142 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



ignition. The necessary 



fuel beino- reduced to | sncceedins: years; and if the soil be rich, it will Istocii. uhich they in their present stnie of ciilli. 



a very small quantity, owin? to there not heiner produce two crop* annually, except, however, 

 any fcoikrs, the expense of working one of the=e I the two tirst years, when the growth seldom 

 engines (exclusive of the abatement of tonnage) 

 will be very considerably less than that requi- 



site for a steam engine, even of much less power, 

 The atmosphere pressure may be increased 

 with perfect safety, by the extended dimensions 

 of the cylinder. In the steam engines, from 

 seven to eight pounds on the square inch, after 

 deducting friction, is the limit of available pow- 

 er ; in the pneumatic engines, we may estimate 

 it at from 9 to 12. The mechanical means by 

 which this invention can be applied to produce 

 motion, may be very much varied ; and any ra- 

 pidity of motion that may be required, may be 

 obtained. The combustion of gas is a more 

 speedy operation than the condensation of va- 

 pour ; and this fact alone would be sntficient to 

 demonstrate the jiossibility of obtaining a more 

 rapid motion than steam can afford. In the pro- 

 gress of chemical discovery, if (as is not at all 

 improbable) a cheap mode of extracting hydro- 

 gen gas from water should be discovered, the 

 pneumatic engines on board a ship or other ves- 

 sel, would be every where supplied without the 

 loss of an ounce of tonnage ; as it is at present, 

 they may extract the gas trom oil, tar, &.c. mate- 

 rials which occu[)y a very small space in pro- 

 portion to the quantity of gas which they e- 

 volve. 



.\ patent of this invention, for the United States, was 

 secured by special act passed at the last session of Con- 

 gress ; and the improvement to which it may lead in 

 propellinof vessels, will probably keep pace, on this side 

 the Atlantic, with its progress in England, where a com- 

 pany is also forming, with a capital of 50it,000i. for com- 

 mercial purposes. An Engine of six-horse power, upon 

 this construction, is expected to arrive at New Yprk in 

 December or January next. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



FRIDA*Y, iSO\^ EMBER 26, 1824. 



Sai.nfoin Seed. Several barrels of the seed 

 of a kind of grass called Sainfoin, Sanfoin, or 

 St. Foin, {Ucihjsarum Oncbrychis) have lately 

 been received from Philadelphia, and for sale 

 by Col. JAiiUES, of Chnrlestown, Ma«s. This 

 sort of grass has been very little cultivated in 

 New England, but is higiily recommended by 

 those who have had opportunity of becoming 

 acquainted with its merits. The last Philadel- 

 phia edition of NVillich's Domestic Encyclope- 

 dia, contains an article on this grass, written 

 ue believe, by Dr Mease, from which the fol- 

 lowing is extracted. 



" This species of clover is one of the most 

 promising plants, which might be cultivated in 

 the poor lands of the north-eastern and middle 

 states. It is much to be regretted, that Sain- 

 foin should be neglected by so many tenants or 

 proprietors of poor, shallow and stony soils; a= 

 it VN ill produce, on bad lands, at least one ton 

 of hay, together with a cnnsideralle after 

 growth for gra/.ing cattle. Sainfoin, indeed, 

 will yielil abundant crops for ten or fifteen 

 years, at the expiration of which, it will afford 

 iiu excellent [uislurc lor sliuep, during several 



exceeds one load or half a crop per acre : but no 

 cattle should be -ud'ered to graze on it, for the 

 first winter, as their feet will injure it ; nor 

 should any sheep !e fed on it during the second 

 summer, becanse ti.i'y are apt to liite the crowns 

 or tops of the ri lis, the ffrowth of wliich 

 would thus be imnn diately checked. 



" At the expirai'-i of seven or eight years, 

 it will be proper- ■..• nianure the soil with dung ; 

 and, if it be samiv, with marl. Should the 

 first season for mowii'g prove wet, the Sainloin 

 must be left for seed : it ought not, however, 

 to be cut before it is m full bioom ; as the qual- 

 ity of the hay would thus be materially nijnr- 

 ed ; but if it be given to cattle, while green, 

 it will produce a second crop in ihe same year. 

 Whether it be consumed in a fre-^h or dry state, 

 it is equally useful in ieeding cattle, and is said 



vation are capable of doing, as every Ibiny like 

 scarcity is at once removed. It require-^ no fos- 

 tering alter being properly put in, but li. rues 

 very great bon.'iit trom plaisler, ashes or ;■ .e, 

 being sown upon it when very young. Althoi.jh 

 it is a [ilant that naturally roois very deep, yet it 

 will thrive well in the shallowest mould. The 

 deep rooting of this plant is a very great advan- 

 Xw^c. a' thereby Ihe leaves are aiway.s gre^n, 

 frcsii and vigorous, «vhen all other vegeiable 

 substances ;ire parched up by the drought and 

 heat of our long summers. Indeed the sun can- 

 not e\k'X.\ a root that grows so deep, as it always 

 finds !!Oiirishment there, while the superlicial 

 moul I in which the red clover and other veget- 

 ;ubles arc routed is generally scorched and dried 

 up. 



" The feeding on the St. Foin ground is an 

 excellent ihing for cattle, as it filtens them very 

 soon without breeding disorders. Spring is tho 



to fatten shoe)) more f|jeedily than any other | 5g.,spn uhen it best answers the purpose, and 



vegetable. It is farther believed to increase 

 the quantity and improve t!ie quality of milk 

 in cows, Ihe cream of which becomes not only 

 richer, but the butter acquires a better colour 

 and more delicious flavour. Lastly, Sainfoin is 

 an uncommonly strengthening provender for 

 horses, which, when led with it require no 

 oals." 



A printed hand bill presented to us by Col 

 Jaqies contains the following directions for the 

 culture of this grass : 



" The proper time for sowing the .Sainfoin 

 seed is in the spring, with oats, or in the fall 

 with rye. The ground should be well plough- 

 ed and prepared for the receptiiin of oats; sow 

 lialf a bushel to Ihe acre, and harrow it in well, 

 then sow one bushel of Sainfoin seed on Ihe 

 top of it, and harrow or brush that in very 

 lightly so as to cover it not more than half an 

 inch deep, as no seed, perhaps, is more liable 

 to be injured by deep covering than St. Foin. 

 When sown with rye it must be treated in the 

 same way, excejil that three fourths of the usu- 

 al quantity of rye may be sown to the acre in 

 place of half; as thereby sufficient room is left 

 to permit the St. Foin to grow luxuriantly, 

 without being intercepted by either rye or 

 oats. When either rye or oats is cut, it must 

 be reapt very high in order to leave a long 

 stubble to protect Ibe St. Foin in its young and 

 lender state from the intense heat of the sun, 

 and heavy storms, which frequently occur dur- 

 ing the sum.mer season. 



this is most convenient to Ihe farmer; Ihe only 

 caution necessary for him to olisorve in this re- 

 spect, is not to put heavy cattle on it in wet 

 weather ; in any other season when the crop is 

 well established, they will i\o it no injury. 



" In order to have a good crop of bay of any 

 kind, the pasturing should cease, and the gronsnds 

 laid up for that purpose in proper lime. The 

 latter jiart of March or beginning of April is the 

 proper time for laying up St. Foin fields for that 

 end. and wilhin tivo months from that time it 

 will bo in good condition for mowing. The ex- 

 act time lor cutting it, is wheu the flowers are 

 nearly all open but not fallen. 



Tiie first year, like the Spanish or rod clover, 

 it yields but \Qry little, and it is heller not to 

 pr.-iturc it until the second, the slems will then 

 lie from two to three feet high and may be cut 

 in .lunc and again in the fall ; when every acre 

 will yield from two to three tons of hay, of 

 a very superior quality The third, fourth, 

 and following years, it will yield a full crop, and 

 may be cut three, and in good seasons even four 

 times. For green feed, it is cut when about 13 

 or 20 inches high and in blossom which is about 

 t'p inches iii length of a beautiful |)ink colour. — 

 SI. Foin will last twenty or thirty years (if 

 required) without being re-sown. 



"There is no other grass that improves the 

 soil more than the St. Foin ; it is maintained 

 by the most experienced economists in farming, 

 that the clover either in its green state or as 

 hay is decidedly superiour to any oilier ever 

 introduced as a nourishing food. It is much 



"St. Foin when cut, must be cradled like j earlier than any other grass, an.l enriches the 



Ihe milk of cows more. It is said thai butter 

 made of the milk from cows fed altogether upon 

 St. Foin, is richer, sweeter, and purer tasted, 

 than when they are fed upon the red clover or 

 any other vegetable substance ; as that of Hols- 

 leiu and Switzerland, for instance, where no 

 other clover is u-ied, and it is well know n that no 

 country produces finer or better cattle than those 

 of Switzerland ; or is any country more famed 

 for the finest butter and cheese. The horses 

 also are very fond of it, and always eat it vviih 

 avidity. Jt cont.iins so much nutriment that it 

 lioih strengthens and fallens them very soon, by 

 which one lialf of the grain usually given to 

 Inuses may be saved. iXo food fattens sheep so 

 suddenly in the autumn, and none is belter for 



wheat or rye, consequently will be thrown into 

 a strait thin swarth or layer, in which slate it 

 mu'^t be permitted to remain until it becomes 

 perfectly dry. Then it must be carefully turn- 

 ed, so as to expose the underside to the sun un- 

 til that al*o becomes dry ; it is then in order to 

 put into the mow. If it were mowed and treat- 

 ed like the Spanish or red clover in curing, the 

 leaves would be shaken off liy Ihe frequent turn- 

 ing*, as they tiecame dry, thereby reduce the 

 quantity, and injure the quality of the hay. — 

 With these precautions the Farmer may within 

 a few years have his poorest lands covered with 

 St. Foin in the highest stale of perfection, by 

 which he will improve them and mike their 

 products feed and fatten douLle the quantity of 



