38 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Jan. 



NUTRIMENT IN VARIOUS SUB- 

 STANCES. 



Animal food, taking bulk for bulk, is assumed as 

 being far more nutritious than vegetable. But 

 when weight is placed in juxtaposition with weight 

 it is seen to fall far below several farinaceous and 

 leguminous substances. The following tabular ex- 

 hibit shows what chemical analysis has made ap- 

 parent on this important topic : — 



100 lbs. ivheatcontain 85 lbs. nutritious matter. 



" rice 90 " 



" rye 80 " 



" barley 83 <' 



" beans 89 to 92 " 



" peas 93 " 



" meat, average 35 " 



" potatoes 25 '< 



" beets 14 " 



" carrots 14 " 



" greens and turnips 8 " 



" bread 80 " 



It hence appears that a pound of bread contains 

 more than twice as much nutriment as a pound of 

 meat, and" that a pound of peas or beans, more 

 than two and a half times as much as a pound of 

 meat. Seven pounds of potatoes are also, it ap- 

 pears by this analysis, equal in nutritive matter, or 

 the power of sustaining life, to five pounds of ani- 

 mal food. 



"Food taken into the stomach, is there digested, 

 and the nutritive portions of it converted into blood, 

 which is conveyed by the proper vessels to every 

 part of the system for its nourishment and sup- 

 port. Any portion of it which, from any cause, 

 escapes the digestive process, and those parts of it 

 which are not adapted to nourish the animal body, 

 are cast off as exci-ementitious." In eating, reple- 

 tion should always be avoided. "Most of the 

 chronical diseases, the infirmities of old age, and 

 the short periods of the lives of Englishmen," says 

 Dr. Cheyne, "are owing to over-tasking the diges- 

 tion." 



"I tell you honestly," said the celebrated Abek- 

 NETHY, "what I thinli. is the cause of the compli- 

 cated maladies of the human race ; it is their gor- 

 mandizing, and stuffing and stimulating their diges- 

 tive organs to excess, thereby producing nervous 

 disorders and irritation." 



ShaivSPEare, in one of his plays — "As you like 

 it" — has beautifully exemplified the good effects of 

 abstemiousness and abstinence — the only sure safe- 

 guards of health against morbidity and disease : — 



"Though I look old, yet am I strong and lusty ; 

 For in my youth I never did apply 

 Hot and rebellious liquors in my blood ; 

 Nor did not with unbashfal forehead woo 

 The means of weakness and debility. 

 Therefore, my age is a lusty winter — 

 Frosty, but kindly." 



ces paid is from 25 to 43 cents, owing to the quali- 

 ty or condition it is in. Mr. Wm. Lewis, of Berlin 

 township, sold in this place, wool from this year's 

 clip to the amount of $994,59. He got over 40 

 cents a pound, while one of his neighbors sold wool 

 equally as good as his for 38 cents, after hauHng it 

 down to the canal. — Farmer, {Holmes Co.,) 2Sth. 



"Wool. — For the last three weeks a very consid 

 erable amount of wool has been sold in this place, 



For the New England Fanner. 



AGRICULTURE AN EXTENSIVE AND 

 PROGRESSIVE SCIENCE. 



BY JOHN GOLDSBURY. 



Agriculture has been defined to be the art or 

 science of cultivating the earth, — tillage — huslmnd- 

 ry. In its widest acceptation, it embraces all the 

 common and ordinary pursuits of the farmer ; nay, 

 all that belong to his pursuits ; such, as the clear- 

 ing the land from trees, bushes, stumps and stones ; 

 the examination of different kinds of soil, and their 

 adaptation to different kinds of produce ; — the best 

 method of cultivating different kinds of soil ; — the 

 mixing, making and compounding of manures ; — 

 the sowing and planting of different kinds of grain 

 and seeds ; — the cultivation of the crops and the 

 gathering and securing the same for future use ; — 

 the building of fences ; — the di-aining of meadows, 

 swamps and marshes ; — the selecting and raising 

 the best kinds and breeds of domestic animals; 

 such as cattle, horses, sheep, swine, poultry, &c., 

 and the best means of fattening the same ; — the 

 cultivation of the different kinds of garden vegeta- 

 bles, such as beets, carrots, parsnips, onions, tur- 

 nips, tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, S:c., which be- 

 long to a distinct branch of this science, commonly 

 denominated horticulture: — the cultivation of the 

 difierent kinds of choice fruit ; such as apples, pears, 

 peaches, plums, quinces, cherries, grapes, currants, 

 Sec, all which come under the head of pomology, 

 which is regarded as another distinct branch of ag- 

 riculture. 



It will be seen, then, that the science of agricul- 

 ture embraces a wide range of subjects, sufficient 

 to call forth the energies, and to task the utmost 

 faculties and powers of every farmer, be his facul- 

 ties ever so various and ever so abundant. It will 

 be impossible for any one to arrive at perfection in 

 knowledge on all these various subjects. After 

 his utmost endeavors and his most successful efforts, 

 he will still be ignorant of many things, which it 

 would be for his advantage to know. There will be 

 some new experiments to be made, — somethmg 

 still to be learned. But, this should not operate to 

 discourage any one from making further experiments 

 and discoveries, but it should stimulate him to great- 

 er exertions. For, the more any one knows, the 

 more skilful and successful he Avill become in his 

 calling. Knowledge is essential to success in all 

 kinds of business. More especially is this the case 

 in scientific agriculture, which embraces such a wide 

 range of subjects, on which so many experiments 

 are to be made. 



At no former period of the world, has the sci- 

 ence of agriculture assumed such importance, and 

 engaged the hands and hearts of so many \-irtuous 

 and intelligent farmers, as at the present time. Its 

 value, utility and importance, are too obnous to 



at foir prices. Mr. Brumbaugh informs us he has need illustration. No subject is better calculated 

 bought, this season, about 24,000 lbs. Mr. Cherry to awaken and cherish that spirit of curiosity and in- 

 Holmes has also bought over 17,000 lbs. The pri- quu-y which is so essential to improvement; and 



