No. 6. 



Poudrette. — Editorial JVotices. 



197 



Poudrette. 



New York, January 5th, 1844. 



D. K. Minor, Esq. 



Dear Sir, — In answer to your inquiries in 

 the American Agriculturist, as to the experi 

 ence of fanners having made use of Pou- 

 drette as a manure, I give you mine. 



In 1839 I put twenty-five bushels to the 

 acre, on six acres of land near Poughlvecpsie, 

 of very poor quality, (having been cropped to 

 death) and sowed the field with wheat, and 

 laid it down to grass. The crop of wheat 

 was of the best quality, and a very fair crop, 

 The grass seed took well, and lias not been 

 ploughed since. The grass still very good, 



In 1842, I wished to lay thirteen acres 

 down to grass. I had taken from the field 

 one half wheat, and the other iialf oats. I 

 plowed early, and sowed the whole to wheat, 

 and put on twenty bushels of Poudrette to 

 the acre. It took a fine start in the fall, but 

 owing to the severity of the winter and spring, 

 and the drought in the fore part of sum 

 mer. The crop was not large, but the quality 

 was the best, weighing sixty-four pounds to 

 tlie bushel, and took the first premium at the 

 fair of the American Institute in 1843. The 

 amount of wheat taken from the field was 

 about two hundred bushels. I have full faith 

 in the Poudrette, and shall continue my ex 

 periments. Very truly yours, 



R. B. Coleman, 

 Of the Astor House. 



THE FARMERS' CABINET, 



AND 



Philadelphia, First Month, 1844. 



It is stated in a recent number of the Southern 

 Planter, that John M. Botts, of Henrico, Va., has 

 raised this year, one hundred bushels of corn upon an 

 acre of land. — And why should not this quantity be- 

 come common on our farms? Why should not our 

 farming operations become synonymous with garden- 

 ing upon a large scale ? 



We entirely believe, and occasion has been taken to 

 make the suggestion in the Cabinet before this, that 

 the answer to these questions may be sought in the 

 fact, that the operations of our farmers are upon too 

 large a scale; that is, they till more land than is pro- 

 portionate to the capita! which they are able to em- 

 ploy on it. Of course, and of necessity, their tillage 

 is deficient, and their land remains to be unimproved, 

 not yielding any thing like its maximum of profit. 



In this young country, stretching from the Bay of 

 Fuhdy to Cape Sable, and from this to the Rocky moun- 

 tains, with a population but thinly spread over the 

 whole of it, our redundancy— our surplus, it is plain 

 to be seen, must be land: in England, on the contrary, 

 their surplus is capital, and labour; and therefore it is, 



that their agriculture is far superior to ours. Tliey 

 make outlays in their fanning operations, which en- 

 able them to bring their lands to approximate at 

 least, in many instances, to the highest state of pro- 

 ductiveness. Their large amount of capital, and their 

 surplus of labour are thus brought into the market, 

 and made available, both for the general good and in- 

 dividual profit. We lack capital, and we lack labour- 

 but having abundance of land, we are persuaded to 

 undertake the management of farms, which are exten- 

 sive beyond our means to make the most of, and not 

 unfrequently we are found going behind-hand, on 

 plantations of two or three hundred acres. The man 

 whose farm is larger than his moans, must of necessity 

 be a poor farmer— his land grows thinner and thinner 

 —his crops lighter and lighter— and his labour, in pro- 

 portion to the returns from his lands, becomes heavier 

 and heavier, for the furrow, it v\ill be acknowledged, 

 is just as long in a cornfield that will yield but fifteen 

 bushels to the acre, as in one that will give one hun- 

 dred. 



In connection with this subject, we recollect an an- 

 ecdote of the late William West, brother of Sir Benja- 

 min the painter, and one of the best farmers in Dela- 

 ware county, and the late Benjamin Johnson, of this 

 city, who, at the time alluded to, had just purchased a 

 farm. He inquired of William West, what method he 

 should adopt to render it the most profitable ? " Make 

 it rich," was the reply. " Ah, but it will cost too much 

 money." "Then make twenty acres rich." "But that 

 also, vfill cost too much." "Then enrich ten— or if 

 not ten, five— and if not five, make one acre rich. At 

 any rate, enrich a part as soon as possible, always 

 having an eye to enriching the whole: the part first 

 made rich, will immediately help to enrich the other." 

 Who will say that this advice docs not contain a text, 

 that will bear to be speculated upon by many of our 

 readers, during the whole of one of these long winter 

 evenings ? 



Tuts is the season when the comfort of your cattle 

 and hogs should be looked to and provided for. Com- 

 fort is said to be cheap fodder. The merciful man is 

 kind to his beast. Milch cows will not only yield more 

 milk, if kept warm, but they, and other stock will re- 

 quire less food, than when shivering, unprotected from 

 the inclemency of the season. To see his cattle, and 

 sheep, and hogs — all so dependent upon him — well fed 

 and well housed, is really one of the most pleasurable 

 sources of enjoyment which the provident farmer has, 

 in connection with his business, at his command. Let 

 every farmer then, who would enjoy as he ought, the 

 warmth of his fireside, and all his other privileges, be 

 able to reflect, when the winds whistle without, that 

 plenty is in, and around his barns — and that it is so 

 administered, as most to promote the comfort of his 

 stock. All this, too, let it be remembered, will run en- 

 tirely parallel with his interest. 



HJ' We would like our subscribers to remember, that 

 every facility is offered for the transmission of the 

 small sums due us, in the authority given by law to 

 post-masters, to frank remittances to publishers. The 

 Farmers' Cabinet owes much to the kindness and cour- 

 tesy of post-masters in this matter, and it affords ua 

 pleasure, thus publicly to acknowledge it. 



