6 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



July 2n, 1831. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JULY 00, 1831. 



FARMER'S WORK FOR JULY. 



English Turnips. — The time generally lecom- 

 niended for sowing English turnip seed is the lat- 

 ter part of July. Dr Deane, howe ver, ohserved, 

 ' I have sowed them in drills the first week in 

 August, and had a good crop. One great advan- 

 tage in sowing so late is that the turnips will escape 

 insects. And if the crop should not happen to 

 be quite so large as if the sowing had been earlier, 

 the roots will not fail of being better for the 

 table. 



' One pound of seed is the common allowance 

 for an acre of land. But to guard against the fly 

 the quantity may be a little increased. 



' The seed, sown broad cast must be harrowed 

 in with a short tined harrow, and then rolled 

 with a wooden roller, to break the clods, and level 

 the surface." 



It is not yet too late to break up mowing or pas- 

 ture ground, an<l raise a crop of turnips without 

 the expense and trouble of yarding cattle or sheep 

 on the ground, according to the customary mode 

 of preparing for a turnip crop. Sowing broad cast 

 will do well ; but sowing in drills will do better. 

 In either case the crop will be the better ibr hoe- 

 ing and thinning out the sujierfluous plants. If 

 the soil is not very poor a good crop may be ob- 

 tained, even without manure, but a nmch better 

 with manure. Wood ashes, soot and lime are 

 said to be preferable, as manure for turnips to that 

 which is obtained from the farm yard. 



Turnips may also be raised to great ailvantage 

 in corn fields. Fur this purpose sow a sufficient 

 quantity of seed at the last dressing of the corn, 

 and either hoc or rake it in. 



Ellis, an old and judicious writer on husbandry, 

 recommends soot as an antidote against the fly in 

 turnips ; and says 'Turnips soo'ted about 24 hours 

 after they are up, will be entirely secured from 

 the fly. Some advise, and it may be well, if not 

 too much trouble, to leach soot, and sprinkle the 

 young turnips with the liquor. It is recommended 

 in hoeing turnips to thin them so as to leave the 

 plants from seven to twelve inches apart every 

 way, regulating the distance at which they are 

 left standing accoiding to the tiuje of sowing, the 

 strength of the soil, and probable size of the full 

 grown plant. 



The time of the first hoeing is when the leaves, 

 as they lie spread on the ground are about the size 

 of the palm of the hand. But if the weeds are 

 numerous and grow rapidly they should be cut or 

 pulled out before the turnip plants arrive to that 

 size, lest they should be drawn up slender and 

 acquire a feeble and sickly habit. W second and 

 tliiril lioeings are given in the course of culture 

 the crop and the benefit to the soil will more than 

 coni()ensate for the extra trouble and e.vpense. 



Louilon says that dusting rows of turnip plants, 

 when they are in the seed leaf, is effectual in 

 preventing the depredations of the fly. 'A bush- 

 el o( quick lime,' be says, ' is sufiicient to dust 

 over an acre of drilled turnips, and a boy may be 

 Eoon taught to lay it on almost as fast as he can 

 walk along the drills. If the seminal leaves are 

 powdered in the slightest degree it is sufiicient ; 

 but should rain wash the lime off", before the tur- 

 nips are in the rough leaf, it may be necessary to 

 repeat the operation if the fly begins to make its 

 ai>pearance.' 



niSEASE IN gourds: 

 Our correspondent S. complains that his gourds 

 become mouldy and decay on the vines, and re- 

 quests information relative to some remedy for the 

 evil. As we have never witnessed nor before 

 heard of the disease we cannot prescribe for its 

 cure ; but if the case was ours we would apply 

 sulphur and lime water, mixed in the proportions 

 of about two quarts of sulphur, and three to five 

 pounds of quick lime to a barrel of water, first in- 

 coporating them with a pailful of boiling water. 

 This liquid, applied with a syringe or watering 

 pot as recommended by ' Circumnavigator,' page 

 37S of our current volume vtay prove efficacious. 

 If not we nmst refer the case to some of our hor- 

 ticultural friends, who are best qualified in the dis- 

 eases of vegetables. 



Cucumbers. — We have authority to state that the 

 sale of cucumbers, at stall No. 8-1, Faneuil Hall 

 Market, Boston, raised on one acre of ground this 

 season, previous to the Itith of July, amounted 

 to upwards of .§500. 



The weather has been for a length of time, wet 

 and sultry ; it is feared that much grain is injured. 

 We firmly believe, we are not guilty of exaggeration 

 when we say, that half of the wheat and rye crop 

 of this county is mined, and the well earned pros- 

 pects of the farmer, just at the point of consumma- 

 tion, are destroyed. We seriously do not believe, 

 that there will be enough of grain in th(! country 

 to seed it next fall. That which is cut, lias grown 

 iu the shock, and that which was left standing, has 

 sprouted in that i)o.<itioii. This loss is, in a greai 

 measure, attributed to culpable negligence, in 

 declining to cnp tlie shocks as they are set up. 

 The crop every where, was a most abundant one. 

 The corn '.ooks well. — Lancaster Penu.pap. 



Crops in the Interior. — The Worcester .^gis 

 trives the following facts in relation to the crops 

 in that vicinity. Hay is abundant. Rye is said 

 not to be as good as usuid, being somewhat shrunk 

 iu the kernel. Corn never, perhaps, looked bet- 

 ter than it now does. There will be but few ap- 

 ples this year, and we are informed that ciiler has 

 been contracted for already at jirices varying from 

 $1,50 to $2 per barrel. I'cacbes are scarce -jthe 

 late frost last spring, while the trees were in blos- 

 som, it is supposed materially affected the crop. — 

 Cherries are very scarce ; and there will be but 

 few plums. Our early potatoes came in very fair. 

 The season, as it respects the quality and quantity 

 of the more essential crops, may be considered 

 upon the whole as favorable for the farmer. 



To Farmers. — A writer in the Norwich 

 Courier says — ' If grass when mown, is carefully 

 turned every day it will injure very little. The 

 great cause of injury is its laying on the ground 

 through a long spell of rainy weather. If it lay 

 more than one day, it becomes mouldy, and turns 

 black. If carefully turned daily, "rain or shine," it 

 will not lose color. This is the result of many 

 years' experience.' 



The Canandaigua Repository states that the 

 quantity of wool purchased by the m(!ichauts in 

 that place, this season, exceeds 100,0(10 lbs. for 

 which high pii(!es have been paid. A single load 

 brought in by a farmer, weighed 2,979 lbs. for 

 which he received $2,175. 



From llie Boston Travbller. 



BLACK CHERRY TREE BARK. 



IMii Editor — Having seen in a late Traveller, 

 a statement fnun a medical corres|)ondent of the ' 

 Cooperstown WatchloWer, that black cherry tree 

 bark was poisonous, I felt it my duty to state for , 

 the information of the public, that in the latter 

 part of the year 1825, I was afflicted with a ner- 

 vous complaint, called by physicians, St Vitus' 

 Dance, and that at the recommendation of a 

 fixnd, I drank two glasses a day of a tea made by 

 sleeping the bark of the wild black cherry tree in 

 water, mixing it, however, with spirit sufficient tt> 

 prevent it from moulding. The bark to which the 

 Cooperstown doctor alludes, may have been taken 

 from the garden cherry tree. At any rate I should 

 like to have the thing fully tested ; for in my opin- 

 ion, the bark of the wild black cherry tree is a 

 sovereign remedy against a disorder, which may 

 justly be said to be the most humiliating that ever 

 atllicted the family of man. It cured me, and if I was 

 again attacked, should not hesitate a moment to 

 drink it again. B. 



The ff'heat Crop. — We have taken considerable 

 pains to inquire with respect to the prospects of 

 the wheat harvest in this part of the country, and 

 from all we can gather upon the subject, we are led 

 to believe that the crops of wheat will be light here- 

 abouts at least. Our information on the subject 

 does not allow us. to speak in regard to a very 

 wide extent of territory, but so far as we have 

 been enabled to collect intelligence, we learn, that 

 a fly is making great depredations upon the wheat, 

 and besides, it is pretty certain, that some fields 

 arc overrun with chess, and the same is the ease 

 with all, more or less. — What will be the effect of 

 the present wet weather is uncertain. We hope 

 for tlio best. — Vienna J^. Y. Repuhlican. 



At the rooms of the Albany llorticnltural So- 

 ciety, on the 28tli nit., two winter squashes of 

 last year's growth, very large and in fine preserva- 

 tion, were exhibited ; one of them measured 37 

 inches in length, and weighed 19 pouuds. 



Trot and Vermont Raii. Road. — Stock in 

 this rail road was subscribed for in the following 

 places. 



New York, 3530 shares, $100 each, $353,000 

 Troy, 1098 " » 109,800 



Bennington, 346 " " 34,600 



Adams, 35 " " 3,500 



$500,900 

 The capital stock necessary to be paid in is 

 ■5450,000.— jTroT/ Budget. 



The Amboy and Camden Rail Road is vapidly 

 progressing, and is expected to be completed the 

 present season, as will also be the Hudson and 

 Mohawk Rail Road. 



The following is an extract of a letter from a 

 gentleman in Liverpool, to a correspondent in 

 Troy : — ' Our rail road surprises more and more 

 every day. — The trains go regularly from Liverpool 

 to Manchester in an hour and aquaiter. On Fri- 

 day 2050 passengers were booked for that place. 

 One thousand bales of New Orleans cotton arrived 

 here one day by noon on the next the whole was 

 delivered in Manchester. These are facts that 

 prove more every day the superiority of rail road 

 communication.' 



