348 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



MAT 7, 1S34. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 PUMPKINS. 



I am not much of a tanner, my own lime hav- 

 ing been occupied for many years in other busi- 

 ness, so that I have not bad those opportunities 

 for making experiments in agriculture that are 

 calculated to advance the interests of said science. 

 It was nevertheless my good fortune some eight 

 or ten years ago, to procure some seeds of the 

 pumpkin, the culture of which has proved so pecu- 

 liarly advantageous, that I am anxious to call the 

 attention of farmers to the subject. No doubt 

 these remarks may excite a sneer from many of 

 your sagacious readers, who will lay by the paper 

 in contempt, and say " who does not know all 

 about a pumpkin ?" The man from whom I pro- 

 cured, the seed possessed rather a facetious turn, 

 so that in his recommendation of bis pumpkin 

 seed I at first apprehended that he was indulging 

 in that merry propensity, as he remarked that they 

 would grow in so long a shape that a man might 

 carry one on his shoulders with the same facility 

 that he could a stick of wood or a rail. When my 

 pumpkins came to maturity, I found there was too 

 much truth in his remark to be all a joke. They will 

 sometimes grow to the length of from "20 to 30 in- 

 ches, and perhaps a foot in diameter. Their pe- 

 culiar advantage over the. common round pump- 

 kin, consists not in their shape. The substance of 

 them is thicker, of a finer texture, and very evi- 

 dently sweeter than the other kind. The space 

 containing the seeds is small in proportion to the 

 size of the fruit, and consequently they are pro- 

 portionably heavier. Some of them have weighed 

 over sixty pounds. I have not failed a single year 

 of raising a luxuriant crop ; and a neighboring 

 farmer who procured some of the seed from me 

 and used it two seasons assured me that it has 

 proved a nett gain of more than $20. It is a true 

 maxim, that "what is worth doing at all, is worth 

 doing well." So, although the subject of my 

 communication is a pumpkin, if it is worth raising 

 it is certainly best, if there be any choice in the 

 seed, to select the best and cultivate it in the best 

 manner. In cultivating the pumpkin, I have usu- 

 ally followed the example that has been set me by 

 neighboring farmers, and planted the seed along 

 with that of my corn. Two years ago a circum- 

 stance occurred that has caused me to doubt if 

 that is the most economical- method. A pumpkin 

 plant came up by accident near the door of my 

 dwelling, and was discovered by a little boy, and 

 mistaken by him for a plant of a watermelon, and 



by him transplanteda rig the tender vines in the 



garden. It so happened that the bugs or some 

 other blight destroyed the other vines near it, so it 

 bad ample room to develope itself in all directions ; 

 the consequence of which was, a crop from this 

 one plant that weighed 215 pounds. Now it must 

 so be, that the luxuriant crop of vines that is pro- 

 duced among the bills of corn, must diminish in 

 some degree the crop of corn. So the question 

 would arise whether it would not be the mosl 

 consistent and profitable mode to plant them in 



fields sep, iraie from other crops? Perhaps s 



of your numerous readers have tried the exper- 

 iment. C. ii. 

 Phelps, April 181ft, 1834. 



ter, and before the eggs which were deposited 

 under the loose hark, and beneath limbs, &c. have 

 hatched. By early washing trees, and vines, with 

 strong soap suds, or with lime water, not only are 

 innumerable egirs anil insects destroyed, but the 

 young plants ami seeds of many varieties of mosses 

 which infest or injure trees and vines are destroy e,l 

 also. Trees that are annually washed, have a more 

 healthy appearance than those that are not, when 

 growing side by side. — Bangor Courier. 



SILK 



— We are impressed with the belief will, at some 

 remote day become the staple commodity of North- 

 ampton. We are glad to see some efficient indi- 

 viduals in this town setting an example worthy of 

 imitation. Immense quantities of Mulberry trees 

 have been transplanted this spring, and experi- 

 ments with the silk worm are now to be tried on 

 a large scale. Those individuals who have en- 

 tered into it extensively have found it immeasura- 

 bly the most lucrative employment they could fol- 

 low. It yields a certain gain, and gives occupation 

 to the young of both sexes, four fold more profita- 

 ble than the mere pittance they get from their em- 

 ployments at the present time. It is worthy the 

 attention of all our burners and at least will repay 

 them the trouble of an investigation. The fluctu- 

 ation of the principles of government or change of 

 rulers will not enhance or diminish its value, 

 and it might save the population of New Eng- 

 land from emigration and death, with fever and 

 ague in the western country. Will not our peo- 

 ple, who now complain of hard times, awake 

 to new sources of industry, and do something 

 which can be done to increase their pecuniary 

 gains. — Northampton Courier. 



advises in planting out beds to select the former 

 and to prevent mistakes says they should not be 

 taken from the seed bed till they have flowered. 



Asparagus " is found on the sea shores in many 

 parts of Europe; and is abundant in the inland 

 sandy plains in Kussia, Turkey and Greece. It 

 was in much esteem both among the Greeks am! 

 Romans. It was much praised by Cato and Col- 

 umella ; and Pliny mentions a sort which grew 

 near Ravenna, a deep sandy country, three shoots 

 of which would weigh a pound." Loudon's Eu- 

 cyc. Plants. 



Many gardens in the Genesee country have 

 been laid out on heavy loam ; and for Asparagus 

 beds we would advise the proprietors to prepare 

 an artificial soil. We have lately seen a bed for 

 this purpose which is two J'ecl and a half deep. 



INSECTS. 



Those who are desirous of keeping their fruit 

 trees free from insects, should wash them with 

 soap suds before the insects have passed the win- 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 ASPARAGUS. 



Asparagus " in its native state is so dwarfish 

 in appearance even when in flower, that none bin 

 a botanist would consider it as the same species 

 with our cultivated plant." From this we may 

 discover the great benefits of high culture. Some 

 gardeners recommend the beds to be dug one fool 

 deep ; but the Edinburgh Encyclopaedist, from 

 whom we have made the above extract, says " the 

 soil should not be less than two feet and a half'deep." 

 he adds, " it can scarcely be too well dunged." 



The soil, (or subsoil) should undoubtedly be 

 loose ; and the Encyclopaedist recommends a rich 

 sandy loam. The finest Asparagus that we have 

 ever seen however, grew in gravelly ground culti- 

 vated by the late Comfort Tyler at Montezuma, li 

 is highly probable that the soil is impregnated with 

 sail. The use of this mineral as a manure for this 

 plant is well known lo many gardeners; and we 

 are satisfied of its value from our own experience. 

 We think neither cows nor sheep require tin- 

 stimulant more than Asparagus. Drane says "To 

 a bed fifty feet by six, a bushel of salt may be safe- 

 ly applied before the plants start in the spring." 

 We often apply it long after they have started. 



The same Encyclopaedist says " Damp ground 

 or wet subsoil is not fit for Asparagus. Indeed 

 the French consider wetness so prejudicial to this 

 plain, they raise their Asparagus beds about one 

 fool above the alhys in order to throw off the rain. 



Gray, an English botanist, says. "The plants 

 are mostly dicerious ;" and If'eston in " the Re- 

 pertory of Arts," observes that the males yield a 

 greater number of shoots than the females, lie 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 FUEL.. 



As many farmers are in the practice of using 

 unseasoned wood for fuel, perhaps an estimate of 

 the actual loss sustained by it, may serve to show 

 the importance of an attention to this subject. 



It appears from direct experiment made for the 

 purpose, that several of the harder and more com- 

 mon kinds of wood, when subjected in a green 

 slate to a temperature of 90 or 100 degrees Faren- 

 licit, lose rather more than one-third of their origi- 

 nal weight by the evaporation of moisture ; but 

 when dried at a low temperature it amounts to a 

 little less ; so that the average may be fairly esti- 

 mated at one-third of the whole weight. It has 

 also been determined that the weight of such wood 

 when green, if compared with that of water, is on 

 an average about as nine is to ten. Admitting 

 that the interstices in a cord are equal to two-filths 

 of its whole bulk, it follows that there are seventy 

 seven solid feet of wood, equal in weight to sixty- 

 nine cubic feet of water ; and as one cubic foot of 

 water weighs sixty-two and a half pounds, the 

 weight of a cord will amount to four thousand 

 lliree hundred and thirty-one pounds. A cord 

 must consequently contain one thousand four hun- 

 dred and forty three pounds of water, or one hun- 

 dred and seventy four gallons nearly. This in- 

 cludes only such as is capable of evaporation at 

 ihe mean temperature of the atmosphere. Now it 

 is a well established fact, that the heat requisite 

 for the evaporation of a given quantity of water, 

 is four and a half times the amount required for 

 heating the same quantity from the freezing to the 

 boiling point. The heat therefore requisite for ex- 

 pelling ibis moisture, even after it has become 

 heated to boiling is equal to what would be re- 

 quired for beating six thousand four hundred and 

 ninety-three pounds, or nearly twelve and a half 

 hogsheads from freezing to boiling ; and as it pass- 

 es off in a latent state, the whole of it is totally 

 lost. 



It will also be perceived that the difference be- 

 tween green and dried wood amounts to the 

 Weight of one cord in three. This estimate will 

 therefore suggest when it becomes necessary to 

 convey wood to a distance, the advantages of 

 causing it to be previously well dried. 



When wood becomes partially decayed, itscapac- 

 ily for moisture is increased, at the same time that 

 its power of generating heat is diminished ; and 

 Ihe consequent loss of using such as fuel, unless 

 thoroughly dried, is increased to a far greater 

 amount. J. J. Thomas. 



Cayuga county, 2 mo. 1S33. 



