VOl,. XVI. NO. 4 5. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



357 



RAISING CLOVER SEED. 

 In raising clover for seed, in order to procure 

 a good crop, it is first reqiii.^ite tliat the latul lie 

 fertile ; that it be well prepared liefore sowing ; 

 and that a sufficient quantity be sown to yield a 

 full and even crop. 



The second and most difficult object to attain 

 is to secure the crop when ripe, so as to save tlie 

 largest portion of the seed. To do this, it must 

 be cut at a proper .season. As the seeds ripen ut 

 different periods, if the crop is cut to soon, there 

 will be a loss sustained from the immaturity of 

 the seed. If cut too late, those seeds first ripe 

 will be liable to be entirely lost by being shattered 

 off in the field. Hence there is a certain niediiun 

 to be observed, to prevent these two evils, wliicli 

 is to cut the crop when about two thirds of the 

 heads have become black ; a large portion of the 

 remainder will ripen by the nourishment they ob- 

 tain from the straw during the process. \Vhere 

 the clover is not lodged, it is much the best to cut 

 it with a cradfe, laying all of it in double swaths ; 

 and securing the heads from falling through the 

 fingers of the cradle by stitching a piece of linen 

 cloth upon them. 



After the crop is cut, it must be suffered to re- 

 main in the field long enough to become dry ; 

 this, if the weather is good, will be in very few 

 days. It must then, when the dew is upon it, be 

 raked into small bunches, (such as would be a 

 convenient load for a fork,) and when sufficiently 

 dry, placed carefully upon a sled or wagon, and 

 drawn into the barn. If the .weather is unfavor- 

 able it becomes neces.sary to turn these bunches 

 repeatedly, to prevent their being injured by the 

 moisture. Indeed, this should be done even in 

 fair weather, if they retnain out longer than two 

 or three days. When drawn into the barn, the 

 crop may be either stowed away in mows, or else 

 thrashed out immediately, and the heads and chafF 

 placed in a room for the purpose, for ultimate 

 cleaning. This may most generally be done best 

 in winter. 



If farmers could always raise their own seed, 

 »nd in sufficient abundance, it would be much 

 letter to sow it in the chaff, as it is generally found 

 o be more certain to grow. The only advanta- 

 ges of cleaning are, the more exact determination 

 )f the quantity to be sown, and the n)ore equal 

 listribution of the seed ; and where it is raised 

 or sale, cleaning is of course requisite. When 

 own in chaff, the difficulty with regard to qnan- 

 ity and distribution may be obviated by sovvino- 

 ufficient to insure the desired thickness on every 

 lart of the ground. 



By fttr the best method of cleaning is by means 

 fa machine ; but as this is not always to be had, 

 lie practice of treading it out by horses is then 

 ) be resorted to, though it is tedious and iinpleus- 

 nt. It is thus performed. The barn floor is 

 overed with chafi^ about a foot in thickness, and 

 le horses are driven upon it one day. 'i'he next 

 lorning it is to be passed through a fanning mill 

 fid the chaff and dust which has been beaten of! 

 ill be blown away ; the clean seed will pass 

 irough the screen ; while a third, and a larger 

 >rtion, containing the seed yet in the chaff, will 

 rop in the rear of the fanning mill. This is to 

 ! spread a second time upon the floor, mixed 

 ith a fresh portion of unseparated chaff, and 

 ;ain trodden by the horses : the second morning 

 peat the same operation, and a much larger por- 



tion of clean seed will be obtained. The opera- 

 tion is thus io be repeated, until the whole of the 

 chaflT is separated. 



In order to clean the seed properly for market, 

 it is necessary first to run it through a sieve of 

 just such a degree of fineness as to permit the 

 clover seed to pass through, but retain all large 

 substances. It must then be passed through a 

 seive just fine enough to retain the clover seed, 

 but to suflfer all smaller seeds to pass through. In 

 this way it is efltctually cleaned. 



By proper attention and care, three or four 

 bushels may be easily obtained from one acre of 

 land. — Genesee Far. 



TOMATO. 



There is perhaps no vegetable of equal value, 

 .so little known and cultivated in this country, al- 

 though we are Lappy to observe that it is rapidly 

 coming into notice. There is no vegetable easier 

 produced, none that better rewards the labors of 

 the planter. 



It has been in use as an article of luxury, either 

 raw or stewed, in soups or fricasees, for gravy or 

 catsup, for pickles or sweetmeats in the Southern 

 part of the European Continent. In France and 

 Italy, as well as in many of om- eastern cities, the 

 tomato or love-apple is highly relished and ex- 

 tensively employed in various culinary prepara- 

 tions. They are esteemed by all, salutary as an 

 article of diet, and I am acquainted with some in- 

 stances among my acquaintance, and with many 

 others through the medium of diffei-ent publica- 

 tions, in which the free use bf them was followed 

 by rapid and jjermanent convalescence from dis- 

 ease of the liver. Indeed as a dietetic luxury, its 

 iMility is so great and so varied, that few who have 

 once adopted its use, can be prevailed upon to dis- 

 pense with it. 



The tomato plant is a native of the tropical 

 parts of our continent, but will floui-ish in our lat- 

 itude on a good soil with a vei-y little expense of 

 time and labor. The plant of the larger varieties 

 grows luxuriantly and bears enormous quantities 

 of fruit. It is stateti by the Ohio Farmer, that a 

 man near the city of New Yoi-k received $1800 

 for the tomatoes be produced from half an acre, 

 in 1836. They may be produced from the seed 

 in the open air on a warm soil, but in order to 

 have them in season anil the fruit fine and matured 

 the seed should be started in a hot-bed, and trans- 

 planted as soon as the weather will admit. If 

 you sow the seed in the open garden, let it be 

 done as early in the spring as may be without en- 

 dangering the young plant to injury from fi-ost 



Sow in rows or plant in hills about 2, 2-12 or 3 

 feet apart, according to the size of the variety, or 

 the fertility of the soil. If they come up too thick 

 thin them out. Three or four stalks are sufficient 

 for each hill. Keep free of weeds and stir the 

 ground occasionally and they will grow with great 

 rapidity. As the plant is of the trailing kind, they 

 will require to be supported on a frame of some 

 kind when the branches become so large as to set- 

 tle on the ground ; in order that the fruit may be 

 more fully exposed to the sun and air. Such ex- 

 posure will greatly promote the perfection of the 

 fruit. A few hills on a rich soil will supply a 

 small family. Fi-oni seven hills of the large Red 

 Tomato, cultivated last summer on a black 

 muck wheeled into my gai-den I picked 1 1-2 bush- 

 els of fruit. 



VALUE OF RUTA BAG.i. 



Our neighbor Bemeiit has kept twenty of his 

 I Berkshire hogs, n.ostly full grown breeders, from 

 I the 1st of November to the 15th of February, upon 

 Iriita baga and buckwheat bran, at the rate'of six 

 bushels of roots and one of bran per diem, fed 

 them two raw meals a day, and one warm ii'ieal, 

 boiled. When he began Io feed with the lools, 

 the hogs were low in flush ; at the termination of 

 the three and a half nioMlli.s, they wei-e too thrifty 

 for breeding,«nd.soiiie of tliein U for the butcher. 

 He estimates that four quarts of corn to each hog. 

 per day, for the time they liave been fed with the 

 roots, would not have brought them into a better 

 condition than they, now are. What then has 

 been to him the value of his ruta baga .' 

 Four quarts of corn j)er day to each hog, ' 

 would have amounted, in the 105 ilays, 

 to 262 bushels, which, at 75 cents per 

 bushel would be $109 50 



Add 105 bushels buckwheat bran, at 15 



""ts. 17 50 



And it shows that the ruta baga was worth 



the balance, to wit $179 QO 



Which, divided by 630, the number of bushels fed 

 out, gives the value of a bushel, used in this way, 

 at abont 28 1-2 cents. Deduct for the cost of 

 raising, the quantity being about the average pro- 

 duct of an acre, four cents the bushel, and it 

 shows a nett profit of 24 1-2 ceilts per bushel, or 

 of $154,25 per acre. We call this a demonstra- 

 tion of the profits of root cuhute. ^Cultivator. 



iWAPLE SUGAR. 



The Sweets op New Hampshire The name 



of the granite state is scarcely mentioned abroad, 

 without an association of snow-top mountains, 

 rocks/and sterility : at the name of Franeonia they 

 glance at the thermometer to see if it does not sink 

 intuitively at the sound. Our state, however, has 

 not received the credit to which it is entitled — she 

 has riches which have not yet been trumpeted 

 forth to the world. We are moved to speak of 

 one of these resources at this time by the receipt 

 yesterday of half a dozen pounds of the best Ma- 

 ple Sugar, superior in quality and flavor to any 

 brown Havana we ever saw. It was manufac- 

 tui-ed by Padl Chase, Esq. of Franeonia. Up- 

 wards of THIRTY THOUSAND POUNDS have 

 been manufactui-ed in Sandwich the present year, 

 besides large quantities in Lisbon, Franeonia" and 

 the neighboring towns. The manufacture is far 

 beyond the amount of consumption in those 

 towns. — Portsmouth Journal. 



A Thrifty Family. — .\ Sow and her six Pigs 

 which were raised and fattened by Oliver Pow- 

 ers, Esq. of Phillipston, were butchered April 13, 

 the pigs being one year and one day old, and 

 weighed as follows : — Sow 456 ; Pigs 396, 369, 

 338, 326, 325, and 295— -total, 2,505. For several 

 years past, Esq. Powers has made use of apples 

 mixed with other fodder for fattening swine with 

 good success. He does not assent to the gener- 

 ally received opinion, that "sweet apples are 

 good, but sour apples have little or no fattening 

 quality," but it is his opinion, that sour apples are 

 better than sweet having as much nutritious mat- 

 ter, with a tendency to keep the appetite sharp. 



Worcester Spy. 



