210 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Mat 



edge of the business of the farm, as well as its 

 theories, and its aspects in a theoretical and sci- 

 entific point of view. 



A paper on The Pofo^o, another on The Breed- 

 ing and Management of Sheep, on Fruit Trees, 

 on The Cultivation of Clover, on Thorough Brain- 

 ing, and one by Joseph R. Williams, read at 

 the Dedication of the Agricultural College. The 

 paper that follows is the annual Address before 

 the Calhoun County Agricultural Society, by Prof. 

 J. E. Tenney ; it abounds with pleasant refer- 

 ences and useful suggestions. Among other 

 things, it gives the following striking compari- 

 son : 



"Michigan has 56,243 square miles — Arkansas 52,198. Michi- 

 gan has a population of 397,754 ; Arkansas 209,897 ; 47,100 of 

 them are slaves. Michigan has property valuation, $59,787,295 ; 

 Arkansas, $39,841,025. Michigan, value of farms, $51,874,446 ; 

 Arkansas, $15,256,245. Michigan, improved land, $11,922,110 ; 

 Arkansas, $6,647,969, value of slaves included. Michigan has 

 an educational income of $214,717 ; Arkansas, $105,819. Michi- 

 gan has 56 newspapers ; Arkansas, 9. Tliis last comparison is 

 wonderful. But 9 newspapers in Arkansas ! The literature of 

 any country is a pretty safe index of its prosperity. No one can 

 doubt but that the rich soil of Arkansas has a capacity equal to 

 that of our own State, for farming interests, and it is equally 

 certain, that Slavery paralyzes every species of improvement." 



Then follows the address from Genesee Coun- 

 ty, by C. P. Avery, also a capital paper. But 

 •why did they print it twice ? If delivered before 

 two societies, one insertion in the Transactions 

 would seem to be enough. The address before 

 the Jackson county society, by Rev. Elijah H. 

 PiLCHER, the Munroe County, by A. R. Strong, 

 and that of Wm. M. Fenton, of the Shiawassee 

 County, are also practical and excellent produc- 

 tions. There are also, reports upon farms, drain- 

 ing. Sec, which cannot fail to arouse the attention 

 of farmers, if these papers find their way into the 



.«spapers of the State. 



This energetic State has the honor, we believe, 

 of establishing an Agricultural College, with all 

 its professors and necessary officers ; has a tract 

 of nearly 700 acres of land, and suitable buildings 

 already erected upon it. That she may make 

 steady and healthful advancement in this noble 

 enterprise is our sincere wish. 



Salt. — An improvement in the manufacture of 

 rock and sea salt has been patented in England, 

 which consists in fusing the raw salt, and keep- 

 ing it for some time in a state of tranquil fusion, 

 decanting it into hot molds, or letting it cool 

 slowly ; in this manner, all the impurities are se- 

 parated from the mass In fusion, and are elimin- 

 ated by crystallization by the dry process, which 

 corresponds with crystallization by the wet one. 



Farming in Maine.— The town of Exeter, in 

 Penobscot county, Maine, is almost exclusively a 

 farming town, and a recent examination and esti- 

 mate of its value by competent gentlemen, has 

 led them to the declaration that it is worth now 

 twenty times as much as it was twenty years 

 since. It will hardly do to say that farming in 

 Maine is not a good business. 



SEVENTH LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTXT- 

 BAL MEETING. 



[REPORTED FOB THE FARMER BY ZENAS T. HAIIfES.] 



At the seventh Legislative Agricultural meet- 

 ing, held at the State House last Tuesday even- 

 ing, Hon. Mr. Felton, of Worcester county, 

 presided. "Drainage" was the subject of dis- 

 cussion. 



Mr. Richardson, of Franklin county, deemed 

 the subject one of great importance, and one on 

 which farmers needed information. The wet and 

 unproductive spots so prevalent in the western 

 part of the State should be made available for 

 agricultural purposes. They had heard of brush 

 drains, but he could not recommend them in his 

 section. Their land was plentifully supplied with 

 small stones, and it having occurred to him that 

 they might be used to advantage in the place of 

 brush wood, he made from 75 to 100 rods of drain 

 with them. He dug the drain wider than would 

 be necessary in the use of tiles, and from 2 to 2h 

 feet deep, they being twenty inches wide at the 

 top and from 12 to 14 inches at the bottom. He 

 placed small stones on the bottom from 12 to 14 

 inches apart, and then placed a cover of larger 

 stones over them. Then he filled in with smaller 

 stones, leaving the smallest on the top. Bushes, 

 sods or coarse hay was then placed on top. This 

 was made in April and May of last year. It was 

 a very wet season, and in a very few days water 

 commenced running from the drains, and had con- 

 tinued to when not prevented by the frost. The 

 soil was black and springy. The immediate ben- 

 efit of this was, that the soil became in condition 

 for cultivation in good season, and did not bake 

 or become hard. It also took the stones out of 

 the way and out of sight. Time must determine 

 as to the durability of this drain, whether or not 

 it would fill up. It cost about 50 cents a rod. 



Mr. Fay, of Boston, said they got their first 

 principles of drainage from the other side of the 

 water, where it is necessary that almost all lands 

 be drained. In our climate, it seemed to the 

 speaker, that drainage was only necessary in 

 springy and hard, clayey soils. The best soil in 

 the world was that which would hold the ammo- 

 nia best. Sometimes water ran off too fast and 

 left the land to suffer from drought. Drainage 

 would hardly pay in this country except on springy 

 soils, and those with a clay subsoil. How should 

 we drain them ? The tile drain was doubtless the 

 best, but too expensive for common use. Open 

 drains, which should not be over 30 feet apart, 

 were unsightly and very inconvenient. Drains 

 should without doubt be covered, and those men- 

 tioned by Mr. Richardson were doubtless next 

 best after tiles, and M'ould last 20 years. He had 

 made similar drains 10 years ago. They were 

 now dischai"ging water with regularity. It might 



