348 



NEW ENGLAND FARME'^I^ 



MAY 15, 1833. 



From Ike Gtnesee Funrur. 

 COMPOST. 



Messrs. Editors, — To make a compost heap, 

 select a soil beside the road or iu a field, plough 

 the length intended for the heap about tcu feet 

 wide — lay the sods and mould to the depth 

 of twelve inches in the middle of the ploughed 

 ground: on this lay a covering of baru-yard ma- 

 nure twelve inches thick ; then if any weeds, such 

 as thistles, burdocks, or any other green weeds 

 are handy, put on a layer of four or six inches. 

 Ou this jiut a covering an inch thick of leached 

 ashes, then put on another layer of sods and mould, 

 barn-yard manure, and weeds and ashes as before, 

 and so on until the heap is raised five feet high. 

 Then cover the whole with sods and mould. If 

 very dry some water may be scattered o\er the 

 lajers, as it is made up. 



Iu about five or six weeks it should be plough- 

 ed, turning the furrow outward until this is all 

 thoroughly mixed, then with a scraper it shouM 

 be put in a snug heap again. A new fermentation 

 will take place, and all the materials be thoroughly 

 impregnated with the fertilizing qualities of the 

 manure. When wanted to be applied, let it be 

 ploughed again, and with a scraper it may be 

 readily moved out iu heaps, spread and ploughed 

 in. Thus five or six loads of good manure are 

 made with one of leached ashes. The a.-^hes at- 

 tract much fertility from the atmosphere, dissolve 

 the coarser materials of the heap, and if duly cov- 

 ered with mould little or none of its virtues will be 

 carried oft' by the fermentation, but the fermenta- 

 tion will go on in the heap, and its virtue be ab- 

 sorbed by the sods and mould. If intended for a 

 sandy soil a layer of clay may be laid over tjc 

 ashes, if for a clay soil a layer of sand will be bet- 

 ter. In this way our manures may be greatly 

 increased with little trouble or expense. 



Yours, R. M. W, 



PoUer, loth .>)pr{l, 1833. 



From the Boston MercarliU Journal. 

 [From our CorrDspondcnl.] 



JVew York, Saturday, May 4. 



Happening to be this morning among those 

 who attended the session of the American Lyceum 

 I heard one of the most interesting debates \vhich 

 ever have come under my notice, on the subject 

 of the connection of manual labor with education. 

 A great mass of information was given by o-en- 

 tlemen from different seminaries in all parts of the 

 country, and by others who have travelled in Eu- 

 rope — particularly Prof Dewey, Mr. Brace (Prin- 

 cipal of the Institution recently conducted by Miss 

 Beecher) Mr. Woodbridge, Mr. Wells (of the Bos- 

 ton Farm school,) and Mr. Weld, (General Agent 

 of a highly respectable and useful association, call- 

 ed the " Society for the promoting Manual Labor 

 in Literary Institutions";) among whose leading ofli- 

 cers are President Day, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Dr. 

 Milnor, Mr. Jay, and others. 



Mr. Frost, a Trustee of the Oneida Institute, 

 perhaps the most successful experiment on this plan 

 in the country, stated, that that seminary com- 

 menced its operations only six years since, ' under 

 numerous disadvantages. It now contains one 

 hundred students which is the maximum nmnber ; 

 and this is so far from satisfying the demands of 

 the public, that five hundred applications for admit- 

 tance have been rejected within about twelve 

 months last past. The farm used by the students, 

 who are required to labor three hours a day, con- 

 tains fifteen acres. The proceeds of the labor thus 



far have been about $10,000, between 3 and 4,000 

 of which have been raised during the last year. 

 The effects of this system on the mind, manners, 

 morals, and especially the physical and intellectual 

 capacity of the young men to endure study, and to 

 profit by it, are spoken of in strong terms of admi- 

 ration. This matter deserves the most serious con- 

 sideration throughout the country. There are now 

 about thirty institutions in which these principles 

 arc adopted ; but they ought to be in universal 

 and constant application. 



Half of our literary, scientific and professional 

 men are dragged out of life by insanity, dyspep- 

 sia, consumption, and numberless other diseases by 

 neglect of seasonable and reasonable recreation, 

 in the very prime of their days, while half the resi- 

 due survive only to lament vainly the loss of those 

 inestimable and indispensable means of usefulness 

 and happiness both, which are prized only by those 

 who possess them no longer. No doubt the Lyce- 

 um will take some efficient order for reconnnend- 

 ing this subject to jjublic attention. 



From the reports presented by gentlemen from 

 N. Hampshire, I am disposed to give that State 

 credit over all others for the efliciency of its system 

 of primary education. It appears that §90,000 are 

 raised for this purpose, yearly, by tax, besides SIO,- 

 000 by a specific impost on banking institutions; 

 and that the schools are attended, during the sea- 

 son of sunmier or winter, by at least c?ie out ot'/ovr 

 — and some gentlemen believed by one out of 

 3 7-10 of the whole population. 



The votes for Connecticut were unanimous in 

 couderrsning the system of public appropriation 

 for schools adoptod in that State. The efteet of 

 it seems to be really a serious evil, for it prevents 

 exertion 5nd emulation on the part of the individ- 

 ual districts and towns. The conditions of the 

 law, intended to obviate these effects, are them- 

 selves very generally overlooked or evaied. The 

 interest of this fund I believe, is about $76,000 

 Changes, it is said, will soon be made for the bet- 

 ter in regard to its inanaRcment. 



FRESH GRAPES. 



About the 1st of March, the Editor of the 

 Long Island Farmer was i)rescnted with several 

 clusters of Isabella Grapes of fine fiavor and qual- 

 ity, which had been preserved perfectly fresh, and 

 appeared as plump, and tasted as delicious as if 

 just taken from the vines. They were preserved 

 in the following manner: — when ripe they were 

 carefully gathered in clusters, and the ends of the 

 stems sealed witii common sealing-wax, to pre- 

 vent the escape of the vinous fluid through the 

 fractured pores; they were then placed in ajar, 

 gently bedded in saw dust which had been kiln 

 dried, and the pot itself then covered and sealed. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 CATERPILLiARS. 



Messrs. Editors, — A friend of mine (and a 

 subscriber to the Farmer) wishes to inform the 

 public of his method of destroying the Caterpillar 

 on fruit trees. Wherever he discovers a nest of 

 them, he, with a swab of tow on the end of a 

 pole, applies brine to them ; he says that it is cer- 

 tain death to all that the brine touches. If this is 

 so, Ishoidd think a more expeditious way would be, 

 to apply the brine to the worms through the medium 

 of a common syringe, or " squirt gun ;" I am inclined 

 to think that the brine would be injurious to the 



^oung fruit, if there shoidd happen to be any on 

 the trees. 



My method of destroying the Caterpillar is to 

 shoot them a I examine my trees once in three or 

 four days, (during the season of their depredations) 

 early in the morning, while the worms are still in 

 their nest, and, if I discover any, I put a light 

 charge of poivder only, into my gun, and blow 

 away worms, nest and all. I do not use a wad, 

 because it would be in danger of bruising the 

 limbs of the tree. \v_ jj 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 UKDER DRAIJXtXG 

 Is particularly beneficial iu collecting the waters 

 of springs, and those wdiich settle iqion a tenacious 

 subsoil, and in conducting them to open drains, 

 without their prejudicing the crops. Earths are 

 deposited in strata, generally in an inclining posi- 

 tion. Many of these which underlay the proper 

 soil are tenacious or compact, and obstruct the 

 free passage of water which settles upon them 

 from the surface, or presses for vent from beneatli. 

 Many of the strata have been worn through by 

 the passage of water, and caused depressions of 

 surface, turned valleys, swales, swamps, &c. 

 which in process of time have naturally acquired 

 a new soil and were covered with vegetation. 

 The waters falling upon the surface of the earth, 

 settle through the porous soil until they reach au 

 impervious stratum, then follow the inclination of 

 this stratum, until forced, by the laws of hydrosta- 

 tics, to the surface, where they saturate the soil, 

 and render it cold, and uncongenial to cultivated 

 L-rops. These waters often find their way to the 

 surlace upon the upper portions of extensive 

 slopes, and extend their influence to their base, 

 but arc most frequently met with near the margin 

 of swamps and iu ravines. Hence drains through 

 the centre of ravines and swamps are often found 

 inadequate to render them dry and tillable. If a 

 drain is cut above where these waters first appear, 

 down to or into the impervious stratum, they are 

 of course arrested in their passage to the surface, 

 and produce no injury. Sometimes by boring 

 through the compact stratum, water will flow 

 through the aperture from below it in quantities, 

 which might prove injurious to a lower level. 

 These perforations should be made at right angles 

 with the slope of the stratum. As no benefit, but 

 an actual loss in labor and in land, results from 

 having these drains open, they should invariably 

 be covered, and hence are denominated under 

 drains. Their site and extent can only be deter- 

 mined by observation of the ground ; but their 

 benefit is sure at every point where water runs 

 through the soil. 



Under drains are constructed in various ways. 

 They should always be so deep that a plough may 

 pass freely over them, without disturbing the ma- 

 terials of which they are made, and if practicable 

 penetrate somewhat the compact stratum. They 

 are less liable to get out of repair where there is a 

 constant flow of water than where there is none. 

 The most common way is to construct them of 

 stone or of brush wood, though in Europe, tile, 

 and sometimes sod, is used. Stone is preferable 

 where it can be conveniently had. The sides of 

 an under drain may be perpendicular, and the 

 width only sutiicient to work in with convenience. 

 There should be twelve inches of stone iu the bot- 

 tom, if they are round and laid without oi-der; 

 though it is better, when the material will admit 



