18 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



PEAS AND POTATOES ON THE SAME LAND FOR 

 HOGS. 



An intelligent fanner of this county asks our 

 opinion in regard to planting a strip of early pota- 

 toes and a strip of peas to be fed to hogs on the 

 land. He would turn in the hogs as soon as the 

 peas were ripe. They would root up all the pota- 

 toes, and the peas and potatoes together would form 

 excellent food. The pigs would get fat, and at the 

 same time make the land fat with Avith their drop- 

 pings. 



What do the readers of the Genesee Farmer say 

 to this idea| It strikes us favorably. Some may 

 deem it rather a slovenly practice. But it would 

 save a great deal of labor. 



There can no longer be any doubt on one point. 

 Peas when consumed on the land where they are 

 grown add greatly to its fertility. Whether the 

 same is true of potatoes is an open question. Our 

 own opinion — and we have made many experi- 

 ments designed to throw light on the point — is that 

 potatoes must be considered as an exhaustive rather 

 than as a renovating crop. They differ in this 

 respect from turnips. 



We suppose the reason why our friend wishes to 

 plant potatoes with the peas is to furnish a food 

 containing sufficient water for the pigs. But if the 

 peas were fed out on the land before they were 

 ripe no such necessity would exist. Our object, 

 .however, is not to discuss the question ourselves. 

 We leave it to our correspondents. We may state 

 that the question is asked by one of the best and 

 most intelligent tanners we know, and is therefore 

 worthy of attention. 



Singing at the Plow. — Youatt, in his work on 

 .Cattle, mentions the following pleasing practice as 

 common in Devonshire : " A man and a boy attend 

 each team ; the boy chants that which can scarcely 

 be regarded as any distinct tune, hut which is a 

 very pleasing succession of sounds, resembling the 

 counter tenor in the service of the cathedral, lie 

 sings away with unwearied lungs, as he trudges 

 along, almost from morning to night, while every 

 now and then the plowman, as he directs the 

 movements of the team, puts in his lower notes, 

 but in perfect concord. When the traveler stops 

 in one of the Devonshire valleys, and hears this 

 simple music from the drivers of the plows on the 

 slope of the hill on either side, he experiences a 

 pleasure which this operation of husbandry could 

 scarcely be supposed to be capable of affording. 

 This chanting is said to animate the oxen some- 

 what in the same way as the musical bells that are 



so prevalent in the same country. Certainly the 

 oxen move along with an agility that would 

 scarcely be expected from cattle; and the team 

 may be watched a long while without one harsh 

 word being heard, or the goad or the whip applied. 

 The opponents of ox husbandry should visit the 

 valleys of north or south Devon, to see what this 

 animal is capable of performing, and how he per- 

 forins it." 



The Advantages of Crushing Oats. — The Lon- 

 don Omnibus Company have lately made a report 

 on feeding horses, which discloses some interesting 

 information not only to farmers, but to every 

 owner of a horse. As a great number of horses 

 are now used in the army for cavalry, artillery and 

 draft purposes, the facts stated are of great value 

 at the present time. The London company uses 

 no less than G,000 horses; 3.000 of this number 

 had for their feed bruised oats and cut hay and 

 straw; and the other 3,000 got whole oats aud 

 hay. The allowance accorded the first was, bruis- 

 ed oats, 16 lbs. ; cut hay, 7± lbs. ; cut straw, 2£ 

 lbs. The allowance accorded to the second, un- 

 bruised oats, 19 lbs.; «ncnt hay,' 13 lbs. The 

 bruised oats, cut hay and cut straw amounted to 

 26 lbs.; and the unbruised oats, etc., to 32 lbs. 

 The horse which had bruised oats, with cut hay 

 and straw, and consumed 26 lbs. per day, could do 

 the same work as well, and was kept in as good 

 condition as the horse which received 32 lbs. per 

 day. Here was a saving of 6 lbs. per day on the 

 feeding of each horse receiving bruised oats, cut 

 hay and cut straw. The advantage of bruised oats 

 and cut hay over unbruised oats and uncut hay is 

 estimated at 5 cents per day on each horse, 

 amounting to upward of $300 per day for the com- 

 pany's 6,000 horses. 



" Let Farmers take Courage."— So says the 

 veteran editor of the Massachusetts Ploughman. 

 The farmer, in times of general trouble, is better 

 provided for than any other class, for he has the 

 means of providing for his own wants — he can live 

 on his own means better than any class which 

 does not produce the .necessaries of life, but de- 

 pends on purchasing them of others. If prices 

 are rather low it is because we have had a more 

 favorable season for the products of the earth than 

 usual. Farmers, therefore, must not be discour- 

 aged at what are thought to be low prices — for 

 money can not fail to be abundant while we send 

 away none to Europe ; hut, on the contrary, we 

 send out farm produce, and receive in return a 

 cash balance each week. 



