tidd, of Roxbury, were consumed by fire, 

 about half past one o'clock, of the 24th ult. Jlr 

 Tidd lust nearly all his farming tools, but not many 

 valuable plants. It is not known how the fire 



originated, which first broke out in the shop 



Loss about S600. 



An able article on the Report of a Committee of 

 the Essejt Agricultural Society has been received. 



It does not appear to us that the occasion called 

 for the display of so much energy of animadver- 

 sion as the writer has exhibited ; and we arc not 

 prepared to second all his sentiments. We will, 

 however, permit his remarks to appear in our 

 next. 



Woodland on a Farm — An estate without timber 

 may be compared to a house without furniture. 



On carrying live Poultry to Market. — An Eng- 

 lish writer remarks that " death is scarcely a mis- 

 fortune to an animal which has no previous ap- 

 prehension of it. But poultry carried in bags or 

 baskets to market has several hom-s previous suf- 

 fering, and the burthen and trouble of carrying 

 them thither seems much increased thereby." We 

 believe live poultry is seldom seen in American 

 markets. 



Husbandmen a7id Manufactures. — Flourishing 

 manufactures increase population, not only by the 

 increased number of workmen employed, but also 

 by adding to the number of husbandmen employed 

 in the cultivation of the neighboring land. 



Land and Capital. — In a new country it is an 

 object of inquiry, how much land can be culti- 

 vated to advantage with a given capital. But as 

 population increases, and land becomes compara- 

 tively dear, the question arises, on how small a 

 quantity of land can a given capital be profitably 

 employed ? It is in this latter state of a country 

 that agriculture attains its greatest perfection. 



Feeding Cattle with Turnips. — American writers 

 on agriculture have often expressed their ojiinions 

 that the culture of roots for feeding cattle, was 

 less advisable in this country than in England, be- 

 cause our winters were so severe that they could 

 not be drawn in the winter, and fed out in the 

 fields where they grow ; as they may be in Eng- 

 land. But an English cultivator, whose observa- 

 tions are jiublished in the appendix to " Plymlcy^s 

 Survey of Shropshire" says " I think it nmch more 

 advantageous to carry all the turnips to cattle in 

 stalls than to feed them out on the land, because 

 they furnish Uiuch more food and manure.''" 



Coivs fattened easier, a7id better Laborers than 

 Oxen. — The same writer above quoted says " I 

 think cows are much more useful and beneficial 

 than oxen, and that it would be an advantage to 

 the kingilom if few or no oxen were reared. The 

 uses of cattle are to work, milk, and feed. I have 

 seen barren cows work as well as oxen ; they re- 

 quire less keep and loalk faster. Oxen are of no 

 use in the dairy, and they will not feed [fatten] so 

 fast as cows. 



When first I commenced farmer, I foUovv'ed the 

 example of my predecessor in feeding chiefly 

 oxen ; but I soon found that cows fed much fast- 

 er and on less meat, and for some years past have 

 carefully avoided having any oxen in my stalls. 



The jirojected rail road, between Albany and 

 Schenectady, is to be commenced early this spring. 

 A route has now been agreed upon, and the sur- 

 veys completed and accepted. 



Strawberry. — The common strawberry in a ripe 

 state makes a most excellent dentifrice, sweeten- 

 ing the breath and preserving the gums. It is 

 said tliat the celebrated Linnfcus cureil himself of 

 gout by a persevering use of strawberries as an ar- 

 ticle of diet. 



Marc h 6, 1829. 



WORKING OXEN. 



Much has been said and written against the 

 common mode of working oxen with a j'oke. 

 This manner of attaching them to their load is 

 said to be the principal cause of their moving with 

 a slow pace. When oxen are attached to a cart, 

 with a stifle, heavy tongue, accorduig to the New 

 England mode, it is often the case that the load 

 is so disposed in the cart that it bears heavily on 

 their necks, and is very oppressive, especially in 

 going down hill. And sometiines in going up hill 

 the tongue of the cart has a tendency to rise, in 

 consequence of the preponderance of the part of 

 the load which is behind the wheels, and the oxen 

 are nearly choked by the bows of their yokes be- 

 ing drawn against their throats. 



In France, working oxen are harnessed by the 

 heads in such a manner as to call into action the 

 joint power of the neck and the base of the horn. 

 This method was some years since, introduced in- 

 to Ireland with complete success ; two oxen thus 

 harnessed, according to Enghsh accounts, were 

 able to draw with ease, three tons weight. 



JMr Cooper (Young\^ Eastern Tour) uses collars 

 on oxen as on horses, except that they are buck- 

 led 01'. with the narrow end open end downward: 

 the chains are fastened to them in the same di- 

 rection as on aliorse harness, the draught is there- 

 fore more inclined than with horses, the line of 

 the chains being almost up to their backs ; which 

 is necessary from the difterent shape of horses antl 

 oxen. They draw w hen in harness abreast in 

 pairs ; single or in a line, and tvalk as fast as horses. 

 IMr Bonlley says he "saw a wagon in Pentisylva- 

 nia, drawn by two bulls and tv/o oxen, bridled and 

 geercd in harness and collars." 



In Plymley's Survey of Shropshire, it is stated 

 that "The ox teams of this county used to consist 

 of ten oxen yoked : now those who use them 

 generally plough with five oxen single in geering, 

 or with lour oxen and a horse to lead them. A 

 few persons have used them in wagons." And 

 the same work mentions a team, in which " one 

 ox shafted the wagon, and I beheve this team, ei- 

 ther in ploughing, or upon the road, was as able 

 as any horse team in the neighborhood." 



The improvements made at Baltimore, in the 

 construction of railway cars, are exceedingly prom- 

 ising. A Mr Knight has invented a carriage by 

 which "a load weighing 1300 lbs. was drawn 

 backwards and forwards, on a level railway with 

 perfect ease by a single thread of sewing cotton. 

 A second experiment was then made in the fol- 

 lowing manner : ten fifty-si.xes wore placed in the 

 car, seven gentlemen being placed in it, whose 

 united weight was estimated at 1000 lbs., which, 

 together with that of the car, 200 His., made a to- 

 tal of 1760 lbs. ; a half pound weight was then 

 placed at the end of the thread, suspended over 

 the pulley, when, to the surprise of all present, the 

 car moved off, unaided by any other power, and' 

 passed to the end of the rail with the utmost fa- 

 cility. — Penn. Gaz. 



Spend prudently — What folly lays out in kidskin- 

 gloves, ill ten years, managed by prudence, might 

 fill a small purse. Are not white dollars worth 

 more to a farmer than white hands ? If your 

 finances are small, be not ambitious of owning a, 

 three story house. A humble cottacre is a good 

 beginning. Enter at "the little end of the horn,"- 

 and you may see at the other an elegant hotisa- 

 large enough for a thrifty farmer. 



