84 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Sept. 28, 1 83-1. 



ANADDllESS 



Delivered before the Ilarlford County Agriciiltutal Socisty, at llieir 

 Annual Meeting, October 28, 1830. 

 Cr Chjule! Rodinsom, Escl. 



Concluded. | 



On the subject of horses I speak with hesitation, 

 not because much may not with propriety l)e said 

 and strong and convincing reasons may not he 

 urged why a better race of horses should be obtain- 

 ed and cultivated among us, and I do speak at the 

 suggestion of ihose whose judgment may not be 

 called in question. 



As I have elsewhere remarked, we do not here 

 need a large race ofliorses for the use of our far- 

 mers. The labor performed by horses among us 

 is light and ordinarily does not require of a horse 

 of moderate size a full e,\ertion of his strength. It 

 is evident that for light work which is to he done 

 rapidiv a horse of moderate weight has a decided 

 superiority. He has in fact less labor to perforin ; 

 tie has less weight of his own to support and less 

 'ffort is required of him to accomplish his task. It 

 j therefore iuipurtaut that in onreflbrls to improve 

 lur breed ofliorses for domestic use, we should 

 N'onsitlt compactness, speed and beauty. Beauty, 

 because in all animals a beauliful form is the most 

 perfect ; one in which is combined in the greatest 

 perfection all the qualities which appertain to that 

 ]>eculiar animal ; all those combinalioiis on which 

 streiio;th ami action depend, and because too, beau- 

 ty will always excite affection, inibice attention and 

 care, and be exempt from those over exactions 

 wliii'h in the horse so often result in disease and 

 death. 



Why is it that cm this point we are thus deficient. 

 Is not our soil congenial to the horse ; or is it not 

 rather that those engaged in this branch of agri- 

 cnlt+ire ilo not feel that solicitude for quality, for 

 good blood and a proper combination of the difler- 

 ent points and qualities which constitute a good 

 liorse .' There are opinions prevalent among our 

 farmers which it would seem a proper attcniicui to 

 the subject would lead them to renoniice,but which 

 cannot with propriety be discussed on an occasion 

 like the present. 



As food for horses our grass is cut too early, often 

 before it has attained its full growth. Ilcrdsgrass, 

 according to Sir Humphrey Davy, contains a far 

 greater amount of ntitri'neut when the seed is fully 

 formi;d than vvhen in ihe blossom, and the expe- 

 rience ofall who have fairly tested the subject leads 

 them to the same result. It is said that if left till 

 that time it is not eaten so rt^adily ; but is not this 

 an argument in favor of late cutting .' When the 

 seed is fully formed a given weight contains more 

 nutriiiient than when c<it in the blossom and a given 

 bulk a far greater weight ; heme it follows that to 

 obtain the required amount of sustenance a less 

 quantity is requisite and therefore a less quantity 

 will be consumed. The labor of cnriug is also 

 lessened and the liability of the hav to suli.=rqueiit 

 injury almost entirely done away. 



The system of drill husbamlry, even when in its 

 most favtuable form it is applied to the raising of 

 Indian Corn is little adapted to the state of our 

 country. It can be adopted to advantage only where 

 laborers are abundant and mamial labor of little 

 value, and even in Enghind it is not considered a 

 profitable mode of culture. In this section of the 

 couniry our ngriculiiual labor is perlcirmed with the 

 most ])rofit upon the broadcast system by the use of 

 oxen. In the country the labor of a team is held 

 as of the same value as that of a day laborer. A 

 team costs n farmer its keeping and the interest 



upon the investment; a laborer his board and wages, 

 llere is therefore a heavy balance against manual ! 

 labor. ] 



Corn can be profilably raised only on land of 

 good quality and in a high state of cultivation. In | 

 order therefore to obtain large crops many farmers 

 dress their land so heavily as to essentially injure 

 it and occasion great waste. There is a point in 

 all land, the staple ofthe soil, a degree of fertility, 

 when not effected by injudicious cropping, which 

 the peculiar condjination of the soil produces. 

 This point it cannot be made to exceed by any 

 dressing wliich does not change its nature, and 

 therefore those efforts fieipiently made to induce 

 an excess in fertility in favored inclosures ao often 

 prove abortive. 



The system of dry fallow for grain formerly so 

 prevalent is deservedly falling into disrepute. 

 There are many reasons why on a light soil it is 

 uivprofitable. If on ordinary soil the expense of 

 ploughing per acre in the fallow system be esiimat- 

 eil at 75 cts. and the harrowing at 25 cts. ofthe same, 

 the three plniighings and two harrowings amount 

 to S2 50 cts. per acre for the expense of prepar- 

 ing the ground for a crop of fall grain. But if the 

 grain be sown after one ploughing and be covered 

 by two harrowings we have an expense of $1 per 

 acre. The latter plan has stood the test of expe- 

 rience through a series of years and has jiroduced 

 an average of better crops than the former, beside 

 leaving the land in a iiiore productive state. The 

 repeated and continued ex|)0surc ofthe soil in the 

 fallow system must be extremely injurious. The 

 gases arising from the deconq)Osition of the vege- 

 table matter are evolved am! lost. The surlace 

 is exposed to the constant action of the sun, air 

 and rain. The animal and vegetable matter is 

 either carried ofl' liy evaporation or washed inU) 

 the subsoil. 



Fall ploughing in ordinary cases can by uo means 

 be recoiniucnded, a series of experiments upon this 

 point have uniforndy led to the same disastrous 

 result. The turf is in the fall much stronger than 

 in the spring and it di^cays but little through the 

 winter. In (he spring the laml retiuircs more ex- 

 pense to bring it into proper condition than if it 

 had not been ploughed, and what is more the crojis 

 are iinifonnly light. 



These are a few of the points in our general 

 system which may wiili propriety receive the atten- 

 tion of our farmers. There are other subjects, 

 other items for discussion upon which much might 

 be saiil. Among these the culture of Hemp and 

 the rearing of silk worms claim particular attention. 

 Here however as in all things else the general rule 1 

 fully ajiplies ; that experiments should always be , 

 made upon a small scale. [ 



There is one vice not yet entirely eradicated 

 from among us iigainst which every lover of his 

 country and of his fellow inen is bound to use all ' 

 his influence, one scourge upon society which no | 

 language can depict in all its horrors ; with a syren 

 voice and in the garb of friendship and sociably it 

 enters unsuspected the abode of temperance and 

 peace. It is met with open arms for it speaks only 

 of kindness. It ingratiates itself with some one 

 member of llie fainily,'perh&ps him on whom the 

 others are dependent for happiness and support. 

 He llstdus to the syren's song and his happiness is 

 gone forever. The eyes of his friends no longer 

 beam with nnnjiiigled satisfaction at his approach ; 

 he reads in their countenances only silent suffering 

 and ruined hopes and lie feels that be alone is the 



author of all this misery. Oppressed with the con- 

 sciousness that he has ruined him.self and destroy- 

 ed the peace of his family, he returns for alleviation 

 to the intoxicating draught and finds relief for a 

 time for all those sickening reflections in Itnital In- 

 sensibility. 



Look at yonder man, a few years since his heart 

 beat high with the pros|)ect of eminence and the ■» 

 conciousness that on him rested those deep, those 

 pure and fervent affections which strew with flow- 

 ers the pathway of life but which sorrow and suf- 

 fering can alone call forth in all their tenderness. 

 What is his history for these short, these solemn 

 years ? Oh ! tell it not, for it speaks only of blight- 

 ed hopes, of prospects lost, of affection withered 

 by unkind ness and the fond expectation of iliends 

 exchanged for sorrow more heart rending than that 

 which encircles the dead. 



This insidious foe in its first a]iproach is scarce- 

 ly perceptible. It then manifests itself in appar- 

 ently slight and venial oflences. But like the little 

 clouil that first betokened an answer to the prayers 

 of the prophet Elijah and which soon caused the 

 heavens to be black with clouds and wind and which 

 dehigeil the earth with rain, this fell destroyer brings 

 with it desolation ami despair and involves its vic- 

 tim ill a whirlwind of passion and vicious indul- 

 gence. 



But why dwell wo on themes so melanch( ly. 

 The .syren's song will no longer whisper in the ear 

 of the deluded and degraded victim, peace when 

 there is no peace. Intemperance even now stands 

 forth iu all its hideousncss : a moral revolution is 

 abroad over our laiiil which bids the victim live. 



Our liiud is siill a favored land. The w;iilings 

 of famine and the cry for bread are not heard in our 

 streets. Oppression and its consequent miseries 

 arc here un.seen. All who do what their hands find 

 to do and do it with their nnght here obtain a com- 

 petent subsistence. 



Ouroccupaiion, my brother farmers, is one whicli 

 requires constant care and watchfulness ; but is 

 this a reason why we should remain listless nml 

 inactive .' Let it rather be our effort to raise the 

 comlilion of the farming interest, to instil into iho 

 minds of all with whom we associate proper prin- 

 ci|)les, to excite for our occupation more interest 

 and for its improvement more exertion and greater 

 efforts. 



In Russia it is usual to preserve the natural ver- 

 dure of hay. As soon as the grass is cut, it is 

 without being spread, formed into a rick, in the 

 centre of which has been previously jilaceii a 

 kind of chimney, made of four rough planks. It 

 seems that the heat ofthe fermentation evaporates 

 by the chimney ; and the hay thus retains all its 

 leaves, its color, and its primitive flavor. 



Discovery. — Mr D. C. Tiere, states in the BnfTtilo 

 Bulletin that he has discovered a substitute for hemp 

 and flax in a vegetable which grows at Syracuse. 

 It was cut down by a farmer mowing and fell 

 into the water. He obtained about 2 ozs. of it 

 near a ytird long, in the imperfect state and found 

 it equal to flax for strength and softness. He in- 

 teuils to make a satisfactory experiment and com- 

 municate the result. 



To preserve Fruit. — Fruit of all sorts may be 

 dried and kept a year or two, without losing their 

 flavor, by wiping them dry, and putting them into 

 a cool brick oven; and occasionally, while dry« 

 ing, grating a little sugar over them. — Loudon. 



