NEW ENGl^AND FARMER. 



PUBLISHED BY GEO. C. BARRETT, NO. 52, NORTH MARKET STREET, (at the Agricultural Warehouse.)-T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 24, 1833. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



For the New England Farmer. 



FURTHERRIORK CONCBRNIKG SWINE. 



Mr. Editor, — In answer to an inquiry from a 

 correspondent as to the nietliod of managing sows 

 with pigs, various opinions have been given in 

 your paper. I have in vain loolied for an expla- 

 nation which to my mind gives that information 

 which will be satisfactory to the public. A writer 

 in your paper of April 3d, over the signature of 

 " A Subscriber," seems to be fully confident that 

 he has unriddled the whole mystery and that no 

 previous writer liad hit the right nail on the 

 head. I fully agree with the writer in this re- 

 spect in part but do not come to the same conclu- 

 sions as to the remedy. The nature of the swine 

 is, to feed on almost any thing which comes 

 in its way, but its natural food is vegetable 

 rather than animal. Having for the last thirty 

 years had an opportunity of making observations on 

 this subject, I must say as Job did, that I also jvill 

 express my opinions, and I submit them for the 

 consideration of those interested. In cases where 

 the pigs come late in the season, and tlie sow has 



IVE^V YORK AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL. 



[Concluded from page 314.] 



Report of the State Agricultural Society, 



Albany, February 14, 18.33. 



The committee appointed at the first meeting 

 of the Society, to report a plan for an Agri- 

 cultural School, with an estimate of the expense 

 necessary to establish and put the same into oiie- 

 ration ; together with their views of such an 

 establishment, beg leave to submit the following 

 REPORT:— 



The main objects of the proposed school are, 

 to impart to agriculture the efficient aid of the 

 sciences, and to furnish it with the best models of 

 practice ; to teach simultaneously, in the period 

 of youth devoted to academic studies, the practical 

 operations of husbandry, and such branches of 

 useful knowledge as may tend to elevate its char- 

 acter and increase its products. The plan, there- 

 fore, should embrace, 



1. A Farm, of sufficient extent to afford room 

 for the diversified operations of tillage, cattle and 

 s'leep husbandry, and of orcharding and garden- 

 ing — on a scale that will admit a fair comparison 

 being made of crops, of breeds of cattle and sheep, 

 md of the varieties of hardy fruits: and sufficient- 

 ly diversified in soil and surface as to admit of 



had the opportunity of coming to the ground, and 



working among it, collecting grass, roots, &c., I 'satisfactory experiments 



have never known of the difficulties complained 2. A Farm House and Farm Buildings, which 



of by your correspondent, but where they are may serve as models of convenience, taste and 



kept in a tight pen, (which is a common practice) 

 from the ground which seems to be their nr.tnraf 

 element, and from green esculent roots, an unnat- 

 ural appetite is produced which occasions the dif- 

 ficulties complained of. The remedy I propose is, 

 that where from the season of the year or from 

 other causes a person is under the necessity of 

 keeping his sows in a tight pen from the ground, 

 he should give them a suitable supply of potatoes, 

 turnips, ruta baga, &c., in addition to their other 

 food, and unless I am mistaken the difficulty is 

 overcome. Berkshire. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 POTATOES. 



Mr. Fessenden. Sir, — It will doubtless be 

 remembered by some of your readers, that I, set- 

 era! years since, made an extensive experiment 

 in raising seeding potatoes, and gave you an ar- 

 nual account of the result of several years crops* 

 I had intended at an early period this year, to ha?e 

 furnished you with a detailed account of the 'ast 

 years crop, but have been hitherto prevented by 

 various circumstances from so doing, and can 

 only now inform our horticultural friends tiat I 

 have preserved about twenty, out of my orifinal 

 fifteen hundred kinds. All of which are coisid- 

 ered great yielders, yielding about twenty and 

 some twenty five per cent on a fair trial ova' the 

 long reds ; some of them are early, some late, 

 some good in the fall, others in the s|ring. 

 I have placed an assortment of them in W. L. 

 Newcomb's store, Nos. 5 & 6, Exchange Sreet, 

 where our friends can, if they wish, supply ;hem- 

 selves. Yours, &c. J. Tbd. 



* See N. E. Farmer, vol. viii. p. 258, and vol. ix. p 210. 



economy, and accommodate the head farmer and 

 his assistants: 



3. A School Building, for the aoccmmoda- 

 tion of teachers and scholars : 



4. A Library and Philosophical Apparatus: 



5. Stock and Implements for the farm : and, 



6. Shops for the construction of farm imple- 

 ments and machinery, for the use of the farm, for 

 the illustration of mechanical science, and to af- 

 ford practical instructions to the pupils in me- 

 chanics. 



These items of expense, which may be consid- 

 ered preliminary and permanent, together with the 

 cost of furniture required for the school building, 

 are estimated at $7,000. 



1. The plan of education might embrace : Prac- 

 tical instructions in the various operations and la- 

 bors of the farm, the garden, the orchards and the 

 shops: and, 



2. The study of the natural sciences generally, 

 mathematics, mechanics, chemistry and drawing, 

 so far as these may conduce or become subservient 

 to agricultural improvement; together with such 

 other branches of knowledge as will qualify the 

 students for the higher duties of civil life — such 

 as will fit them to become independent elec- 

 tors, discreet jurors, faithful magistrates, and wise 

 legislators. 



As prerequisites to admission to the school, the 

 pupils might be required to possess a good com- 

 mon school education, to be at least fourteen years 

 of age, and of good moral character. Four years 

 might constitute a course of studies ; and the in- 

 ternal regulations and police of the school might 

 be conformed, in a measure to those of our milita- 

 ry academy. 



A department of the farm should be set apart 

 for experiments in husbandry, and the details and 

 results of these experiments accurately registered. 

 The garden and the orchard should contain all the 

 good hardy fruits, and specimens of all hardy 

 plants, that may be useful on the farm, in the arts, 

 in commerce, or that are ornamental — in order 

 that the relative value of different species and va- 

 rieties may be determined, and their mode of cul- 

 ture and process of curing taught to the pupils, and 

 the approved kinds furnished for public distri- 

 bution. 



To put the school into operation there will be 

 required — a principal, professors and teachers — a 

 steward and servants, for the school : 



A manager, laborers and assistants for the farm : 



Machinists and assistants for the shops : and, 



A practical and scientific manager for the gar- 

 den and orchard. 



The number of officers and assistants which 

 will be required, must depend upon contingences : 

 and of course the committe do not pretend to state 

 with precision, in their estimate, the amount of 

 their salaries and pay. 



The proceeds of the school and the farm may 

 be expected to increase for some years, and will 

 materially depend on the terms of tuition. The 

 committee have assumed, as reasonable data, that 

 the number of pupils would average 200, and the 

 average produce of the farm amount to .$4,000 

 per annum, for the first four years. Upon the 

 assumed data, then, the estimate would exhibit the 

 following result. 



Preliminary Expenses. 



Farm of 400 acres, at gSO, gl2,000 



Farm buildings, 6,000 



School buildings, 25,000 



Library and apparatus, 7,500 



Stock and implements, 3,150 



Shops and tools 1,250 



Furniture for schools 1,150 



Incidental, 1,500 



Total preliminary expense, ,g57,6fiO 



ArinJtal Expense. 



Salaries of officers and teachers of the school, ^5,100 



do. manager and laborers on farm, . 1,000 



do. machinists, 600 



do. gardener, 300 



E.xpense of l^oarding 200 pupils, at SI ,50 per 



week. . . . . ..... . 14,000 



Servants fbr the establishment, 2,000 



Estimated annual expense, , . ^23,400 



g80,950 



The Annual Receipts are computed as follows : 



Board and tuition of 200 pupils, at gl,SO per annum, ,?3O,0OO 

 Produce of farm, • 4,000 



534,000 



Thus the total expense of establishing the 

 school, and of maintaining it the first year, is esti- 

 mated at $80,950, and the income, after the 

 first year, it is believed, will be amply sufficient 

 to defray all expenses. Yet to meet contingences 

 that may occur, and to make up for any defi- 

 ciency in the estimate, the committee think that 

 an appropriation of .$100,000, the surplus to be in- 

 vested for the benefit of the institution, will ensure 

 usefulness and permanency to the school, and 

 prove amply sufficient to meet all its wants. Thit 



