340 



A Princely Establishment. — Recipes for Compost. Vol. VI. 



upon either hand, as well as the latticed 

 fences on the margins of the various walls, 

 were decorated with fruit trees, apricots, 

 peaches, pears, &c., which had been taught 

 to grow in the shape of an open fan, with the 

 branches extended in those directions which 

 would compel all the limbs to stand as the 

 side of a panel, and thus enable the light and 

 the sun to strike both the tree and its fruit 

 directly upon the side of the wall. Although 

 this position of the tree did not leave them to 

 the freedom of nature, yet the gardeners in- 

 formed us that these bore better and more 

 fruit than when left in a natural position. 

 Clusters of ripe grapes were hanging in this 

 garden on the 12th of July ; these were forced 

 by means of artificial heat ; but there were 

 many early fruits, such as peaches and pears, 

 that were nearly ripe, 



Mr. C. is erecting, near the front of the 

 garden, a brick dwelling-house, which will 

 vie in expense and interior and exterior ele- 

 gance and convenience, with any other house 

 probably in the country. This house has al- 

 ready been three years in building and pre- 

 paration ; the work exhibits a perfection in 

 material and arrangement greater than any 

 structure we have ever before seen ; it is sup- 

 posed one, if not two years more, will be ne- 

 cessary to complete it. 



Everything is done on Mr. Cushing's farm 

 to gratify the taste — nothing is done with a 

 view to making money. Mr. C. will consume 

 everything raised upon his farm if he can. 

 To make manure, he keeps some hundred 

 and fifty hogs : finding no other practical use 

 for the meat of these, his overseer was obliged, 

 as we are informed, to send to the Boston 

 market some eighteen or twenty fat hogs last 

 fall. Mr. C. introduced from Europe the finest 

 breed of cattle, and, with his characteristic 

 benevolence, presents and places some of the 

 best in positions most likely to propagate them. 

 In his garden the workmen were employed 

 in throwing from an engine a liquid prepara- 

 tion calculated to destroy the insects which 

 were upon them, engaged in the work of de- 

 struction. 



To do the farming and gardening justice, 

 we ought to have spent a week in viewing 

 the processes by which giant vegetation was 

 procured, and the kind of treatment which 

 every variety of thing coming from earth re- 

 quired. Our stop was short; we went into 

 several of the unfinislied apartments of his 

 splendid house, and had a full view of the 

 Boston State House and city from the balus- 

 trade in front; and we left the enchanting 

 scene with regret. The intelligent neigh- 

 bourhood of farmers around him will profit 

 by the introduction of useful breeds of ani- 

 mals, and by every valuable experiment which 

 he makes, at the same time, few of them will 



envy his superior ability to farm and garden 

 on an astonishing scale ; and none of them 

 will ever undertake to be his competitors in 

 producing the rarities and curiosities of na- 

 ture merely to gratify taste, and with no view 

 to replenish the purse." 



Recipes for Composts. 



A Substitute for Soapboilers' Spent Ley. 

 —Take of — 



" Fine, dry, snuffy peat 50 lbs. 



Salt i bushel. 



Ashes 1 " 



Water 100 gallons. 



Mix the ashes and peat well together, 

 sprinkling with water to moisten a little : let 

 the heap lay for a week. Dissolve the salt 

 in the water, in a hogshead, and add to the 

 brine the mixture of peat and ashes, stirring 

 well the while. Let it be stirred occasion- 

 ally for a week, and it will be fit for use. 

 Apply it as spent ley, grounds and all. Both 

 ashes and salt may be doubled and trebled, 

 with advantage, if convenient. The mixture 

 or ley must be used before it begins to pu- 

 trefy : this occurs in three or four weeks. It 

 then evolves sulphuretted hydrogen gas, or 

 the smell of gas of rotten eggs : this arises 

 from the decomposition of the sulphates in 

 the water and ashes, by the vegetable matter. 

 A portion of the geine is thus deposited from 

 the solution. 



Salt, Lime and Peat — Take one bushel of 

 salt — one cask of lime. Slack the lime with 

 the brine made by dissolving the salt in water 

 sulficient to make a stiff" paste with the lime, 

 which will be not quite sufficient to dissolve 

 all the salt. Mix all the materials then well 

 together, and let them remain together in a 

 heap for 10 days, and then be well mixed 

 with 3 cords of peat; shovel well over for 

 about 6 weeks, and it will be fit for use. 

 Here, then, are produced 3 cords of manure, 

 for about the cost of $2 10 per cord. 



Salt $0.fiO 



Lime L20 



Peat 4.50 



3)$6.30(|2.10 



From experiments made in a small way, it 

 is believed that this will be found an effectual 

 manure : the author suggests it, in the hope 

 that it may lead to cautious experiment." — 

 Dana. 



A QUART of corn soaked in strong salt-petre 

 liquor, and sown upon the surface of an acre 

 of land at the time when the corn is coming 

 out of the ground, or at the time the crows 

 commence pulling it up, will serve as a sure 

 protection against their interfering at all with 

 the corn. 1 have practised it for 15 years, 

 without ever knowing a hill of corn being 

 touched by them after this, — O. M. Whipple. 



