20-1 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



JAXl'.lBY 8, 1*3*. 



REVIEW OP THE BRIGHTON MARKET 

 For the Year 1833. 



First Quarter — ending March 25. 



4658 Beef Cattle,— Estimated sales $186,320 00 



127 Stores, do 3,275 00 



7648 Sheep, , do 21,032 00 



3265 Swine, do 13,876 25 



§224,503 25 



Second Quarter — ending June 24. 



3561 Beef Cattle,— Estimated sales $160,245 00 



374 Stores, . do 10,112 00 



4816 Sheep, do 12,040 00 



3017 Swine, do 13,576 50 



$195,973 50 



Third Quarter — ending September 30. 



7646 Beef Cattle,— Estimated sales $244,672 00 



805 Stores, do It., 100 00 



40950 Sheep, do 81,900 00 



1210 Swine, do 10,525 00 



$353,197 00 



Fourth Quarter — ending December 30. 



33315 Beef Cattle,— Estimated sales $799,560 00 



1980 Stores, do 35,610 00 



37308 Sheep, do 71,616 00 



6916 Swine, do 27,664 00 



From the Maine Farmer 

 MANURE PROM SHEEP. 



I wis:i farmers to rightly understand the value 

 of the several kinds of manure. I have heard that 

 some people apprehend that the manure from 

 sheep is useless for the purpose of growing vege- 

 tables. Will such tell me if a ton of hay is eaten 

 by sheep, as they chew the cud, or are ruminating 

 animals, as well as what are called black cattle, 

 why that ton of hay thus passing sheep, is not as 

 valuable for manure as though it passed oxen or 

 cows. The fact is, it is as good ; and as no animal 

 makes hay liner by mastication than sheep* I be- 

 lieve no manure is better, except that all manure, 

 as to its quality depends much on what the animal 

 eats. Thus while you are fattening a beef creature, 

 its manure is richer than if it eat hay or grass only. 

 That from swine or the back-house proves this. 

 So far from sheep manure not being useful, much 

 more might and should be made of it — it is a 

 waste to let sheep lie in their pastures during the 

 summer nights. Their manure being fine is car- 

 ried oil' soon into the air, and if that element can 

 he enriched, it takes place by such slovenly prac- 

 tice. 



Let the sheep be placed ill the night, if you 

 have 50 or 60, in about an acre of ground fenced 

 off' with some suitable fence — let a boy place them 

 there every night. Plough or harrow it frequent- 

 ly; and my word for it, they will manure it abun- 



dantly for any crop the next season, or for turnips 

 in the fall of the same season. If sowed to turnips 

 I bey may reasonably prepare another acre that 

 yea)-. Thus we obtain the advantage of their 

 urine, and all their droppings. A farmer who will 

 manage in this way, will never complain that his 

 sheep manure is worthless. Horses are not ru- 

 minating animals; their manure, of course, is not 

 so fine, but lighter. For low or moist land the 

 same weight of it is as valuable as ether manure. 

 As it is more open, its effects are sooner exhausted 

 if we reckon by bulk and not by weight. If any 

 farmer thinks the above ideas incorrect, the writer 

 hopes he will show bis views through the Farmer, 

 and oblige A Correspo.ndent. 



From Loudon's Magazine. 

 CROPPING BORDERS IN WHICH FRUIT 

 TREES GROW. 



Sin, Having for some years been an advocate for 

 not cropping the borders of fruit trees, I have no- 

 ticed, with pleasure, that you have several times 

 called the attention of your readers to the subject. 

 I beg leave therefore, on the present occasion, to 

 make a few observations for the consideration of 

 those who are of a different opinion ; as I think 

 that, before long it is very likely that, instead of 

 having a border of 10 or 12 ft. wide close to the 

 wall to be constantly dug and cropped, and a grav- 

 el walk 4 or 5 ft. wide beyond it, we shall see a wide 

 gravel walk close to the walk over a previously pre- 

 pared border; for 1 am persuaded it is owing more 

 to the digging and manuring the border, than to any 

 other circumstances, that there are so many failures 

 of fruit trees. I have seen the above method (of 

 gravelling the borders to walk upon) practised on 

 a small scale and I am not aware of a single fail- 

 ure. I have often noticed that, in the formation 

 of borders to vineries or green-houses where vines 

 were to be planted, alter much expense and labor 

 bestowed, it has ended in disappointment ; the 

 cause of which I consider to be the planting of 

 the border with vegetables if in the kitchen gar- 

 den, and with flowers if in the flower garden. 

 Perhaps it may not be amiss to mention here, that 

 many persons who are very particular about pru- 

 ning their vines in the autumn, to prevent their 

 bleeding, will nevertheless delay digging the bor- 

 ders till February or March, when all the roots 

 within the reach of the spade are sure to be cut 

 and made to bleed, without being observed. In 

 many cases where prepared borders have failed to 

 produce fruitful vines or other trees, it is very often 

 to be seen that a tree or vine, planted against a 

 building merely for the sake of biding it, seldom 

 fails to produce a crop of fruit, although it has 

 nothing below but the natural soil, and this cover- 

 ed over with gravel, or other materials to form a 

 walk. I could mention several instances of this 

 kind, some of which are within a few yards of 

 where I am writing, and many others in the neigh- 

 borhood ; and I have no doubt that many of your 

 readers will be able to see the same, after it has 

 thus been pointed out to them. One of the instan- 

 ces which have come under my observation is 

 within a short distance of my cottage. It is an 

 extensive range of glass, used chiefly for stove and 

 green-house plants, with a vine trained up each 

 rafter, not one of which is worth the trouble bes- 

 towed on it annually in tying, &C The roots of 

 these all running directly into the borders and 

 clumps of a flower garden, it is not thought that 

 the fault can be iu the soil, as it is so well culti- 



vated for the plants in it, but this I consider to be 

 the only cause of their failing ; as within a few 

 yards of these is a building of considerable height 

 and length, of the same aspect as the others, hav- 

 ing vines trained all over it, which are planted (as 

 far as I can learn) in nothing but the natural soil 

 having a wide gravel walk over their roots, beyond 

 which they have nothing else but a lawn. They 

 have, therefore, in all probability never been dis- 

 turbed since ihey were planted. These 1 have 

 known for several years, but I do not recollect 

 ever having beard of their tailing lo produce good 

 crops. Young vines also, which have been plan- 

 ted among them, have begun to bear. Instances 

 of this kind are so numerous, iu front of dwelling 

 houses and other buildings, that it is unnecessary 

 for me to say any more on the subject ; I shall 

 therefore com bide with hoping that those who 

 have hitherto attributed it to the soil will reflect 

 whether in some measure it may not be owing to 

 the cause I have mentioned. 



I am, sir, yours, &.c. R. T. 



Feb. 26, 1833. 



From the Gardener's Magazine, 

 STRAWBERRIES. 



Tlie. Fruit of Strawberries preserved free from 

 Grit, and the .Itlacks of Slugs, by covering the Soil 

 under the Fruit with a Layer of the short Grass 

 mown off' Lawns. — As the fruit of the strawberry 

 is, with many, a thing of consequence, the preser- 

 vation of it from the several casualties to which, 

 on its attaining maturity, it is liable, is, or ought 

 to be, an object of as much solicitude: to point 

 out a preservative from one or more Of the evils 

 which endanger it, will be my endeavor in the 

 present communication. I generally grow the 

 large sort in rows from 20 in. to 2 ft. apart, and a 

 considerable quantity in a single row between the 

 box edging and the gooseberry bushes, which form 

 the narrow border of the quarters. These distan- 

 ces I consider the best for Keen's seedling, YVil- 

 niot's superb, &c, the crop of which is as good in 

 the fifth year as in the third, and better than 

 that in the second. The small sorts, as the early 

 scarlet, Duke of Kent's scarlet, the Reseberry, 

 \c, may be grown with as much advantage on 

 narrow beds, 3 ft. or 4 ft. wide, and if renewed 

 every three or four years. In the case of the small- 

 er sorts, they being so close together, the follow- 

 ing method might be dispensed with, or, at least, 

 it is not necessary ; but in the large kinds above 

 named, owing to the isolatedness of the rows, and 

 the heaviness of the bunches of fruit, these latter 

 lie on the soil, and, when rain falls, are covered 

 with grit; and they likewise lie so convenient for 

 slugs, that many are destroyed by them. To ob- 

 viate these liabilities, I have tried several expedi- 

 ents, but none bad the required effect, until it oc- 

 curred to me ibis season that short grass laid be- 

 tween the rows would answer the purpose. This 

 I have applied with perfect success, especially as 

 to the grit. There is no gentleman's place without 

 the material at the time at which it is required for 

 this purpose, and the application of it 2 in. or 3 

 in. thick docs not consume much time. It is not 

 only useful in the above instances, but it acts as a 

 non-conductor of evaporation from the soil below, 

 whether you water it artificially, or the more gen- 

 eral rain administer the moisture ; it also chokes 

 most sorts of weeds, and destroys the vegetation 

 of their seeds ; and it may be taken off', or allowed 

 to remain, after the crop is done. It is best toap- 



