58 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



AUGUST 3d, i'fw; 



Remarks on the Agricultural Suruey of the State 

 of .Massachusetts. 

 Tlie corimioiuvealtli of jAIassacluisetts liasearn- 

 ed a new and inoit hoiioialile distinction, hy hav- 

 ing first of all the confederated states, directed 

 the making an agricnitnral snrvey 'of lier ter- 

 ritory. The execution of this iniporlant puhlic 

 \vorl< is entrusted to the Rev. Henry Cohnan, who 

 is verv advantau'eonsly known as a farnKir, and 

 writer on agriculture. 



The peopli: of New England are noted for un- 

 derstanding well their pecuniary interest, and pur- 

 suing whatever coiuse tends to promote their 

 profit; and we helieve that they never had a het- 

 ter chance to get back fully, and with increase, 

 their " money's worth," than upon the sum that 

 will he expended in this earliest adventure of this 

 kind in our new coimlry. If we did not know it 

 to he as vain as "to call spirits from the vasty 

 deep," we should earnestly ruconnnend to the 

 people and legislature of Virginia, to follow this 

 example of our hard working, frugal, and thrifty 

 sister commonwealth, Massachusetts. 



As the first and an essential step towards re- 

 storing the health and vigor of a sick map, i» for 

 the physician to search out and to learn the na- 

 ture, the extent, and malignity of his diseases, so 

 is it a necessary preliminary to general or exten- 

 sive improvement of agriculture throughout a 

 country, to know well its existing condition — 

 including all ll;at is wrcmg, as well as all that is 

 correct, coinmendalde and profitahle. When the 

 British Hoard of Agricidture was establisli^d, the 

 first and most valuable measure undertaken, Was 

 the execution of minute and accurate agricid- 

 tural surveys of every county in Britain, the re- 

 sults of were presented to tlie public in full re- 

 ports. This part (d the operations of the hoard, 

 engaged the labors and the talents of perhaps 

 fifty of the best informed scientific agriculturists 

 and practical farmers of Britain ; and their re- 

 ports, though confined ninstly to statements of 

 then existing circumstances, contained a more 

 valu;d)le qnd instructive body of information than 

 ever had before been presented to the farmers of 

 that country, and the world. Before that time, 

 many old ami usefid practices, of some districts, 

 were scarcely known at the distance of fifly or 

 an hundred miles. Among the earliest fruits of 

 the surveys, ami ohtaincMl almast ijumedialely, 

 were the first public information of Elkington's 

 theory and nio{|e of vertical draining, and the 

 process of " warpin'T," (oi adding to the soil of 

 tide lands by relainiug and depositing the uuid 

 suspended by the water)— lire first of which 

 alone, to a cuu'.ury like Britain, was worth the 

 cost of all the county surveys. Parliameju even 

 voted a reward of ClOOU sterling to ^Elkington — 

 a rare, if nut a singular case of benefits to ag- 

 riculture being thus acknowledged aud rewarded, 

 by any goverruueut. 



'I'lic expense pertnitted to be incurred for tlie 

 survey of the state of Massachusetts will probably 

 not exceed what the Britisli guvernitient paid for 

 the single county of Yorkshire — and of course 

 the performance of service, and the utility, must 

 be slight and impi'rfect, compared to what might 

 be available. Still, it imrst be very beneficial to 

 the inii)rovement of ihe agriculture of Massachu- 

 setts ; aud such a work would be productive of 

 tenfold profit to Virginia, Maryland, or the Car- 

 olinus, (wilbont looking furlher,) because their 



natural and as yet almost dormant resources for 

 improvement are very fiir greater than those of 

 Massachusetts. 



But neithei- this measure, luu- any otlicr of the 

 many by which agricultural instruction and im- 

 provement and |)rofit might be advanced by gov- 

 ernment, are to be hoped for in Virginia. We 

 have hoped, but now ilespair of any such move- 

 ments and their results. Rather than pay §10,000 

 for the benefit and improvement of agricultural 

 interests, the legislature of Virginia would ex- 

 pend $100,000 ill the lime and cost of speechify- 

 ing against any measures proposed for that end. 

 Very recently, an extra session was held, which 

 cost nearly $30,000, (and which was not grudged, 

 and has scarcely been complained of,) stdely for 

 the purpose of relieving the hanks from the pen- 

 alties which they had incurred, by violating their 

 legal and most solemn ami imperative obligation 

 to pay specie for their bills — and to place these in- 

 stitutions, for all future time, beyond all control of 

 any legal or moral obligations, by showing them 

 with what absolute impunity their most solemn 

 and necessary restri(!tions might be disregarded 

 and contemned. If the question had been to pay 

 as much as this recent expense of extra aud ini- 

 gnitous and destructive h'gislation, the most un- 

 doubted and solid benefits of to agriculture, pro- 

 bably not more than twenty mendiers of the body 

 would have voted for the apjiropriation ; and in 

 such a case, ue incline to believe that teiiTint of 

 twenty would have been turned out of their 

 places, for that vote, as the next election, by their 

 former friends and constituents belonging to the 

 agricultural interests. — Farmer^s Resister. 



1.I4IE: OM POTATOES. 



We do not recollect to have seen any account 

 of Lime used in the cultivation of potatoes in the 

 mode which we are informed by an acquaintance 

 has come within liis observation an experience, 

 and with the most happy results. We liope 

 many of our agricultural friends will test the 

 utility of Lime in this mode the present season, 

 and communicate to us the result for publication. 

 Our friend says : 



'' I learned on inquiry of a quiet experiment- 

 ing and scientific man, that he raised Potatoes of 

 the best quality by simply dropping into the hole 

 with the potatf.es when he jiUinted tliem about 

 half a pint of slacked Li ue, and never knew the 

 crop to be bad in quality or small in quantity. 1 

 tried Lime after bis fashion, and had not a few 

 horse laughs from old fashioned potato planters 

 for so doing. Well, 'let them laugh that lose, 

 they who win wilt laugh.' I did win : for where 

 for many years before I liad raised Potatoes of 

 the very worst quality, in the old way of manur- 

 ing, — with the lime dressing alone, 1 raised Po- 

 tatoes of the very best kind. My CJienangoes 

 were uniformly dry, sweet and abundant. The 

 resuJis were the same the two past seasons, both 

 on a light sandy loam and on a stiff clayey ground." 



Lime, put into the hill manured with Rock 

 Weed, will, it is believed, counteract the bad ef- 

 fects resulting from this kind of manure — Try it, 

 farmers — believe me, this "experiment" will not 

 rob your pockets, — try it. — One good potato is 

 worth two bad ones, for man or beast. — Portland 

 Farmer. 



In the last number of the Farmer we gave a 



brief article on the use of " Lime on Potatoes." 

 We have obtained from the friend who gave us 

 the information contained in that article some 

 further information, which lay before our readers, 

 with the wish that many will test the utility of 

 Lime in the mode t'.ere spoken of. lie now 

 says,— 



•'Besides using Lime with Potatoes, I have 

 used it with various garden vegetables, such as 

 onions, beets, ( arrots, peas, lieans, squashes, &c. 

 with which, I am satisfied, they yield abundantly. 

 In my hills for sqiuishes 1 put dirt collected un- 

 der my sink-spout, they grew (ibe year before 

 last) remarkably well, and I gathered many, some 

 of which weighed upwards of thirty pounds, and 

 were of a delicious flavor. 



" About three years since, I rode in the stage 

 from Portland to Fryeburg, in company with an 

 intelligent young fanner belonging to the latter, 

 place, in the month of June. He had an eye for 

 everything that we passed in the line of his pro-, 

 fession, and was free in liis remarks. Jn the 

 course of conversation, I observed that lime was 

 considerably used, and with great advantage in, 

 some parts of our country on tilled land, and ask- 

 ed him if he had ever used it. He answered 

 that he had only once, the year before, used it; 

 that he had taken up his barn floor and had col- 

 lected a considerable quantity of manure, which 

 had in it many red worms ; that he mixed lime 

 with the manure, thinking to destroy the worms ; 

 the corn dressed with this mixture was far sufie- 

 rior to any other on his farm, strikingly so; and 

 that h? should give it further trial, co:ifident that 

 he should be rewarded for doing it. 



" I have known some f irmers use it as top 

 dressing for their grass land, but without any vis- 

 ible advantage. My old friend (alluded to in 

 your last) says, so far as his experience has 

 taught, you might as well strew lime over Casco 

 Bay, as strew it on your ground as a top dressing. 

 It must be buried in the soil, to he of any advan- 

 tage to it." — lb. 



The Crops The York (Pa.) Republican ofl 



Wednesday states, that the crops of small grain, 

 which have just been harvested in that coiinty, are 

 (ilentiful and of good quality. Rye and oats es- 

 pecially are stated to have ])roduced most abun- 

 dantly, aud wheat a full average yield. Tho- 

 mildew has injuriously aflected some fields, in 

 low, damp situations; but in general the product 

 has been large, and of excellent quality. The 

 editor also mentions that, in those instances which 

 have c^mc to his knowledge, the experiments 

 made this year with spring wlieat, have been 

 highly succeesful. We take pleasure in giving 

 farther circulation to this fact, and do so, with fl 

 purpose of encouraging our agricultural reader* 

 to take order for increasing the number of thesa 

 experiments, next season. 



The weather anu crops. — A more growinj 

 season we do not retnemlier. We have lia( 

 rather more rain than was necessary, but tlu 

 crops of every kiml promise abundantly. Thi 

 Wheat and Rye crops are made, all that is wani 

 ing for them is dry weather, to harden the grai 

 aud a good harvest-home. — Fruit is abundant,-'* 

 of apples there is an annual supply. Our inaili 

 ket is well stocked with all the vegetables the cli- 

 mate and season afi'ords, and tliose of the besi 

 quality. — Vinn. Ev. Post, 



