118 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



very large roots of Mangel Wurtzel. Some 

 Mustard, in canisters and bottles, and manufac- 

 tured by Mr Bickford, of Boston, was entered 

 for exhibition, and found on trial to be of a ve- 

 ry excellent quality. Four parcels of Calf 

 Skins, and three parcels of Sole Leather, were 

 exhibited at the Society's Hall ; the former 

 appeared to be extremely well dressed. No 

 premiums were ofiered the present year for the 

 article of leather. 



THO'S L. WINTHROP, Chairman. 



ISRAEL THORNDIKE, 



BENJAMIN GUILD. 

 Brighton, Oct. 21, 1824. 

 The further claims for premiums on Agri- 

 cultural Experiments, will not be derided upon 

 until the Trustees' Meeting in December next ; 

 affording time for the competitors to exhibit 

 the evidence required. Soon thereafter the 

 committee will make and publish an additional 

 report. 



new^:ngland farmer. 



FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1824. 



0:;^SeveraI valuable communications are on file, which 

 will be attended to, as soon as we have disposed of 

 our Ag^ricuUural Reports. 



0;^The reader is requested to correct the following 

 errours in Hon. Judge Lincoi.n's remarks, published 

 in our last : — f'or " his blood and his services and" 

 read " his blood, and his services are ;" in the last 

 line, for " elevated" read " devoted." 



and during the second year, if kept free from things, may be safely sown in the fall. The 

 weeds, and occasionally watered, will be fit for see;! will not perish, if covered by the earth, 

 use. U so-jiing he preferred, after laboining the But then, care must be taken to sow early e- 

 gronnd thoroughly, form a number of hills, a« ' nougli in the fall for the plants to come vp before 

 for Indian corn, and sow in each, six or eight 1 the fret sets in. The seed of all plants will lie 

 soeds. Should they all vegetate, they may bejsafe in this way all winter, though the frost 

 reduced to tivo — which ynu will manage in the i penetrale to the distance of three feet beneath 

 way prescribed for the cuttings. In November, i them, except the seeds of such plants «s a sliglit 

 whether vour bed has been filled with plants orj/nwl uitl easily cut dozan. The seed of kidney 

 with seedlings, be careful to cover them with i beans, (or instance, will ro/, if the ground be not 

 a thick coat of vvell-rolted dung — and so soon in | warm enough to bring it up. So will the seed 

 the ensuing spring or summer, as you find them j of cucumbers, melons, and Indian corn, unless 

 pushing through this covering, [)Ut over each a buried beyond the reach of the influence of the 



jFanncv's Calrnftar. 



Sea Cale. {Crambe .Maralima) — Although, in 

 the course of our labours, we have frequently 

 given directions relative to the culture of ihis 

 valuable vegetable, extracted from sundry au- 

 thors, we think the following from " a Treatise 

 on Gardening, by J. .\rmstrong, of Duchess co. 

 N. Y." — published in Memoirs of the Board of 

 Agriculture of the State of JVew York, vol. ii. — 

 may furnish some facts which will prove useful 

 to such of our readers as wish to add a new and 

 delicious plant to their stock of garden produc- 

 tions. 



" Sea Cai.e, [Cramhe Maralima) is a native of 

 the sea-shore, growing vigorously in sands, occa- 

 sionally inundated by salt-water. When the head 

 of the plant first shows itself, it is white and ten- 

 der and well llavoured, and not inferior to as- 

 paragus ; but after reaching the light and the 

 air. It soon becomes green and bitter, and quite 

 unfit for the table. The natural condition of 

 the plant would appear to indicate the besl 

 mode of cultivating it, and that the bed destined 

 for it should be pure sand, moistened by a solu- 

 tion of salt in water — but we have the assurance 

 of practical gardeners, that in a well manured 

 and thoroughly dry loam, the soa cale docs even 

 better than in its natural bed.* This plant is 

 propagated by cuttings and by seeds, and most 

 certainly by the former; but the quality of the 

 product is inferior to that given by the other 

 mode.t In case of planting, your beds must be 

 so prepared as to receive each two rows of the 

 .slips, which are to stand il inches apart, (in an 

 upright position) with their crowns not moie 

 than one inch under the surface. In five or six 

 weeks, they may show themselves above ground. 



garden-pot inverted, liaving first stopped the 

 bottom holes.* The signal lor culling, is when 

 the plants have risen about three inches above 

 the surface." 



Willich"s Domestic Encyclopedia says, " The 

 sea cale is cultivated in many gardens as an es- 

 culent vegetable. It is also reared in jdeasure 

 grounds as a flowering perennial ; because the 

 stalks divide into line branching heads of flow- 

 ers. For either purpose, it is propagated by 

 seedv sown in autumn or spring in any cumtnon 

 light soil, in which the plants are intended to 

 remain. At the end of two years, they will 

 produce shoots fit for use, and mulli[)ly exceed- 

 ingly by the roots which continue for many sea- 

 sons." 



There has been some complaint, that the 

 seeds of sea cale i'.re very liable lo rot in the 

 ground, wilhout vegetating. We belreve that 

 this would less frequently hapiien, if Ihc seeds 

 were sown in autumn ; as ihcy become dry, and 

 the vegctalive principle de'=iroyed, by being 

 kept too long out uf ground. The roots, like- 

 wise, may as well be set in the full as in the 

 spring; taking caro to cover ihetn with dmig 

 or litter to miligate 'the cfTocts of the frosts of 

 winter. 



iitmosphere. Even early peas would be best 

 sown in the fall, could you have an assurance 

 against ?;iicc. We all know what a bustle there 

 is to sc\ in early peas. If they were sown in the 

 fall, Ibfv would start up the moment the frost 

 was out of the ground, and would be ten days 

 earlier in bearine, in spite of every eflort made 

 by the spring sowers to overtake them. Upon 

 a spot where I sowed peas for 'iced, last year, 

 some that were left in a lock of haulm at the 

 harvesii'ig, and that lay upon the dry ground till 

 the land was ploughed late in November, came 

 up in the spring the m 'ment the frost was out 

 of the ground, and t\vy were in bloom full^- 

 leen dmis earlier than those soivn in the same 

 field as early as possible in the spring. In some 

 ca^es it would be a good way, to cover the sown 

 ground with /i«er, or with leaves of trees, as 

 soon a« the frost has fairly set in; but not be- 

 fore ; for if you do it before, the seed may veg- 

 etate, and then may be killed by the frost.* — 

 One object of (his fall-sowing, is to gel the work 

 (lone ready for spring ; for at that season, yon 

 have so many Ihings lo do at once ! Besides, 

 you cannot sow the instant the frost breaks np ; 

 for Ihe c;rnund is wet and clammy, — unfit lo be 

 dun- or touched, or trodden upon. So that here 

 But (he seed, which has lain 



:ire ten days lost. 



HonTirui.TURE.— Mr Cofbett, in a lillle work ii (he ground all the winteris leady loslarl the 



entitled the American Gardener, has obliged the \ moment (he earth is clear oi the winter frost, 



! world with a variety of notions, sojo of which I ^nd it is up by the time you can get other seed 



I mav be useful, but others, we think, exhibil , inio the ground in a good state. Fall-sowuigof 



! more fancy than good sense. If his statements I seeds to come up in the sprmg is not practised id 



I are relied on as authority, (hey may mislead the England, though (hey are always desirous to get 



cultivator; but, with due allowance for the ec- 'lieir things early. The reason is the uncerlam- 



centricity of (hat extraordinary per=onage, whose ' l.v of their winter, which passes sometimes with 



genius is more than a match 'for his judgment, | hardly any frost at all ; and which, at other 



WH may cull from his writings on various bran- 



» .VlWJahon. 



tide 



Milla 



dies of lural economy, some hints more than 

 equivalent lo the trouble of the selection. — 

 Having premised this caution, we proceed to 

 extract the following passages from the above- 

 mentione<l treatise. 



" I do hope that it is, when addressing myself 

 to American*, unnecessary for me to say, I hat 

 sowing according to the Moon is wholly ab^furd 

 and ridiculous, and that it aro«e solely out of the 

 circumstance, that our forefathers, who could 

 not read, had neither Almanack nor Calendar 

 lo guide them, and who counted by Moons and 

 Festivals, instead of by months and days of the 

 months. 



" However, it is unnecessary to observe, that 

 •^ome, and even many thing", which are usually 



sown in the spring, would be belter soi^n f/i «/i'e ; :;n';;he''r,7o^:,;'',o''i;;'J,;;; ("hat IheVrare'no con- 

 fatl .■ and especially when we consider how tit- 1 (mHictions in the same article In the fore part 

 lie tune there is for doing all things in the spring. , „,• „,g p.issnge quoted above, he says " care must 

 I aisnips, carrot*, beets, onions, and many oilier' 



times, is severe enough to freeze the Thames 

 over. It is sometimes mild till February, and 

 then severe. Sometimes it begins nith severity 

 and ends with mildnes*. So thai, nine times out 

 often, their seed would come up, and the plants 

 would be deslroyed before spring. Besides, 

 they have slugs, that come out in mild weather, 

 and eat s:nall plants np in Ihe winter. Other 

 insects and reptiles do (he like. From these 

 obstacles Ihe American gardener is free. His 

 vi'iuter sets in ; and the earth is safely closed 

 till (he spring. I am speaking of ihe north of 

 Virginia, to be sure ; but Ihe gardener of the 

 South will adopt the observations to his climate, 

 as far as they relate to it." 



Mr Cobbett sometimes writes so carelesslj, 

 (hat he does not compare his sentences one with 



[ * k few lines brfore this, MrCobliett lells us that Ihe 

 *The object in dninq: this is lo exclude the li^ht, for , sned should be sown " early enough iu the fall for the 

 und<'r its iuflueiice the plant becomes green and bitter. pJaiits to eoinc up." .' * 



