382 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



JUNE 13, 1833. 



NEW ENGLAND FAR3IER. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE 12, 1R33. 



Our worthy correspondent " Essex JVorth" iu 

 he first page of this day's paper, solicits informa- 

 tion from " Mr. Jolm Wilson" relative to immers- 

 ing seed corn in tar before planting. We hope 

 Mr. W. will be good enongh to answer this call, 

 and in the wean time we will state what we know 

 on this subject, because a redundance is bettL'r than 

 a dearth of information on agricultural topics. 



S. W. Pomeroy, Esq. in a letter to J. Lowell, 

 Esq. published in JIass. Agr. Repos. vol. vi. No. 

 2, recommends the following preparation of seed 

 corn for the purpose of " protecting it against 

 squirrels and other vermin. 



" Take equal parts of tar and train oil, simmer 

 them together and turn over the corn ; then sift 

 on ashes, lime,or plaster, stirring it till each kernel 

 has taken up as much as will permit its being cot;- 

 veniently handled, &c." Mr. P. likewise thinks it 

 probable that the same preparation would protect 

 ivalmds, acorns, chesniits, SfC. when planted, 

 against mice, squirrels, &c. 



The Farmer^s Assistant says when seed corn is 

 prepared with tar, " it is necessary first to soal; it 

 sufliciently to make it vegetate ; as without this the 

 coat of tar will keep out the moisture, and prevent 

 the seed from sprouting." Perhaps a combination 

 of botli the prescriptions above mentioned would 

 be better than either alone : viz. Soak your seed 

 corn as advised by the Farmer's Assistant, and 

 use the mixture of train oil with tur, as recom- 

 mended by Mr. Pomeroy. Or what we believe to 

 be still better use the prescription of Judge Buel, 

 who recommends the following: — 



'^Preparation of the Seed. The enemies to be 

 combatted are the wire worm brown grub, birds 

 and squirrels. Of thes ethe first and two last prey 

 upon the kernels, and against these tar oflers a 

 complete protection. I soak nij' seed from 12 to 

 30 houis in hot water, iu which is dissolved a few- 

 ounces of crude saltpetre, and then add (say to 8 

 quarts of seed) half a pint of tar, previously warm- 

 ed, and diluted, with a quart of warm water. The 

 mass is well stirred, the corn taken out, and as 

 much plaster added as will adhere to the grain. 

 This impregnates and partially coats the seed with 

 tar. The experience of years will warrant me in 

 confidently recommending this as a protection 

 for the seed." See New England Farmer, vol. xi. 

 p. 306. 



Indian Corn for fodder. We think it probable, 

 and indeed we may say certain that grass for hay 

 cannot be abundant this season. Some substitute 

 for the produce of our mowing lots should there- 

 fore claim attention from the provident husband- 

 man. For this purpose there is little doubt that 

 Indian corn is the best and most productive plant 

 that can be chosen. The smaller sorts of corn are 

 most uutiitious and palatable to cattle, and sweet 

 corn was recommended by Col. Pickering as the 

 best variety, when fodder is the object. 



Corn, intended for fodder, may be sowed either 

 broad east or in drills. The former is the least 

 trouble, the latter will give the greatest produce, 

 and leave the soil in the best order. If the land 

 on which you propose to raise your corn is mow- 

 ing or pasture fresh ploughed for the purpose, 

 broad east sowing perhaps will be best, as the sod 

 after being turned over should not be disturbed, 

 and there will not, probably, be much to appre- 



hend from weeds. If you sow broad cast from 

 3 to 3^ bushels to an acre are recommended, 

 though some say that a larger quantity would be 

 better. If in drills you may run light furrows 

 about 3 feet apart, 3 or 4 inches deep, and drop 

 the seed corn in the furrows about as thick as peas 

 are usually sown for field cultivation. The seed 

 may be covered with the plough ; and a harrow 

 drawn lengthwise of the furrows, followed by a 

 roller (if you have one), or perhaps your harrow 

 turned bottom upwards, for want of a roller will 

 complete the [ilanting. Corn for fodder may be 

 planted any time during the present month. 



Greens. Loudon says that the tender tops of all 

 the edible species of cucurbitaccoe (pumpkins, 

 melons, squashes, gourds) boiled as greens or spin- 

 age are more delicate than the fruit of the same 

 plants. 



Save your best peas, beans, Ifc.for seed. If you 

 set apart some of your most flourishing and early 

 plants of peas, beans, and other field and garden 

 vegetables, and save the earliest and best seed of 

 these to jiropagate from, you will improve the sorts 

 in the same method, and by the same law of na- 

 ture which induced the celebrated Bake well's im- 

 proved breeds of sheep swine and cattle. 



Tar for sheep. We have been assured by sev- 

 eral persons owning sheep that during the grazing 

 season they have derived great advantage by 

 giving their sheep tar, at the rate of a gill a 

 day to every twenty sheep. They put tar in 

 troughs, sprinkle a little fine salt over it, and place 

 it under cover where the sheep can have access to 

 it. This preserves them from worms in the head, 

 promotes their general health, and is supposed to 

 be a specific against the rot. 



Lime for preserving health. Lime as an anti- 

 dote to contagion, a preservative against infection, 

 and a means of purifying vaults is not so much 

 used as it should be. By means of this simple 

 but powerful agent, together with a due attention 

 to cleanliness and ventilation, the air in jails, hos- 

 pitals, ships, &c. may be rendered comparatively 

 sweet and salubrious. A quantity of it while hot 

 and quick, sifted every day or two into the vaults 

 of back houses would greatly contribute to comfort 

 and health. 



We should think it a very serious matter if we 

 were forced to eat tainted provisions, or drink filthy 

 water, and j'et seem satisfied with taking a sub- 

 stance into our lungs which is fit only to support 

 the respiration of reptiles accustomed to '=feed on 

 the vapour of a dung hill." And this we suffer 

 while the remedy is at hand, and almost as cheap 

 as the sweepings of the street ! 



The walls of cellars, dairy rooms, sitting rooms 

 and indeed of all apartments, which are much oc- 

 cupied by human beings should bo well coated 

 with good caustic lime white wash at least once a 

 year. The time for its application should be just 

 before the heats of summer become fervent and 

 oppressive. " In London," says Willich Dom. 

 Encyc. " a society is organized for the cure and 

 Prevention of Contagious Fevers in the Metrop- 

 olis," and they appropriated a certain sum of 

 money for purifymg the tainted habitations of the 

 poor. Their method consists simply in washing 

 the walls of the room with hot lime which will 

 render the place perfectly sweet." 



PAIKTING HOVSES. 



Economy is a consideration of primary impor- 

 tance in every community. But there are various 



kinds of economy. — There is one kind which ex- 

 hausts the purse and there is another kind which re- 

 plenishes it. It is poor economy to expend a pound 

 to save a shilling, but it is good economy to spend 

 a shilling if a pound can be saved by it. Most of 

 the Dwelling Houses in the country are erected 

 and suftered to continue years without painting ; 

 this they suppose a matter of economy to save ex- 

 pense, but if the owners would "calculate a little" 

 they would find, to use a Yankee phrase, it "costs 

 more than it comes to." A House without paint 

 goes to decay rapidly and requires repairs muchear- 

 licrand oftener than one with it. The rain insin- 

 uates itself into the crevices and pores of the wood, 

 and there rots and occasions early decay. New 

 clap-boarding is demanded every four or five years 

 and if it is neglected, the boards sutler and the 

 whole structure prematurely falls to the ground. 

 A coat of paint, at half the expense of the repairs 

 during a few years, remedies the difticulty and 

 keeps the exterior in a state of fine preservation. 

 We say nothing of the contrast i)resented by a dark, 

 unsightly decaying house to a white, tasteful one, 

 seen through the green foliage in the country. 

 Some houses in South Street exhibit the contrast 

 most strikingly. — JVorthamjiton Courier. 



cri,Trv^vTioai of trees. 



It has been demonstrated, both abroad and at 

 home, tliat large shade trees, with a heavy um- 

 brage, may be transplanted with as much prospect 

 of living, as the slender cropped saplings, that are 

 usually set out before our premises, for the bene- 

 fit of remote posterity. Sir Henry Stewart's book 

 on this subject, republished by Thorburn in N. 

 y. gives abundant directions on this subject. It 

 seems not to be generally known either, that for- 

 est, as well as other trees, arc greatly improved by 

 cultivation. The chesnut tree becomes, under cul- 

 ture, handsome, umbrageous shade tree. It has 

 a rapid growth, and, if well preserved, will 

 bear prolifically, producing a nut three times the 

 size of those brought to market, and, better fla- 

 vor. The hickory tree will do the same. It 

 is this cultivation which makes the English nuts 

 so much superior to ours. Experiments in this 

 way cost but little. 



ITEMS OF INTELLIGENCE. 



The Kennebec County Agricultural Society will hold 

 their Cattle Show, Exhibition and Fair at Winthrop, on 

 lid Wednesday of September ne.xt. 



The Hanipsliire, Franklin and Hampden Agricultural 

 Society will hold their Cattle Show, Exhibition of Man- 

 ufactures and Public Sale at Greenfield, Mass. on Wed- 

 nesday, Oct. 23, 1833. 



The State of Ohio has contracted a debt for canal pur- 

 poses, nearly to the amount of five millions of dollars, and 

 Ohio Canal Stock is twenty nine per cent above par. 



Matanzas is almost free of the cholera. The havoc 

 has been horrible on some of the plantations. Some of 

 the planters will be entirely ruined. The epidemic con- 

 tinues to penetrate into the interior. 



The New-Orleans Bulletin of May 20, says, in relation 

 to the crops : — Intelligence from every quarter, from the 

 Banks of the Missouri to the Hudson, and from Lake 

 Micliigan to the Atlantic border — gives high liopes of 

 abundant crops this season. So far the prospects of the 

 planter and farmer are cheering. 



On the 3d of June a stage from Auburn, N. Y. with 

 seven passengers on board, was passing over Tillman's 

 Bridge at Seneca Falls, when the bridge gave way and 

 the stage, passengers and horses were all precipitated into 



