JNEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



PUBLISHED BY JOHN 15. RUSSEI.L, ROCKIIS' BUILDINGS, CONGRESS STREET, BOSTON.— THOMAS G. EES.SENDEN, EDITO!'. 



VOL. in. 



SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1824. 



No. 8, 



#rtstniil ©ommunicattons. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW E.\GLAND FARMER. 



SEA K A L E. 



Sir,, Will Sea Kale grow at a distance from 



.the sea shore ? 1 have planted the seed several 

 times, thirty miles from Boston, but none ever 

 vcetated. An answer to this inquiry, with 

 «ome instructions for raising this vegetable, 

 iifould much oblige at least one of the readers 

 of jour useful paper. Yours, &c. 



[by the editor.] 



We believe that the Sea Kale may be as well culti- 

 vated in the interiour part of the country as on the 

 sea coast. It is true, that when found growing spon- 

 taneously, it is generally, if not always, situated near 

 the sea shore, or within the influence of the air and 

 water of the ocean. Hence it is called the SeoKale, 

 or Crambe Maniima. But the same thing may be 

 said of asparagus, which is naluratly a maritime plant, 

 though every body knows it will flourish in the interi- 

 our, and that salt-air or water is not indispenaible to 

 its existence. Asparagus, however, is greatly benefit- 

 ed by the use of salt as a manure. We have been 

 assured by gentlemen who have made the experiment, 

 that a bushel of salt may be safely and beneficially ap- 

 plied to a bed of asparagus 50 feet by 6, before the 

 plants begin to grow in the spring. Judging from an- 

 alogy, we should suppose that a similar application 

 would accellerate the growth, and contribute to the 

 perfection of Sea Kale. But we should not advise to 

 the application of crude salt nor a very strong solution 

 of salt in water to this or any other vegetable in its 

 growing stale* 



The complaint that the seeds of the sea kale do not 

 always vegetate we have often heard, but cannot say 

 postively what may be the cause of the failure. We 

 ■would, however, hazard a conjecture that the most usu- 

 al cause of the failure of the seeds of sea kale as well 

 as other small seeds, may be attributed to their be- 

 coming too dry before they are sowed. The vegetative 

 principle may be destroyed by the want of moisture in 

 any seeds, which are kept a long time in a dry situa- 

 tion. Those seeds which are of an oily or mucilagi- 

 nous nature, will endure a longer exposure to dry air 

 than tlio=e which are not preserved by the oil or muci- 

 lage, which nature furnishes as well for the preserva- 

 tion of the seed, as for the nourishment of the young 

 plant, which it is destined to produce. We should, 

 therefore, advise to sow the seeds of sea kale in August 

 or September, or as soon as they are ripe. Should they 

 vegetate in autumn, as it is probable they will, it may 

 be well to throw a little straw over them, before the 

 frost becomes very severe, to protect them from the 

 rigour of winter, though we are not certain as that 

 precaution is necessary, as the plant is hardy, and not 

 very liable to be injured by frost. 



We have frequently seen the sea kale growing in 

 the garden of the Hon. John LowF.i.r,, (who has been 

 so kind as to point them out to us) in Roxbury ; and a 

 few days since observed some about the size that cab- 

 bage plants obtain in the seed bed before they are set 

 out, which were self-sown the present season. The 

 fact that nature sows these seeds in July or August, 



would seem to indicate the proper time for art to take 

 up the process; and we should, therefore, advise the 

 cultivator to sow the seeds of the sea kale as soon as llicy 

 are ripe, either on seed beds, from which they may be 

 transpb-Hited in the spring, or in the places in which it 

 is wished the plants may grow to maturity. 



The culture of the Sea Kale is simple, and wo think 

 the following extract from a communication from .Mr. 

 Lowell, published in the Massachusetts Agricultural 

 Repository, vol. vii. page 13-', will furnish the requi- 

 site information. 



" The Sea Kale is a plant of recent introduc- 

 tion in Europe. Perhaps its culture cannot be 

 traced back beyond forty years. It is a native 

 of the sea-coast of the southern parts of Eng- 

 latrl, where it is found growing in sea sand. 



■ It is very hardy — grows in any tolerable 

 soil — is perennial, and costs not half the labour 

 bestowed on Asparaaus. It may be raised from 

 the seed or from the roof, and fifty plants, oc- 

 cupying a very small space, will supply a single 

 family. In its taste it resembles the Cauliflower, 

 The only labour it requires, is to cover it with 

 sand, or earth, or with pots or boxes in March, 

 so as to exclude the light and to blanch it, or 

 make it white. If not blanched, it is neither so 

 beaitiful to the eye, or so tender, or so delicate 

 lo the taste, as if blanched. It should be Ihor- 

 ougliiy boiled, and is better if boiled in milk 

 and water. It should be served up like Cauli- 

 llowers, with melted butter. It comes in at a 

 season in which our vegetables in this country 

 are very deiicient." 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW BKOLASD FARMER. 



Remedy for Cattle which are choked by Roots or 

 other substances. 

 [Extracts from a letter to the Editor.] 



" Sir, — I am very much pleased with the New 

 England Farmer, and, though an old farmer my- 

 self, find many valuable improvements. One 

 thing, which I have practised about twenty 

 years, I have not seen stated in your paper. I 

 will mention this thing, which every farmer 

 should know and have always by him. That is 

 a rope, which is to be put down into any crea- 

 ture's throat, when choked with any hard sub- 

 stance, such as a turnip, potatoe, or an ear of 

 corn. I have used this rope, and never found 

 ihe least difficulty in giving immediate relief 

 Many cattle have died for the want of it, and 

 many have been killed outright by using other 

 means. Take an old, hard, tarred rope, 6 feet 

 long. Let it be served, [strongly wound round 

 with twine] and, when finished, be one inch in 

 diameter. When put down the throat, it should 

 be pushed gently down four feet and a half into 

 a cow or an ox. In cold weather it is stiff enough, 

 but in \varm wealher it should be wet with cold 

 water, before it is used. 



" If, upon inquiry, you should find this is not 

 known generally, and any person wishes for a 

 sample, I 'vill send one to you. Oursail-m-ikors 

 would make them for .50 cents each. I had 

 supposed that it was a thing pretty generally 

 known, until 1 saw in a Bpston paper an account 



of a man, who had a creature clicked, and after 

 trying a number of ways, and could not siicceeil, 

 at last cut through to the substance, and took it 

 out. If he had had this rope by him, it mifjht 

 have been removed in three minutes, with pci- 

 fect safely. If tlie substance lies just at the en- 

 trance of the grcal belly, there can bo no ope- 

 ration made there with safely. If Ihe aT)ove is 

 of any advantage, you may make what use of it 

 vol) please." Yours, truly, 



" Uallo-^ell, Sept. 10, 1821. JOS. WINGATE. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMKn. 



Sm, — It is notorious that many of our most 

 valuable kinds of Pears have of late years been 

 blasted. About the latter end of July, or be- 

 ginning of August, a blight seems to have fallen 

 on the St Germain — Vergolouse — lirowii-barec 

 — and now on the St Michael, and miiny other 

 kinds. The skin appeared in a great measure 

 killed, and the fruit, growing rapidly, was sooa 

 covered with dark blotches, and began to crack 

 in almost e\ery direction. As Ihe fruit contin- 

 ues to grow and ripen, I perceive those cracks 

 expand and deepen ; — hence I am convinced 

 that the exterior of the fruit has been so far 

 killed as to have been in a great measure incap- 

 able of any farther expansion, after being struck 

 with the blight. Therefore, as Ihe fruit con- 

 tinues sound at heart, and progresses towards 

 maturity, Ihe cracks continue lo widen and 

 gro»v deeper lill the fruit is entirely ruined. — 

 As my form is prinripally on a slope to the East, 

 and my^Pears generally more injured by the 

 blast than some ill my neighbourhood less ex- 

 posed to East winds, I am led lo suspect that 

 those winds must, at least, have bad some agen- 

 cy in Ihe blight. It is said that little if any of 

 the fruit in Boston suffers in this way, and there 

 almost every tree is so surrounded with build- 

 ings, as to be sufficiently guarded against the 

 deleterious effects of blasting winds. 



Perhaps some of your more philosophic and 

 scientific correspondents may be able to impart 

 light on the subject ; and show that there are 

 other sufficient causes why many of our Pears 

 blasi, besides their running out by age : and 

 possibly they may be able to oblige the public, 

 by suggesting some sufficient reniedy. 



Yours respectfully, J. KEKRiCK. 



TO THF. EDITOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



HARVESTING INDIAN CORN. 

 Sir, — In your paper of Sept. 4, under the head 

 of" Furmer''s Calendar,'''' I see Gen. Hull's com- 

 munication respecting a method of harvesting 

 corn by cutting it to the ground, and stocking it 

 before it becomes hard ; and also Mr. Prince's 

 remarks on the same subject. The utility of 

 the method has been tested for a number of 

 years in many parts of Vermont, — and is of use, 

 especially in harvesting corn that is not very 

 stout. The saving in the quality of the fodder 

 is sufficient to recommend it to general prac- 

 tice, setting aside the advantages ol' having the 

 ground cleared in proper time to receive win- 

 ter grain. 



