v«>i,. XVI. NO. a*. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



niP, wliicli seemed to bo little valued, and know- 

 iiifl that I had plenty of wood, soon went to cal- 

 culating vvlial it would tost me to liaul the stone 

 and burn the lime, and at onre satisfied myseit' 

 that by doing the work " within jnyself " the cash 

 expenses would not exceed 8 or 10 cents a bush- 

 el, whilst I shovihl have to pay the lime burners 

 24 cents. I at once went to work to build a kiln 

 that would burn 1500 bushels, and never shall i 

 forget the concern it occasioned among tny friends. 

 Those who lived in the mid.st of limestone, thought 

 it impossible my experiment woidd succeed, luiv- 

 ing such a distance to haul the stone, whilst my 

 "oUl experienced neighbors " still thought it mo- 

 ney thrown away, to put lime on the land ; and, 

 never shall I foiget the earnestness with which 

 an old and valued friend, Mr T., admonished me 

 of the hazard I was running, and the seriousness 

 with which he attempted to dissuaile me fiom my 

 " wild notion ;" the hoy he was sure would ruin 

 himself, for the old gentlemen well knew that ujy 

 cash means were very slender. "The boy" how- 

 ever, persisted, and I am sure [ woidd not ex- 

 change the profits of my lime kiln (or that of some 

 of the gold mines. Ever)' day convinces me more 

 strongly, that but for my lime kiln, I should have 

 been a broken farmer. My kiln was scarcely un- 

 iler way before the example was followed by ano- 

 ther, and now, after a lapse of 8 or 10 years, they 

 are as thickly dotted over the nei.;hborhood as 

 you will find in any part of the county where they 

 have limestone on the spot, and it has become a 

 proverbial saying, that wherever you see a lime 

 kiln, " that inan is to do well." As to the mode 

 of applying it, I have pursued the same system, 

 vfz: spreading it on the surface, the quantity de- 

 >ending on the condition of the land ; on very 

 sterile .soil, the quantity should not exceed fifty 

 msliels per acre, and I doubt very much whether 

 he product of any land will be increased for the 

 irst few years by a larger quantity ; but where 

 as is the case with myself,) it is important to save 

 nanual labor, you may safely put on land that has 

 I sod on it from 120 to 1.50 buslicls pi^r acre, and 

 10 doubt the effect will continue many years long- 

 ir tlian if a small quantity was applied. On my 

 arm, I have two kinds of soil, the gray rock and 

 I gravelly soil ; lime acts powerfully on either, 

 Dut most so on the gray rock, and I find will ad- 

 Itiit of a much larger quantity being used at a 

 ime ; on land that woidd not bring more than 

 hree barrels of corn to the acre, I am confident 

 las often by one dressing of lime, been made to 

 M'oduce the first year from 5 to 7 barrels, and land 

 hat a few years since was covered with poverty 

 ;rass and briar bushes, now produces me fine 

 ro))s of timothy, corn and wheat. It is highly 

 ratifying to see the eagerness with which the 

 'oung farmers of my neighborhood are improving 

 vith lime, and the white heaps in the spring aflTiud 

 . delightful variety to the appearance of the neigh- 

 porhood. As long communications are never read, 

 will cut this short, with the promise to write 

 oil again. Yours, &c. W. G. 



BaUimore Co., JVov. 28. 



189 



I From the Maine Farnier.J 



FARMERS' FAULTS. 



Mr Holmes: I frequently see some of our most 



nterprising farmers — men who know how to 



nake their farms flourish, and purses heavy — 



3ave their sous nearly destitute of the means of 



improvement. I believe this is one great cause 

 why so many young men leave the farm for sonic 

 other pursuit. When they become free they are 

 unfit to act for themselves ; hence, they must ei 

 ther learn a thousand things by hitter experience 

 or else follow some other pursuit. The latter step 

 was taken by your unfortunate correspondent. 



When 1 was large enough to lift a hoe, an (dd 

 broken one was given me; which was con.sidered 

 good enough, in those days. As I grew older a 

 hoe with a handle much too short was provided 

 for me— and when J p/ead for a long handle, the 

 reply was, ' O, your hack is yowi^, and can bend 

 as well as not,' — so that now my back is as crook- 

 ed as if I were 70 years old, or upwards. 



I was never taught to perform any kind of me- 

 chanical labor pertaining- to a farm a veryiin- 



portant part of the education of a farmer. If I 

 ailempted to make or repair my hand-sled it 

 must be done without the knowledge of mvVa- 

 ther, as we were never allowed tn touch his tools. 

 Having no encouragement of this nature, I soon 

 began to plead a total v/ant of mechanical skill 

 so that now I am frequently mortified, when' 

 obliged to expose my ignorance and want of 

 skill. 



Rly father would never permit me to go to mill, 

 fearing that I should loiter by the way, or injure 

 the horse, — so that I must use the axe or hoe an I 

 not think of looking any higher, 'i o butcher a 

 sheep, was more than I ever expected to perform. 

 1 have no recollection of ever doing any business 

 for my father to the amount of twenty-five cents 

 in my life. I have lost many a dollar since, from 

 this defect of my early education. With such 

 treatment, I soon became ilisgusted, and resolved 

 never to become a farmer — a resolve of h hicli ] 

 have since repented a thousand times. 



I am confident that 1 am not the only one who 

 has changed his occupation on no other ground 

 than this. I could [point out many whole families 

 that have left the jiaternal roof to seek their sup- 

 port from some other source. I may safely say 

 that the man who is negligent of his business him- 

 self, and trusts it to his boys, is more likely to 

 make good farmers of them, than the man who 

 pays attention to his business and does not permit 

 his boys to act for themselves. 

 ■ There is a great neglect among many farmers, 

 in providing for the mental improvement of their 

 sons. I doubt much whether the farmers in this 

 State are providing better opportunities for the 

 improvement of their children in useful knowl- 

 edge at the [iresent day, than did their parents 

 forty years ago. At that time, comparatively less 

 knowledge was necessary for a man to he en. 

 gaged in the most lucrative employments, and if 

 he had no learning he might pass along in the 

 world, and acquire a handsome property. But at 

 the present day it is not so. Education is open 

 to all, and those who will not improve these ad- 

 vantages, will find themselves compelled to take 

 their stand fur below those now on the stage of 

 action, endowed with the same degree of knowl- 

 edge. 



If farmers would wish their sons to become 

 men, and farmers, too, they must give them some 

 inducements to action, and instead of making 

 mere tools of them for their own profit, strive to 

 encourage and teach them to perform those duties 

 which must soon devolve upon them. 



There is no need that our young men sRould 

 become anything and everything but farmers. — 



There is no pursuit in which the scientfic mind 

 can have a greater field of investigatian than ag- 

 riculture. Powerful minds are engaged in inves- 

 tigating its principles as a science. Many of these 

 principles which have been heretofore overlooked, 

 are develoj-ed every day, and cannot fail to pro- 

 duce results highly iiileresting and beneficial. 

 Leeds, JVov. 16, 18.37. N. 



Shaker Pig-Stye. — "The pig-styt at Canter- 

 bury is well worth a visit for the neatness, yea, 

 the neatness of a pig-stye! and the admirable and 

 happy condition of its tenants. Tuenfy or thirty 

 swine in clean swept styes, whose average weight 

 at killing lime, will be between four and five hun- 

 dred pounds, is a sight which Parson Trulliver 

 would have looked upon with exstacy. The whole 

 care of the swine in one building devolves upon 

 one mail, whose feeding tubs, and pails, and dip- 

 pers, and cloths, were as neatly arranged as in 

 any lady's kitchen. The troughs are so arranged 

 that the pigs are shut away tVom them while fil- 

 ling; of course there is no interference or squeal- 

 ing from the hungry expectants. The food given 

 them is always cooked, and the Shakers consider 

 a portion of rye mixed w ith the corn as very much 

 improving their food. Their experience leads 

 them to the conclusion that it would be better to 

 buy rye at a quarter of a dollar more a bushel, 

 than com, to mix with corn in equal parts, than 

 to give theii swine Indian meal alone." — Extract 

 from Mr Caiman's Idlers. 



Shaker Barn — The English agricultural jour- 

 nals are warmly ]iiaisinga mode of curing hay by 

 ventilating the stacks or mows, and thus prevent- 

 ing mould or must ; it will be seen by the follow, 

 ing extract from the same writer's papers, that 



ventilation is no new thing among the Shakers. 



Is it a wonder that such men who manage with 

 such care and skill, grow rich rapidly .' and would 

 not the majority of our farmers be benefited by 

 taking a few lessons of neatness and prudence in 

 farm management from them. — Maine Far. 



"The great object of agricultural curiosity at 

 Hancock, is tlicir magnificent circular stone barn, 

 two stories in height, and ninety-six feet in diam- 

 eter. The great mow is in the centre, and is said 

 to be capable of containing four hundred tons of 

 hay. 'i'he fjoor, or drive way is on the outside 

 of the circle, and the team goes round and comes 

 out of the same door by which it enters. By all 

 passing in the same direction, several teams can 

 stand on the floor and be unloaded at the same 

 time. In the centre of this mow, a large mast or 

 post is erected, reaching frun the ground to the 

 roof, which is crowned with a small cupalo. — 

 Slats, or pieces of (ilank, are secured around this 

 post, at a small distance from it, to prevent the 

 hay from coming in contact with it, and the hay 

 at the bottom being raised from the ground, a per- 

 fect ventilation is kept u|), and the steam from the 

 new hay is ellectiially carried off." 



Three hogsheads of pumpkin seeds were sent 

 to Belfast, from which oil was intended to be ex- 

 tracted ; but the experiment having failed, the 

 Journal states that the seeds are to be applied to 

 fattening swine. 



Cabbages will not be injured by remaining out 

 late in the fall, even after some light snows, if 

 they can be gathered when dry. 



