NEW EM 



FAMlIEn 



Published by John B. Russell, at M. 52 Mrth Market Street, (at the Jgricullural IVurchouse) Jjiomas G. FessknDi v, UA'for. 



VOL. VII. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, MAY 29, 1829. 



No. 45. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



FOn THE NCW ENGLAND FAIiMEK. 



COMPARATIVE STATE OF THE SEASOiV. 

 Mr Editor — I have purposely delayed tliis .■;<•- 

 customed pidilication, iii order tliat it may I)e leii- 

 dered more complete. I have heen iiidticed to 

 do it, because persons who keep no minutes liavc 

 been led into the very erroneous opinion, that tliis 

 season is late beyond any former example. I 

 have more than once remarked in rendering tliesi- 

 annual accounts, that the difference between what 

 is called an early and late season is practically \ev\ 

 small — tliat if vegetation is delayed, nature pos- 

 sesses powers to remedy the defects — that the dif- 

 ference between one season and another is e>fery 

 day diminishing as the season advances, and at 

 the close of May there is rarely a dift'erenc)! of 

 more than one or two days, between an garly 

 season and a late one. The disastrous seastn ci 

 1816, whicli I have often remarked cost ma-e to 

 Massachusetts, and Maine than the whole expmses 

 of the last war, is of course to be excepted. As 

 the present season has been the object of special 

 notice, I shall make my comparison more full ant! 

 complete, at the risk of being deemed too minute. 

 I repeat, what I have often said, that this is u, 

 comparison, not of my trees and plants with those 

 of any other person, (for such a test would he of 

 little value,) but of the same rrees and jjlants in 

 the same spot, throughout the whole period. l 



First cutting of a mess of asparagus, from \Jie 

 same bed, now 40 years old. 

 In 1815, May 6. In 1823, May 5. 



' 24, April 28. 



' 25, ' 20. 



' 28, ' 26. 



' 29, Bfay 1. 



So that the asparagus plant was rather more 

 forward in this abused season than in the average 

 of eleven years. It is difficult to jet rid of this 

 natural proof, far stronger than the most retentive 

 memories. 



First opening of the blossom of the apricot. 



In 1815, May 1. In 1S23, April 20. 



' 16, A|)ril 29. ' 28, ' 20. 



' 17, May 2. ' 29, May 3. 



» 18, ' 9. 

 ' 19, ' 3. 

 ♦ 20. April 20. 

 ' 22, ' 21. 



The apricot was therefore more late than usual 

 this year in opening its flovvers; but not remarka- 

 bly so. 



First opening of the blossoms of the cherry. 

 In 1813, May 10. In 1822, May 1. 



First: cjieniiig of the pear blossom.s. 

 lu 1813, May 20. In 1820, May 13. 



' 16, ' 12. ' 22, ' 5. 



' 17, ' 7. <• 24, ' 4. 



' 18, ' 24. « 25, April 30. 



' 19, ' 17. « 26, May 5.' 



' 20, ' 4. 

 < 29, ' 14. 

 First opening of the apple blossom.s. 

 In 1813, May 23. In 182 1, May 17. 



' 16, ' 16. ' 22, ' 9. 



' 17, '12. . ' 23, ' 19. 



' 18, ' 25. ' 24, ' II. 



' 19, ' 20. • 25, ' 8. 



' 20, ' 11. < 26, ' II. 



' 29, ' 15. 

 It will be thus seen that the lateness of the 

 •spripg had very little effect upon the apple tree, 

 and that the present season as to that tree must be 

 classed among the early ones. 



GENER.IL REMARKS. 



The peach tree has suffered extremely from 

 Massachusetts to New Jersey. In the latter State 

 an intelligent cultivator has lost a croji for which 

 iiC was offered 4000 dollars. It has been as fa- 

 tal to the vine, where it was left exposed. The 

 promise of the pear tree is smaller than usual, 



n;id ill some estates it has failed almost wholly 



The promise of the apple is not great, though It 

 i.i too early to decide with confidence. Grass has 

 .•^■..t well, and the prospect of a very abundant crop, 

 must lie taken as an offset to t!:e deficiency of 

 ..iu'ri. Tii.i i.w..;:?c v'"cherri-s is. fa'i ■ o.-';. 



Roxhmj, May 17, 1839. J. LOWELL. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



LOSS OF CUD IN CATTLE. 



BIr Fessenden — The writer, who has read a 

 little and wcrked a little, and moreover raised and 

 kept, fur about half a century, as many horned 

 cattle as most of our farmers, begs leave to offer 

 to Mr J. Stearns, Jr, of Pawtucket, the residt of 

 his experience and observation.* 



There is, however, some difficulty in this, as 

 Mr S. speaks of " the opinion of farmers and gra- 

 ziers, that cattle do soinetimeslose their cud,"&c. 

 as a matter of ridicule. In which latter opin- 

 ion he (Mr S.J unites, and offers an ingenious ar- 

 gument to show how " inconsistent it is with sound 

 reason and common sense, as well as general ob- 

 servation, that ruminating animals that are in 

 health should not possess the faculty of raising 

 their cud whenever they are inclined to chew 

 it." 



The philosophy of opinions will be lightly ad- 

 verted to. Mr Stevens' neighbor gave gooil ad- 

 vice i.e. when a " cow had lost her cud, to procure 

 one, or a substitute for one." Though Mr S. says 

 " he did not give much credit to tiie hypothesis." 

 Though his prejudices are adverse, yet we submit 

 to his good sense our experience. To trust to na- 

 ture in the cure of disease and difficulty, is some- 

 times well ; but too great a confidence in this 

 principle has produced many evils in worldly af- 

 fairs. 



• See p. 337 of our current volume. 



The Editor's remarks and ijuotaliuns as to "the 

 loss of the curl," arc well. It seeuis as if it waa 

 indeed a " local disease." But the means of cure 

 [iroposed by foreign writer,-, are too complicated, 

 such as no farmer would be likely to have. They 

 woidd reijuire an apothecary's sho]v, " aloes, cam- 

 omile, hoarhouml, &c. Ihiw the tl;roat or stom- 

 ach may be affected in the rase of "the lossoftho 

 cud" (so called) it is iiiurr^itrrial to inrjuire, as to 

 any practical good. As tr) i lie reined}-, experienco 

 furnishes several very simpli', and ahvays at hand 

 for the farmer. In nearly a score of instances I 

 have by passing a frog into the throat of the ani- 

 mal, by opening the month imd passing it below 

 the grinders, jn-oduccd itunii^diate relief. 



I, too, once deper.ded ii|ion nature, so far as 

 that a fine young animal was so reduced as not to 

 be able to be removed 40 or 50 rods, only but by 

 a board being ijlaced uiuK :■ him, with a man on 

 each side as si;pi)ortPrs. 1 he frog (for delicacy's 

 sake, a sjieckled one) was placed as before men- 

 tioned. In a few moments the jaws wore in mo. 

 lion, and in a very little time the animal began to 

 crop t!ie "grass, and was as it were forthwith 

 well ! ! 



But though my success has been perfect in 

 every instance, {except as relates to the unfortu- 

 nate frog) I yet do not consider even this sacrifice 

 as absolutely i-idi.-pensablo. I have seen and 

 known several iiistances of success by the use of 

 a. small piece of salt fish. Qlhnrs may from dif- 

 ferent applications find equal relief. Rut when 

 we can do well we are cautioned by an old prov- 

 erb not to St- .v- to do better. With much res- 

 pect for yotir correspondent, I Km, sir, vours, 



May 20, 1829. ' W. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



POTATOES. 

 Mr Fessenden — In the American Traveller of 

 the 12tli inst, I have observed an article on the 

 culture of potatoes, from Caleb Stark, of Dunbar- 

 ton, which corroborates Mr Quincy's experiment, 

 an account of which was published in the Ameri- 

 can Farmer, vol. ii. page 294. Mr Stark says ha 

 made a trench in his garden 39 feet long ; tliat ho 

 planted one potato weighing 13 oz. in the middle, 

 that he then cut two potatoes weighing 8 oz. each, 



iito 53 ])ieces, and planted them in the trench 6 

 inches apart, beginning at 4 feet 3 inches iVom the 

 whole potato on each side. The result was 46 lbs. 

 4 oz. of crop from the two cut potatoes. The 



argest weighing 15 oz. ; and 6 lbs. 10 oz. from 

 the whole potato. The laigest weighing 13 oz, 

 Mr Stark merely gives the facts, and says he ab- 

 stains from further comments. I will suggest 

 those which occur to me, though ])rohably differ- 

 ent from what might have teen made by Mr 

 Stark. The row was 39 feet long. The whole 

 potato was planted in the middle, a space of four 

 feet intervening between it and the pieces on each 

 side. It therefore occupied a space in t!ie trench 

 4 feet 3 inches long, as the cut pieces on each sido 

 would occupy with their roots at Icart half the 

 space intervening between them and the whole 

 potato, if not more, as they would be r Urictedin 

 room on the otlier side. The cut poliitoes then 



