310 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



[April 22, 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



FRIDAY MORNING, APRIL 22, 1825. 



PASTEL OR WO AD. 

 We have a variety of documents on hand on the sub- 

 ject of VVoad, but have not room in this paper to state 

 many particulars relating to its uses or to its culture. — 

 A letter from Mr Richard CRowNiNSHiEi.n to Benj. 

 Guild, Esq. Recordings Secretary of the Massachusetts 

 Agricultural Society, which accompanied a present 

 of a quantity of Woad seed to that Society, is as fol- 

 lows : — 



Danvers, March 27, 1825. 

 Dear Sir — Oiir mutual friend Gen. Dearborn, 

 having obliged me hvo years since, l)v present- 

 ing me a quanlity of Woad seed, which, together 

 with about nine bu«hels I obtained from Con- 

 necticut and New York, I sowed upon 5 acres, 

 in drills, about I^ feet apart, ploughed and ma- 

 nured as for Indian corn. 

 »• Believing there are many patriotic gentle- 

 men, agriculturists, members of the Sociely, 

 who would lake pleasure in promoting (he gen- 

 eral welfare," 1 shall repay Gen. Dearborn, by 

 requesting you to take in charge about 10 bush- 

 els of the Woad seed, for such as may please to 

 fake aliout one peck each, which is ennugh for 

 ^ of an acre. 1 see no impropriety in ■^owinjit 

 broad cast in a calm day. I esteem it one of iho 

 raost valuable plants we can raise in 6ur country ; 

 any one may cultivate it. It may produce 3 or 

 4 crops in rich ground the first season. It may 

 be dryed by (he farmer, or cured according to 

 the direcli.ins in Gen. Dearborn's book. Early 

 next 9[iring it may be cropped again, and then 

 remain for seed (30 or 40 bushels per acre). I 

 am not informed what is done with this surplus 

 seed in Europe, where many millions pounds of 

 Woad are consumed. 



When Mr Barlow was Minister to France, he 

 forwarded a small parcel to Gen. Dearborn, who 

 says '• there is not a doubt but that Woad ran 

 furnish a blue pigment (or all the states where 

 indigo cannot be cul(iv3(ed a( a cheaper rate 

 than they are now supplied with thn( colouring 

 ingredient." 



The present stale of our manufacturing en(er- 

 prise and skill, together vvilh the ()ro|ection and 

 encouragement they will receive iVom the peo- 

 ple and government, will soon create a home 

 market for our own Saxony and S[)anish sheep, 

 at liberal prices; and these (with indigo from 

 our own soil) will give us a never-fad na: color. 



It is a fnct worthy of recordini!;, that some of 

 the cloths e.vliibiting at Washitigion were from 

 extra seleclrd wool, which co<t jj;3 per lb. and 

 th,>( (he best Hengal indigo is now selling a( ^3.50 

 per lb. and that American cloths generally do nut 

 net anything beyond cf'.st and ch:'re*>s, in conse- 

 quence of their su<tainiiig a conipetilion with 

 the immense surplus fihrics of Kurojio, whose 

 manufacturers and merchants cannot consent to 

 permit us to clothe ourselves with tinything be- 

 yond onr own hats and shoes; would it not be 

 better for us to employ ourselves in fabricating 

 cloths for our general consumption, which our 

 manufac(urers would exchange with the farmer 

 and mechanic for articles of their industry ? — 

 would not this event cause our specie and iiuldio 

 stocks to remain with us? The European man- 

 ufactures of luxurious fabrics, including laces 

 and leghorns, would still amount to as much or 



lore than they would want of us in our domes- 1 or 12 years since (hey have been so generally 

 ~ used in this town. 



2. These fish are plousrhed into tillage land 

 in the fall of the year. When spread on land 

 and suffered to lay and rot, much of the fertiliz- 

 ing qualities of the fish pass ofT in the air, which 

 is very sensibly impregnated by it, but in the 

 latter case, the whole fish rots and unites with 

 the soil or earth, and adds very much lo ils fer- 

 tility. Some of our best crops of onions are 

 raised from land prepared in this way. Many 

 farmers place one or two fish near each hill of 

 rnrn iu«l before weeilingor half billing, at which 

 lime they are covered with the hoe. The 

 growina: crop will be much improveil, but the 

 crop of corn or rye the followinir year will feel 

 ir. a greater degree their feit lizing eificts. 



3. In seasons of (he year when it is not con- 

 venient to spread them on meadows, or plough 

 them in, a Fish heap as it i* generally called, is 

 made. This is usually done by ploughing a 

 spot of groimd, as large as is desirable, and put- 

 ting on (his a coat of earth from 8 to 12 inches, 

 on this, place a laying of fish and a laying of 

 par(h al(ernatelv, taking care that the last coat 

 shall be of earth, sufficientiv thick to prevent 

 the escape of (he effluvia arising from them, 

 durinar (heir decomposition. In (he Sjiring of 



tic products. R. CROWNINSniELD. 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Bristol, R. I. April 14, 182.5. 

 Dear Sir, — Should yon think that the enclos- 

 ed remarks and observations on Menhaden Fish 

 used as a manure, will advance the cause of ag- 

 ricultur?. you are a( liber(y (o publish them in 

 your useful paper. Yours, tc. 



LEMUEL W. BRIGGS. 



FISH MANURE. 



The kind of Fish u=ed as a manure in this 

 region, are the Clupca Menhaden of Dr Mitchii.l, 

 by him cl.isspd in (he Herring family. They 

 are usually called here Mpubaden, elsewhere. 

 Hardhead. Dr Mitchell says (hat they are pe- 

 culiar to our tnaiine coast, and not an inhabi- 

 (an( of the (ransatlandc wa(ers. These fish are 

 in size, larger (ban (he alewives, and smaller 

 (hnn (he shad, which (hey very much resemble 

 in shape and apjjoarance. They come into our 

 bays and harbours in (he month of April, and 

 continue until late in (he fall. When (hey firs( 

 make th^ir appearance, (hey are not so fat, and 

 do not yield so much oil. During the late war, 



immense quantities of these fish were caugh( in i (he following year the heap is dug over and 

 our wa(prs, and a profitable traffic was carried | j^niediately carried where it is wanted and 



on in making oil from them, while the remains 

 only from the ke((les were used as a manure. 

 They are (aken in seine's, and generally sell ou( 



piniighed in. 



In eiiher of (he above ways (hat fish are used, 

 we have an excellent manure and at not much 



of (he boat, from 16 (o 20 cents per barrel. ; exceeding hnlf (he cos( of any other kind. 



From (wo (o (liree barrels are es(eemed equal 

 to a common load of manure. 



There are three ways in which (hey are gen- 

 erally applied as a manure. 



1. They are s[>read on Meadows.* immedi- 

 a(ely after or soon al'(er mnwing. Ii is gener- 

 ally done wi(h a fork from (be cart, (akin? care 

 (o go about and lav (hem apart 6, 8, or 10 inch- 

 es. From 30 (o 75 barrels on an acre is a com- 

 mon coat. An immediate decomfiosiiion of the 

 fi-b lakps place, the oil escapes and runs into 

 the ground, and wherever it touches, the grass, 

 in a few days, is entirely des(roved, firs( (iirn- 

 ing a d irk red, and (hen (o a black mouldy col- 

 our. Ii a shor( (ime. there will s(ar( up an en- 

 tirely new crop oCgr.iss around every fish, and 



It is not imacfined that fish can be used to 

 profi( as a manure far in the interior of the 

 country, yet around our bays, harbours, and a- 

 long our indented coast it is (bought they may 

 be more extensively used, and we have no doulit 

 if the experiment is once fairly trie<l, that the 

 most sanguine expectations will bp reahzed It 

 is ascertained (bat not less than 10,000 barrels 

 of Menhaden fish were made use of as a manure 

 in this town, the last year whilst all the oliier 

 sources of manure wi(h which we are blest, 

 such as sea-weed, rock-weed, &c. were nitneg- 

 lec(ed. 



A( (he bare (hongh( of Fish manure, our wor- 

 thy and much resjiec(ed friend Dr Drown* of 

 this slate seems to shrink with horror. Now 



grow surprisingly fast and, what is astonishing ' we confess ihaf we do no( possess (hese lender 

 yet (rue, in mois( and cold meadows (and i( is sensibilidps, and see not why "these harmless 

 on such meadows and pastures they do the best) I tenants of the deep," when they can be brought 

 where naught but the co.irses( and poorest grass to add to the mmforts or supplv (he necessities 

 grew before, nut wor(h mowing, herds crass, of man, should be more exempt (ban the her- 

 ved top, &,c. as if by rharm, will make their ap- rinsr, (he mackarel, the cod, or the whale, over 

 pearancp, grow and cover (he ground, and fre- which man was granted dominion by his and 

 quenlly from one to three tons of hay will be their great Creator. 

 cut the succeeding summer. It is supposed that 

 (he seeds of these grasses lie in a doimant s(a(p, 

 not finding a cingenial soil, or proper nutri- 

 ment to cause Ibem lo germin;itp until they feel 

 the vivifying efl'pcts of the fish oil. The grass 

 thus brought forth, is very sweet, so that cattle, 

 horses or sheep prefer it, and will turn over the 

 fish to eat it, and (he hay par(akes of the same 

 qualiliet. 



The influence of a coat of fish on grass land 

 will be plainly discprnible for 4 or 5 years, but 

 most farmers apply a fresh coaf once in 3 years. 

 The pracdce of (ishing meadows has been fol- 

 lowed by some farmets in (bis S(a(e for 20 3 ears, 

 and perhaps longer, bu( it is no( more than 10 



TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Rhode Island, April 16, 1825. 

 Mr Fessenden — Fur many years past there 

 has prevailed a scarcity of stone fruit in Ibis 

 State, parliculaily in and near the sea ports. 

 My garden is on a sand bank by (be sea shore, 

 bu( nine miles |Vom (he open ocean, — a small 

 lo( crowded with fruit trees. Apples do not 

 bear well; — [lear trees will not (hrive on \'s 

 soil; — bill poach, plum, and cherry (rees bear 

 well with (lie proper managpinent, w hich is as 

 follows : — Canker worms, ij-c. were wont to at- 

 tack my plum trees; the leaves fell, leaving 



* Not what are called Fresh Meadows in Mass. 



* See bis Firmer's Guide, Page 72. 



