VOL. XVI. N<». 34 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



269 



In making up tlie preceding Btatemeiit we linve 

 been guided !)y n)inule*. taken from our f.irin »r- 

 coums fur tlio two yeors pnst, and on eiuiiiination 

 wo see no cause to alter it. 



Kespeetfidly, yoiir.'J, 



SAMUEL D. COI-T. 



ROBERT c;oLr. 



Grfit Barringto.v, Dec. 12, 1837. 

 To the Trustees of the Massachxistlls Jigricultural 



Society, Boston. 



Gentlemen: — Tlie enclosed ia a report of rny 

 farm, as correct as I am aUle to make it out, tlio' 

 done in an awkward style. Of tillage lands, I have 

 said 172 acres which are all my landc', excepting 

 my woodland. Tliere are probably 12 acres of 

 the 172 that would not be called plough land ; 

 though it produces good hay, Timothy, Red Top, 

 and other English grasses. All my lands I can 

 plough or mow, excepting the woodland and the 

 twelve acres above named. My lands are of lime- 

 stone, ratlier rf a sandy loam, some lots have 

 Bomethingofa clayey mixture. On these lands I 

 put my horse and other warm manures, with 

 plaster ; the complexion of the soil is generally 

 of a chocolate color. I planted twelve acres to 

 rorn three f^et ajiart each way without manure 

 excepting plaster ; the plastering I had done the 

 first time as soon as the corn was well out of the 

 ground, then agiin after the first lime hoeing. I 

 plant my corn from the lOlh to the 15th of May, 

 iind hoe it three times. I planted this year four 

 acres of potatoes — those I planted after my corn 

 SdUKliines I plant tiu'tn before, these [ plant at a 

 liscance of three feet between the rows, and two 

 Feet between the hills. I spread from fifteen to 

 wenty loads of long barn-yard manure to the 

 icre before ploughing, plaster and hoe them twice^ 

 or my plan of growing Rata Baga, I would lefer 

 >ou to the particulars I sent you of my crop. I 

 ipread my manure on all my plough land before 

 he last time ploughing — my corn crop was some- 

 what injured this year, by a very heavy washing 

 •ain, but gave me something over thirty-eight 

 jushels to the acre. I have generally got forty 

 Dushels on the acre — 12 acres of oats without 

 Tianure 40 bushels to the aire ; 4 bushel oats ami 

 )ease this crop varies, the last year I got 63 1-2 

 jushels to the acre, this year 35 1-2 though my 

 and was not as strong as the last year. 1 had 14 

 teres winter wheat and that badly killed out in 

 he spring, then the grain worm destroyed one 

 bird or more of what remained, which left me 

 )iily about 100 bushels — I sowed 2 1-4 acres to 

 he Italian spring wheat — mostly on my thinnest 

 and which gave me 3S bushels of a fine berry. — 

 Uy grass seeds 1 sow among my winter grain in 

 \pril after the grouml dries and the surface opens 

 loii they always take well. I put on 10 quarts to 

 he acre, say 7 of timothy, 2 or 3 of clover. When 

 I sow ou a summer crop I put the same quantity 

 )f seed as I do to the winter grain and harrow it in. 

 i put one bushel of plaster to the acre on all my 

 [rain, and afterwards sow and harrow in with sod 

 '■ 1-2 to 2 1-2 bushels to the acre — as to my wheat 

 ands I manure onl/ the poorest of them, with the 

 nanure 1 make in the summer which is the last 

 [leanings of the barn-yards, piggeries, chips and 

 Irains of the kitchen, or (what some call) sink 

 uaoure. These I spread and plough on and har- 

 ow them in, until they are well mixed with the 

 oil. 1 gather from the many places where the 



washings of roads and fields are collected, into 

 my barn-yard and hog-yard ; this mixed with 

 straw makes the best of manure for corn, wheat 

 or other vegetation. I stated in my report I had 

 50 hogs ; 24 of the 50 are 18 months old — which 

 will weigh the first of January 500 or njore to 

 the hog, 18 of them I shall sell probably at about 

 $9,00 per cwt. which will amount lo §486,00 

 those hogs I wintered mostly on the Ruta Baga. 

 When grass is so grown as to give a full bite, I 

 put in each hog's nose 2 long rings made of large 

 wire, as large as can be handily twisted after it 

 has been heated, which serves for the season 

 without having the trouble of a second ringing ; 

 then I turn them into a pasture where they can 

 have a jilenty of water and clover grass. I am 

 carefid to salt them once a week or more if the 

 season is wet; I change them from one pasture to 

 another as I do my sheep or other stock which is 

 of much importance through the summer. As 

 soon as 1 gather my harvest 1 give them the stub- 

 bles. When these are well gleaned I give them 

 corn cut up by the ground for a few days — as it 

 is dangerous to keep them closely shut up and 

 ffKi\ them high in the beginning, as their blood 

 thickens very fast and having no exercise it will 

 become rather stagnant ; and often terminates in 

 what some call the blind staggers. In order to 

 remedy this evil, they must be put on thin feerl 

 with much care, and should have all the salt they 

 will eat. 1 commence steaming potatoes for my 

 hogs the first of October, my Ruta IJaga's not be- 

 ing matured 1 wash them fine, put nothing with 

 them but the sour milk from 6 cows and 4 quarts 

 of salt to the box of 28 bushels — this feed I con- 

 tinue 3 weeks, the last week in October I com- 

 mence steaming the Ruta Raga and continue 

 this feed until the first of December, wide 



about seventy in a flock, having shantees and 

 barns for them in cold nights and storms. 1 have 

 70 wethe's, which I am feeding on tl.o rutabaga 

 and corn ; I give two ami a half bushels of ruta- 

 baga and two bushels of corn a day, in the ear. 

 When 1 commenced I gave lhem only one half 

 the food. .Sheep, as well as all other animal*, 

 sliould he fed regularly, and with nmch care. 

 Corn in the ear is better than shelled, to feed in 

 the commencement; they are apt to become cloy, 

 ed, and their st,>machs sickened so much, that it 

 is with diflicidty they can get on to their food 

 again. 



My sheep, or ewes, generally commence drojv 

 ping their lambs the 25tb April ; fben there is 

 grass for them to begin with, which afl^ords milk 

 for the lambs. This is very important. 



I submit the above, together with the report, to 



your consideration. Should my management be 



deemed worthy the notice of the conmiittee, I 



shall be happy to have laid it before your board. 



Yours, with respect, 



Joshi;a R. Lawton. 



G. Bnrrington, Berkshire County, Mass. 



I.MPoRTANT Discovert. — t'arewell to Wood 

 and Coal ! Mr James (7ook, (a very a|)propriate 

 name) manager of the gas works at Paisley, Scot- 

 land, has discovered that gas may be substituted 

 tor coals as fuel in warujing houses, cooking op. 

 eration.s, &c. The principle is very simple, con- 

 sisting only in the mixture of gas with five or six 

 times its bulk of atmospheric air, and the burning 

 of the mixture through wire gauze. Supposing 

 then the fire is wajited near the ordinary position 

 of the grate, a gas |)ipe is laid to the spot, and the 

 jet is fixed pointing upwards, so as to be about 

 is 5: four inches from the floor or hearth stone. This 



weeks. I put with the Ruta Baga after being j jet is surrounded with a sheet iron pipe, or cylin- 



mashed fine. 4 qt.--. of salt and 3 bushels of oats 

 and pease ground together itito a box containing 

 28 bushels ; on this feeA they do well and gain 

 tiist, even to the admiration of my neigbljors. — 

 Since the first of December, I have steamed (iota- 

 toes and put 4 quarts of salt and 8 bushels of^ oats 

 and rye meal to the box, this is feed I shall con- 

 tinue with adding more meal until the 25th or 

 last of this month ; then shall finish off with meal 

 and corn. The above rules I have been governed 

 by for 3 years. In my report I have included 

 none of the produce that has been consumed by 

 my fatting liogs, neither have 1 includtd the pork 

 whicli 1 am now feeding. As it respects the 

 number of oxen, 1 have said in my Re[)ort two, 

 those which 1 now have ; yet, that is not the num- 

 ber 1 commonly have. ]t requires from 6 to 8 

 with my horses through the spring and fall to do 

 my business on the farm. I have summered 8 

 cows, 6 only have 1 milked, the other 2 Isold this 

 fall for $75. My calves I take from the cow 

 soon after they are dropped, and feed them with 

 the milk from the cow until they are one week 

 old ; then, 1 have them fed with skim milk mostly, 

 until they are 10 or 12 weeks old ; then givj 

 them good pasture. You see in my report that 

 1 have 307 sheep on hand, 200 of those sheep 1 

 have i)astured nine weeks away from the farm 

 though 1 had feed enough to have kept them well 

 at home ; hut, for the purpose of having a coat 

 of grass on my pastures, to shield them from the 

 udden changes of freezing and thawing, I think 



der, of a diameter from three and a half to seven 

 inches, according to the quantity of fire wanted, 

 and of the height required, say from one to three 

 feet, and the top of the cylinder is covered with a 

 piece of fine wire gauze, kept in its place by a 

 small iron hoop, circumscribing the cylinder in 

 the same way as the hair cloth is secured on the 

 common sieve. 



The atmospheric air is supplied by having the 

 bottom of the above cylinder raised on supports a 

 few inches above the floor, and the gas is thus so 

 regulated by dair.pers, as to obtain exactly the 

 quantity found best. An iron plate for cooking, 

 is fixed a few inches over the gauze, and thus 

 these fixtures may carry on the cooking opera- 

 tions, while they serve as mantel piece ornanieBIs 

 in the drawing room, bed chamber, &c. 



A perforated piece of cast iron may be laid on 

 the top of the wire gauze, for the purpo.se of rais- 

 ing the flame a little above it, an<l of thus render- 

 ing it more durable. 



We need scarcely add, that any number of 

 these fire places can be fitted up in a kitchen 

 range, so that, if room permit, a dozen or a score 

 of pots may be boiling, each on its own fire, while 

 to make one boil fiercely, and another to simmer 

 slowly, no labor with jiokerand tongs is required ; 

 all that is necessary is a small touch of the stop- 

 cock, by which every fire in the range may he 

 made to burn with different degrees of intensity. 



One jet will not only do the cooking for a small 

 family, but also heat an ordinary sized room. 



my money well laid out, which was about $70. 1 Kindling wood, puffing, bellows-blowing, cinders, 

 In winter I keep most of my sheep at the stack, ashes, dust, &c. so annoying, expensive and timo 



