1836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



305 



the quantity of bones to be applied per acre, since soil, 

 situation, and climate, must all be taken into the far- 

 jner's consideration. 



The following facts, however, have been ascertained 

 by numerous experiments, at some of which I have 

 personally assisted : — 



1st. That crushed bones remain in the soil for a lens;th 

 of time proportionate to the size of tlie pieces; the dust 

 producing the most immediate ell'ect, the larger pieces 

 continuing to show the longest advantage. On arable 

 land their good effects continue for four years; on pas- 

 ture land for eight. 



2ndly. On turnips, oats, barley, and wheat, the 

 quantity applied has been from 25 to 30 bushels per 

 acre; on pasture land, from 25 to 40 bushels of bone 

 dust, earl}'' in the spring. 



Srdly. The best modie of application is by the drill, 

 with the seed corn. 



4thly. The bones should, when first used, be always 

 applied, for the sake of correct information, in varying 

 quantities per acre; and on no account should the far- 

 mer omit to leave, by way of comparison, a fair portion 

 of the field without any manure." 



Mr. Johnson deserves the thanks of the public 

 for having produced this useful pamphlet. We 

 wish we could impress upon gardeners the value 

 of bones as a manure; because there is not a gen- 

 tleman's gardener in Britain who cannot command 

 a certain quantity of them, which are at present 

 lost for every useful purpose. The hones could be 

 deposited in the back sheds, and broken by the 

 men daring wet or inclement weather; and after- 

 wards fermented in the compost ground with com- 

 mon garden earth. In the composition of vine 

 borders, powdered bones, which have been fer- 

 mented, Ibrm a most valuable ingredient. 



From tlie New York Fanner. 

 AGKICULTURE IN RHODE ISLAND. 



A short visit to Newport and Bristol, in Rhode 

 Island, has given me a favorable impression of their 

 husbandry; in some cases, I am hall disposed to 

 call it, gardening. Rhode Island, properly so call- 

 ed, on which Newport is situated, lies on the eas- 

 tern shore of the State to which it gives it name, 

 and stretches from south east to north west a dis- 

 tance of about fourteen miles, and witli an aver- 

 age width of three miles. It is surrounded by deep 

 water ; and has in general a bold rocky shore with 

 v'cry little salt marsh, and as well as I could judge 

 no swampy ground in the interior. It lays in the 

 bay like a large whale reposing on the surface of 

 the sea, without any great elevation, but gradually 

 rising on its eastern and western sides longitudinal- 

 ly to an agreeable and beautiful height in the cen- 

 tre. It is almost entirely destitute" of any other 

 than ornamental trees ; but there are a good many 

 of these, though we regretted among these to see 

 that the common button wood predominated, as it 

 is almost as great an imnoverisher of the soil as 

 the Lombardy poplar. The moisture of the cli- 

 mate gives to the landscape that bright and beau- 

 tiful green, which is said to characterize the Brit- 

 ish Islands, and which the Emperor Napoleon so 

 much admired. The island seems based upon a 

 rock, a kind of slaty granite; and the water, which 

 is easily obtained, is of an excellent quality. In 

 the north-western part of the island, anthracite 

 coal abounds ; but the coal is not of so good a kind 

 as to encourage further operations, and the mine, 

 at least for the present, is abandoned. In general 



Vol. IV— 39 



the soil is a deep dark loam, in the southern parts 

 more n)ixed with sand than in the northern, com- 

 paratively free from stone ; and although it produ- 

 ces good crops of Indian corn, yet it seems more 

 favorable to grass, oats, and potatoes. The fences 

 are in general of stone, high and well built; the 

 fields, a rare thing in New England, dividing gen- 

 erally into rectangular lots ; and in the southern 

 parts of the island, are fertile, richly manured, and 

 under high cultivation. The farmers are most of 

 them the independent possessors of the soil which 

 they cultivate ; and the houses and buildings gen- 

 erally in the country are remarkably neat; sonis 

 in the neighborhood of the town are tasteful and 

 elegant. Without the town I do not recollect a 

 single house that was in a state of dilapidation or 

 that looked like the abodes of intemperance and 

 vagabondage. We may reasonably inler that, 

 there being among the inhabitants a large propor- 

 tion of Quakers, vvho are ordinaril}' models of neat- 

 ness and good domestic management, has had in 

 these respects a favorable.iiifluence. The climate, 

 to those who like the proximity of the sea, is de- 

 lightful in the warm months; it is milder in winter, 

 and it is much cooler in summer than places more 

 iidand. 



The stock kept upon the island are principally 

 sheep; and these chiefly of what are called the old 

 fashioned merino, with verj' little mixture of Sax- 

 ony ; the average yield of fleece from three to four 

 pounds; and bringing in the market from fifty to 

 sixty cents per pound. On land averaging in val- 

 ue one hundred dollars per acre, and with hay at 

 fifteen to twenty five dollars per ton, though the 

 price in 3'ears past has been about ten dollars per 

 ton, sheep husbandry would seem hardly to be 

 profitable, though they say that "sheep pay bet- 

 ter than any other stock ;" as indeed well it may, 

 as who would think in such circumstances of rais- 

 ing neat cattle to advantage, when the value of 

 a yearling would not be so much as that of a calf 

 six week sold? They are wise in desiring to con- 

 sume all their hay upon the place, for although the 

 farms on the sea shore are favorably situated for 

 procuring sea manure, yet m the interior they re- 

 quire all the manure they can make on their farms. 

 I ffot infbrmation of no considerable dairy farms. 

 Many swine are fatted on the island ; and a very 

 large amount of poultry, especially geese and tur- 

 keys, raised. For there a ready market is always 

 to be found ; but with what profit they are raised 

 is another matter. As long as the geese are fed 

 in the highways, the expense is nothing ; but 

 whoever undertakes to fat either geese or turkeys 

 at the corn crib, or, as some permit them, to feed 

 themselves among the standing corn, we advise to 

 count the cost. 



We saw extensi\-e fields of oats, which appear- 

 ed highly promising; and some most luxuriant 

 fields of barley already suffering from their own 

 weight. The crops of barley have for several 

 years been cut off by an insect, whose depreda- 

 tions are similar to those of the wheat worm, and 

 for which no remedy has yet been discovered. 

 The crops of corn sometimes give fifty and sixty 

 bushels to the acre, but the average yield is about 

 thirty. The grass, principally herdsgrass and red 

 top, which is a favorite grass in Rhode Island, 

 with very little of clover, under the best cultivation, 

 j will yield two and a half tone to the acre ; thougli 

 ! this would be a very high average. As far as my 



