12 



NEW ENGl.AND FARMER, 



July il, 1831. 



the Kecsviiie Herald. AH the exjiciisis 1 liave incurred siiici; 1826 repay all ilie expense of ilitc.liijicr. Many. seem. 



To the Editors In conformity to your riMjucst, | a,.e fully met liy llie profits of the crops. It there- lo t'lilert.-iiii llie idea, that nothing is worth carting 



tlie followin" is the result of my experiment on 51 \fgyg results, that with the exception of the fences or spreading as manure, nnluss it has been collect- 

 acres plain hmd, situate on the high road, half a L,„i $6,50 for salt and lime, the extra, chargeahle ; cd in the ham yard, or is the excrement of ani- 

 mile west of I'm't Kent. E. WATSON. on the soil for tlie first year is .$74. It is useless ; mals. 



Port Kent, June I'!, \S31. to add, the puhlic will judge for themselves. Ij AH vegetable matter undergoing decompositoii 

 I have brought the subject fairly before them, and furnishes food for growing phiut-^, and may be ap- 



This experimental lollies within the race course, I earnestly i^nvite experiments, and less attention to plied as manures. In short, anything, whether 

 on the north side, in the midst of pine woods. The lumber, the b.me of agriculture, 

 land is of a good quality for that species of soil, 



nnd so pronounced by Capt. Lindsey, of Sarato 

 county, wlio constructed the road from Port Kent 

 to Keesville, In 1824. He stated to me it was 

 iiiuch superior to the same species of land in that 

 county; and that he, with others, bad for several 

 years cultivated it with great success and profit. 

 From his information, 1 was induced to commence 

 the experiment in 1826. In May of that year, 

 I paid for clearing the 15 acres for the plough, §29 

 September following, for ploughing, at $3 

 per acre, with two yoke of oxen, 



45 



IS manures. In short 

 vegetable or animal substance, which on being 

 mixed with a soil under cultivation, and which in- 

 1 ilie JiiJdieion Sentinel. incre.iscs the growth of plants cultivated in such 



si)il, is termed manure. Different soils rctpiire dif- 

 SHAKER BARN. j fyient substances to be applieil, in order to facilitate 



Mr Starr — 1 band you for the amusement ,1,^ j,,.„^y,|, of |,]an,s . ^1,1,^ |ij,|,t gaudy soils which 

 and information of the iiractical farmer, a des- | j„.g j,-,^ i^^gy ,q im.,,,, „,Qigm|.g _.,|.e g,.eytly l,enefit- 

 cripiion which I have verbally received from a ' j i,y j||g npp]i^„t„j„ gfclay ; and such earths as 

 friend of mine, living in that vicinity, of a large .^^.^ comparatively too retentive of moisture, are 

 barn built the last season, in the town ff H"U- ! greatly altered for the better, by mixing with them 

 cock, Berkshire county, Mass. by the family of a portion of sand, so that whatever be the soil which 



§74 



In 1827, it lay in that hopeless state, and yet I 

 pronounced it an 'experimental lot' which e.xcit- 

 ed the general sneer of ridicule. 



In 1828, it was again ploughed, cross ploughed 

 and harrowed, and the greatest proportion of 

 bushes and roots taken off, at an expense of $35 

 On 3 acres, 1 put on 3 bbls. damaged salt, at 



$1 50, -I'OS 



Also, 30 bush, damaged lime, 2,00 



In September, sowed the 15 acres, jdastered, 



with rye, after soaking it 12 hours in beef pickle, 



containing saltpetre. 



1S29. In March, sowed 3 acres with red 

 clover, on the last end, and plastered the wh de 

 at the rata of one bushel to the acre in May ; 

 received a good crop of rye ; ploughed, cross 

 ploughed and harrowed for a fresh crop and clear- 

 ed off most of the roots. 



1831. In March, seeded down the 12 acres 

 with red clover, at the rate of 6 bushels of seed 

 to the acre ; early in July, ploughed in the 3 acres 

 of clover on the east end of the lot ; and in 

 September, sowed 2 acres of it with rye and one 

 acre of it with wheat, prepared as bef(U-e ; seeded 

 it down to clover in March, and plastered the whole 

 15 acres in May. 



1831, June 15th. The rye 5 1-2 feet high, and 

 wheat in vigorous growth, although considerably 

 injured by the past winter; the clover of uncom- 

 mon growth for the season. Sent samples of both 

 to Keesville and Plattsburgh for the inspection of 

 ihe public, who appeared to be much astonished 

 at my sucessful experiment. But ihey say I have 

 incurred an expense which common fanners can- 

 not sustain to arrive at a result so unexiiecled, so 

 favorable and new in this country; although it is 

 well known that farmers in Duchess, Colutnhia and 

 Saratoga counties have greatly enriched themselves 

 for thirty years past by the culture of these pine 

 plains; more productive by a judicious manage- 

 ment of clover and plaster than tlie Genesee Flats, 

 taking into view the comparative facility of cultiva- 

 tion. 



In answer to the expense I have incurred, I can 

 safely apeal to the above statement, with an assu- 

 rance that no manure has been \ml ou the land, 

 nor no other course adopted but as above stated. 

 The experiment of lime and salt, it vviil be observ- 

 ed, was on acres only ; its eflects will be ascertain- 

 ed by the clover of this year. 



Shakers located in that town. It is i)o.ssible, that 

 in some points, the dimensions may be inaccu- 

 rate ; but you may rely that they are materially 

 correct. Both the size and form are probably 

 unfit for common purposes— very few farmers 

 woidd wish to collect so much forage and ma- 

 nure, or have so much stock in one place ; but all 

 who have any experience in the busines-', will 

 agree that there is much ingenuity and conve- 

 nience in the design, for a large establishment. 



The barn is built on ground inclining south- 

 wardly, in a perfect circle, and is ninety feet in 

 diameter, across it from side to side. The walls 

 are stone, 22 feet in height, of suitable thickness, 

 and laid in lime or well pointed on each side. 

 Round the barn, on the inner side, are stables 

 forming a circle ; the manger within and suitable 

 I)laces over it to throw or feed down the hay ; the 

 stable and manger occupy about twelve feet, and 

 are eight feet high ; the stables open too and from 

 several diflerent barn yards, in order to make as 

 many and such divisions of their stock as they 

 have thought proper. Th 



bles from the barn floor, which also extend round 

 the barn. There is but one large door way for 

 entrance with teams and loads ; this is from the 

 northern side, from an offset or causeway, 8 feet 

 above the base, and of course fourteen feet be- 

 low the eaves. The cart or wagon that enters, 

 with a load, makes the whole circuit of the floc.r 

 and after unloading comes out at the sainc door; 

 thus eight or ten teams with their loads can occu- 

 py the floor at one time, in unloading, and not 

 hinder each other. Within this circle of stables and 

 barn floor is an area or hay, as it is usually called 

 which is filled with hay, &c, which must be over 

 sixty feet diameter. This is pitched in and on 

 from any side or place most convenient, or where 

 wanted. 



The roof comes to a poyit at the centre, and 

 sheds off the rain all round, something similar to 

 an umbrella. It is supported from the inner 

 cle of the barn floor 



requires ilitching, the earth removed may be cart- 

 ed to u difliereut snil, and be applied as a manure. 

 There are on some farms s-nall swamps or depres- 

 sions, in which vegetable matter collects, and which 

 cannot without consideral)le expense be drained ; 

 these frequently become dry during summer, when 

 large quantities of manure might be taken out of 

 them. Good farmers will look carefully to those 

 things, but some that are new in the profegsion, 

 may not be aware of the importance of sucli de- 

 posits, and a hint from us may not be considered 

 amiss. — Genvsee Farmer. 



VEGETABLE LIFE. 

 The first point that should engage the attention 

 of the eidightened agriculturist, is to ascertain the 

 nature and situation of those minute vessels by 

 which plants absorb water from the soil and the 

 atmosphere, and by which these principles are 

 modified and circulated to every part of the vege- 

 table, and are converted into the plant itself. So 

 minute arc these vessels, that even microscopic ob- 

 covering of the sta- 1 servation bag not been able to detect all their in- 

 tricacies. But their general structure and arrange- 

 ment have beep ascertained. — And it is found that 

 they bear a most striking analogy to those vessels 

 of animals by which nutriment is conveyed, it) 

 ceaseless circulation to every part of the system. 

 In every plant we find one set of small vessels, 

 running from the roots to the extremities, llirough 

 which the sap ascends, while in its progress it is 

 undergoing those changes that will fit it for becom- 

 ing a part of the vegetable. — These vessels resem- 

 ble the arteries in the animal system. When the 

 sap is thus conveyed to the leaves and other ex- 

 tremities of the plant, it there comes in contact 

 with the atmosphere, gives off its redundancies,and 

 absorbs water, and perhaps other principles essen- 

 tial to the plant. The leaves of plants, therefore. 

 l)erform nearly the same functions as the lungs of 

 animals. A second set of vessels, exterior to the 

 first and mostly confined to the bark, now conveys 

 The roof boards are laid up | the food of the plant, thus prei)ared, to every pa 



and down, which by a transverse sawing of the 

 log were all brought to a point, and then sliui- 

 L'led round in the usual mode. M- 



Swamp .lliifZ.— Were farmers to pay more atten- 

 tion to draining their low lands, they would find it 

 much to their interest. Separate from the advan- 

 tage of rendering their low lands dry and produc- 

 tive, much manure of the first quality might be 

 taken from the ditche.s, and when spread upon fal- 

 lows and other uplands under tillage, would well I Hitclicoc!;'.i Mdrcss. 



that nee. Is nourishment ; even to the very roots 

 from which it proceeded. These vessels corres- 

 pond to the veins. Other vessels are found in 

 plants, corresponding, probably, to those similarly 

 situated in the animal system ; yet too complicaleil 

 forexplanation on this occasion. Suflice it to men- 

 tion, that in vegetable, as well as in animal economy 

 we find the principle of life— itself inscrutable- 

 modifying and controling every operation and keep- 

 ing the w'onderful machinery in ceaseless piny, — 



