244 



N E vV ENGLAND FAR M ER, 



FEB. 3, 1841. 



PEAT MEADOWS. 

 There «rc largo tracts of a pecnliar soil emi- 

 nently adapted to in,provement m .tsclf, and to he 

 enriching L\ improvement of other sods, the valu 

 of ^hich has scarcely begun to he anprecntcd 1 

 refer esperiallv to onr pent swamps These are 

 deep depnsits;.fve,.etable matter, the accumula- 

 tion of a.^es, which, in many cases at an exnense 

 which one year's cropping will con,pensate, may 

 be made in the highest degree productive ,n grass 

 potatoes, carrots, and Swed.sh turnips, and )n some 

 cases, as -xper.ment has proved, in crn, rye and 

 vvhea Three tons of English hay per acre are 

 Lt an nnusual crop to be obtained from these 

 i-nds and by proper management their productive- 

 .4 seems almost ..exhaustible. 1 will set aside 

 .Itof'ether their value as fuel, though in this re- 

 ',,6^, wi.hin twentyfive miles of a larire city, they 

 ..,ust he considered, at rnrrent prices of fuel, as o 

 cry crreat worth per acre. After two spits of fuel 

 avebeen taken, the land is still of considerable 

 ,alue to the owner; and ,f the top-paring, which is 

 ,-„snitable for fuel, be thrown back, it will in two 

 ,-ears afford him a liberal cutting of good foddei 

 for his stock.* But besides all this, the importance 

 ,,f these arounds, as furnishinsr abundant resources 

 lor his compost heap, and euablmg him to enr.ch 

 Ins higher and perhaps exhausted grounds, is inca - 

 culahln Now the i^mounl of this soil in N^w 

 SnMand is probably much beyond what most per- 

 .son's would supp.«e. The island of Nantucket 

 for example, is calculated to contain 98.5 acres of 

 peat swamp, from one to fourt.^en feet in depth 

 which ,s almost a tenth of its whole territory ; and 

 P.clnding the four western counties of M^^^^^^^u- 

 setts wluch abound less in this kind of soil than 

 its eastern portion, it is calculated ih.at there are 

 at least 80,000 acres or 1% square miles of an ave- 

 rage depth of six feet four inches, within this sin- 

 fffe state. Whether, then, we consider the value 

 of tliis soil in itself for cultivation, or as furnishing 

 the ready means of restoring that, which has been 

 exhausl.d, we cannot but acknowledge the adv^an- 

 tages which it promises to our agriculture.— toy- 

 man's Mdress at J^orwich. 



CLIMATE OF NEW ENGLAND. 

 The next question respects the climate of New 

 England. There is nothing in the climate of New 

 EnMand which forbids or is unfavorable to the 

 prosecution of a successful agriculture. 1 he win- 

 ters in most parts of New Kngland are long; and 

 cattle are kept at the barn from six to seven months 

 But if the season of repose is long, the season ot 

 labor and toil is proportionately short. With u.s, 

 though it be reduced to five m.mths, it is long 

 enough to make ample provision for the winter that 

 is to lollow. In a northern climate vegetation is 

 accelerate.! in proportion to the shortness ot the 

 season of life and growth; and nature accommo- 

 dates herself to lier necessities. There are ex- 

 tremes of temperature, which most persons would 

 be glad to avoid. If New England docs not occu- 

 py the desirable medium, yet it will be allowed 

 that her climate is not surpassed by any in respect 

 to lon<rcvity ; and our winter seasons are u""'"''- 

 eally acknowledged to be favorable to health and 

 to mental vigor, hi most parts of New England 



the climate allow; of the mat.;rin7;Ft^ mostde- '^'^y;'^^^ ^::^ ^;:Z:::s U^ jS cS 

 ing the most ""f ^eHy, of h vho,e ^er y^ ^^^_^ ^^__^^_ ^^^ ^^^ . ^ ^^^^,^ , ,,,, 



Indian corn may not b<. "matured, i or y permanent improvement of the soil, tae dura- 



years in succession there has been but a single ces per h ascertained. In this re- 



•general failure of the crop of Indian corn T is ^^^;^^]^ f vLbTv from as1.es and many 

 ihongh extensive, was not universal ; and this l^liyi'^Zlhose c&cacy is continued seldom 

 „ight have been in a gre«t measure avoided had other manures J ^^ ^^.^ ^^^^^^ 



suitable pauis been t.aken in the Procnrmg o '^^/^^,~; the pits at seven cents per bushel, 

 earliest seed and the P-P- J^ J™,^',;: Lm t: b^ del.Jered at many of the ports of 



l„nd. With the exception of cottor, nee ,ea a n^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ 



tbe sugar cane, there is not ".-"S'^'-^ ;' ^ ^^ , ^h, farmers of Long Island have for years been in 

 uable agricultural product which may not be sue- , 1 no tarmers i ^ ^ _, ,_ ...,.„„. c„u, ...,, 



cessfully cultivated in her territory.— 7iirf. 

 MEANS OF ENRICHING SOIL. 

 The next inquiry which suggests itself is, wheth- 



er we have the means of enriching our soils and of 

 rendering them as ,,roduclive as they may be made 

 We have first, then, the usual supply ol anin.al ma 

 nure; and as we are not exporters but are im- 

 porters of agricultural produce to a considerable 

 extent, this being consumed among us, performs its 

 part in restoring what has been taken from the 

 soil and in further mcreasmg its productiveness. 



Further, in extraneous manures we are by no 

 means deficient. I have already sp ' - 



, the habit of purchasing for their wheat fields our 

 leeched ashes at a cost often and twelve cents per 

 bushel. If these shrewd farmers have then found 

 an advantage in coming to our ports after our 

 drawn aslies, why m;iy not we import marl from 

 New .lersey,— a substance far more efficacious and 

 more enduring in its efl-ects than ashes, at even a 

 less price than is paid for our ashes ? 



In recrard then to manures and the means of en- 

 riching our lands in New England, there is no de- 

 ficiency ; but we arc greatly wanting throughout 

 the State, in frugality to save the vast amounts 

 which are now wasted ; in industry to collect the 



,kPn of our means around us; and in skill and labor in pre- 



peat swamps, and of the vast deposits of this vege- 

 table matter, which are scattered <,ver our territory. 

 Several parts of our territory abound i.i limestone 

 and in calcareous marls, which it is hoped will 

 prove ultimately of great value. Our sea coasts 

 present an inexhaustible supply of sea-weeds and 

 U and of marsh and dock mud and muscle bed. 

 Of ashes in various firms we have the usual sup- 

 plies Many of our various manufactories furnish 

 directly valuable manures or materials for manure. 

 This may be .said, in particular, of our woollen 

 manufactories; comb and brush nmnufactories ; su- 

 crar refineries ; e.xtensive tanneries ; soap factories ; 

 oil and candle establishments ; glue factories ; and 

 slaughter houses. Our large cities and villages 

 furnish the usual resources for manures to the 

 neiM.boring towns. Many of our lands likewise 

 are'sensitive to the almost miraculous powers ot 

 .ypsum ; and though New England has within it- 

 self no consider.able deposits of this valuable mine- 

 ral yet it is easilv procured, and may be furnished 

 to everv part of Ihe Commonwealth at a reasona- 

 ble expense— an expense in no case, where its ef- 

 ficacy is ascertained, such as to d.scour.-.ge its use. 

 _ 76k/. 



SAVING MANURES. 

 We have made as yet, .small advances in the 

 art ofsavinffand compounding manures. Hiere 

 is little doubt that as much valuable manure is now 

 lost or thrown awny, through ignorance or neglect, 

 as is used. The practice of renovating and en- 

 richin'T land by ploughing in green crops, or by in- 

 verting the old sward, is seldom practiced a.nong 

 us although where this has -been done, the effects 

 have surpassed the most sanguine anticipations. 



parinn- them for use. In s6il, climate, and manures 

 therels no impediment in New England to a suc- 

 essful agriculture. — Ibid. 



EFFECTS OF CLIMATE UPON MAN. 



Our climate is, as I have remarked, favorable tc 



labor The severe and relaxing heats of summei 



are of short duration, and seldom of such intensit} 



as that moderate labor is not in truth a refreshment 



The elasticitv of <mr autumnal and winter atmos- 



phere induces to activity, and renders muscular ex, 



ortion a pleasure. A day in the very depth o 



winter,spent in collecting wood in the unbrokei 



silence of the leafless forest, with a deep bed o 



snow under your feet; the battling through th 



day with a drifting northeast snow storm, bristlia 



with crystals of ice, or the beating your way an 



opening a sort of subterranean passage through th 



piled up waves of snow, which sometimes fill u 



our roads, to the well clad and well fed are ofte 



days of as healthful and agreeable an excitemen 



as far as mere physical pleasure is concerned, a 



are ever enjoved by the more favored chiidreii < 



luxury and indolence in the elysian fields of th 



tropical zone. — Ibid. 



CROPS TO BE CULTIVATED. 

 My last topic is, what branches of agricultir 

 can be most profitably pursued in New Eiiglan 

 I cannot go largely into this subject; for carry ■■ 

 larcre a swaith as I could swing, I could not ev« 

 mow once half round the field. The simple a 

 Bwer to be given is, that with good husbandry, % 

 may raise, with a fair profit, of whatever the c 

 mate will produce, every thing which we need 

 eat, drink, or wear. The first of all rules in d 



'Theedimr nuc^iions whether ihi^ lie irue as a genfril 

 remark. Tlu: .iicaduw „>uh1 be r. ..larliMbl, d.y m which 

 the land will be worth nun h lor many y'-irs after t,iK- 

 ing out p.:at tv.<> spittings dfpp. 



b.ve surpassed the most -"§"'- .^l^eT; n e^t ^n my! as far as Uie actual wants of 1 



The introduction of bone manure and pmidrette, i» , mtste. ^cono'' ? ^^ 



,Uewi«e recent; but from their proved efficacy and f^-''^, ''^/^^^ ^'^'jj p^^;,^,, /"„,pe. Th, 



the facility of their transpn-tanon they are U^y ^^J^;;;;^ -:;rL:. among those . 



to prove -^'-\fZfJZ^ 1^^^^ -side near the capital, and who are rather gard. 



sey, I have w.tnessed the most ren.arKa (armers ; but there is no exception w- 



of a newly discovered marl, of an =^"'-' " f'^^;^, ^ '^^^^ ^,,„,, ,,,„ j,,ell in the interior. I 



