342 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



APRIL, 88, 1041. 



and horticultural register. 

 Boston, Wednesday, April 28, 1841. 



PLANTING CORN. 



Preparation of the Ground. Where the land will ad- 

 mit of deep ploughing, Bucli i< 10 be preferred. Seven 

 or eight inches of soil, at least, should be turned up If 

 more than this can be moved, let it be done. Ab soon 

 B3 the ground is ploughed, let the roller be applied; thus 

 put all the furrows down in their proper places, and 

 break all lumps. Next, harrow well lengthwise the 

 furrow; then harrow crosswise the furrows This is 

 for new or sward laud, which we liave found to be bet- 

 ter thiiu any other for corn. 



Manure. It is not good husbandry iti iliis vicinity, to 

 apply less than seven or eight cords of good manure to 

 the acre for this crop. Let one half of this quantity bi; 

 spread upon the grass and turned under the sod. 'J'lie 

 other half having bteu previously formed into a heap in 

 the field, and thrown over two or three times, should be 

 spread upon the surface ol the furrows, immediately af- 

 ter the rolling of the lanil, and then be harrowed in. — 

 Plant in hills, from 3 ft. 3 in. lo 3 fl. fi in. each way. A 

 greater distance will give larger ears, hut I'Ot so much 

 corn to the acre. 



Seed. Put from 8 to 10 kernels in the hill. Thus 

 furnish a good supply for worms, birds, &c. Subse- 

 quently, thin down to four or five stalks. No prepara- 

 tion of the seed is of any service where tho land is in 

 proper condition, where no enemy is to be repelled, and 

 where you plant between the first and middle of May. 



These directions are for lauds well suited to corn. — 

 On moist lands, it may be well to put manurn in the 

 hill and to eanh up the corn. Kut on all others the ma- 

 nure should be spread ; for though in June and July, 

 the corn will not be as forward as if manured in the 

 hill, yet careful experiment has shown that in the half 

 bushel, in autumn, it will be more productive. The 

 stalks never become quite as large. On lands not moist, 

 avoid lulling. 



These remarks are the results of several years' obser- 

 vations and experiments, where this crop has been cul- 

 tivated with much more than ordinary success. 



Until they forfeit it by misconduct, they may claim 

 your confidence that they will bo laithful lo you and to 

 your interests. When found unfaithhil, let the fault be 

 stated, and a full mutual understanding be obt:iincd. 

 But it is bad, very bad for both employer and employed 

 to be suspicious of each other. Mutual confidence is 

 for the comfort at:d good of both. — " Every body knows 

 every thing;" and if you undertake to thrive by keep- 

 ing laborers on a short allowance, by working them an 

 excessive nuiriber of hours, by dint of scolding and fret- 

 ting, bv any secret artifices, they will read your heart's 

 secret purposes, and will find ways and means to thwart 

 you in the accomplishment of your designs. Imprudence 

 and injustice on the part ol employers, create in part 

 the untruslworlhiness complained of in the employed. 

 We may preach next to the employed — the hired. 



mining what kind of seed to plant, and in what way to 

 apply our manures and treat the growing crop, yet w© 

 deem it true wisdom, early in the year, lo confide in the 

 above promise, and make but slight deviations from the 

 course which would be found best in the average years. 



TREATMENT OF HIRED MEN. 



Entreat not evil the hireling that bestoiJ>eth himself 

 wholly for thee. — Ecclesiasticus. 



Art thou a man employing others to till thy grounds .'' 

 Then remember that thou hast a Master who commands 

 thee not to over-task or to abuse them. They are free 

 men — the rights of free men are theirs. Often they are 

 your equals in intelligence, character and respectability. 

 Both duly and interest require you to regard their rights. 

 They may demand, at reasonable limes, as much pala- 

 table and wholesome food as is needed lo preserve un- 

 impaired their health and strength. They may demand 

 as many hours for rest and sleep as the human con.sti- 

 lution ordinarily requires. They may ilemand comfor- 

 table beds, in rooms not unhealthy. They may refuse 

 such excessive efforts or great exposures as would pre- 

 maturely break doivn the constitution. They may 

 claim kindness and civility in all youi langu.ige lownriis 

 them, and in all your treatment of them. It is no part 

 of their contr^cl that Ihey shall listen to oaths and cur- 

 ses, should such things pass your lips. It is no part of 

 the contract that they shall bear suoh mental suffering, 

 as unreasonable roproaclu s, unprovoked fault-findings, 

 or ungoverned passions on your part, may produce. — 



THE WEATHER. 



You would not see the darkest side, 



You would not be complaining — 

 But, farmer, can your temper stand 



This raining, raining, raining.' 



The weather cock is rusted east, 

 Unscour'd the plough's remaining. 



The wash is soaking in the tub — 

 'T is raining, raining, raining. 



The harness oiled, the corn shelled out. 



Done, all the sawing, planing — 

 The winds still give an ague fit, — 



'T is raining, raining, raining. 



The door-post by bis shoulder held, 



His hands in pockets playing, 

 The farmer trazes east and west — 



'T is raining, raining, raining. 



Mud thickens on the kitchen floor, 

 The good wife's patience straining ; 



Resiless the men go in and out — 

 'T is mining, raining, raining. 



It 's dismal dull for man and beast, 

 But let 's have no complaining — 



We'll hope, we 'II trust nil 's well, e'en when 

 'T is raining, raining, raining. 

 It is needless for us to say that we are no poet. We 

 were never charged with any poetical propensities. But 

 theloiig — long cold storm of a week past, broujjht to mind 

 a song once heard, and failing to remetnbcr it in full, 

 we have stolen such parts as recollection could gather 

 up, and spliced and added to them till they assumed the 

 form in which they are here presented. 



The great quantity of rain which has fallen within 

 the week past, together with the degree of cold accom- 

 panying it, will render the ground unfit for the recep- 

 tion of seed for several days to come. Sowing and 

 planting must be pel formed at a later period of the 

 year than is usual in this vicinity. But in this fact 

 there is no cause for discouragement. The forward sea- 

 sons are not usually more productive than others. Our 

 observation teaches, that even Indian corn is more pro- 

 ductive in those seasons when it makes but slow pro 

 gress in June, than in those in which its early growth 

 is rapid. We do not say that its chances tor escaping 

 autumnil frosts are as great, but merely that it is more 

 productive in case the latter part of the reason favors it 

 in maturing. Our grass, potatoes and grains, as well as 

 most of our fruits, are ordinarily .-is abundant in the 

 cooler seasons as in the hot ones — often they are more so. 

 The weather which comes, is the best for us. There 

 is a promise that " seed time and harvestshall not fail ; ' 

 and though a degree of adaptation lo the apparent pro- 

 mises of the season may be projier, when we are deter- 



LIEBIG'S AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY. 



This work, an .\merican edition of which is now for 

 sale at the principal bookstores and Agricultural Ware- 

 houses of this city, comes out with high recommenda- 

 tions from able and discreet judges on both sideB the 

 Atlantic. The price of the work is $1 25 per copy. So 

 small a part of it has yet been examined by us, that wo 

 are unprepared to express any opinion as to its intrinsic 

 value ; but we are satisfied that all cultivators whose 

 habits of reading and reflection are such as will enable 

 them lo comprehend a concise scientific work, will find 

 it highly interesting. Many ^f the views expressed are 

 lo us new and entertaining, but we have vet found but 

 little if any thing which calls for any departure from the 

 commonly approved methods ot manuring and treating 

 t>ur soils. The work deserves to be studied. 



PLANTS DESTROYED BY FIRE. 



The greenhouse of MP. Wilder, Esq , Hawthorn 

 Grove, Dorchester, President of the JMas^s. Horticultural 

 Society, was damaged by fire on the morning of the 16th 

 inst. We regret ti) state that many of liis choirest plants 

 were destroyed, including his new importations of fine 

 and rare things within the last year, and over five hun- 

 dred seedling Camellias, in various stages of growth : 

 also his splendid seedling Camellia Wilderii, described 

 a few months since in ihe N. E Farmer, and his whole 

 collection of Cacti. The fire broke out in the western 

 section, which contained the above named plants, but 

 was discovered in season to save the eastern section and 

 most of the plants, though in a damaged slate. It hasi^ 

 been necessary to head down his tall magnificent Ca- 

 mellias in the back row, as the only hope of saving 

 them. The house was fully insured, but not so with the 

 plants : there was only $1000 upon them, which pays 

 but a small portion of the loss. The loss is not only 

 great lo the enterprising proprietor, but to the horticultu- 

 ral community generally. Some of the plants cannot 

 be replaced, and the deatruclion of his seedling C. Wild- 

 erii, will be lamented by every florist. He had already 

 received orders for it from a number of the most distin- 

 guished foreign cultivators, and no doubt it would have 

 proved a source of profit as well as pleasure, in adding 

 a choice gem to this interesting family of plants. 



J. B. 



FIRST CUCUMBER IN THE MARKET. 



Mr F. W. R. Emery, of Bedford, eshibiled to us on the 

 9th inst., a fine specimen of the long spined cucumber, 

 which we believe was the first in Quincy market this 

 year. It was sold for 50 cents, in the stall of Whiting, 

 Norcross & Dana. Yesterday we received another spe- 

 cimen from the same gentleman, that measured 13 3-4 

 inches in length, which, considering the stale of the 

 weather for 'the last eight days — the sun not having 

 made his appearance — is good testimony of his skill in 

 horticulture : llius in opposition to all unfavorable influ- 

 ences without, producing with the assistance of the iieat 

 from a bed of oak leaves, a vegetable so perfect in shape. 

 What we are to do with ro much cucumber at this sea- 

 son of the year, we can hardly divine. Should there 

 be a change in the weather soon, we shall probably be- 

 gin upon one end of it ; lut iis coed as it is at present, 

 we must keep it in all its lengtfi, for the gratification of 

 our customers and friends. J. B. 



Errata. — In Dr. Wood's communication on page 333 

 of our last number, the word "posterns," in the IburtK 

 and fifth lines from tlie bottom of the first column, should 

 have been pasterns; and ''posterior," in the second 

 line from the bottom, should have been pattern. 



\ 



I 



Philosophy may teach us to hear of the calamities of i 

 others wilh magnanimity ; hut it is religion alone that i 

 can teach us to bear our own with resignation. — Lmcou. 



