86 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



At'UUST 9, IS-iT. 



Cl'cir tlie New Ensland Farmer.) 

 S1IIIITINWI1E\T. 



South Bridglon, (Me.) July 31, 1837. 

 To 'P. G. Fkssekden, Ed. N. R. Fanner: 



gii- : Yom- con-ospondL-nt in tlie |ircsent vol- 



uiiH', jiage 20, is uisliiiig for the expuric'iice of 

 others in reliUiuii to simit in wheat. 



lielieviii;; it to he the duty of every mnn to 

 coniiMunieute niry (iicta within liis Unowiedge, 

 wliidi may tend to promote the |iid)lic weal, I 

 send yon the e.V|)eriuiice I liave hud in relation to 

 the culture of wheat. 



Some more than forty years since, my father 

 was directed, hy an Englishman living near him, 

 to prepare his wheat for .sowing, in the follouiu(; 

 manner: — '!'o one bushel of wheat placed in a 

 lar^e tub, add three quarts of slacked lime ; let 

 the wheat be higher at the sides of the tub, than 

 in the middle where tlie lime is to be placed ; — 

 take a sufficient quantity of brine, as strong as 

 it can be made with salt in boiling water, 

 .and apply the same moderately to the lime ; and 

 by continually stirring the same, make it into a 

 wliite-wash ; then with a hoe or shovel, mix it 

 well together, so that every kernel will be whited. 

 The brine to be applied hot. This to be done 12 

 or 24 hoiMS before sowing. 



Previous to this, we had inu<-.h smutty wlieat. 

 Since then it has invariably been prepared in ibis 

 manner, ami J never liavo .seen ten heads of snmt 

 in my fields. My neighbors generally practise 

 the same mode of pieparing their seed, and I sel- 

 dom hear of smut. As the iisefulne-ss of any pre- 

 paration must be tested by e.\|ierieiicc, there are 

 two additional facts within my Unowiedge, which 

 are in point. A man near me sowed his wheat, 

 prepared as above ; not having quite sufficient 

 seed. He sowed about four quarts of sojne kind of 

 seed unlimed. This produced at least one fourth 

 smut, while there was not any among the other. 

 Two men bought each two bushels of fine seed 

 wheat from the sumo cask — sowed it ubout the 

 same time, and on land similar. One of them 

 prepared his wheat according to the foregoing di- 

 rections, and hud no smut. The other did not, 

 and had nearly one fourth smut. If the wheat is 

 smutty, I should advise to wash it clean and dry 

 it belore applying the lime. 



I have noted when 1 have discovered the first 

 spindle, the first silk, when it was fit to boil, when 

 corn was very late, and what the crop was in tlie 

 fiill. In 1820 and 1S21, I only noted, however, 

 when I discovered the first spindle. 



1820, July 0, 1st spindle. 



182-1, "7, 



1822, June 18, " July 4, eilked. 



1823, " 28, " ' 14, " 



In all the above seasons, e.xcppt the last, 1 had 

 corn fit to boil in July— the last of the above not 

 not till Aug. 5 — yet there was a toleiable crop in 

 the country that year. 



1824, July 7, 1st spindle, July 18, silked — none 

 fit to boil until Aug. 11, yet a middling crop in 

 autumn. 



1825, June 23, first spindle, July 6, silked — fit 

 to boil July 26. 



1826, June 19, first spindle, July 4, silked. 



1827, June 24, first suindle, July 7, silked — fit 

 to boil Aug. 4. 



1828, Juno 18, first spindle, July 5, silked — 

 fit to boil July 18 ; this was a small, inferior 

 corn. 



1829, no minutes made. 



1830, June 26, first spindle, June 30, silked. 



1831, June 18, first spindle, June 30, silked — 

 boiled July 22. 



1832, July 6, first spindle, July 26, silked— not 

 fit to boil until .\ug. 15, 4 days later than ever be- 

 fore. There was a small crop in autumn, there 

 being an early frost, 



1833, Juni! 28, first .spindle, silked July 12 — fit 

 to boil Aug. 4. Snudl crop in autumn. 



1834, July 3, first spindle, July 15, silked — fit 

 to boil Aug. 2. Ordinary crop. 



1835, July 4, first S|:indle, July 19, silked— fit 

 to boil Aug. 8. Light crop. 



1836, July 6, first spindle, July 19, silked — fit 

 to boil Aug. 14. Miserable crop, there being an 

 early and severe frost. 



1837, July 6, first spindle. 



P. 



Every man who makes that valuable, which lias 

 hitherto been waste, is a |inblic benefactor. He 

 adds just so much to the resources of society. 



A short time since, bones were a matter of of- 

 fence to l)e banished from sight as far as possible. 

 Now they are discovered to he a valuable manure, 

 and give fertility to thousands of redeemed acres. 

 The I subject of rendering that material useful, 

 vv.hich has liitherto Ix-en removed from sinks and 

 privies and cast into the docks, is just awakening 

 attention. 



It is said that the manure from privies has been 

 hitherto used in France and England vvilh great 

 success, anil that the gar-'eners of both countries 

 have firmed a confirmed opinion of its value. — 

 The jiiunicipality of Paris derive a handsome 

 sum by way of revenue, fVr granting to individ- 

 uals the exclusive privilege of collei',ting the niglit 

 soil. 



In order to make it useful, it is disinfected of 

 its foBtid principles, and mixeii with other sub- 

 stances. In the form in which it is reuily for use, 

 it is called " poudrette." It is perfectly clean and 

 exlreiriely fertilizing. 



Mr D. K. Minor of the New York Farmer, in 

 conjunction with Pe;er Bathlemy, a French gen- 

 tleman, proposes to establish a conijiany for the 

 purpose of ideansing the sinks of the city, and 

 turning their contents to a profitable account in 

 the preparation of " i)ondrette." 



Some facts which are given in the Farmer, 

 seem to show that the poudrette is superior even 

 to bone manure. We fiope the gentlemen inter- 

 ested in the experiment of hiinging it into use, 

 may be successful. If they are so. Long Island 

 will he the first to come in and reward th«m, by 

 a])plying the new compost to the soils which are 

 every year glowing with additional verdure and 

 teeming with fruitfiilness. — L. I. Slar. 



(Kurtlm New Engl.'\inl l-'ariner.) 



CaEr.RT Tkees. — The following i.s copied from 

 an old book published in London, in 1657. 



In speaking of the management and culture of 

 various kinds of trees, the author quaintly re- 

 marks us follows respecting the Cherry tree: 



"(;herry Trees cannot away with dung; — if, 

 therefore, you dung their rootj, they degenerate ; 

 they prosper well, if you cut off the branches of 

 them, and bury them by the roots, that they may 

 corrupt there. They grow without stones, if you 

 cut the tree oflT when it is young, about two foot 

 from the ground, and pick out the pith of it with 

 an iron, clearing the stock, and bind botfi parts 

 together again." X. 



Jul</ 30, 1837. 



IND1A^• Corn. — A Winthrop correspondent of 

 the ftluine Farmer, who bus kept a memorandum 

 of the growth of corn in his garden for about 17 

 years, says as I'ollows: 



I have unitiirmly plante<l about the 1st of .May, 

 if the season was not very backward indeed. — 



Manure from Privies, or J^Ti^ht Soil. — Every 

 iliscovery which promotes agriculture, is of peculiar 

 value to Long Island. From the juxlaposition of 

 a great portion < f the Island to two great cities 

 wliich afford a ready market for all produce, it 

 must liecome a mine of wealth, as its fertility is 

 increased. It is no new discovery that the pro- 

 duce of firms depends less upon their size, than 

 their cultivation. In the vicinity of cities, gar- 

 dens of a few acres are made to yield a greati^ 

 profit than large farms more thinly cultivated and 

 yielding only the ordinary crops. 



Gardens, liowever, in order that they may 

 yield well, must he highly n:anured, and the science 

 of manures is a study well worth the attention of 

 gardeners. It should be an object of constant 

 cure to discover what composts are best adopted 

 to iiarticular soils and the raising of valuable 

 plants and vegetaliles. 



Much of the manure for the gardens in the vi- 

 cinity of Brooklyn and New York, is produced 

 from the streets of these cities. By this means, 

 the rubbish and refiise of the crowded dwellings, 

 which, if lift in the streets, would breed infec- 

 tion is made to return back in contributions to 

 the necessity, luxury and comfort of the people. 

 The city sends wealth to the country — tlie coun- 

 try repays it with interest. 



We live in a day of discovery and economy. 



A writer iu the Springfield Gazette says : 



I am happy to find tliat a number of ouryoung 

 men are turning their attention to the raising of 

 silk. It seems to me that there never was a time 

 more favorable than the present, for commencing 

 this business. I examined a ft;w nui series of 

 mulberries yesterday, and found that the Mulii- 

 caulis, Florence uiul Canton trees (which are con- 

 sidered the best for making silk,) were doing ex-j 

 oeedingly well. The silk which has been 

 in Northanijiton and many other places it 

 Englund, bus proved to be heuvier and even su- 

 perior to the imported silk. The farmers can 

 now turn their attention to the culture of silk, 

 and find a ready market at Northampton for the j 

 cocoons or raw silk, or manufacture in their fam- 

 ilies as they choose. I think if our farmers would j 

 (^ommence with a few trees, and with little care,.J 

 to propagate them, they would in n few years find] 

 themselves possessed of something wliicli the hard} 

 times would not depreciate. 



oing ex-j 

 n raised] 



in New' 



Turnip Tops. — Put them in cold water an houj 

 before they are dressed ; the more water ihey ar 

 boiled in, the better they will look. If lioiled 

 in a small quantity of water, they will certainlj 

 taste bitter ; when tlie water boils, put in a handl 

 ful of salt, and then your vegetables ; if fresh anf 

 young, about twenty minutes' boiling will cooll 

 them; drain them through a skimmer. Tliey ara 

 belter, perhaps, when boiled with bacon. — Tenn 

 Farmer. 



