Vol. X.— No. 41. 



AND HOiniCULTURAI. JOURNAL. 



325 



tlie gi'oiiiiii, being careful to shake and mix it well 

 as it is put on, till the bed is raised to the t"p 

 tlie sticks, occasionally beating it with the back oi' 

 the fork, so as to make it as level and smooth as 

 |)ossil)le. When this is done, put on the frame 

 iin mediately and cover it with the sash ; in about 

 two days the heat will come on, and the bed will 

 liave settled to about sixteen or eighteen inches, 

 when the sash should be removed and the dung- 

 made as level as possible within the frame, and 

 about three inches of good garden mould or rich 

 earth from grass ground laid over the dung within 

 the frame, and the sash put on again ; let it re- 

 main about two days more to warm the earth. 



If the heat is too great it should be let off before 

 sowing any seed ; this may be done by removing 

 the sash on the back side about an inch, by means 

 of a wooden wedge made as follows : Take a piece 

 of wood about three inches square, cut it to an 

 edge at one end like a wedge ; by introducing 

 which, at the back side of the frame, the sash may 

 be at ally time raised from half an inch to three 

 inches, to let oft" the hot steam or to admit fresh 

 air. When the temperature within the frame is 

 between seventy and ninety degrees, the earth 

 should be smoothed and the seed sown. Such as 

 Battersea and early York cabbage, cucumbers and 

 melons, cayenne pepper, lettuce, or any other 

 plant that you may wish to cultivate for early use 

 or curiosity. 



In the choice of cucumber and melon seeds, I 

 should always prefer those of three or four years 

 old, as they are much less liable to run to vine, and 

 produce fruit much earlier than recent seed. All 

 those i)lants may be removed into the open air 

 about the tirst of May, being careful to select a 

 moist time to transplant them. After the plants 

 come up in the frame, they will frequently wairt 

 fresh air, and for this purpose the sash ought to 

 be raised an inch or two at the back side every 

 clear sunny day, from the hour of ten, A. M. to 

 three, P. M. being careful to shut it down at night, 

 and in the day time during cold or wet weather. 

 They will also want water about once a week ; the 

 water should be kept in the frame from twelve to 

 twentyfour hours before it is used, and then ap- 

 plied moderately about once a week. 



The frame for the seed bed should be about four 

 feet square, six inches in front and twelve on the 

 back side, tapering towards the front. The sash 

 should be made to fit tight on the frame, and the 

 outside pieces about three inches wide, the slats 

 about an inch and a half wide, and set at such dis- 

 tance as to admit seven by nine glass, to be laid in 

 a groove on each side laping about half an inch at 

 the lower end, like shingles on a roof; this sash 

 should be ])rime(l like a window sash before the glass 

 is puttied in, and should have no cross pieces, as 

 it would tend to obstruct and collect the water on 

 the sash. A frame for the cultivation of sweet 

 potatoes should be deeper, say ten inches in front 

 and about fourteen on the back. These should 

 never be planted in the same frame with other 

 plants, as the vines will soon run so as to fill the 

 frame, and smother every other plant in it. 



JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE — (Common AHichoke.) 

 This root may be made, under proper manage- 

 ment, very beneficial and profitable to our farmers 

 generally. Most of our farms contain gulleys and 

 other broken grounds inaccessible to the plough, 

 but frequently abounding with small spots of rich 

 alluvial soil, which, if planted with artichokes, 



would in a few years aft'ord an excellent winter 

 range for store hogs. This root requires little or 

 no nlteulion after the first planting, and will in a 

 few years spread and fill the ground to overflow- 

 ing with an excellent winter food for lean bogs; 

 and when once well rooted in a loose and rich soil, 

 can rarely if ever be eradicated. They should be 

 allov/ed about three years to spread and grow be- 

 fore the hogs are turned upon them, after which, 

 ihe rooting of the hogs will only tend to make 

 them grow and spread faster, as the smallest piece 

 left in the ground will grow. Such is the result 

 of my experiece and observation on this subject. 



PEAS. 



I have found the pea a good summer food for 

 Store hogs, and if managed as hereinafter direct- 

 ed, will be found profitable to our farmers gener- 

 ally. About the first of April plough and prepare 

 about one acre of ground, more or less, according 

 to the number of hogs intended to be kept. Sow 

 on this acre about four bushels of common field 

 peas, then, about ten days after, prepare and sow 

 another acre, and so proceed at intervals of ten 

 days each during the ti^onth of April ; when those 

 that were first sown are in full l)loom and begin- 

 ning to form pods, the hogs may be turned npon 

 them ; and so of the after sowings when they 

 come to a similar state, in succession. The hogs 

 will be found to grow and thrive finely. Such is 

 the result of my experience on this subject. 



BENE PLANT. 



The seeds of this plant seem to have been in- 

 troduced into our southern States by the negroes 

 from Africa, and is cultivated by them in almost 

 every patch, or negro garden, to a limited extent ; 

 and is considered by them as a specific in all cases 

 of dysentery, diarrhoea, and cholera. For this pur- 

 pose, about two quarts of cold water are put into 

 a vessel, two green leaves are then taken iiom the 

 bene plant, and the water kept stirring with them 

 for about five minutes, by which time the water 

 will have assumed nearly the consistence of starch 

 perfectly colorless and tasteless. Of this water 

 the patient is made to drink freely and often, with 

 the most beneficial efl'ects in those complaints. — 

 In this climate, the seed should be sown about the 

 first of April in a hot-bed, and may be transplant- 

 ed into the open air about the first of May, in rows, 

 and about twelve or fifteen inches apart. As it is 

 only cultivated as a medical plaiit, a few seeds 

 will probably be enough for any one family. 

 Whether it will preserve its medical qualities after 

 it is dried, I !>m not informed. 



Yours, &c, R. M. WILLIAMS. 



Middhsex, M Y. Feb. 24, 18.32. 



Cedar Hedges, as ornamental divisions, in a 

 neat farm, are much admired. I would recom- 

 mend those who have moist farms to attempt the 

 swatrjp cedar for hedges. Gather the cedar ber- 

 ries in Decendjer, ridi oft" the resinous matter, and 

 put them into unslacked ashes ; and after two 

 weeks put them in rows like peas, if the ground 

 should open, if not, as soon as the ground is open; 

 if well nursed they can be transplanted in two 

 years, and into a rich light soil fornjcd i'or the pur- 

 pose ; and in about seven years, by suitable trim- 

 nung, they will make a most beauiil'ul evergreen 

 hedge. — Genesee Farmer. 



Salt for Peach Trees. — An intelligent farmer of 

 Brush wick, assures us that the application of corn- 

 more salt to the roots of his peacli trees has had a 

 good efl'ect, in keeping the miller from depositing 

 its eggs on the bark, and promoting the growth 

 and the fruit of the tree. — Long Island Star. 



How to hend Iron Pipe ivithout cracking. — Fill 

 the pipe with melted lead, and immediately on the 

 lead ceasing to be fluid, and while it is yet warm, 

 you will find the pipe bend very kindly in any 

 form you please. By keeping up the warmth, you 

 may adjust the bend into any form you desire, as 

 iron will very readily bend at that heat. After 

 having obtained the desired curve, the lead can 

 be melted out. — JV. Y. Farmer. 



Bog Meadows. — When you have an unproduc- 

 tive bog meadow, that will only produce coarse 

 wild grasses, spread on a thin layer of loam and 

 chip manure; let the weeds sjjring up; cover 

 them up in the same manner, and at the proper 

 time put on herdsgrass, and you will have a good 

 yield. In mowing, do not pare your meadows too 

 cJose ; the heat of the sun is detrimental in such 

 cases. — Genesee Farmer. 



Gardens. — Do not spade up your garden groimd 

 for beds, imtil the ground is warm ; then let it lie 

 a day or two before you spade again. When the 

 ground smokes in the morning put in seeds; you 

 cannot much mistake. — lb. 



Easy method of fne edging a Razor.— On the 

 rough side of a strap of leather rub a piece of tin, 

 or a common pewter spoon, for half a minute, or 

 till the leather becomes glossy with the metal. If 

 the razor be passed over this leather about half a 

 dozen times, it will acquire a very fine edge. — lb. 



Potash for Manure. — A practical farmer of West 

 Chester County, who has in the course of his life, 

 given considerable attention to experiments, con- 

 siders Potash at .35 per hundred potmds, as cheap 

 a manure as leached ashes at 12J cents per bushel. 

 Will some of the readers of this paper give a state- 

 ment of the facts on this subject ? — lb. 



The last number of Silliman's Jomnal contains 

 the result of some experiments made at Fort 

 Adams, R. 1. by Lieutenant T. S. Brown, to as- 

 certain the relative strength of white pine, spruce, 

 and southern or long-leaved pine. It appears 

 from these experiments, that with a given diame- 

 ter, white pine is about seven eights as strong as 

 spruce, and southern pine. Spruce is about two 

 thirds as strong as southern pine. 



Bees. — In addition to the destruction of fruit 

 trees by cold weather and mice, we learn, that 

 from some unaccountable cause, most of the bees 

 in the neighborhood have perished the past win- 

 ter, in consequence of which the market has been 

 flooded with honey. We notice this rumor for 

 the purpose of obtaining further information. — 

 Concord Yeoman. 



The Lou'ell and Boston Rail Road is in rapid 

 progress. The most difficult places on the route 

 have been broached, and allliough the work ap- 

 pears so great, that public spirit wliiih character- 

 ises our country and which is cajiable of grasping 

 the most difficult undertaking, will soon furnish 

 us with a Rail Road upon which we may ride to 

 Boston comfortably, before breakfast. We under- 

 stand it is to be completed next fall. — Lowell Mer-. 



