134 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



NOV. 1, 18 7- 



AND gardener's journal. 



Boston, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 1837. 



FAKMER'S WORK. 



Os TUK USE OF Lime in raising Wh.at. — [Cantin- 

 ucdfrom our last, p. 121; ] — In our last number, we |iro- 

 ducid some facts, vvliicli liad a tendenr.j lo piovo tluil 

 lime in some of ils ccimiiounds, was not only useful, 

 but indispcnsahh for llie niisiiig of wheat. Our auUioi; 

 ities for inis aseerlion, were deiived from British wri- 

 ters. We will now adduce the lesimony of an Ameri- 

 can cultivalor, relative to the value of lime, especially 

 for wheat, and give some priietical ilirecliuns for ilie ap- 

 plication of this indispensable riqnisile for good firm 



in". 



A writer f.>r the N. York Kvening Post, whose com- 

 munication on lime and its uses, may be found repub- 

 - lished in the N. li. Fanner, vol ix, p. 76, asserts ihat 

 " he has ex|)eiienced llie etfRaey of slack lime as a ma- 

 nure on ground tliat was entirely Worn out, producing 

 nothing but live lingerei' lea\ es and weeds. The ground 

 was tilled, and 10 bushels to the acre was spread over 

 it. It was seeded with grain, and timothy and clover 

 were sown at the same time. It yielded me a fine crop. 

 1 mowed the same live years, without adding any ma- 

 nure. The secon.l manuring was siill more etticauious, 

 when 60 or bO bushels were used. Foily bushes, 

 however, is as much as should be used tlie first lime, — 

 I know of a farm in New Jersey, in a lime stone coun- 

 try, completely worn out. The most thai could be ob- 

 tained for it was fifteen dollars per acre. 1 presume the 

 purchaser would not now sell it for 50 dollars per acre. 

 It is enliiely renewed by lime, and il is a pleasure to 

 look over it. 



" The advantage of using lime is, you insure to your- 

 self a certain crop, unless the season is very unfavora- 

 ble. Ground winch has not yielded wheat for many 

 years now produces fine crops. In one instance, forty- 

 five bushels per acre have been jiroduced this season. — 

 Your grain of evi-ry kind will be at least double, in ma- 

 ny instances treble. Your pastures will be very abun- 

 dant — you may double and treble your stock of cattle. 

 If you have more pasture than you want, plough under 

 - your clover — it will mellow and very much enrich your 

 ground. The fanner will then reap abundantly and the 

 old cry of poor crops w.ll be silenced." 



With regard lo the best mode of applying lime, its 

 quaiilily. &c , we can give no bctier directions than are 

 conlaim d in an arlicle, publi.>^hed in the Memoirs of the 

 Jicto Ytirk Board of A^ricuUure, vol. iii. page 124, com- 

 municated by Daniel Buckley, Ksq of Salishury, Penn. 

 from which tlie following is extracted : 



"The method of applying lime, which I have adopted 

 in common wiili my neighbors, is, in t'lie first place, to 

 plough up a s. id field with a strong team, in the spring 

 or fall, harrow it the way it is ploughed, and mark the 

 fielrl into as many squares as you intend lo put on half 

 bushels, say 100 lo tlie acre, which will bring the furrc.vvs 

 about -'II leet apart eaidi \vny:ainl requile 50 bushels to the 

 acre. This quantity 1 have found to be most profitable. 

 When the lime la burnt and as soon as it is cool enough 

 to handlc,-it ought to be hauled on ihe land already 

 marked, and half a bushel to he deposited in Ihe cenire 

 of each square, in as compact a heap as possible. If 

 ■ water is cimveuient, 1 prefer to sl.urk the lime iinmedi- 

 tttcly, rather than to wait for rain, as it becomes finer, 

 ,Tnd can he more easily spread. AsMon as it is slacked. 

 It is immedialely spnad and well liarrowed. This meth- 

 od I prefer lor Indian corn, barley, oats, rye and pota- 

 toes. On all the above crops, I have experienced a 

 great benelit Irom lime, the lirst year after its applica- 

 tion. With potatoes I add about 15 two horse loads ol 

 barn yard manure to the acre before planting. A sec- 

 ond Inning is often given and much approved of, alter 

 an interval of tl.rce or more years. This amalgamates 

 bedcr, and can be more intimately mixed with the 

 soil. 



" There are good farmers w ho diflfer as to ihe quan- 

 lilv of lime, that is iiKist profiiably app'ied. Some say 

 fiO'bushels on an acre, scuiie 70, and some more. I have 

 applied 100 bushels on an acre of lime slone land, at a 

 dressing' ; hut have not been able to iliscover any bene- 

 fit in using il thus freely, nor any injury, except in the 

 loss of the lime." 



Jl IS observed ill " Letters of Agricola," that the ap- 

 plication of lime is matter neither of mystery nor (if 

 deep philosophical research. If the necessary quantity 

 be given to land, and properly mixed with the soil, it is 



a thing of much less moment than we are apt to imag- 

 ine, whether it be applied in its caustic or mild state, 

 and for this reason, ihat there is a natuial progression 

 from the one to llie other. 



Or Cooper, in the last lidition of Willich's Domestic 

 ICncyelopedia, observes, that " Oyster shells are fre- 

 qiienlly buint into lime lo lay upon land. They are a 

 belter immure when ground wilhoul burning, owing to 

 the remains of animal matter in iheni. A good lime 

 compost is the followini : spread on any platform un- 

 der cover, G inches ol mould, then three inches ol well 

 burnt lime; slack it u i;!', w.n, r in <vhi.li emmnon sail 

 has been dissolved, at the rate of 1 1-2 biisliels of sail, 

 to each bushel o' lime ; cover it with (i inches more ol 

 mould. Before laving it on ihe land, turn and mix this 

 compost heaji, and lay 300 bushels of it each acre.' 



off their jackets and go to work U|)on the waste lands, of 

 which we have thousands of acres in the vicinity of Boston, 

 and the city « ill be crowded wilh produce of our own raising, 

 and you will not see quite so many loafers parading the streola 

 nreacliing up hard times. Yours respecifiilly 

 ' D. CHANDLER. 



StiPEiiB Squash. — Mr Samuel Pond, of Cambridge- 

 port, iias presented us with an excellent esculent of the 

 S<|uasli kind It IS. if we misinke not, of the sort called 

 Autumnal Marrow .-'quash, Cucuibil:i .M c lopepo. The 

 color id'ihe squash is reddis-i. white, Ihsh bright orange, 

 sweet, and of fine Havor It is, we believe, of the same 

 species first introduced into Salem, Mass., bv Mr John 



and described in the New England Farmer, 

 page 121. The squash is a valuable acquisition 



MASS.\CHi:SETTS IIOKTSCULTURAI.. SOCIETY. 



tXUIBlTloN OK FRUITS. 



Saturday, Oct. 21, 1837. 



Fiom Mr Downer,— Urbaniste Pears, very fine ; — 

 Knight's (Rhode Island) late seedling pears, medium 

 size, not high flavored, tut exceedingly sweet. Pomnie 

 Nei''e or snow appU-s, a beautiful and high flavored 

 fruit'; Brussel's juppin apples; Quince apples; very 

 sprightly and good. Lys(om apples, a deservedly pop- 

 ular fruit. 



From iMr Manning,— Louise Bonne pears (of Jersey,) 

 not quite mature. They are considered by one of oui 

 most distinguished pnnj.dogists, first rale. Jalousie 

 pears, very fine ; also, two distinct crop of William's 

 Double Bearing, (raised from the seed of the St. Ger- 

 main,) of medium quality. 



From Rlr Paine, from ihe gardi n of Beiij. Busscy, 

 Esq , Summer street,— Minolt Pears, a well known va- 

 riety. 



From Mr J, Lincoln, Hingham,— Seek-no-further 

 apples, which fully sustained their good reputation. 



From Joseph Balch, Esq,,— Apides, (from trees im- 

 ported from England,) not in eaiing, names unknoWn. 

 Also, large clusters of White Chasselas and Isabella 

 Grapes, (open culture) equal lo any exhibited this sea- 

 son. 



From J. P. Davis,. Esq., — Louisiana (native) Grapes, 

 of considerable merit, raised by Mr Dane, Roxbury. 



from Specimens of Philadelphia Pip- 

 pins, very large and handsome. 



From E. M. Kichards,- Boxford or Towne Apples, 

 fled liigisliie apples and peaches, name unknown. 

 For the Committee. 



E. M. RICHARDS. 



[IXThe Report of the Commillee on Frui'.s, October 

 ■is, is deferred until next week, on accountofits length. 



[For the .New Eiigiaitd farmer.] 

 Farm School, Thompson's Island, Oct. 14(/i, 1837. 



Mr Willis— Sir, In answer lo your iiiquiiies respecting 

 Hale's Threshing Machine and Horse pouer that I rccenlly 

 purchased at your establishment, I must Iruly say that tliey 

 lia.ve exceeded my expectations. I have used and seen in use 

 Flagg's Machine, both of ihe Warrens' die Lafayette, (.so 

 called) Pope's, and Cillers; but never have seen or used any 

 that 1 think will bear the test of practical experience, equal 

 lo Hale's. This Machine combines many good qualities; il 

 is very simple, and so constructed that il is not liabe to ac- 

 cident or damage while in operation; likewise il is less ex- 

 pensive, more durable, and does the work 6f«fr and more fX- 

 peditiously than any oilier Ihat has met my observation. 



1 liiid that we can ihresli wilh ease from 75 lo 100 bushels 

 in a day of barley, or any oilier kind of grain that is plump, 

 and in good order for tlneshiiig; and il is much cleaner than 

 grain llial is usnallv ihreshed wilh ihe flail. The powar 

 works admirably. 1 find dial it is not very hard work fur 

 a horse as he can work all day with ease. Il miuires 2 ac- 

 live men and a boy lo tend the machine while in operation. 

 Mind no dilliculiy in working it wilh 3 boys 14 years of age, 

 bul we c.in employ in<n-e to good advantage. 



As we now have ihe Threshing Machine, and Cultivator 

 brought to peifcclion, give us farmers 2 more machines, 

 (which by the way I hope lo live lo see in operalion) one for 

 mowing, ihe other for plonghing by steam power, and I 

 think liial we can live wilbont paying all the profits of our 

 farms as inosl of us now do, to our hired help Likewise 

 we should gel rid of one great evil, that is the vexation and 

 trouble we generally have with hired help, as Ihey generally 

 feel ihemselvcs of niore consequence than ibeir employers. I 

 find by experienoe, Ilia' il is much lees vexatious lo manage a 

 farm wilh a hundred boys llian wilh 3 or 4 hired men, take 

 them as Ihey rise. 



Give us good tools, and encourage our young men lo strip 



M. Ives 

 vol. xiii , , ^ 



to our culinary edibles, and may well rank as high as 

 the Giant Asparagus, introduced by Mr Pond, who de- 

 serves the ofiice of Procurator General for Ceres and 

 Pomona. 



Great Proiiccts. — The Lancaster (Pa.) Examiner, 



under the head of Mammoth Pumpkins, statiis, in sub- 

 stance, ihat ihe editor of the West Chester Register has 

 been presented with a pumpkin that measured 6 feet 2 

 inches in circumference one way, and 5 feet (3i inches 

 the other, weighing 1 13 pounds. But James Porter, of 

 Lancaster county, h. is gone ahead of the Chester pump- 

 kin raiser, and sent lo the Editor of the Lancaster Ex- 

 aminer, a prodigious pumpkin, w"liich measured G feet 

 8 1-2 indies in circumference rme way, and feet G in- 

 ches the other, and weighed IBO pounds I 



Apple Molassks. — There is many a good housewife, 

 who has more faith in her own experience, than in the 

 science of chemistry, that knows not the value of Apple 

 Molasses; but still believes it to be the same kind of 

 tart, smoky, worihless sluH, that has from time imme- 

 morial, been made by boiling down cider. It is not 

 within my province, at tins time, to attempt to convince 

 such, that there is a chemical difference, though it might 

 easily be show n, that they are almost as different as su- 

 gar and vinegar. 1 would, however, invite them to lay 

 aside their cidei this year, and try the plan of boiling 

 down the juice of the apple tiiat has not been exposed 

 to the air by grinding and ])ressing. 



Last autumn, I placed a number of bushels of Welh- 

 erill's sweeting apples in two large brass kettles, with 

 water just sufficient lo steam them ; when they had 

 boiled soft, i turned them into a new splinter basket, 

 containing some straw, and placed on them a b-irrel 

 head, and a heavy weight. The juice was caught in a 

 tub. This was repealed until I had juice enough to fill 

 the ketiles, when 1 commenced boiling it down, and at- 

 tended to it strictly, frequently skimming it, till it be- 

 came of the consistency of cane molasses. The native 

 acids of the fruit imparted a peculiar flavor, otherwise 

 it could hardly be distinguished fioin the syrup of the 

 cane. It was used in my lamity finr makingsweetmeats, 

 for sw'crteiiinff jiies, for dressing on puddings and grid- 

 dle cakes, and a variety of other purposes. The cost of 

 making il is very tiiflmg. and the means are within the 

 reach of everv farmer. — Ohio Fanner. 



Peat. — We are informed that Mr Jahez Howes, of 

 this town, in the nionihs of June and July Inst, dug and 

 cured 80 ci'rds of peat. This sells at i^l per cord, yield- 

 ing to Mr Howes, a profit of $IG0 per month for his la- 

 bor. Half of this world reject the cxjieiience of others, 

 and rely solely on their own. Their latheis never dug 

 pelt, therefore they do not. They will toil fiirty days 

 in a year to obtain a supply of wood for their fires; — 

 when by a week's labor, at the proper season, ihey may 

 lay in sufficient peat lo last Ihein a year. — Bamstablt 

 paper. 



To Farmers — Corn being frozen severely, before or 

 after it is gatliered, if not well dried previous to being 

 frozen, will not vegetate — a circumstance that should bo 

 known to every one, in saving their seed corn the pres- 

 ent season. — IVorctsicr Spy. 



The Nnrthamplon Courier states that Holland Wil- 

 liams of Chester, has raised from one bean, two hundred 

 mid sixteen other beans, and from one pea, he has alio 

 raised, this year, two hundred and four olher peas ! 



Mr Alvah Stevens, of Claremont, N. H , has raised 

 fiom an acre and three quarters of land, one hundred 

 and twelve bushels of sound corn, and twenty-seven 

 large ox loads of pumpkins! 



