1857. 



NEW ENGLAND PARMER. 



173 



make th;!m thrive as to fatten an ox or a horse. 

 Homoeopathic doses of guano he considered very 

 unprofitable. It is for the want of understanding 

 the nature of the soil that so many errors are com- 

 mitted in the application of manures, and so many 

 opinions expressed in regard to their value. If 

 €very farmer who makes a statement would tell 

 what the soil is en which his manure was put, then 

 another man could judge what would be the result 

 of a similar application upon his farm. Mr. W. 

 suggested to the committee the propriety of fixing 

 a rule limiting speakers to ten minutes each. He 

 thought there should be an opportunity for more 

 of the farmers present to give their views. 



Dr. Reynolds, of Concord, said that the great 

 demand of the age upon farmers, is, that the soil 

 shall produce greater crops. The way to make 

 soil better is to raise good crops. The man who 

 raises a large crop will permanently improve the 

 land. Th« very fact of the increase of our popula- 

 tion should be the means of increasing the richness 

 of our soil ; the wash of the house, the suds and the 

 proper use of night-soil with muck and other sub- 

 stances for compost, will furnish much valuable man- 

 ure. A town of five hundred families, supposing 

 each one to save $ 10 worth of manure more than 

 they now do, will save for itself $5000. If this is 

 applied to the State, it is easy to see the value to 

 the State. He did not think the soil of Massachu 

 setts was depreciating. The great object of the 

 farmer should be to get manure, and then to apply 

 it properly. The lateness of the hour cut short the 

 remarks of Dr. Reynolds. He thought the sub 

 ject needed further discussion. 



The President then announced the subject for 

 discussion at the next meeting to be — ''Fruits and 

 fruit trees — Forest and shade trees." Adjourned 



For (lie A'ew England Farmer. 



DUTY ON WOOL. 



Joel Nourse/Esq.:— Z>ear Sir — As it is a time 

 when the manufacturers of wool are making great 

 exertions to get the duties oft' from wool, a great 

 deal is said in favor, and nothing against it. I have 

 taken the liberty to send you an article on wool 

 from H. C. Merriam, in the September number of 

 the Albany Cultivator, for 1850, and a copy of the 

 Vermo7it Journal. I want you should read the 

 letter taken from the New York Times, if you 

 have not already, and see if you think it is the true 

 policy to protect the manufacturer and not the 

 wool-grower. I understand the policy to be to 

 raise the duties on foreign broadcloths, and take 

 all the duties off from wool, so the manufacturer 

 can go to the wool-grower and saj-, — here, you ar"e 

 cur servants ; we feed and clothe you, and you 

 tend sheep for us ; we will give you so much for 

 your wool, and if you will not take it, we will buy 

 foreign wool, even if we have to pay more than 

 what we can buy your wool for ; or, in other words, 

 we will pay you t\venty-five cents a pound, or we 

 will pay two shillings for foreign wool. 



I suppose it will not make much difference with 

 Massachusetts farmers, whether the tariff is taken 

 off from wool or not ; but it makes great differ- 

 ence with the Vermont farmers. A wool buyer 

 last summer said they would have the duties off 

 from wool next winter, and, said he, if they do, it 

 will ruin your New England farmers, they can raise 

 wool so much cheaper at the West and South than 

 we can. H. S. 



East Thetford, Vt., 1857. 



For the New England Farmer, 



CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 



DIOSCOEEA BATATA& 



Mr. Editor : — As every thing relating to the 

 cultivation and value of new vegetables introduced 

 into our agriculture Is interesting to me, I doubt 

 not it is to most of the readers of the Farmer. I 

 will give you a little of my experience in the culti- 

 vation of some of them the last season. 



I received through the U. S. Patent Office some 

 seed of the Chinese Sugar Cane, and having but little 

 confidence as to its value, neglected to plant it un- 

 til the last of May, (except a few hills in the gar- 

 den, which was put in early, and seed fully matured.) 

 The crop grew finely, attained a height of from 10 

 to 12 feet, seed formed, but little of it matured be- 

 fore the hard frosts. Upon examination found the 

 juice very sweet, and concluded to try and see what 

 1 could do with it. In the first place, I cut up some 

 and undertook to pound it out in a large iron pot, 

 but abandoned that as a slow and tedious process. 

 Having a small cider press, I concluded to cut it 

 up and subject it to the screw, there being some 

 three or four bushels of it, in pieces from two to 

 four inches long, in that way obtaining but a small 

 proportion of the juice of course, but enough to 

 make two quarts or more of beautiful looking sy- 

 rup ; this possessed a slight acid taste, v/hich I attri- 

 buted to the press having been previously used for 

 cider, and the juice standing over night before boil- 

 ing. I am so confident of its value, that I intend 

 planting a piece next season, and prepare some 

 hard wood rollers, which I think may be made to 

 crush the cane, and enable me to get juice enough, 

 for more extended and accurate experiment. The 

 present high prices of sugar and molasses will be a 

 powerful stimulant towards proving its value. As 

 regards profit, compared with the corn crop, I 

 find, in looking over the different accounts of experi- 

 ments, Mr. Richard Peters, of -Georgia, gives the 

 following, viz: J acre, 3315 canes, produced 58-^ 

 gallons thick syruj) ; rate per acre 468 gallons. 



468 gallons, 60 cents per gallon $234,00 



Cost of making, in Georgia, 15 cts. per gal 70,40 



Giving per aci-e $163,60 



Now deduct the same amount per acre for ma- 

 nure, labor, &:c., and the profit will overrun that of 

 the best acre of corn, at the low estimate of 50 cents 

 per gallon, which is 17 cents below the present re- 

 tail price of good molasses. 



I see in your last number, some notices of the 

 Dioscorea Batatas. A friend presented me willi 

 six tubers last spring, which he had in a hot-bed 

 some weeks, but for all that they were a long time 

 in getting up, grew slow and puny through the sea- 

 son, although I called the ground good, and well 

 prepared. I cut some of the vines into sections to 



