Vol. X.-No. 50. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



395 



[England,] it has long been a custom to burn 

 oat antl other stubbles of reaped crops, and the ef- 

 fect resulting from it was probably the origin of a 

 practice which I first heard of in the latter coun- 

 try, that of burning straw for this purpose. 



It subsists on the wolds. At Lord Yarborough's 

 I first heard of this custom. His Lordship's ten- 

 ant, Mr Richardson, a very good and intelMgent 

 farmer, gave me the account, having long practised 

 it with success. The quantity is about five tons 

 to an acre. At Great Lumber, he straw-burnt a 

 piece in the middle of a ficUl preparing for turnips, 

 and on each side of it manured with ten loads of 

 yard dung to au acre, and the burnt part was visi- 

 bly superior in the crop. In another piece the 

 same cmnparative trial was made in 1796, for tur- 

 nips, which crop was riiuch the best^cm the burnt 

 part; and in 17i>7, the barley equally superior. 

 On another farm he had at Wold Newton, he did 

 it for turnips, then barley, and laid with sainfoin ; 

 and the burnt straw was better in all those crops 

 than yard dung. Burning gorse in this manner 

 returns great cro])s, but the expense is too high. 

 He is clearly of opinion, that it is the warmth fi'om 

 'the fire that has the eftect, and not the ashes; for 

 the quantity is nothing, and would blow away at 

 one blast.. It is proper to observe, that they do 

 not value straw used in feeding cattle, at more 

 than four or five shillings per ton. 



Mr Mallis, of Lumber, is of the same opinion, 

 and thinks four tons enough ; he never knew that 

 quantity fail for turnips. 



This straw-burning husbandry I foiuid again at 

 Belesby. Mr Lloyd, who, as I should observe, is 

 an excellent farmer, thinks that it thkes six tons 

 per acre, which will last longer in its effect and 

 beat the dung which that straw would make, and 

 in general lasts longer than common dunging. 

 Keeping much cattle, he cannoi practice it, hut 

 highly approves it. 



In discourse at Horncastle Ordinary, on burn- 

 ing straw, the practice was much reprobated ; yet 

 an instance was produced that seemed to make in 

 favor of it. Mr Ehnhurst, of Uazlethorpe, burnt 

 twelve acres of cole-seed straw on eight acres of 

 the twelve, and the eflTect was very greiit, and seen 

 even for twenty years; he sowed wheat on it, four 

 bushels to an acre, and had five quarters; the four 

 acres upon which nothing was burnt, was much 

 the better land, yet the crops on the burnt part 

 were by that made equal to the rest. But in an- 

 other similar experiment for turnips, Mr RanclifT 

 observed the result, and the efl!'ect, though good, 

 lasted only for one crop. Mr Kirkham, who was 

 in com|)any, gave it as his opinion, that as cattle 

 would not eat stubble, it might be beneficial fp col- 

 lect and stack that and before turnip sowing burn 



dung was laid. This has been the case in two 

 experiments he lias made. 



A general practice through the mountains of 

 Gascony, and almost to Bayonne, is that of ma- 

 nuring for raves, a sort of turnip, with the ashes 

 of burnt straw. ,1 observed several fields quite 

 black, and demanding what it was, my guide told 

 me of this conunon practice here ; afterwards I 

 saw them strewing straw quickly over land, part 

 of which had been already burnt on. They do 

 this on a wheat stubble, but not thinking that stub- 

 ble enough is left, they add much wheat straw, and 

 setting fire to it, burn the weeds as well as the 

 straw, and clean as well as manure the land. — 

 With such quantities of fern on all their extensive 

 wastes, I asked why they did not burn that and 

 keep their straw ? The reply was, that fern makes 

 much better dung than straw, so they burn the 

 straw in preference. As soon as the operation is 

 over, they plough the land and harrow in rave 

 seed. One large field, thus treated, 1 saw plough- 

 ing for that crop. They both hoe and hand-weed 

 the raves, and have them sometimes very large, 

 many as big as a man's head ; use them tor oxen. 



fined in a stye, or not permitted to run in an or- 

 chard. But in order to insure the destruction of 

 the insects as well as to prepare the fruit for the 

 swine, so that it may yield its greatest quantity of 

 nutriment, it should be boiled ; and a little bran 

 or Indian meal, or other farinaceous substance add- 

 ed to the fruit while boiling, will make a com- 

 pound which will greatly promote the growth and 

 fattening of these animals. Sweet apples contain 

 more nourishment, but all a|)])les and every kind 

 of fruit are useful when thus prepared and ai)plied. 

 If no wormy fruit was ever suflered to lie on the 

 groimd long enough for the worms to escajie into 

 the ground, we should soon extirpate this perni- 

 cious insect. 



The Rev. Mr Allington, of Swinop, has cut and 

 carried gorse, and spread it on other land, and 

 burnt it in May for a manuring for turnips; but 

 has done it twice and it answered very well ; but 

 of course it is to be noted, that this is done only 

 when it cannot be sold for faggots, which sell at 

 eight shillings per hundred-; so that the expense 

 would he £4 an acre, as one thousand are ])roduc- 

 ed per acre, and he burnt the produce of one acre 

 upon another ; the effect was great in the turnips ; 

 the barley was better for it ; but he has not attend- 

 ed to it m the seeds, because hard stocked with 

 sheep. He has burnt on the land for furniiis, the 

 long straw dung from the surface of the farm-yard, 

 and he had better turnips there than where the 



HOGS FATTENED ON SWEET APPLES. 



It appears by an article published in flie New 

 York Farmer, that Mr William Canfield, of Scho- 

 dach, Rensselaer County, N. Y., owns an orchard 

 wholly grafted with sweet apples, in which he has 

 kept hogs most of the season, where the grass and 

 a little whey were sufficient to promote their 

 growth. About the time when hogs always mani- 

 fest a disrelish for grass, the wormeaten apples f)e- 

 gan to fall, sufficiently matured to become eatable. 

 As they advanced in size and ripeness they be- 

 came more and more agreeable, and more nutri- 

 tious, until the hogs began to fatten rapidly on no 

 other food. The trees were therefore shaken or 

 beaten with light poles, so as to throw down a due 

 quantity of the most ripened fruit. This process 

 was continued until the whole herd was become 

 sufficiently fattened. Then Indian corn was given 

 in about half the conjmon quantity for about one 

 week, and full feeding of it another week. This 

 brought them to the butchering, and the pork was 

 not inferior to that which is fattened in a more ex- 

 pensive manner. One fidl grown tree or two in- 

 ferior ones was found sufficient for a hog, weigh- fo 



HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL, 



Kept-at the garden of the proprietor of the New Eng- 

 land Fanner, in Lancaster, Mass., Iliirtyfive miles west 

 from Boston, on the river Na<haway. 



June 12.— Warm ; mild shower at night ; planted Early 

 Frame Cucumbers, Eaily Scollop Squash, and Sweet 

 Corn ; Clnkea pulchella, Pa;onia officinalis and P. albi- 

 cans in blonm. 



13th. — Rainy morning, cloudy day. 

 14th.— Very warm day ; planted Squashes Melons, 

 Beets, and Carrots. 



15th.— Very warm ; Phlox maculata and P. suaveolens 

 in bloom, (beantilul perennials 2i feel high)— also Yellow 

 Day Lily (Heinerocallis ffava), African toypy. Blue So- 

 phora, Scotch Roses, Perennial Lupins. 



IKlh.— Very warm; Anchusa p miculata (a fine per- 

 ennial) Snow Ball, Kose Acacia, and Campanula specu- 

 lum in flower. 



^ two hundred and fifty pounds. 



A writer, whose communication was published 

 in the New England Farmer, volume v. page 82, 

 states as follows 



I have tested by ten years' experience, the val- 

 ue of apples as food for animals. I keep five or 

 six hogs in my orchard upon nothing but apples 

 and a little swill ; and have uniformly found them 

 to grow and gain flesh faster than bogs fed upon 

 anything else, except grain. On the first of No- 

 vember they are very decent poik, after which I 

 feed them about six weeks on grain before I kill 

 them ; and I believe I have as fitt hogs and as 

 good pork as my neighbors, who give to their hogs 

 double the quantity of grain that I do to mine." 



Not only are apples of use in feeding hogs, but 

 hogs are useful in preserving apples from the cur- 

 culio or the worm, that injures and destroys a 

 very large portion of our fruit. When swine are 

 permitted to go at large in orcharils, they devour 

 the fruit as it falls, together with the curcu- 

 lios in the maggot or larva state, which may be 



17th. — Very hot and windy ; Oriental Poppy, (a very 

 splendid perennial) in bloom ; also Snapdragon and Fox- 

 glove. 



18th — Fair, with few flying clouds ; thermometer at noon 

 62'J ; Potenlilla atrosaiiguinea (an elegant perennial) in 

 bloom; flower seeds hoin Tuscany and Chin.i, presented 

 to lb= MB.-isachuselts Horticullural Society, by Hon. 1', 

 H. Perkins and Mr Oiiibrosi, vegetated finely. 



19th. — Thermometer at noon 67. 



20tb.— Thermometer 79; Valerian rubro (a handsome 

 perennial) in bloom ; A.-paragus sowed May 3, just be- 

 gins to ii.ake its appearance. Rose bugs first noiieed; 

 several va.icties of flower seeds from Che West indies, 

 presented by Miss Dix, of Baston, mostly gathered by her 

 in St Cioi.v, haie grown finely ; among the collection are 

 seveial splendid varieties of Convolvulus, which have 

 vegetated well, and give promise of ripening their seed. 



21st. — Theimonieler 82 at noon; Campanula persica- 

 (a handsome peienni.il) in bloom; the common 



Squash and Yellow Striped Bugs first noliced; White 

 Mulbeiry Seed, sowed May 12, just coming up. 



22(1.— Therir,ometer82; Spirs.i fihpendula, and Del- 

 phinium sinen-is, (beauiilul perennials) in bloom; also 

 common Laikspur, and the Oiiental Poppy, the latter 

 one ol ihe mos't showy perennials cultivated. 



Among Ihe present ornaiuenls of the Flower Garden, 

 the Beautiful Claikea (Clarkea pulchella). of which a 

 drawii^ is subjoined, deserves paiticul.ir notice. It was 

 first introduced into England in 1827, 

 from Columbia river, and received its 

 genciic name in honor of Capt. (Jl.irk, 

 the companion of Capt. Lewis in his 

 journey up the Missouri. As a neat, 

 showy annual, it has few superiors, and 

 is well calculated fjr being grown in 

 beds or masses, or .is single plants in 

 borders. That it may ffower in perfec- 

 tion it should be sown in September 

 where it is to remain, or it can tie trans- 

 planted early in the spring, being as 

 perfectly hardy as the Coreopsis lincto- 

 When thus managed it continues in flower nearly 

 the summer ; and although it may have disappointed 

 the expectatinn of some who have sowed it in pots, or 

 givenjit on imperfect trial, or expected a gorgeous show, 

 it will be admitted by all who have seen it in perfection. 



contained in such fruit. Fruit, however, may be that it will vie with the Coreopsis tinctoiia as one of tha 

 gathered as fast as it fiiHs and given to hogs con- most popular and pretUest ornaments of the garden. 



