334 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



VOL. I. 



Fruit. 



As many men are very negligent about 

 cultivating good fruit we recommend to the 

 ladies to take hold of this business. Our 

 climate is well adapted to the raising of ex- 

 cellent apples, pears, plums, cherries, currants, 

 gooseberries, some kmds of hardy grapes, and 

 other valuable fruits. All these may be ob- 

 tained at a small expense. And a small piece 

 of ground will yield a large profit; and when 

 one raises fruit wiiich is known to be good, it 

 is far more valuable than that often called 

 good. We always dread to taste uf fruit of 

 an unknown kind, lest we should have our 

 mouth drawn into a shape like that of poor 

 Pat, when he tasted the persimmon, and his 

 brother thought that he was trying to whistle. 

 Now, ladies, give a little expense and atten- 

 tion to fashions, and a little expense and due 

 attention to cultivating fruit, and you will 

 make a great improvement, and soon receive 

 with pleasure the fruit of your doings, instead 

 of saying, in sober reflection, all is vanity. — 

 Yankee Farmer. 



From the New Hampshire Patriot. 



Indian Corn. — ^Ridging. 



Extract from an Address read before the 

 Merrimack County Agricultural Society, 

 at their annual Cattle Show and Fair, 

 holden at Concord, October 1836, by Cy- 

 rus Barton. 



There is a mode of culture in practice in 

 some parts of the State, which, in my opinion, 

 is far preferable to that generally practised in 

 this country. Preferable, because more than 

 one-half of the labor of ploughing and hoeing 

 is saved, and at the same time a better crop 

 is obtained. The mode is this : When a 

 piece of mowing or pasture land is to be 

 broken up in the spring for corn, the first 

 thing is to spread the manure evenly over the 

 whole surface. The ground is next thrown 

 into ridges, by means of a plough with dou- 

 ble mould-boards and shares — so that a fur- 

 row is turned up on each side of the plough 

 as it passes along. Instead of going round, 

 or " marking off a land," as it is termed, the 

 plough returns on the same side, within 20 

 or 24 inches of the first furrow. You then 

 have a ridge — the edges of the two furrows 

 coming nearly in contact, the grass is covered 

 up, and all the manure which was spread 

 over the space occupied, is thrown within the 

 ridge. A man follows with his hoe to mend 

 up the turf where it breaks and falls back, 

 and to fill up the interstices between the 

 edges of the turf with the soil from the fur- 

 row. 



As the ground only requires to be plough- 

 ed to the depth of about four or five inches, 

 two yoke of oxen will easily plough two 

 acres and a half a day, and which, where the 

 ground is tolerably smooth and free from 

 stones, the man who follows will dress and 

 render fit for planting in the same time — or, 

 as is frequently practised, the corn is dropped 

 and planted, at the same time the ridges are 

 dressed; and which is no doubt the better 

 way. 



Here then is a vast saving of labor; for I 

 believe that one acre, by the present mode, is 

 a good day's work ; and, on the intervale lands 

 in this town, the services of three yoke of 

 cattle are required. But this is not all — for 

 the ground has then to be harrowed, cross 

 ploughed, and furrowed out for planting. So 

 that the difference in labor, of preparing 

 grass land for a corn crop, is as three to one 

 in favor of ridpfintj. 



But this is not the only advantage. The 

 ground being ploughed at the very time of 

 planting, after the grass has become green, 

 the decomposition of the turf and manure, 

 thrown together within a ridge, causes fer- 

 mentation to take place, the genial warmth 

 of which causes the corn rapidly to spring 

 up, and come forward with a vigorous and 

 healthy growth — and with the whole of the 

 manure confined within range of its roots, 

 subject neither to evaporation, or to be washed 

 away by rains, the corn usually comes to 

 maturity some eight or ten days earlier than 

 when treated in a different manner. 



The mode of ridging has long been prac- 

 ticed in Sullivan County. More than twenty 

 years ago, before I left the farm for the more 

 arduous and severe labors of the workshop, I 

 assisted in dressing these ridges. The im- 

 proved plough was at that time unknown, 

 and the ridging were then made by passing 

 the common plough through both ways in the 

 same furrow. It is the only mode practised 

 in some of ihe towns in that county now, 

 whether the surface be rough or smooth, or 

 the ground wet or dry, when a crop of corn 

 is to be taken from grass land ; and 1 am hap- 

 py to say that the experiment has been tried 

 here during the present season, with the 

 most satisfactory results. 



At a suggestion of Paul Jacobs, Esq. who 

 last year represented the town of Croyden in 

 the Legislature, and who is one of the most 

 extensive and best farmers in Sullivan coun- 

 ty, Mr. William Low of this town was in- 

 duced to send for one of the improved ploughs 

 for ridging; and with which he ridged seve- 

 ral acres on the intervale, which he planted 

 with corn, and from which ho has realised a 

 tolerable crop, better than most of his neigh- 

 bors — though not so good as the average of 

 a good year. Mr. Robert Eastman of this 



