88 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



implements, &c., appear to be elaborately and 

 carefully drawn, containing many valuable sug- 

 gestions. On poultry there is an extended paper 

 of twelve pages, in the peculiar style of the chair- 

 man, which sorvcs as spice for the coarser produc- 

 tions, on growing cabbages, making manure, &c., 

 which are among the more congenial labors of 

 the farmer. 



"We are glad to see the topics of under-draining 

 and dee-p tillage are about to be taken in hand in 

 Essex, and, with their usual vigilance -applied, 

 we cannot doubt that benefits will accrue to the 

 farmers. "We wish all parts of the Commonwealth 

 were as fully awake to their duty as they ap- 

 pear to be in Essex. 



For the New Enf^land Farmer. 



TUEmPS FOE PIGS. 



Mr. Editor : — Have any of your correspond- 

 eats had any experience in feeding pigs on tur- 

 nips ? Last June I found myself destitute of po- 

 tatoes m consequence of the rot, with two pigs 

 of eight weeks old, and nothing to give them 

 except some Swedish turnips, which still re- 

 mained hard and sweet in the cellar. I com- 

 menced giving them then, and, with the addition 

 of the slops i'rom the family, they were unusually 

 thriving. They eat these with the greatest relish 

 when cut up and given raw. Whether their keen 

 appetite was induced by a somewhat short allow- 

 ance previously, or from something peculiar in 

 the kind of food, or of the animals themselves, 1 

 am not able to determine. In my not very ex- 

 tended experience in pig raising, I have never had 

 them appear so well during their growing condi 

 tion as these. 



Reasoning on theoretical grounds, I see no 

 reason why the turnip may not be valuable for 

 growing pigs, as well as for growing cattle. They 

 are easily digested, contain the necessary ele- 

 ments, especially nitrogen, for flesh-growing, and 

 during the spring and early summer are in as 

 sound a state as the potato. The important 

 question for me to know is, whether they will 

 relish them as well as mine have the present sea- 

 ,son. I have been in the habit, for many years, 

 of picking off the outside leaves of cabbages and 

 giving them to growing pigs. They will eat them 

 with great relish, and I could never see but the 

 cabbages headed just as well. Of course it will 

 be understood that it is only in the growing, and 

 not in the fatting condition, that such articles 

 can be of any value. 



As the potato is so difficult a crop with us, and 

 the turnip of comparatively easy cultui-e, it would 

 be a valualde acquisition if some such substitute 

 for the potato could be found. 



SiKjuld any one have had experience of this 

 kind, whether successful or not, I would be glad 

 t» hear from them on the subject through your 

 paper. 



In a recent article in the Fai-mer on Witch 

 Grass, you made me say spent tar, instead of 

 spent tan, for mulching trees. n. t. t. 



Bethel, Mc, Jan. 4, 1855. 



for his favor. We fed, last year, from ten to 

 seventeen swine on a mixture of Swede and flat 

 turnips, beets, carrots and parsnips, boiled and 

 mixed with a small portion of cob-meal. They 

 ate it greedily and throve well. Will others give 

 us their experience on this su1»ject ? 



Remarks. — ^Again we thank our correspondent 



Reported for the New Ens^/and Farmer. 



LEGISLATIVE AGEICULTUEAL MEET- 

 INGS. 



The first agricultural meeting of the session of 

 1855, was held in the Representatives' Hall at the 

 State House, on Tuesday evening, IGth inst., at 

 7i o'clock. Owing, probably, to the stormy 

 weather, but comparatively few persons were 

 present. 



The meeting was called to order by Elijah E. 

 Knowles, the member from Eastham, who presid- 

 ed during the evening. 



On motion of Mr. ]\Ierriam, of Tewksbury, a 

 committee of five was ordered for the purpose of 

 nominating an Executive Committee, who shall 

 devise a plan for the conduct of the series of 

 meetings and attend to its execution. The Chair 

 appointed Messrs. Brooks, of Princeton, Freeman, 

 of Orleans, Lyman, of Southampton, Stock- 

 bridge, of Hadley, and Coombs, of Middleficld. 



The committee subsequently reported for Exec- 

 utive Committee, Messrs. Charles L. Flint, Secre- 

 tary of the Boai-d of Agriculture, Elijah E. 

 Knowles, of Eastham, Hiram C. Brown, of Tol- 

 land, Granville B. Hall, of Worthingtou, and 

 Wm. S. King, of Roxbury, — and their rejwrtwas 

 adopted. 



Mr. Flint suggested that in the absence of 

 any stated topic for the evening's discussion, 

 gentlemen present from difierent parts of the 

 State should give an account of the efiect pro- 

 duced in their localities by the extraordinary 

 drought of the past season. It had been in the 

 line of his duty the past summer to visit almost 

 every part of the Commonwealth, from Cape 

 Cod to Berkshire, and he had noticed a great dif- 

 ference in difierent regions. In Nantucket, while 

 the drought was at its height, the corn seemed to 

 be but little affected, notwithstanding the dry, 

 sandy nature of the soil ; while, on passing from 

 Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard to the Connec- 

 ticut river valley, nothing but clouds of dust 

 were to be seen. In his opinion such a drought 

 had not been experienced in this State for ninety 

 years. We need some means of guarding against 

 these severe droughts. In England, farmers are not 

 troubled by such unusually dry seasons. It rains 

 there almost every other day in the year, while 

 we do not get more than forty to sixty days of 

 rain per annum. 



Mr. Merriam, of Tewksbury, alluding to the 

 exemption of Nantucket fi-om the effects of the 



