WlKLAMD FARMER. 



PUBLISHED BY GEO. C. 1SARRETT. NO. 52, NORTH MARKET STREET, (at tiik Ackicdi.turai. Warehouse.)— T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



VOL. XII. 



ROSTOV. WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 4, 1833. 



NO. 21. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 NEW KIND OF CLOVER. 



Mr. Fessendbn, — I beg leave to introduce to 

 my brother Farmers, the following extract from tlie 

 code of agriculture, p. 433, as to the new and 

 much celebrated species of clover. 



" It is a subject of astonishment that this valua- 

 ble plant (the Tripolium incarnatuni) should not 

 have been long ago introduced into this country 

 (Great Britain) and cultivated on an extensive 

 scale. If sown in autumn, after a crop of pota- 

 toes and other roots, it produces the next spring a 

 crop fit to bo cut 'for soiling cattle, eight days ear- 

 lier than lucerne, and a fortnight before red clover. 

 Care must be taken, however, to have good seed, 

 and not to sow it too deep. It produces two ex- 

 cellent crops in one year, the first of which should 

 be cut as soon as it conies into flower, and the 

 second will produce a considerable quantity of 

 seed. From its early growth in spring, when oth- 

 er articles for feeding stock are so difficult to be 

 procured, it is likely to become a valuable acqui- 

 sition to British husbandry." 



So far we have British authority, to which I 

 beg leave to add, that it has been extensively used 

 of late years in Germany and France, and with 

 much higher commendation. It was the seed 

 of this plant that the Hon. Thos. II. Perkins 

 presented to the Massachusetts Horticultural So- 

 ciety last spring. I have seen no accounts of 

 its success from the members of that society, end 

 therefore feel it a duty to state my own trial of a 

 pound of the seed sent to me by Col. Perkins. 



I sowed it about the last week of April. It was 

 in bloom and fit to cut in 50 days. It is not so 

 coarse as Dutch red clover, better furnished with 

 leaves, not liable to lodge or lose its leaves in dry- 

 ing. It furnished a fair second crop in the late 

 uncommon dry season. 



From its rapid growth I think it of great value 

 for an early crop, for soiling in summer, or for 

 supplying food when other grasses are winter killed. 



It is only an annual grass, and therefore can be 

 of no use but for these occasional purposes ; but 

 for milk farms to supply the market, or for small 

 dairies on estates round great towns, I think it 

 promises to be highly useful. I have requested 

 my friend Mr. Perkins, to import 50 pounds, for 

 myself and a friend, and he has ordered a quantity 

 for himself, which are now on their passage. We 

 shall be able to make a more extensive trial next 

 summer, the result of which will be made known. 



John- Lowell. 



Boston, Nov. 28, 1833. 



EXPENSE OF FATTENING PORK, MANURE, etc. 



To the Editor of the JV. England Farmer. 



Sir, I wish to obtain through the medium of your 

 useful paper, information on the following topic. — 

 As I have not a very large farm, I wish to turn 

 every thing to the best advantage. Therefore, I 

 want to know if pork at GJ or 7 cts. per lb. will 

 pay for fatting when corn is worth from 75 to 80 

 cents per bushel, as it now is, and potatoes from 25 

 to 30 cts. per bushel, and other things in propor- 



lion. I am aware that the manure, which can be 

 made by 8 or 10 bogs, with suitable yards or pens 

 is of great value ; fur that reason I wish to feed 

 out my corn and potatoes to hogs, if the pork will 

 nearly pay for the food given to the hogs. 



I believe I have seen in some former volume of 

 the N. E. Farmer the quantity of manure which it 

 takes to make a load, but as my volumes are not 

 all complete, I am unable to find it. As 1 have 

 bought some manure, and mean to buy more, I 

 should like to know the number of bushels that it 

 takes to make a lawful load, or such a load as is 

 bought and sold in the vicinity of Boston, if there 

 is any rule about it. If you, or any of your cor- 

 respondents will be so good as to answer the above, 

 you will very much oblige one who is willing to 

 do any favor that he can in return. 



Yours, with respect, A Subscriber. 



By the Editor. We do not know how to 

 draw an accurate line of distinction between keep- 

 ing and fattening swine. For keeping swine, no 

 corn, no grain of any kind is necessary. Dr. Deane 

 observed that " the keeping of swine is of essen- 

 tial advantage to the husbandman ; because they 

 feed much on things, which would otherwise be of 

 no essential service to him. They feed heartily not 

 only on grass, but on many sorts of weeds, the 

 tops and roots of fern, [brakes] the roots of sever- 

 al sorts of aquatic plants, &c. They pick up grain 

 and seeds that are necessarily scattered about the 

 barn and out houses, besides eating worms and 

 many kinds of insects. 



" Besides the farmer's house affords many thiugs, 

 which contribute to their support, which would 

 otherwise be lost, such as whey, sour skimmed 

 milk, and butter milk, the washing of tubs and 

 dishes; animal and vegetable food, which has ac- 

 cidentally got corrupted, decayed and rotten fruit, 

 the offal of beasts, fowls and fish, and the grounds 

 of cider, beer, and other liquors." 



Hogs may be half fattened or more on grass. 

 Dr. Deane observed, " I suppose that one acre of 

 rich land in clover will support twenty or more 

 swine, large and small together, through the sum- 

 mer, and bring them well forward in their growth, 

 but they should have rings in their noses to prevent 

 their rooting out the clover. 



" It has been proved by many trials that bogs in 

 such a pasture may be kept in good plight, some 

 say they may be half fattened. 



" When it can with convenience be so ordered, 

 it is an excellent piece of husbandry to make a hog 

 pasture of an orchard. Their dung is allowed to 

 be the very best of manure fpr the trees. They 

 will keep the ground light and loose ; destroy in- 

 sects that infest the trees, and feed heartily on the 

 premature apples that fall, which the farmer is too 

 often tempted to grind up for cider. And the 

 shadow of the trees will be very grateful and com- 

 fortable to them in summer. An orchard may be 

 prepared with clover as well as any other spot of 

 ground. But it should be remembered that when 

 the trees in an orchard are young and small, swine 

 should not be permitted to go among them, for 

 there will he danger of their wounding them, aud 

 stripping off some of the bark. 



"The feeding of store swine constantly with 

 any kind of corn seems to be too expensive. Pos- 



sibly it will be found upoh farther trial, that car- 

 rots are the best substitute. Red beets are also a 

 good food for them, and parsnips excellent. But 

 turnips and cabbage are improper." 



We believe that more than four fifths of the food 

 which a hog will consume from the time- he is lit- 

 tered till deposited in the pork barrel, if kept with 

 economy, by a farmer whose premises are not 

 overstocked with swine, may consist of what no 

 other animal would eat ; and that in an orchard 

 swine are of such benefit that they would much 

 more than pay for their keeping, if no use could 

 be made of them after the season was over. And 

 a great deal of unripened corn, and other offal, 

 can in no way be so well disposed of, as to apply 

 it to the keeping and partly fattening of swine. 

 But to shut up store hogs, and buy corn to fatten 

 them, we believe would be a loss to any person 

 who would make the experiment. 



With regard to what is a " lawful load of man- 

 ure" we are not aware that any definite idea is af- 

 fixed to the term. Farmers, in general, we believe, 

 understand by a load of manure as much as will fill, 

 " heaping full" a common cart body. Manure, how- 

 ever, like wood, is often, if not always, bought by 

 the cord, 128 cubic feet to a cord. If there is 

 any rule, or common practice with regard to the 

 measure of manure different from these, we would 

 thank our friends or correspondents for information 

 on the subject. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 ON MWURiNG FALLOWS FOF WHEAT. 



We are Sways gratified to obtain the views of 

 practical farmers on any parts of their business, 

 especially where the contributor differs from the 

 common practice around him, — for whether he is 

 right or wrong, if he makes careful experiments 

 he is on the high road to knowledge ; and may 

 elicit something valuable from others. It is there- 

 fore with pleasure that we lay before our readers, 

 some extracts from our correspondence. 



" The result of a series of experiments for more 

 than ten years have satisfied me that a very great 

 error prevails among farmers with regard to the 

 spreading of barn-yard manure preparatory to 

 seeding it in the fall with wheat. Many haul it out 

 and leave it lying in heaps for weeks, and only 

 spread it immediately before the plough. The 

 best plan is to haul, spread, and plough under in 

 the same day ; but this course is impracticable, 

 unless the farmer has more teams and hands than 

 would be profitably employed the rest of the year. 

 The next best course is to haul, and spread oft" the 

 wagon, or directly after it ; and not to suffer the 

 manure to lie in small heaps over night. The 

 custom is to take out all the manure before any is 

 spread. On the contrary, I have pursued my plan 

 for years, and have not seen any difference in the 

 crop, whether the manure had been spread three 

 weeks, or only one day before it was ploughed un- 

 der. 



" After manure is disturbed, and then thrown 

 into heaps, fresh fermentation takes place, which I 

 presume is not the case when it is thinly spread 

 over the ground. I am an unbeliever in the doc- 

 trine that the nutritive parts of manure, consti- 

 tuting the food of plants, is exhaled. Some say 



