G) 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



August 30, is'ir. 



Manures. — TIkm-o is, pcrlia|i^, 110 siihjcct uliicli 

 has been more written almiit tljaii tliat of inriiiiires. 

 Tliere is iiotliins of luoro importance to tlie far- 

 iiif r tlian manure, aAd at the same time there is 

 iinthins ahout which nine-lentlis of the fanners in 

 IMainc tronhle thcsmsclves so little as manure. It 

 is a law of nature, that plants or vegetables shall 

 have snstenance, or something which they may 

 taUe into their systems and conveit to an increase 

 of their own substance and strength. 



Now it lias been found that there are various 

 snbslaHces vvhi(di fo:in this aliirient. They may 

 be cla^SLMl in difi'erent manners. I'erhaps the most 

 simple bi;t at the same time most general I'las- 

 silicalion is, into Vegi table, Animal, anil Mineral. 

 Mixture of these may be called a compost. .And 

 perhaps this kind may be the most useful of any, 

 and all thiu'^s considered, the most easily accu- 

 niulated. Vegetable matter is abundantly scat- 

 tered around us, and the gathering it to- 

 gether and putting it into a situation to un- 

 dcr"'o putrefaction, or as it is called decomposi- 

 tion, is a business which almost every fiiriner can 

 occasionally attend to, and thus by little and little 

 accumulate a large quantity of valuable matter 

 which he can supply to his crops and increase his 

 produce. One thing which we would strongly 

 recommend to every one who wishes to gather 

 manures of this kind is the immense quantities 

 of Canada Thistles which in too many situations 

 infest the road sides and waste places of our State. 

 If they should be cut down and carried to the 

 compost heap, they would be converted into a 

 useful substance, and a nuisance be removed. 



Another substance which can be easily obtained 

 ill many places, is the decaying leaves in the 

 woods and swamps. In a dense wood there is a 

 thick covering of these annually deposited, and 

 which may be collected by the boys and younkers 

 in great quantities and converted into manure. 



Sods from the road sides and from other situa- 

 tions where they are not needed, may be also col- 

 lected. 



'I liese matters thrown together, and a little 

 quick lime and ashes added, and animal matter, if 

 at hand, soon begin to ferment, and become a ho- 

 mogenous mass, suitable for the nourishment of 

 plants, atid a valuable aid to the cultivator. Some 

 farmers have made it a rule to hire a hand a month, 

 whose soul business it should be to colloior ma- 

 terials for the manufacture of compost' ; and 

 Lave found it an advantageous mode 0/ manage. 



iiiunt. 



In addition to the kinds of materials which we 

 liave nienlioiied, we may also suggest peal as a 

 subject of consideration. 



Wo have almost inexhaustible quantities of this 

 substance in the State. It is found in almost ev- 

 ery bog. It is worth while to examine these bogs 

 in difi'erent sections, and to institute some experi- 

 ments upon the peat when found to test its ipiali- 

 ties. We know of some of our readers who are 

 now engaged in experiments of this kind, and we 

 hope to hear from them when they come to defi- 

 nite conclusions upon the subject. — Maine Far. 



From tlie Ainecicnn Sillt Grower. 



Ma Cooke, — In your Silk Grower of Feb. 27, 

 1837, was the following query : — 



" JU lehut stage of its fennenlim^- process should 

 bread be bahed to be tlie most healthy, and afford the 

 most nutriment to those who consume it" 



Tliis being an imjiortant subject to almost ev 



ery hiinian being in the civilized world — for 

 " bread is the staff of life," J was hoping to see a 

 fair and intelligible c.xidanalion upon it from some 

 one, but as no such explanation has yjt been of- 

 fered. I submit the following, with a view to af- 

 ford perhaps some little information to such as 

 may not have an opportunity to investigate for 

 themselves — and moreover with a hope to arouse 

 to action, the ilornianl talents of some oue learned 

 in the science of chemistry, to give all tho light 

 needed by the community. 



In order to answer this question properly, it 

 seems necessary to consider of what the materials 

 the imtrltive parts of bread stuff are composed, 

 and also, what kind of action, or chemical change 

 is produced on the materials by the process of 

 fermentation or 'rising' as it is called. It is found 

 by chemists that starch constitutes by far the great- 

 est proportion of wheat, rye and corn, while in 

 their natural state ; for of 100 of the constituents 

 parts of: — 



Wheat Jlour 63 are starch — about 11 gluten — 9 

 sugar — 4 gum and 11 water. 



Rye-Jlour 61 starch — 9 1-2 gluten — 3 1-2 sugar 

 &c. 



Ci,rn 77 starch — 3 gluten — 1 1-2 sugar ; with 

 several other little materials of less consequence. 



Now it is a fact well known to chemists that 

 starch is susceptible of s|)ontaneous change,wliich 

 converts the greatest part of it into sugar, which 

 is an imiiortant material in food, and this is done 

 by the first stage of fermentation called the sac- 

 charine fermentation, and sugar being one of the 

 gnat princi|iais of animal nutriment, this is the 

 condition in which it should be used "to be the 

 most healthy, and aflord the most nutriment." 

 lUit if we sutler the fermenting process still to go 

 on, alter the sugar is fully developed we have 

 another change, for at this period the vinous fer- 

 mentation sets in which converts the sugar into a 

 matcaial altogether different, and which contains 

 no nutriment but is deleterious in its effects^ — this 

 is alcohol. Therefore the most jiroper time to 

 bake your bread, is when it is raised so as to be 

 most sweet to the taste, for if we let it ])ass this 

 ])nint, and begin to sour, it loses a portion of its 

 nutritive matter ; and though we may neutralize 

 the acid by saleratus, &c., yet we can never restore 

 the nutritious matter that lias escapcfl. 



It is better to commence baking before this point 

 has fully arrived, than after it has passed ; for in 

 such case the baking process and the action of the 

 stomach may, in some degree, (perhaps not fully) 

 accomplish the neci'ssary work which the rising 

 process has left unfinished. 15ut perhaps some 

 will say they should Me the alcohol in the bread 

 into wliich the sugar is converted. 



To such we would say, that although the alco- 

 hol may bo present at the commencement of bak- 

 ing, yet by the heat required lo bake it, it is dissi- 

 pated, and this too together with the nutritive 

 matter before spoken of, is gone forever. 



Perhaps our readers will think by this time that 

 this is n long, complicated answer, for so short a 

 question — but we have given it in as brief and 

 plain a m;inner as its importance and the little op- 

 portunity wi) had to devote to it would ])ermit. 

 Chesterfield, TV. H. W. 



too early, for their grass woidd have grown much 

 more had they not cut it down. The crop, though 

 very light in many parts, will be on an average 

 v/hal is called a middling one. There is one thing 

 however in our favor which we did not have last 

 year. The frequent showers keep up the fresh- 

 ness of the grass, and those fields which have been 

 cut have started forth again and continm; to look 

 green and luxuriant. Last year, at this season, 

 our grass fields looked brown and sear, and many 

 had lo fodder their working cattle in September. 

 At pri'srnt there is a good prospect for a full sup- 

 ply of fall feed, which, if it should be the case, 

 will serve to save fodder and leave enough for a 

 winter's supply. In addition to this, there is a 

 pretty good supjily of rncts now growing, and the 

 great quantity of straw from the wheat and oats 

 will also serve to eke out the store of hay. It is 

 probable that neat stock will not command a very 

 high price, but jirobabiy will not be so low as it 

 was last season. Our farmers must count mouths 

 and make their calculations accordingly. — .Maine 

 Far. 



More for the Maine Farmers. — Since our 

 last we have been presented with two stalks of 

 rye which measured ies[)ectively seven feet and 

 four inches and seven feet and a half in length. 

 They grew on the field of Mr Obed Morgan, of 

 Norlhfield, who l.as a few acres that good judges 

 estimate, will yield forty bushels to the acre. 



Wc have also received specimens of oats and 

 wheat, from the field of Mr Pliny Severance of 

 this town, which indicate a most luxuriant growth 

 And heavy crop. The oats are five feet and three 

 inches high, — the wheat about five feet. In every 

 direction, the earth is laden with bountiful crops. 

 Some fields were seriously injiiied by the winter, 

 and the grain is so thin that it is hardly worth 

 gathering : but in general the store houses of the 

 husbandman will be filled to overflowing. The 

 fields are not only well covci*ed with the stalks 

 and heads, but we learn tlie berry is remarkably 

 full. One gentleman in this town threshed a few- 

 shocks the other day, and found it to yield far be- 

 yond the ordinary quantity of ]>lum]), bright grain. 

 If this holds good throughout the country — and 

 we understand it is so very generally — the abund- 

 ance will be more abundant than it has been anti- 

 cipated. In addition to this we are happy to learn 

 that the cultivation of wheat has increased very 

 considerably. — In Maine, which last year paid a 

 million of dollars lor foreign grain, it is calculated 

 that enough will be raised for domestic consumjj- 

 tion, and perhaps some to spare for exportation. — 

 In some towns in New Hampshire and Vermont, 

 from which we have heard, we learn thai there is 

 an unusual quantity of land appropriated to wheat 

 and rye. In Shelburue,'iu this couiily, we are in- 

 formed, that more wheat was raised this year 

 than there has been for twenty years before. 

 As it is probable that the causes which have led 

 to this result in these parts of the country, have 

 had a similar effect m other ]»arts, the ])resent 

 harvest will outstrip the jiiost sanguine aulici|>a- 

 tions of plenty. T here will be no need of any 

 body's starving. — Greenfield Gaz. 



Prospect for Fodder. — Onr Farmers have 

 nearly finished haying. It is considerably later in 

 t^e season than is usual for them to finish tliis|)art 

 of their work, but late a^ it is, many of them began 



Silk Cdlture in a "Nut Shell." — An Ital- 

 ian gentleman in New York who has been famil- 

 iar with all the ilctails of Silk business in Italy, 

 has published a little pamphlet, giving facts and 

 opinions on this subject. The following paragraph 



