Vol. 6. 



GENESEE FARMER. 



11 



BIOGRAPHY OF AN E.XTRAORDINARY 

 PORKER. 



We give below, from the New England FarniRr, an 

 extract I'rcm a report of the committee on swine, at 

 the late meeting of the Essex Agricultural Society. 

 We presume it i.s from the pen of the chairman, F. 

 Poole, Esq. If the tribe of sus apcr don't get im- 

 mortalized, it will not be for the want of comic hu- 

 mor in the histories and descriptions of him by the 

 wits of old Mai-sachuf etts. It is apparent now, that 

 the lamented liincoln left his mantle behind him. 



" Linn, too, has her share of swinish honore, de- 

 rived from the extraordinary merits of a single indi- 

 vidual of the race, of whom the committee have it 

 in their power to pre-ent a biographical sketch. 

 We are indebted to Mr. John Alley 3d under whose 

 patronage this individual was reared and educated, 

 for some particulars of his life. 



" Of his origin we know but little, except that he 

 was the so?i of his mother, who died suddenly when 

 he was a few months eld, and left him an early or- 

 phan. He became remarkable for his rapid growth 

 and the excellence of his appetite, and soon arrived 

 at that middle age of swinehood when his porkship 

 appeared a living epitome of good nature and good 

 living. He continued to expand in size until he be- 

 came a Daniel Lambert of the race, and possessed 

 great iveight in swinish society. He was a solid 

 character, and his specific gravity was only equaled 

 by the gravity of his demeanor — indeed, there was 

 nothing waggish about him — but his tail. He now 

 became a worthy member of the I. O. of Fat Fel- 

 lows, and attained to their highest degree. His cor- 

 pulency prevented him from traveling, and although 

 he had never been to roam, (Rome.,) he was familiar 

 with the rich stores of ancient and modern Grease. 

 The state of the money market gave him no con- 

 cern, and he cared little for the rise and fall of 

 stocks, except cwn-slalks, which he alv/ays appeared 

 anxious to get down. He early acquired a disgust 

 for party politics, by observing the greediness with 

 which some partisans have thrust their snouts into 

 the public swill-pail. He even thought that some 

 aspiring individuals had much better have a sty in 

 their eye than the White House at Washington. 

 In his political views there seemed to be something 

 like inconsistency. He was in favor of protection, 

 and was a ravenous advocate of home consumption. 

 He also favored large corporations, and at the same 

 time was a strong advocate of retrenchment, and de- 

 lighted in cutting down celeries. He never was a 

 candidate for any public station, and it is believed 

 that his m.odesty would have prevented him from ac- 

 cepting the offer of any office, from that of Commit- 

 tee on Swine down to the President of the United 

 State?. 



" Notwithstanding he was ten feet long, from ex- 

 tremity to extremity, the event proved he was not 

 long for this world, and in his last extremity no 

 friend was found to save him from the hand of the 

 assassin. He was rapidly increasing in size until the 

 time of his departure, which was in November last, 

 at the age of two years and six months. At the 

 post-mortem examination of his remains, it was 

 found that his enormous bulk had reached the weight 

 of more than iivelve hundred pounds! What prodi- 

 gality of fatness was there! What a mass-meeting 

 of pork, concentrated in a single individual ! The 

 county of Essex challenges the world to produce 

 his equal. Mr. Alley informed us, with great appa- 

 rent sincerity, that he subsisted mainly on raw In- 



dian meal and potatoe? — but the commitlee had sup- 

 l)osed it more likely that he lived on green turtle 

 soup and pound-cake, with an occasional meal of 

 boiled salmon and canvass-back ducks," — American 

 Agricultiirist, 



From the Cvlhvatur. 



BOOK-FARMING— A FACT. 



" I want to know if you believe in this book-farm- 

 ing," raid a neighbor, as he walked into the room 

 where I sat rea.ding the Cultivator. 



" Be sure I do," was the reply. 



"Well, I don't ; I never took an agricultural pa- 

 per in my life. There is B. S., of W , who came 



into this country fifteen year.-s ago, and had to buy 60 

 acres of land on credit. He has cleared that up, and 

 added from time to time, till he now owns two hun- 

 dred acres — has good buildings, and money at inte- 

 rest. He always has good crops. He has averaged 

 twenty-five bushels of wheat to the acre for several 

 years : it is the same with all his other crops. 

 While his neighbor E. W. has not raised more than 

 seven bushels of wheat to the acre, and some of his 

 other crops he never harvests. I would give more 

 for the experience of B. S. than for all the book- 

 farming and farming by rule in the world. 



" Very well, sir, now let me have a word. This 

 'experience' of B. S., of which you speak, (i. e., 

 the method he adopts to raise twenty-five, where his 

 neighbor raises seven bushels of wheat, and other 

 crops in proportion,) if written out and publi-fhed, 

 would be the very essence of book-farming, which 

 you so much despise, and might benefit others as 

 well as you. And then, secondly, I know this B. S. 

 also, and it gives me pleasure to inform you, that he 

 is a regular subscriber to, and constant reader of, 

 three standard agricult'iral papers — the Cultivator, 

 the New Genesee Farmer, and the Western Farmer; 

 while this same E. W. will not have an agricultural 

 paper in his house, partly because he does not ' be- 

 Ueve in book-farming,' and partly because he cannot 

 afford to take snch a paper." 



Here the man suddenly remembered his errand, 

 which was to boiTow an improved harrovi?, a plan of 

 which I had found in my paper, and which he waa 

 pleased to say, " did the work so much better than 

 mine," [his] — so the subject was dropped. I intend 

 to speak to him again, ere long. 

 Oliio, Oct., 1844. 



MAPLE SUGAR. 



My manner of making sugar is, to have tubs, and 

 all connected with sugar-making, clean and sweet. 

 My next object is, to boil as soon as possible after 

 the sap has run from the trees. In clarifying, I use 

 for 50 lbs. of sugar one pint of skimmed milk, put 

 into the syrup when cold, and put over, a moderate 

 fire until it rises, which should occupy 30 or 40 mi- 

 nutes, then skim and boil until it will grain ; after 

 which I 1u'.-n it into a tub, and after two or three 

 weeks bore a hole in the bottom of the tiib, and turn 

 on a little cold water ; and in a few days the molas- 

 ses will drain out, and leave the sugar dry, light, and 

 white. Riga, Oct. 3, '44. ALFRED FITCH. 



We can bear testimony to the excellence of Mr. 

 Fitch's sugar, having eaten it at his house with 

 strawberries and cream, and seen it exhibited at the 

 State and Monroe co. Fairs. The operation is simple 

 and efibctive, and well worth the notice of sugar- 

 makers,- — Ed. Farmer, 



