1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



69 



a serious question. Could the land be tilled, the 

 difficulty might be obviated. But not an acre in 

 twenty is susceptible of cultivation. The same dif- 

 ficulty is experienced in Massachusetts, especially 

 in portions of FrankHn, Hampshire, and Worcester 

 Counties. Will you, Mr. Editor, or some of your 

 correspondents, suggest a remedy ? Or, must these 

 lands be abandoned, and the possessors go West in 

 search of better ? 



The tide of emigi-ation, westward, is making 

 heavy drafts upon the grazing districts of New Eng- 

 land. The late census shows that the increase is 

 confined to the cities and manufacturing districts, 

 while the "hill country" has been making a decid- 

 edly down-hill movement. Whereas, formerly, Ver- 

 mont and New Hampshire supplied our cities, and 

 manufacturing towns with butter and cheese, and 

 our mills with wool, they now do but little toward 

 it. In almost every part of the State, I found a 

 New York cheese ; and to see a sheep it was neces- 

 sary for me to go as far out of my way as John 

 Randolph was willing to travel for the privilege of 

 kicking one. 



Agricultural pa])ers and fairs have done much to 

 awaken interest and diffuse information touching 

 the best modes of tilling the soil. The aggregate 

 products of cultivated land in New England have 

 been very considerably increased. The same is true 

 of the orchard. But for the hill-side, the "summer 

 pasture," I have yet to learn that anything effectual 

 has been done. This latter embraces about one- 

 third of all the productive land in New England. Is 

 there no way to renovate it — to save it from utter 

 worthlessness ? K. B. H. 



be first diluted, say one gallon of the acid to one 

 and a half gallons of water, and sprinkled over the 

 manure heaps, or floors where animals are confined, 

 every morning. Urine, in its fresh state, does not 

 evolve ammonia; it is only when in the putrifying 

 or fermenting process'that this gas is given out or 

 eliminated. Pulverized charcoal, and a solution of 

 copperas, are also valuable, used for this purpose. 



By attendmg to this matter the farmer may eas- 

 ily save a large amount of his richest fertilizers in 

 a single season. His lands will be all the richer for 

 it, and repay him liberally for all the trouble and 

 expense involved. 



For tite New England Farmer. 



FEEDING STOCK. 



[Extract from the Records of the Concord Farmers' Club.] 



* * * * E. Wood, Jr., asked the opinion of dif- 

 ferent members, as to how much hay it would take 

 to keep a cow in good condition for the winter sea- 

 son of 26 weeks ? 



E. W. Bull thought it would require from 2h to 

 3 tons. 



C. W. Goodnow said he had fed to his cow about 

 2i tons, commencing before the middle of October, 

 and ending early in May ; but thought he might 

 have wasted some by his mode of feeding. 



James P. Brown thought U to 2 tons would be 

 sufficient. 



James A. Barrett said his father once fed a cer- 

 tain quantity of hay to fifteen cows, and tiiey aver- 

 aged 22 pounds a day, equal to 3960 pounds in six 

 months ; and they had, at the same time, three quarts 

 of meal or shorts, or two quarts of shorts and one 

 quart of oil meal each, daily. 



E. Wood, Jr., said a cow gi%ing miUc would eat 

 as much as an ox. Different farmers in town had 

 told him that cows would give as much milk if fed 

 on meadow hay, as on English hay — and he was 

 now trying the experiment of feeding his cows with 

 meadow hay and oil meal. During the past week 



UaATE. 



This fertilizer has not been very extensively used, 

 as yet, in our country, and few are aware of its na- 

 ture, or the process by which it is formed. Every 

 one must have noticed on entering a stable, or othei 

 place where horses are confined, a very peculiar 

 and pungent odor, often aff'ecting the eyes, and 

 sometimes the throat, and creating nausea. This 

 ofiensive principle is ammonia, one of the mostpow-j^^g'l^ad weighed the hay consumed" by fifteen cows 



erful, and — contemplated in an agricultural point 

 of view — most valuable of all the gaseous products 

 of vegetable decomposition. Now if we sprinkle 

 common gypsum, or pulverized plaster of paris, we 

 shall economize this volatile substance, and bring it 

 to a condition readily available as a substance for 

 plants. In its fertilizing character and properties, 

 it is similar to urate, but not strictly the same. 



It is asserted by manufacturers that from three 

 to four hundred weight of urate form an ample 

 dressing for an acre of wheat ; but how much bet- 

 ter would it be for the farmer to economize the li- 

 quid voidings of his domestic animals, in the man- 

 ner here described, and apply it to his crops of hay, 

 grain and roots, as his necessities or wants may re 

 quire. All urine is rich in the food of plants ; the 

 urea and salts are all highly valuable, and no one 

 who rightly reflects upon the subject, will vnllingly 

 suffer it to be lost. 



Another article of much value in economizing the 

 I'quid voidings of animalo is sulphuric acid. It should 



in five days. The hay was cut and mixed with the 

 oil meal. " The cows averaged 16^ pounds of hay, 

 and 4 pounds of oil meal, daily. Reckoning the 

 hay at $13 a ton, and the oil meal at $43, the 

 weekly cost amounted to about .$1,35 for each cow. 

 These 15 cows gave, in the five days of trlal^ 97 

 quart cans of milk ; or about 8 quarts, each, 

 daily. The whole cost of feed, was, for the five 

 days, $14,39 ; 90 cans of milk at 30 cents are $27; 

 nearly $13 more than the cost of feed. He mixed 

 4 quarts of oil meal with 31 pounds of hay, and 

 he thought the cows would eat it better than if 

 mixed with 12 quarts of Indian meal. It takes 5 

 pails of water to moisten the 31 pounds of hay, and 

 4 quarts of oil meal. He thought one quart of oil 

 meal was as good as 2 quarts of Indian meal to pro- 

 duce quantity of mlllv. But if he kept only one 

 cow for his family use, he would give Indian in- 

 stead of oil meal. He beUevcs cut feed is the 

 cheapest way of feeding any stock. He iises Gale's 

 . cutter; cuts up his corn butts, moistens, and 

 mixes oil meal with them — and the cows eat nearly 

 all. He would cut them if the cattle did not eat 

 them better, on account of the greater convenience 

 in forking over the manure ui spring. 



