VOL. XVI. KO. 44. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



347 



Tbi! wliole lot had been considered of very lit- 

 tle valcii', and was coniinoiily called "the Swaiii|)." 

 A few weeks hefure I piirclKised it, a wea^tliv far- 

 mer, whose house was within forty rods of it and 

 whose house-lot joined it, refused to ffive an or- 

 dinary cow anil calf for the one half. 



There were U]ron the lot some trees, hushes, 

 flags uiiil rushes, and it was subject to being over- 

 flowed wbeiHJver there was a heavy rain. 



Four years since, I attempted to drain it in a 

 different direction, as the natural course was im- 

 (iracticable on account of the lonff, flat space that 

 the water had to pass over. For this purpose two 

 ditches were made, by pkuighing, di<;j;iug and 

 scraping, which crossed each other ne.-.r the cen- 

 tre of the lot, and led oft' the water by more than 

 half a mile shorter cut. Previous to draining, I 

 had cleared most of it of bushes by cut'ing and 

 mowing them. 



I then turned with the plough some ridges 

 with a space of about forty feet between ihein and 

 planted with potatoes, beans, &c. A little maniue 

 was put into the holes, and a fair crop was pro. 

 duced. In the fall the same land was sowed with 

 grass-seed, without any other ph)ughing. Last 

 year the produce was two tons of good herds 

 grass hay to the acre. 



About half an acre of the land planted with po- 

 tatoes, with a liitle coarse manure put into the 

 holes, produced llie largest and best crop of that 

 vegetable which I liad the last season After 

 they liad been dug, some manure was spread 

 upon the ground, and it was soweil with grass- 

 seed, with no other labor ilone on it than passiui; 

 over it the cultivator and harrow. 'J'his season, 

 (1837) it bore as handsome herd's grass as I ever 

 saw. Three acres and 144 rods produced two 

 and one lialf bushels of herd's grass-seed and 



eighty-seven cocks of good h.ay ; twenty one 



of them, of an average size, weighed 2174 

 poiMids. 



The draining and ploughing were wholly done 

 at intervals when there was leisure from other 

 work, and the gr^Kiiid was dry enough for the 

 business. 



There is one day's ploughing of potatoes now 

 growiig on the land which prondse well. It is 

 now toy intention to l)ring the whole of the re- 

 mainder of the piece under cultivation the next 

 year. 



Some opinion of the increased value of the 

 property maybe inferred from the fact that 200 

 dollars have been lately offered and refused for it. 

 I did not think of offering this improvement for 

 tlie premium of the Society ntitil the haying sea- 

 son of this year, era more particular statement 

 would have been given. 



It might be added, that on some of the ridges 

 n little manure was spread ; on others there was 

 none. The quantity put upon any part would 

 not exceed three carts full to the acre. The soil 

 of this piece of land is a dark loam with clayey 

 bottom. Yours respectfidiv, 



MOSESFRENCH. 



We make the subjoined extracts from a letter 

 of Judge Hayes of South Berwick, Me. to the edi- 

 tor of the Yankee Farmer. They contain useful 

 and practical hints relating to economical and do- 

 mestic arrangements and management, which de- 

 serve attention ; and form a certain basis of do- 



mestic couifdrt anil improveuienf; Cleanliness, a 

 good friend of ours, who practised as she preach- 

 I'd, was accustomed to say is a f irtue next to god- 

 liness ; and its direct influence upon health, com- 

 fort, cbaracli r, and morals is most salutary. With 

 .Judge IlayeS; we know full well from an acquain- 

 tance of "auld lai^g syne." every thing in these 

 matters is in perfect keeping. We cordially in- 

 vite him over the line of the State; and wish he 

 would let the New England Farmer occasionally 

 hear from him on matters of Agriculture and do- 

 mestic economy. 



My buildings are situated oil the side of a high 

 swell of laud inclining to the West. The stable 

 is connected with the house by a large shed, and 

 on the further side of the stable is a hogS' yard, 

 in which the niaimre from the horse stable is 

 thrown. On the backside of the shed is a drain 

 made of pine plank, free from sap, ten inches 

 wide and four i.iches deep, covered with plank 

 and dirt in those places where an open drain 

 would be unsightly or inconvenient. This drain 

 has been in use twenty years, has been renewed 

 but once, and is now in good repair. The ground 

 inclining favors this arrangement. By means of 

 this drain all the soa(i suds from the kitchen, wa- 

 ter from the sink, &c. must pass through the ne- 

 cessary vault, by which it is kept clean, to the 

 hog-yard. A portion of the hogs on the farm are 

 kept in this yard, and n dry ami warm apartment 

 is provided for ihem uni.'er a part of Ihe stable. 

 As soon as the yard is cleared of the manure in 

 the spring, we begin again to fill it with muck ta- 

 ken from the swamp the year before, putting in 

 at first five or six loads, and one or two casks of 

 lime, and so on, nnick and lime every few weeks 

 during the summer. The manure of one horse 

 in the summer and generally of two in the winter 

 is thrown into tlws yard, and is often spread over 

 ilie yard. During the warm season more lime is 

 used in the yard, and .scattered in the drain, 

 whence it is washed into the yard, and thereby 

 every unpleasant smell is prevented. All Ihe 

 leaves and dry litter which can be procured are 

 placed in the apartment uiuler cover for tlie hogs 

 to lie' on ; aiid all the green weeds and wet litter 

 which can be obtained are thrown into the hog- 

 yard. The muck being formed of vegetable mat- 

 ter, which has been decomposed without fermen- 

 tation, is very bulky in proportion to its value as a 

 manure — but is of some value in itself, and serves 

 as a sponge to take up ond preserve the juices 

 and gases of the putrescent manure, which might 

 otherwise be lost. Turf froiii a good soil, if it 

 could be- obtained without injury to the farm, 

 could be used in the same way to equal advan- 

 tage. By means of the muck, lime, hor.se dung, 

 liner, leaves, weeds, soap soads, wash from the 

 sink, necessary, &c. w.s make in thi.s yard about 

 fifty Iliads of the very best manure. Formerly 

 early in the spring we were accustomed to shovel 

 this compost out of the yard, and suffer it to lie 

 in a heap a few weeks till wanted to be spread on 

 the corn ground. \\ bile it thus laid in a heap, it 

 woidd become very much heated by fermentation 

 so that it in one year killed a large elm tree, 

 about which it was thrown. For several years 

 last past we have not thrown it from the yard till 

 it has been shovelled into the cart to be conveyed 

 to the ground where it is to be used. 1 have not 



ob.served but what the comijost is equally eflicient, 

 when used without the fermentation produced by 

 throwing it out of the yard. We generallv Keep 

 a cask of unslaked lime in the cellar under the 

 house, and another in the cellar under the barn, 

 and scatter unslaked lime on that which is par- 

 tially airslaked, on the bottom of the cellars and 

 in the pens from which the vegetables are remov. 

 ed. This lime is occasionally swept up, and car- 

 ried to the manure yard, and fresh lime again ap- 

 plied. In this connexion permit me to recom- 

 mend the yearly use of whitewash in dwelling- 

 houses and cellars. With great gratitude I can 

 say, tliat I have one of the largest and most 

 healthy families in the county, and I have no 

 doubt but the liberal use of lime about my dwell- 

 ing house and appurtenances has contributed 

 more than any other cause to preserve their health. 

 I cannot accurately state the value of lime on the 

 farm when used in this way, but am confident 

 that it is much cheaper than to purchase manure 

 at the usual price. 



The Steamboat Moselle having, as is supposed, 

 from 200 to 300 passengers on board, exploded 

 nearly opposite the city of Cincinnati on 26 April 

 last ; aufl it is sujiposed through the rashness of 

 the (Captain, who was himself destroyed. The 

 particulars have been so genei'aHy published that 

 we omit tliern ; but the subjoined remarks on the 

 subject li-om the National Intelligencer deserve 

 universal attention. 



vve iiiiMiv tlKii ilii; lioiiiJ sieaiiilioat disaster 



which is relaieii in \jui pajTct i.\j~^ix>j ^ ic 



thing can, arrest the attention of those to whom 

 is committed the guardianship of the liv ;s and 

 jiroperty of the community. As there has never 

 come under our observation an instance of these 

 steamboat ex[ilosions wliich was not traceable to 

 ignorance, carelessness, or fool-hardiness, or to 

 some cause which due caution and proper knowl- 

 edge of the steam-engine could have averted, we 

 have long been of the opinion ourselves, that the 

 best, if not the only remedy for these dreadfu 

 catastrophes, is to make the pockets of (he owners 

 sweat for them. One thousand dollars damages 

 for every life lost, and for every case of personal 

 injury, from the explosion of the boiler of a boat, 

 — to be levied and paid absolutely and perempto- 

 rily, without prosecution, or inquiry into the cau- 

 sesofthe explosion, — would go further to prevent 

 their occurrence than any terrors which the law- 

 can hold out of the penitentiary or the gallows 

 itself The damages might be easily secured by 

 requiring bonds therefor, of proper amount, to be 

 placed in the hands of ti Government officer for 

 siife-kee|iing and enforcement, before granting a 

 license for the boat. Had the owners of the 

 Moselle been held liable by such a bond, with sure- 

 ties, for fifty thousand dollars, conditioned for the 

 safety of the two hundred passengers she took on 

 board at Cincinnati, vve very much doubt whether 

 the reckless victim of his own ignorance or fatuity, 

 who was unfbrlunately entrusted with the com- 

 mand of the boat, would have been placed in that 

 responsible station ; or, b-^ing placed in it, would 

 have been guilty of the vain-glorious rashness to 

 whieh his own life and that of so many of his fel- 

 low-creatures IVecome a sacrifice. 



Cucumbers are selling at the modest price of 

 50 cents at New York. 



