NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



AUGUST 83. I8:*r. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 18?7. 



KAKMER'S ■WORK FOR AUGUST. 



Skcurethe products ok IIakvest — Tin: lialtirriore 

 FaniK-r at! vjsos as follows : "Af'icr your harvesting sliall 

 liave bi-en coinjjleted, then turn your alt.:ntion t.i gel- 

 tinjf out your grain for niarknt Tlie soon.;r lliat is done 

 tlu; less you will lose by vninin, and in nine times out 

 of ten, you will find that your grain will command as 

 good a price at this season of tlie year, as any other.— 

 Besides, the sooner ihe better this necessary work is off 

 your hand, as being relieved of it, you will be able to 

 avail ynuiscif of circumstances as they occur, and thus 

 turn e\ery thing to the best advantage. 



Drai.v Sw,i»ifs, A:c— Large tracts of land in New 

 England, which are now of little or no v:ilue, may be 

 coiivertcd into the best and most productive farmer's 

 «cld.s, by draining. Drains, for agricultural purposes, 

 are of two kinds, open and covered. Open drains some- 

 times answer, not only for conveying off superfluous 

 water, but for inclosing field.«. But they make a haz- 

 ardous and inconvenient fence, without the addition of 

 a hank, hedge or railing. The Farmer's Assistant ob- 

 serves that " when a ditch is made for a fence, it ou^ht 

 to be four feet wide at the top, one or less at the b°ot- 

 tom, and about two and a half deep; with the earth all 

 thrown out on one side, and banked up as high as pos 

 sible." Sir John Sinclair sta'es that " it is^'a general 

 ruJe regarding open drams, wph a view to giving slope 

 and stability to their sides, that the width at the lop 

 should be three times as much as that which is neces- 

 sary at Ihe bottom, and in the case of peat mosses, or 

 soft soils, it should be such as to allow the water to run 

 off without stagnation, but not with so rapid a motion 

 as to injure the bottom." 



But before you attempt to drain a piece of land, it 

 will be expedient not only to calculate the cost, but al- 

 so to ascertain the nature of the soil, which it is pro- 

 posed to render fit for cultivation. 1/ the subsoil or un- 

 der layer be clay, lh« swamp may be wor.'h draining, 

 :>.ough there should be no ,n,.re than six inches of blac'' 

 soil or mud .:"«r it, for the day and the mad intermix- 

 ed, will make a fertile soil. But if the subsoVI or under 

 stratum be gravel or while sand, it will not, in'cdmtnon 

 ^„-=es, be yj,g[ ^Q undertake draining, unless 'tile depth of 

 lilack mud be us nureh as from fifteen to eighleen in- 

 ches deep ; for the s»il wilj settle after di-aining, and be 

 less deep than it was before. But the siiuation of the 

 land to be drained, may authorize some deviation from 

 the general rule. 



Tlie mud and other materials which arj dug out of a 

 ditch or drain, should not be suffered to lie in heaps or 

 banks by the side of the ditch, but should be spread as 

 equally as possible over the surface of the drained land. 

 In this way the matter taken /roiii the ditches will tend 

 to level the surface of the swamp, will, perhaps, serve 

 in some measure fur manure ; and, in some cases it may 

 be good husbandry to transport the earth taken from the 

 drains to the farm-yard or hog-pen, to form parts of 

 those layers, which good (armeis spread over those pla- 

 ces in the latter part of summer, or in autumn, to im- 

 bibo liquid manure, or to make into compost with dung. 

 In many cases, it has been told us that the earth, thus 

 dug out of ditulius or drains, has been thought to be of 

 sufficient value to pay for the expenses in diggin* such 

 ditches. 



The American F.dit-r of yir John Sinclair's Code of 

 JigriciiUiire, lias the following, among other judicious 



remarks on this important subject: " The most e.'jpedi- 

 tious, effectual and economical mode cf making a drain 

 would undoubtedly he to use oxen and a scraper, or ox 

 shovel, as it is sometimes called; an instrument well 

 known in this country in the making of roads. Insome 

 cases, this mode might not answer, as in very miry 

 grounds, and in lands jnsl cleared of timber. But wheie 

 lands are very miry, i( the process is begun at the ouf- 

 Ict of ihe water, and there indeed, it ought always to be 

 begun, the next adj.,ining portion will generally be made 

 so dry as to allow being trodden upon in a peculiar sea- 

 son ; and in this v^^■ly a drain may by degrees be carried 

 on towards the centre. In nineteen cases out of twenty, 

 drains may probably be effected in this mode. Where 

 the ground will admit ofit.tww men and a boy, and two 

 yoke of oxen, will accomplish more business of this sort 

 in a day, than half a dozen men in the same lime, with 

 only spades ana shovels Wherever the labor of cattle 

 can be substituted for human labor, policy requires it to 

 be done. The surface of -wet and miry land is usually 

 full of inequalities. If a scraper is employed in drain- 

 ing them, the earth taken from the drain is easily Jan- 

 ded in any hollc w spot, which needs to be filled ; and 

 if there are no such hollow,= , or they have already been 

 filled, the earth may be .spread over the surface in such 

 a manner as to do the most good. If the earth is not 

 wanted for other purposes, it is recommended to drop 

 and spread it, if practicable, in such a manner as to leave 

 the generalsurfaceof the land slopingtowards the drain 

 that the water may the more readily incline towards it 

 and pass off. At some distance below the surface in 

 peat grounds, there is usually found a hard stratum of 

 earth, called, in the common language of our farmers 

 hard pan. The hard pan, if ploughed into, scraped out' 

 and spread on the surface, would greatly improve the 

 texture of such soils. This furnishes another argument 

 for using a scraper in draining, for in no other way can 

 the upper earth, taken out of the drains, be so cheaply 

 removed, and put on the adjoining ; nor in any other 

 way can the hard pan be so easily broken up, and car- 

 ried off; nor in any other way, oftentimes, can suitable 

 earth be so well obtained for the purpose of spreadin-r 

 it over the surface, wiih a view to improving the tex"^ 

 ture ol ihe soil. If the object be to pile the earth from 

 the drains, with a view to composts, this purpose is 

 coinpletely effected by the means of the scraper." 



StrawbcTTies.-By Mr J. L. L F. Warren, of Brigh- 

 ton,— Monthly Strawberries. 



For Ihe Committee. 



WM. KENRICK, Chairman. 



JIASSACHUSETTS HORTICUI^TURAI. SOCIETY. 



EXHIBITION OF FRUITS. 



Saturday, Aug. 19, 1837. 

 Pears.— \iy Mr Downer,— English red cheek, fine 

 gold of summer, and Jargonelle. By Mr Walker — 

 (Jreen Chissel. By Mr Clapp, South Reading,— an ear- 

 ly Pear without name. By Mr Manning,— Bellissune 

 D'Ete, or Beauty of Summer, a small scarlet fruit of or- 

 dinary flavor, and remarkable only for its beauty. Par- 

 fum D'Aout, or I'erfumiJ of Aiiguist— sernetimes called 

 Juncating. 



Jljiplcs.—ny Mr Downer,— Williams' Favorite, very 

 fine and beautiful. River apple. Ky Mr Clapp,'of S. 

 Reading, — Early Harvest. 



Pltims.—iiy Mr Downer,— Early Apricot Plum, very 

 sweet and fine. Italian Damask, fine and very beauti- 

 ful. From the Hon. J. Kendall of Worcester,— some 

 very fine fruit was received. Very beautiful specimens 

 of Plums, apparently the Italian Damask, were, as we 

 believe, also received from this same source. 



Mclarines.—Co\. Wilder presented superb specimens 

 of Nectarines, received by him from S. G. Perkins, 

 Esq. 



ESHIBlTIO.N OF FLOWERS. 



By Thomas Lee, Esq. of Brookline,— A variety of cut 

 flowers, some of them very fine. 



Dahlias from the garden of M. V Wilder,— by John 

 Donald-Rainbow, Lady of the Lake, Juliet, (extra 

 fine,) Rosea Superba, (.splendid,) Rival Yellow, Jones' 

 Sulp. Elegans, Fisherton Rival, Hermione, (superb,) 

 Queen Elizabeth, Sulphurea Perfecla, Wcslland's Mar- 

 quis, Countess Liverpool, Naj.oleon, Paragon, Glory 

 Apollo, (fine,) Criterion, Sir Henry Fletcher, Dennisii, 

 Royal Adelaide, Jones' Lady Jane Gray, New China 

 Astor Flower, Lord Liverpool, Jupiter. 



By Mr Johnson of Charlestown,— Dahlias : var.. La- 

 dy Fordwich, Elphenslone's Polyphemus." Bellad'ona, 

 Douglas's Ciiterion, Widnall's Rival, Inwood's Lady' 

 Ripon, Crosses' Yellow. 



By the Messrs Winship, Brighton,— Clematis flamu- 

 la, sweet scened virgins bower; a very pretty plant. 



Dahlias, from Hovey & Co.— Beauty of Dulwich, 

 Widnall's King of Dahlias, (fine) do. Juliet, (extra fine) 

 do. Vejius, (fine) do. Queen of Dahlias, Queen Eliza- 

 beth, Apollo, (superb) Rainbow, Gem, or Royal Ade- 

 laide, Cedo nulli, Westland's Marquis, Albion, Lilac 

 Perfection, Angelina, Wheeler's Marchioness. 



By Mr William E. Carter, from ihe Botanic Garden, 

 Cambridge,— Hedychium Gardnerianum, and Dahlias! 

 var., Agrippina, Hermione, Queen of Dahlias, Bellado- 

 na, Mrs Wilkinson, Granta, Lady Milton, Widnall's 

 Enchanter, Countess of Liverpool, Globe, &c. 



By Mr S. Sweetser,— Dahlias : var., Golden Sover- 

 eign, Widnall's Apollo, (fine) do. Paris, do. Granta ; 

 Smith's Napoleon, Harris's Fair Rosamond, and a fine' 

 bouquet. 



By Mr T. Mason.-Dahlias: var. Granta (fine) Den- 

 nisii, Globe, Queen of Yellows, and a bouquet of fine 

 flowers. 



By Mr J. Brcck of Boston,- Dahlias, and a collec- 

 tion of seedling Viola's, some of the latter very fine. 



By Samuel Walker of Roxbury,-Dahlias, Bouquets, 

 and Viola's, 



For the Committee. 



S. WALKER, Chairman. 



IT The Membel-s of the Committee of Arrange- 

 ments arc requested to meet at the Rooms of the Hor- 

 ticultural Society, on Saturday morning, 26th inst , at 

 U o'clock. Per order. 



S. WALKER, Chairman. 



Faneuil Hai.l VEGETABtE i\ i.nKzr.— Wednesday, 

 August 16, 1837.— Peas and String Beans 30 cts. apeck; 

 Shell beans 10 cents a quart; Broad Windsor Beans 20 

 cents do ; Cucumbers 6 1-4 cts. a dozen ; Squashes 12A 

 cents a dozen ; Green Corn 12j cts. a dozen ; Toma- 

 toes 25 do ; Cabbages 37 1-2 to 50 cents do.; Beets, 

 Carrots, <S-,c., 6 cents a bunch; Cauliflowers 12 1-2 to 

 25 cts. a head ; Celery G els. a root; Potatoes 50 cents 

 a bushel. 



Fruit.— Apples and Pears 50 cents a peck ; Peaches 

 $2 to $6 a dozen ; Apricots 50 cents a dozen ; Berries 

 of various sorts from 8 to 12 1-2 cents a quart; Melons 

 12 ]-2 to 25 cents each ; Grapes 75 cts. to $1,00 per lb. 

 Plums 37 1-2 cents a box. 



Remember that Honesty and Industry, are the two 

 great pillars of the farmer's prosperity. 



