180 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



DECEMBER 18, 1833. 



From the New York Farmer. 

 PREPARING FOOD FOR HORSES. 



On the authority of Mr. Dick, it is stateil that 

 eight ounces of saliva are discharged in a minute 

 from the salivary glands of the horse, when he is 

 eating his food. In masticating hay, dry and hard 

 as il generally is, these glands are kept discharg- 

 ing too long, often through the greater part of the 

 night, to satisfy the appetite of the horse. Il 

 seems reasonable that this would exhaust his 

 strength. Hence the propriety of lessening tin' 

 labor of eating, by cutting or softening the hay, for 

 an animal that so nobly and spiritedly toils for his 

 master. The effect of feeding horses on dry hay 

 is to wear away the teeth, and, consequently, the 

 labor is increased as the animal advances in age. 



The use of potatoes for horses would he much 

 more general if they could be more easily pre- 

 served through the winter and summer. The 

 writer recommends to bury them five feet below 

 the surface of the ground, where they will keep 

 until August. Bean straw is said to he as nour- 

 ishing to horses as hay. If so, it should be an ob- 

 ject with the American farmer to cure it properly. 



From the New York Farmer. 

 IMPROVED LIVE STOCK. 



The Hon. Henry Clay, while on bis recent visit 

 to Albany, offered for a bull and a heifer calf, six 

 months old, belonging to Gen. S. Van Rensselaer, 

 jr. four hundred dollars, which were refused. 



They were from the famous stock of short horn 

 Durham cattle, imported by Gen. S. Van Rensse- 

 laer in 1823, from the herd of Mr. Champion, 

 England. 



We are also informed that Mr. Bement, of Al- 

 bany, is about importing some of the late improved 

 breed of Durham cattle, as well as some of the 

 much esteemed Southdown sheep. 



Mr. Hawes, an English gentleman, lately settled 

 near Albany, brought out with him last fall some 

 of the Berkshire breed of hogs, which were very 

 much admired at the fair, and the demand for the 

 pigs was so great that lie could not supply one 

 half the demand. 



We have two most beautiful pigs, or rather 

 hogs, of this breed, three months old, obtained 

 from Mr. Brientnall, of Goshen, N. Y. We have 

 not had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Hawes' pigs, 

 but if they are superior to ours, there is no won- 

 der that the demand exceeds the supply. 



ORCHARD GRASS. 



The graziers of the valley pronounce it more 

 nutritious than either Timothy, Clover, or Herds 

 Grass, and it is by uniting this grass with the two 

 first that the proverbially fine pastures and mead- 

 ows of the central counties of Pennsylvania are 

 formed. It resists the beat of our summers, and 

 recovers from the effects of the hoof and the tooth 

 very rapidly. For seed lots two bushels should 

 be sowed to the acre ; and for the scythe, or for 

 pasture, the mixture should be one bushel of or- 

 chard grass and one gallon of timothy seed, over 

 which a gallon of clover should be scattered in 

 March. — Kanawha Banner. 



TOP DRESSING PERMANENT PASTURES. 



On New-York Island, and in the vicinity, milk- 

 men pay a very high price for pasture. In the 

 spring or early summer months, as soon as the 

 grass is of pretty good height, they turn in a large 



number of cows, ami in a few weeks the grass is 

 eaten down. When it is pastured off the second 

 time, in particular, it would seem as though one 

 half of the surface was ungruzed — occupied with 

 the cow droppings. When the Editor was a little 

 boy, he and his brothers were provided with dung 

 beetles, and every spring, in fine April mornings, 

 before school hours, it was sport to go over the 

 pasture and mowing grounds, and knock into 

 pieces the cow and horse droppings. Similar 

 practices should be adopted by every farmer, par- 

 ticularly by those who hire pasture. The follow- 

 ing extract is worthy of consideration : 



Old women have been engaged to collect in 

 baskets, latterly in wheel-barrows, the droppings 

 of cattle in pasture-land, and to deposit the collec- 

 tions in heaps, at convenient stations in the fields, 

 where the manure has been compounded with the 

 earth previously laid down and prepared. When 

 duly mixed, the compound has been laid down as 

 a top dressing on the same field. The result has 

 been a great increase of fertility, while the whole 

 fields have presented the equable ;;nd beautiful ap- 

 pearance of a lawn. 



At these stations earth has been previous- 

 ly prepared and laid down, from the scourings 

 of ditches, parings of head-furrows, the furrows 

 ploughed out (acting besides as useful drain- 

 age, where the land is damp, and in ridges,) or 

 other sources. 



The quantity of earth used ought to depend on 

 its quality. Four cubic yards to the cubic yard of 

 the collection has been found to produce rich and 

 powerful top-dressing. In many situations five 

 may be used with safety; in others three will be 

 more expedient. If each cubic yard be allowed to 

 cost 2d. then, on the average of four to one, the 

 cost will be 8d. for the earth and lid. for the ma- 

 nure ; and the proceeds being five cubic yards, 

 the cost is under 4d. per yard for a rich compound 

 luid down in the field in which it is to be used. 



The plan followed has been to commence at 

 one side of the field, and to dress at the rate of 

 15 to 18 cubic yards per acre, as far as the com- 

 pound will go, to commence next year, where the 

 former year's process stopped, and so on ; and in 

 ordinary pastures, the calculation in 1831 was that 

 a field would be gone over every second or third 

 year. — New York Fanner. 



MANAGEMENT OF SANDY LAUD. 



The celebrated Duckett of Petersham, in Sur- 

 rey, England, practised on the following rules : — 

 1. Ploughing very deep ; 2. Ploughing seldom, 

 but effectually, often putting in seven crops to four 

 plougbings ; 3. Occasionally raising a crop of tur- 

 nips the same season, after wheat or pulse. There 

 are instances, however, of cultivating sandy soil 

 with success by ploughing only to the depth of 

 two or three inches, gradually increasing it as the 

 soil becomes more enriched. Small stones should 

 not be picked from a sandy soil, as they tend to 

 prevent evaporation. The fertility of this soil de- 

 pends, in a very great degree, on the quantity and 

 regular succession of rain. In a valley where 

 moisture accumulates, it is very productive. In 

 the rainy climate of Turin, the most prolific soil 

 has 77 to 80 per cent, of siliceous earth, and from 

 9 to 14 of calcareous ; but in the neighborhood of 

 Paris, where there is much less rain, the silex or 

 sand is only 26 to 50 per cent, in the most fertile 

 soils. 



CATTLE, HAY AND GRAIN. 



The feeders have paid, we believe, for good 

 cattle for the stall not far from 5 dollars per 100 

 pounds. Corn is worth 80 or 85 cents per bushel, 

 and bay 12 dollars or more per ton. Those who 

 are feeding cattle must obtain high juices during 

 the winter and spring, or lose money. 20 or 30 

 head of fat oxen were sold in Hatfield last week 

 for the Providence market, at about 6 dollars p<?r 

 hundred. 



About 1600 bushels of New- York corn and a 

 large quantity of Southern corn have been received 

 in this village. We are informed that hay brings 

 16 dollars per ton at the Chickopee Factory Vil- 

 lage. — Hampshire Gaz. 



From the Ponghkeepsie Journal. 

 PROFITS OF FARMING. 



The business of farming is often considered 

 less profitable than other business; and the reason 

 is, that the income of the farm is not truly esti- 

 mated. If the entire revenue of a well regulated 

 farm were estimated, we should find the per cent, 

 on the property not less than that of any property, 

 that is equally safe. 



My neighbor B. came to me the other day quite 

 discouraged on account of the small profits of 

 farming compared with other business. Now, as 

 I knew my neighbor to be a good farmer, and a 

 pretty correct calculator, I attempted to convince 

 him, from bis own statements, that he is enjoying 

 a very fair per cent, from his farm. He has a 

 small well-improved farm, which, two years ago, 

 was bought for $7,500 ; since which he has built 

 a house that cost $1000, which, with his entire 

 stock, &c. makes his property worth $10,000. 

 From this my neighbor complained, that he real- 

 izes only a few hundred dollars, not more than — 

 per cent. 



But there are many things not counted which 

 ought to be reckoned as part of his income. His 

 house, as I said, though not necessary to the busi- 

 ness of farming, besides the one he already had, 

 yet agreeing well with the circumstances, of his 

 family, may be considered as yielding at least $60. 

 Besides the team, wagons, &c. necessary for his 

 farm, he keeps a good pair of horses and pleasure- 

 wagon, because, you know, his wife and daughters 

 must ride in a style that is agreeable to their cir- 

 cumstances and standing in society. The value 

 of these, counting it equal to the expense, is not 

 less than $140 per annum. And of wood, my 

 neighbor tells me be burns more than 30 cords, 

 which at $3 per cord is $90. Then, his garden, 

 orchard, and fruit yard, for all these are managed 

 in the best manner, yield him the value of $80, 

 including his cider, &c. In addition to these we 

 might mention the veal, the poultry, and the eggs, 

 and the fine piece of mutton that he has now and 

 then ; for, as the Irish lord says, " he lives on Ids 

 own estate and kills his own mutton." All these, 

 though not generally estimated, are a part of the 

 income of his farm. So here is more than $370, 

 in addition to the four hundred which he acknowl- 

 edges to have received in cash as the clear income 

 of his farm. It is true that this is for the com- 

 forts, &c. of my neighbor's family, but such as 

 they require, and such as, in any other business, 

 would cost the cash. My neighbor was satisfied. 

 And I am persuaded that a careful examination of 

 fuels would lead to conclusions very favorable to 

 agriculture. And your readers would welcome a 

 statement of these conclusions in your paper. 



Arxthmos. 



