198 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



»EC. --7, IS'*!. 



AND gardener's JOURNAL. 



Boston, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 1837. 



QT rn this chilly and inclement season of the year, 

 when winter comes brnshing dawn upon us ; when man 

 and beast are shivering in the wind, and each passer-by 

 is heard to cry, " O, bless my heart how cold it is !"— 

 The farmer of economy and forethought is, no doubt, 

 prepared to make the best of it. It is fit and proper that 

 all our buildings be tight and snug as a lady's china 

 closet. A fanner may have ventilation sufficient for his 

 cattle and his fodder, without practising that slovenly 

 habit we see in some, who would, forsooth, lie reckoned 

 as patterns of good husbandry. Loose boards and shin- 

 gles, broken hinges and swinging doors upon our barns, 

 do not indicate any thing very (avoraWe of the orcu- 

 pant. Tools scattered here and there, window glass 

 broken, and c;it!le astray, are unpleasant sights to one 

 that prides himself upon good husbandry. Jlrgiis was 

 said to have had an hundred eyes, and only two of them 

 were asleep at one and the same time. What an excel- 

 lent farmer he might have been, to keep ever on the 

 look-out, and see thai every thing was as it should be ! 

 Butevcry farmer can be Argus enough to see to his own 

 affairs, if he will only bestir himself. MtHntion I i.et 

 not this word be a milit.iry technical altogether. It 

 stands at the head of the husbandman's vocabulary, and 

 its important signification is well understood to every 

 diligent, active ar.d persevering agriculturist. 



MASS.VCIIUSBTTS HORTSgUL.'! VR..VL. SOCIKTY. 



E.KHIBITION OF FRUITS. 



Saturday, Dec. IG, 1837. 

 Mr Downer's select fruits, (wiih the exception of ve- 

 ry line Passe Colmar Pears, from the lion. E. Vosu,) 

 constituted the entire exhibition. 



^/y/j/cs.— Ortley, first rate, Brussel's Tippin, old Non- 

 such, handsome and fine fiavoreil. 'I'wo varieties of 

 Spitzenburghs and Lady's, a small oblong fruit of great 

 beauty. 



jPcars.— Lewis, good ; Bleeker's Meadow, Passe Col- 

 mar, Di.\, overripe, biiX retains its flavor to the last.— 

 Beurre Ranee; this variety cannot, wiih confidence, be 

 recommended for general cultivation Catillac, very 

 large and iron; this with the last, are goo I baking va- 

 rieties at this season of the year. 



For the Committee. 



E M. RICHARDS. 



[For the New England Farmer.] 



Mr Editor: I am not in the habit of contributing for 

 periodicals, but, if the following be of use to any of your 

 readers, and you think proper to give it a publication, I 

 shall have the satisfaction of having cast in a mile, (a 

 drop in the bucket ) towards afTai^fliii^ matter for your 

 valuable paper. D. G. 



December 21, ]837. 



Jin ingenious method for preserving Potatoes. — A. and 

 B,, witli their respective families, occupied the same 

 house, but in separate apartments. A. was a good hus- 

 band, and a good provider ; but B. was an idle fellow, a 

 loafer at the grog-shops, neglectful' of his family, &c. ; 

 and his wife bad hard scrambling to support herself and 

 babes. A.'s wife was sure that some one had robbed 

 their potato bin, and frequently named it to her husband, 

 who, in order to ascertain the truth of it, contrived the 

 following method of detection. One evening he inser- 

 ted a headless tcnpcnny nail into several long, red pola- 

 tatocs, lengthwise, and undisc.iverable, and laid them 

 upon the top of the heap. The next day, Mrs B. ob- 

 served to Mrs A. that her husband had brought home 

 some very curious potatoes; for, when cut open, a long 

 nail was found in several of them ! She could not con- 

 ceive " liow upon earlh the nail should get there." — 

 Sequel — no more potatoes were lost. 



F.XIIIBITION OF FRUITS. 



Saturday, Dec. 9, 1837. 



Pears.— Figue de Naples. From Mr Manning, first 

 fruit ; the tree proves a great hearer. Specimens over 

 ripe ; to appearance a good fruit. 



Surpasse St. Germain.— This is the third variety 

 which Mr Manning has received by this name. This, 

 he observes, appears to be right, as it conforms to the 

 description of Mr Braddick. 



Apples.— TM Harvey. " This," says Mr Manning, 

 " is thought to be the best fall and early winter apple 

 we have , the fruit grows very large and handsome, and 

 the tree is a great hearer." The fruit large, round, slight- 

 ly ribbed ; color greenish yellow, with an occasional 

 deep blush next the sun ; the stalk short, flesh breaking, 

 juice sweet and abundant, with a just and perfect pro- 

 portion of acid. The grafts of this fine variety, were 

 received of Mr Towne, of Topsfield, \< ith some other 

 fine kinds, but the origin is not known. 

 For the Comniiltec. 



WM. KENRICK, Chairman. 



again invite the attention of the members to the claim^ 

 of our puriodical for their support. 



rn=" Members of the General Court are invited to cal 

 al the New England Agricultural Warehouse and See 

 !it<ire, No. 51 and 52, North Market Sireet, up stairs - 

 Al no place, can be found so large a collection of Agri 

 cultural Implements, Tools, Seeds, Grains, &c. Th 

 proprietors will take groat pleasure in exhibiting an 

 explaining to them a great variety of improved ma^ 

 chines. 



AcrticuLTURF, IN Kektuckv.— We like the Kentuckj 

 ians. We like ihem for their chivalrcms, disinteresteJj 

 patriotism— we like them for their ingenuousness and 

 hospil.ilin— and we like them, particularly , for their no- 

 ble efforts to improve the great business of our country! 

 and of mankind— the cultivation and improvement of III* 

 soil. In Kentucky, agriculture holds a dignified rank] 

 as it ought to do in every land of fieedoni ; her most tal-| 

 anted citizens make it their business and dependence^ 

 and soaring above the narrow prejudices of the day( 

 seem resolved to demonstrate this great truth, that indi^ 

 vidual hoppincsi- is most efficiently promoted, by unitedl 

 eflorts to increase the prosperity of all. 



Keniucky is probably not surpassed by any State, i 

 the number and respectability of her agricultural asso, 

 ciations ; and we think she is certainly not surpassed bj| 

 any in the numbci and excellence of her fine aninialsj 

 nor in the means she is adopting to perpetuate and im- 

 prove her choice breeds Among the latter, we observe 

 an association to publish a Kentucky stock book, to con- 

 tain at least two hundred quarto pages, and fifty engrav- 

 ings on stone, of their finest animals. Contracts have 

 been made wilh the best artists, and the work is already 

 in progress. Such a wo;k is new in our country, and 

 until recently, was even unknown in Europe. It will 

 be of great service to the breeder and stock farmei, and 

 must tend greatly to ficilitale the improvement of out 

 farm animals.. — BueL 



llj=> We acknowledge with pleasure, the receipt of 

 one hundred and fifty dollars, from the Rhode Island So- 

 ciety fortheencouragement of Domestic Industry,io pay 

 for the N. E. Farmer to distribute among ils members. 

 While societies for the promotion of agriculture and the 

 arts, distribute their prizes, <iiplomas and medals, let 

 them bear in mind, that much good may be done, by a 

 judicious distribution of the various works which treat 

 upon these subjects. We think if Agricultural Socielies 

 would follow the example of Rhode Island, great bene- 

 fits would result therefrom to the country. 



War.m Morning. — We read a piece in the Courier 

 last week, headed " Devil among the tailors :" we are 

 not sure but what his majesty called upon our printers 

 about the same time, as we notice they have made the 

 thermometer to stand at 81 dcg. on VVedncsd,iy the 9th, 

 which would indicate rather warm times ; it should read 

 13 deg. This is not ihe only mistake, for they have jusi 

 " knocked " back the thcrmometrical table ending De- 

 cember Ifnh, into " middle of the week " before, making 

 it read " week ending Hec. '.Hh." 



Franklin House. -Kepresentatives and travellers, 

 who like a quiet retreat while they remain in the city, 

 will do vvell to call upon our neighbor Mr Locke, of the 

 Franklin House, where they will find as good accom- 

 modations as can be found in any similar establishment. 

 Having frequently sat at h'.s table, and partook of his 

 good fare, and having noticed Ihe order and tranquillity 

 which reigns in hie house, we feel confidence in rccom- 

 .meiiding his eslablishmonl to the notice of our friends 

 and the public. 



Cows.— The following statement of the cost, expense 

 and the avails of a cow for U months, made by a gcn- 

 lieman of this city, who has been a practical farmerj 

 and who is no bad cultivator, shows how profitable coWB 

 may be, with proper management. A f^rrm of one hun- 

 dred acres, by sucli calculation and management us sta- 

 ted below, supposing it kept only 12 cows, would afford 

 an annual income of at least $1600, 

 />r.— Cost of cow and calf, $-0 OO 



Paid for pnslurage, '5 00 



1 1 2 tons of hay at $15, 2-2 50 



One ton of corn stalks, *J 00 



.3.0 bushels bran, at 20c. <i M 



2G6 lbs. oil cake, alio. 2 6G 



40 bush, turnips and potatoes atSOc. 8 00 



8 bush, potatoes at 42c. 3 36 



O-.-By calf sold, f 5 44 



10 qls. of milk per day, for 11 months, 



at 5c. per quart, ^10 10 



Cow sold for beef, _ ''-' ^j 



$261 28 



. !il;173 '26 



Nett profit, 



Notice.— As the Legislature of this Stale coiivenes 

 al the State House, on Wednesday ne.\t, January 3d,— 

 we desire to give thanks for the patronage we have liere- 

 tofiire received from that respectable body, and would 



Timber for Fencing, cut at this season of the year, 

 will last much longer than that cut in the spring, whet 

 it is full of sap. Those farmers who can cut and pre 

 pare materials for fencing, will not only gain by ibrwar 

 ding their work in the spring, but in the durability o 

 their fences.— Vimlicc Farmer. 



