370 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



June C, 1832. 



tliein pcrishoil. The few that now remain arc of 

 iufiiiitely more use than we have opportunity to 

 discover, hy tlie destruction of grubs, worms, and 

 e?cs of vermin. The black-birds, or grakles, will 

 at diis season follow in the furrows of the plough 

 and catch up large quantities of the yellow-headed 

 grub worm ; and of those birds complained of by 

 the industrious farmer, for the mischief committed^ 

 on his corn, oue T)f the most correct observers of 



Short excursions in the country are, of lliem- 

 selves, the source of very sensible and innocent 

 pleasure. But he who is engrossed by vice or hy 

 business, will live half a life witliout admiring the 

 beauties of a blue sky, basking in the vernal sun- 

 shine, or inhaling with any consciousness of real 

 delight, the balsatn of a western gale. 



In a proper intercourse and behavior among 

 our fellow creatures, will he found, however, to 



nature remarks, that " were he placed in his situ- consist our principal and most constant delight 

 ation, ho should hesitate whether to consider these ' ' ' ' ..--/-. - .1-, 



birds most as friends or enemies, as they are par- 

 ticularly destructive to ahnost all the noxious 

 worms, grubs and caterpillars that infest his fields, 

 which, were they allowed to multiply unmolested, 

 would soon consume nine tenths of all the produc- 

 tion of his labor, and desolate the country with the 

 tiiiserics of famine." But with regard to a great 

 proportion of our summer birds, they are insectiv- 

 orous, destroying countless multitudes of destruc- 

 tive bugs and caterpillars, that infest the fruit trees 

 in spring and summer, preying on the leaves, blos- 

 soms and embryo of the fruit. The oriole, or 

 golden robin, destroys hundreds of them without 

 offering the slightest injury to the fruit that may 

 encompass his uest. 



I would therefore caution every boy against 

 trespassing upon our fields and pastures with this 

 murderous intent, particularly, as at this season 

 birds arc engaged in the husine.ss of incid)ation, 

 and by cruelly taking aw-ay the parent, they de- 

 stroy a helpless brood of youn 



To do good and to prevent evil, as far as the 

 sphere of our influence or activity extends, is an 

 infallible method of inspiring in ourselves pleas- 

 ureable emotions. And if we consult what passes 

 in our breasts, before our youthful sensibilities are 

 blunted, we shall find that nature has taught us to 

 find exquisite pleasure in relieving distress and in 

 communicating enjoyment. 



FEEDING CATTLE. 



It is slated by M. Dubuc, president of the Agri- 

 cultural Society of Rouen, that three measures of 

 oats, pounded or broken up and moistened, are 

 equivalent, as aliment, to four measures given in 

 the grain. 



It is observed, also, that four parts of difierent 

 kinds of forage, coarsely chopped and deprived of 

 dust, will go as far as five parts of the same forage 

 given entire and separately. 



There exists in Paris, an establishment where 

 mixtures of food are prepared on this principle. 



for horses. It is that of M. Payen. The kinds 

 I^rusirthereforrt'hat every 'honest farmer and I most generally mixed are clover and lucerne, 

 horticulturist will avail himself of the law of tres- They are then cut up, so that the horses are obh- 

 pass, should he fi.ul young men shooting upon his] g^d to chew and masticate them m the most per- 

 lands, and thus put a stop to the indiscriniiiuite 't'<'t uianncr. .... . , , 



slaughter of this beautiful part of anin.ated nature, The mixture of vegetables which is considered 

 particularly this spring, as their services are much as the most suitable for draught horses, is compo- 

 needed in destroying ^he small travelHng caterpil- j sed of equal pans of cut straw, clover, and com- 

 lar, which is now in great abundance 



A Subscriber. 



From the American Farmer. 



PLEASURES OF AGRICULTURE. 



The employments of agriculture, independently 

 of their profit, are more congenial and pleasing to 

 human nature. An uncorrupted mind sees, in the 

 progress of vegetation, and the habits, and disposi- 

 tions, and uses, of those animals which man has 

 subjected to his sway, charms and beauties which 

 the objects of art can seldom afford. The occu- 

 pations of husbandry arc most fiuorable too, to | nuist he taken to place this food in deep mangers, 

 health, to plenty, to repose, and to innocence. — 1 so that it may not be wasted. Oats are frequently 

 Can the jiursnits of low and vicious gratifications, mixed with the last portion given them prior to 

 can luxurious indulgences, can the restless cares, I their being harnessed. 



the fears and anxieties of the ambitious, be com- j M. Dubuc was assured by both these projirie- 

 pared with the labors and enjoyments of him | tors, that there was a saving of one fifth, at least. 



nion May. Barley and oats, coarsely ground and 

 mixed, answer a better purpose than when eaten 

 separately. 



I\I. Dubuc visited this establishment, and found 

 that the horses which worked the machinery are 

 fed in this manner, and that they looked well and 

 are vigorous, though kept at work ten or twelve 

 hours a day. He cites, also, the teams of M. Sev- 

 in, mail contractor at Orleans, whose horses are 

 fe<l on cut straw, mixed with one fifth of clover 

 and lucerne, and sometimes a little hay — they 

 were fat, strong, and substantial. They give them, 

 also, barley or oats crushed and moistened. Care 



are from time to time slripjied oft' and given to 

 cattle, which eat them with avidity and easily fat- 

 ten upon them. Fowls are also fed upon them. 

 They are first hashed up and then mixed with 

 bran. Pigs eat them with a good relish. Milk- 

 cows, when fed upon them, fatten at the expense 

 of their milk. The leaves are equally valuable 

 in the fattening of cattle and sheep. 



Beets should he gathered when the weather is 

 dry, and put away in a dry state; and when pre- 

 ])aied for cattle, they must he cut U]) fine with 

 some suitable instrument, and may be given either 

 alone or mixed with straw or hay. 



They are equalh' fit for horses, with the pre- 

 caution of adding a variety of cut straw and hay, 

 well mixed together. This food will preserve 

 them strong and vigorous, as is well ascertained 

 in Germany, where beets are much cultivated for 

 this purpose. 



For the fattening of a bullock, forty or fifty 

 pounds of beets per day, mixed with five or six 

 pounds of dry fodder, will accomplish the object 

 in the space of four months. Care must be taken 

 to give it in three separations, since by feeding 

 often and in small quantities at a time, the same 

 amount of nutriment goes farther. 



Finally — by facilitating the means of stable- 

 fattening, throughout the year, beets furnish a very 

 important addition to this means of augmenting 

 the mass of valuable manure. 



They may serve also, on occasion, for the food 

 of men ; they are less subject to the vicissitudes of 

 seasons, than turnijjs, and their leaves supply for 

 several months, an excellent food for cattle. The 

 root may be easily preserved during eight months 

 of the year. They give to milk an excellent taste 

 and (piality. Cattle eat them with avidity and are 

 iK'vcr tired of them. The culture of no forage 

 root can compare with that of the beet in the 

 number of advantages which the industrious cul- 

 tivator may derive from them. We cannot too 

 strongly recommend the introduction of them into 

 places where they are not already in vogue. — lb. 



whose days are spent in superintending the culture 

 of his fields, his nights in quiet and refreshing 

 sleep. Such a hfe is not inconsistent with a high- 

 ly cultivated and polished mind. It is by no means 

 necessary that they who engage in rural labors, 

 should contract a coarseness of manners or vul- 

 garity of sentiment. 



The superintendence of a garden is another 

 source of simple and innocent pleasure. Nothing 

 is better calculated to gratify the inherent passion 

 of novelty, for nature is always renewing her va- 

 riegated appearance. She is infinite in her pro- 

 ductions, and the Bfe of man may come to its close 



before he has seen half the beauties which she is 



Sble to display. 



this rhcthod ; and that, besides, the horses were 

 in a better condition, and endured more labor than 

 those fed on common unprepared materials. — Bib. 

 Univ. for June, 1831. 



BEETS. 



Beets furnish from a given surface of ground, 

 a greater quantity of nutriment for horses and cat- 

 tle, than any other kind of forage. Wherever its 

 cultivation is understood, it has the preference 

 over all other roots. It succeeds in almost all 

 soils, is but little affected by the vicissitudes of sea- 

 sons, does not much fear drought, and prepares 

 the ground very well for a succeeding crop. 



Throughout Belgium and Germany, the leaves 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



At a meeting of the Massachusetts Ilorticidtural 

 Society, held the Sd of June, 1832, the following 

 papers were read by Zebedee Cook, Jr. Esq., Vice 

 President of said Society, and ordered to be jirint" 

 ed in the New England Farmer and Horticultural 

 Journal. 



United States Ship ConcorJ, > 

 Harbor of Syracuse, Island of Sicily, Feb. 21, 1832. J 



My DEAR Sir — I had the pleasure, some time 

 since, of receiving your letter of the 18th of July 

 last, accompanied by a note of thanks of the Hor- 

 ticultural Society of Massachusetts. The few ar- 

 ticles which I send to the Society are so trifling 

 and of so little value, that they certainly do not de- 

 serve such particular notice. 



By my friend, Lieut. Dupont, who is about- re» 

 turning to the United States, in the sloop of war 

 Ontario, I send to the Society a box containing a 

 variety of grape cuttings, selected with great care 

 hy the British Consul at this place, who is himself 

 an experienced horticulturist and extensive culti- 

 vator of the vine. The cuttings are of seven dif- 

 ferent kinds, each kind in a separate row, with 

 their respective names marked opposite to the 

 rows. 



