128 



A Hint — Premium Butter, 4'C. 



Vol. hi. 



I can tell them it will be heavy enough when 

 they count cost. When I speak of loads, 

 I do not mean such as farmers haul from 

 their yards, but such as are generally 

 brought from the city, one foot or more above 

 the side rails, well trodden, and then the 

 acre of ground will be well manured, and 

 exclusive of the labor, will cost $28. Then 

 atl,er this much plough your ground well four 

 inches deep, leave it in this state exposed to 

 the winter — and in the spring, as soon as the 

 ground is dry (not before) plough again shal- 

 low, then put 50 bushels of lime to the acre 

 as hot as you can. Harrow well, and plough 

 your corn at the proper season, and not ne- 

 glect it after — and if you do not have a crop 

 it will not be your fault. But, if the spring 

 is to open very wet, I would all this work be 

 done then, and not in the fall. 



AH I have said is very soon done on paper, 

 and without much cost. But practically, it 

 takes much hard work, and can not or will 

 not be done, for the very reason that we, as 

 fanners in general cannot afford it.(') 



Penn. Farmer, 

 Phila. Co., Soptr. 27, 1838. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 A Hint to our New Jersey Friends* 



The necessity of keeping the different va- 

 rieties of the same species, widely separated, 

 is clearly manifested by the mixed stale in 

 which the melons are brought to the Phila- 

 delphia market ; for, with the exception of the 

 last variety of watermelons introduced, (the 

 Spanish, aiid these only with two or three in- 

 dividuals, who have kept them true and in- 

 creased their size,) I know of none which have 

 not very much degenerated. Of the canta- 

 loupe I cannot recollect much, but have heard 

 them spoken of in high terms of praise ; it can- 

 not now be recognized, having probably lost 

 its distinctive characteristic, partly by admix- 

 ture with some varieties then cultivated, and 

 since by blending with the nutmeg melon. — 

 The citron variety is of later date. It was, 

 when first introduced, about the size of a fully 

 grown Holland pippin, deeply lobed, aromatic 

 green, fresh, very small cavity, a smooth skin, 

 and decidedly the very best variety of them 

 all ; this was soon blended with the larger 

 kinds, by some, through carelessness, and by 

 others, to increase the size ; so that it is diffi- 

 cult now to find one, that approaches to the 

 original, either in size or qimlity. 



The long striped watermelon has already 

 suffered much, and unless our truckmen are 

 more careful to keep a new variety called the 

 citron (not the citron nutmeg, but a spherical, 

 hard, striped, good-for-nothing tiling, used for 

 prescrvmg) from the neighborhood of their 

 patches, in a very short time, both this, and the 

 Spanidii sort will be of little value. The past 



season,'' watenmelons might be seen in the 

 market, mixed in various degrees; indeed, I 

 was present at the opening of one, so much 

 impregnated with this vile thing, as to require 

 a considerable effort with a sliarp knife to di- 

 vide it. I would advise that it be kept at a 

 full gun shot distance, or discarded altogether. 

 And as there has been lately introduced a 

 very fine variety of Pumpkin (the citron, or 

 Valparaiso squash) I hope the above hint re- 

 specting melons, may be a sufficient protec- 

 tion to this, from all interlopers. H . 



Premium Butter—Bread from Spring 

 ^Vheat. 



Mr. Libby — Dear Sir, — ^Atthe Agricultu- 

 ral dinner of the New Castle county Agricul- 

 tural Society, given yesterday at the City 

 Hall, Wilmington, you, among some other 

 of the members of the Philadelphia Agricul- 

 tural Society, were present, and appeared to 

 enjoy the premium butter, made by Thon>as 

 Massey, Jr., and the spring wheat bread ; 1 

 have taken the liberty to send you a small 

 parcel of each for the inspection of such of 

 your agricultural friends as may be calling at 

 the office of the Farmers' Cabinet, in the next 

 day or two. The bread is made of the two 

 samples of wheat, which accompanies it — the 

 one raised by Benjamin Webb, near Wilming- 

 ton, the other by myself, and each yielding 

 in the neighborhood of seventeen bushels per 

 acre, for one bushel sown. The fiour makes, 

 (as far as my experience of two years goes) 

 brown bread — of its sweetness and other quali- 

 ties, let your farmers judge. The great heat 

 and drought of the past season, caused much in- 

 jury to our winter and spring wheat, whilst in 

 the milch — the average weight of the latter 

 (from 56 to 57 lbs. per bushel) will compare 

 without disparagement with the winter grain, 

 much of that on our best lands not yielding be- 

 yond 54 to 56 lbs. Although I should never re- 

 commend a farmer giving up his winter wheat 

 for this spring variety, altogether, as some 

 have done ; yet, as a stranger among \is, under 

 many unfavorable circumstances, it deserves 

 kind treatment — acclimation — to be tried in 

 small quantities — and the seed to be genuine, 

 before it is condemned and pushed aside, with 

 the many hrinibiigs of the day. 

 Yours, truly, 



James W. Thomson. 



Wilmington, Del., Oct. 25, 1833. 



With the above note from our worthy cor- 

 respondent. Dr. Thomson, we received the 

 bread and butter. The butter was very su- 

 perior, and merited, we think, the premium 

 awarded it. The spring wheat bread, also 

 was excellent, but rather dark. The grain 

 from which it was made, evidently of a 



