78 



NEW ENGLAND FAUMER, 



September 19, 1832. 



perfectly good for seed, and being smaller than 

 sound grain, a less measure is required for the 

 purpose. 



Of bread flour 



fine pollard 

 coarse pollard 

 bran 



47 pounds. 



4i 

 4 



Loss of weight in the processes ^ 

 of grinding and dressing ) 



00 pounds. 



Boston, Wednesday Evening, September 19, 1832. 



Com Mildoiv— i/'-fiiu/riimcnti-greallj masnifieil. 

 Another foru)iaable disease to which corn is li- 

 able is known under the characteristic name of 

 smut. This injury consists in the conversion of 

 the farina of the grain into a sooty powder, which 

 is more or less black and offensive to the smell. 

 Some authors have divided this evil under two dif- 

 ferent names, retaining that of sinvl for one of its 

 modifications, while that of bunif-grain has been 

 given to the other. Mills, in his "System of 

 Practical Husb;indry," has drawn the fine of dis- 

 tinction betwe. n tiie two in the following terms 

 "Smut, properly so called, occasions a total loss 

 of the infected ears, but as the blacU powder which 

 it produces is very fine, and the grains of that 

 powder do not adhere together, wind and rain 

 carry them away, so that the husbandman houses 

 little more than the straw, which does not infect 

 the sound grains and scarcely damages their flour. 

 The burnt or cariovs grains are, on the contrary, 

 often housed with the sound grain, which they in- 

 fect with a contagious distemper, at the same 

 time that they render its flour brown, and give it 

 a bad smell."* The name under which this ilis- 

 ense was known by the Romans was ustilago : by 

 the French farmers it is called charbon. 



If a portion of the black powder be first v/etted 

 with water, and then put under the microscope, 

 it will be found to consist of myriads of minute 

 globules, transparent, and apparently encompassed 

 by a thin membrane. The cause of this disease 

 has been held by some itivestigators to originate in 

 the soil wherein the grain is sown ; others have 

 attributed it to the growth of a fungus within the 

 ear; while others again have affirmed that it is 

 owing to a diseased state of the seed whence the 

 plantls produced. The result of various e.-cperi- 

 ments conducted with different seeds sown in the 

 same spot, and subjected to the same culture, ap- 

 pear to confirm the correctness of the last hy- 

 pothesis. 



The average weight of a bushel of wheat is 

 about sixty pounds. Inferior samples seldom 

 weigh less than fiftyslx pound.s, and the best as 

 seldom exceed sixtytwo pounds. 



A bushel of wheat of the average weight will 

 yield, on being ground, 



• Vol. ii. p. 392. 



FARiMERS' WORK FOR SEPTEMBER. 



Brakes for Manure, S,-c. — The wise and provi 

 dent cultivator will be careful to make the most J fiom Mr C. Taylor, of Dorchester 

 of his spontaneous as well as of hiscultivatedpro- 

 diicls. The worst weeds have their uses ; and 

 fern or brakes, Poiyphodium, though not the most 

 profitable of all |)ossible vegetation are more val- 

 uable for many uses than many plants of higher 

 reputation. " They are so full of salts," said Dr 

 Deane, " that they should be cut green, and laid 

 in our barn yards to putrefy and mix with the 

 dung. Perhaps there is scarcely any better meth- 

 od of increasing manure. Pasturing the land 

 where they grow, especially with hungry cattle, 

 that will eat them as fast as they come up, will 

 help to subdue them. Folding will kill them, for 

 there is nothing so fatal to them as urine. But 

 not less than two or three years' tillage will subdue 

 tlieni. They are hardest to subdue in deep soils. 

 Pleiniftil dunging, with tillage, will be eflectual ; 

 but a most certain remedy is urine ; this they get j nor unknown 



most splendid varieties of the Mexican Dalilia, that 

 we ever recollect to have seen. We believe the 

 collection of this gentleman is unrivalled in this 

 vicinity, if not in this country, comprising nearly 

 three hundred varieties ; among which are one 

 hundred and ninety from Holland ; the most es- 

 teemed sorts cultivated in New York, and speci- 

 mens of every kind grown by Mr Haggerston at 

 Cliailestown. Mr Pratt's collection at his seat 

 in Watertown, is also very choice and superb. 



MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



SiTi'BDAT, Sept. 15, 18K. 



Several fine bunches of Black Hamburg Grapes 

 Mr N. Dav- 

 enport of Milton, presented a pot of White Grapes, 

 large clusters and small berries, name unknown : 

 originally received by Mr J. B. Russell, from the 

 American Consul at Tangiers, flavor good. 



P/iims.— David Jacobs of Randolph, presented 

 a White Plum which he received of a nurseryman 

 for a Green Gage; it resembled the Magiuun Bo- 

 num. A Seedling Plum from C. Tappan. By 

 R. Manning, Grosse Reine Claude of France, 

 Green Gage of England, also small Green Gage. 



Pears.— By R. Manning, the Musk, Spice, or 

 Rousselet de Rheims, also called Late Catherine, 

 Cox, No. 19. 



fcnc/ies.— Seedlings from C. Tappan, very rich 

 Rareripes, two specimens. Two baskets of rich 

 Peaches for exhibition, the name of the donor 

 unknown ; also two large unripe peaches, the do- 



in plenty by folding. 



" It is a lamentable thing that we should be so 



inattentive to our own welfare, as to suffer this 



weed to render our lands in a manner useless, 



when it might he turned to great profit. Jt is a 



double advantage to cut brakes, as they not only 



make plenty of good manure, but every cutting 



helps to destroy them. The work may be done 



after the hurry of hay making is over ; and |)cr- 



haps, no labor on a farm can be turned to better 



account." 



In the "Dictionary of Arts,'' h is stated that 



j " Fern, cut while the sap is in it, and left to rot 

 on tlie ground, is a very great improver of land ; 

 for if burnt, when so cut, its ashes will yield 

 double the quantity of salt that any other vegeta- 

 ble can do. In several places in the norlhern |>::rts 

 of Einoi)e, the inhabitants mow it green, and 

 burning it to ashes, make those ashes up into balls, 

 with a little water, which they dry intlie sun, and 

 make use of them to wash their linen with ; looking 

 upon it to be nearly as good as soap forthal purpose." 

 In Young's Farmers' Calendar, under Septem- 

 ber it is observed, " Now is the proper time to cut 

 tern, called in some pl.nces brakes. This is very 

 profitable work, and should never be neglected. 



Carry it into your farm yard, and build larje „ „ „ , „ 



stacks of it for cutting down through the winter, on the 3.) October Addre.s by Dr Abraham R 

 " Thompson, ol Charlestown. 



Ipples.— From I. I.. Hedge, Esq. of Plymouth, 

 a most excellent apple c.illed the Queen Apple. 

 This is highly recommended for its superior fla- 

 vor. By R. Manning, a specimen of the Kerry 

 Pippin; Sweet Crab, raised from the seed of the 

 small Siberian Crab. By Mr Fosdiek a beautiful 

 branch, filled with Crab Apples. 



By B. V. French, Garden Royal, Green Ever- 

 lasting, of Prince, No. 85, will keep till June. 

 Bough Back Witherle Apple. A fine specimen 

 of Honey in a glass case from B. V. French. 



S. A. SHURTLEFF. 



At a meeting of the Massachusetts Horticultur- 

 al Society, held on Saturday, Septemlier 1.5, 1839, 

 Charies F. Adams of Quincy, and Edward Wal- 

 colt of Pawtucket, were admitted members. 



CATTLE SHOWS, &c. 



IP' The Cattle Show, Ploughing Match, Exhihilion 

 of Manuf»cliire9, Implements, &c, and Public sales of An- 

 imals ami Manufacluies, of the Massachusetts Society 

 for promoting Agriculture, will be held at Brighton, on 

 Weilnesday, Oct. 17ih. Arrangements are making for 

 an Exhibition worthy of the Slate Society. 



10* The Worcester County Society, hold their Show 

 at Worcester, on Wednesday the 10th of October. Ad- 

 dress by Waldo Flint, Esq. 



inr TheMidllesex Cattle Show, Exhibition of Manu- 

 factures and Ploughing Match, is to be held at Concord, 



as fast as the cattle will tread it into the dung ; also 

 for littering the stables, cow houses, hog-styes, &:e. 

 By having great plenty of it you will be able to 

 raise immense quantities of dung, which is the 

 foundation of good husbandry ; and it is well 

 known that no vegetable yields such a quantity of 

 salts as fern ; from which we are to conclude that 

 it is best adapted to the making of manure." 



Dahlias. — We have received from the garden of 



the Hon. T. H. Perkins, Brookline, under the 



care of Mr Cowan, a bouquet of several of the ' ber. Address by Doct. T. W. Harris of Cambridge 



[]j= The Bristol County Show, will be held at Taun- 

 ton on Wednesday the 3d of October. Address by Ro- 

 land Howard, Esq. 



O" The Essex County Show, will be held at Newbu- 

 ry, on the upper green, on Thursday the 27th of Septem- 

 ber. Address by Rev. Gardner 15. Perry. 



Qj' The Annual Cattle Show and Fair of the Merri- 

 mack County Agricultural Society, will be held at Dun- 

 barton, N. H. on Wednesday and Thursday, the XOth and 

 nth days of October. 



Qj-The Massachusetts Horticultural Society hold their 

 anniversary celebration on the first Wednesday in Oclo- 



