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PUBLISHED KY Wli.LlAM iMCH()l>, IIOGKIIS' I!Li|l, DINGS, CONGKICI^S S'niECT7(rOUll'ni IlU()llTlU)M STAir. STlfKl'Tr 



Vol. 11. 



BOSTON, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1821. 



No. 29. 



FDR THE NEW F.Nf.LAND FARMER. 



F.MARKS ON SEVERAL SUBJECTS RELATING 



TO RURAL ECONOMY. 



[Continued from page J 18.] 



O.N" THE I'SE OK LIME IN GJRUENl.NG. 



7. Land which has been ione; cultivated, is, 

 inerallv, said not to he good for turnips, aixl 

 the common way of culture is not. Tlic 

 mips will, indeed si^row, without lime, to con- 

 derabhj size, but they will be spongy and al- 

 injured by worms. This I have found inva- 

 ably the case in my garden, for six years 

 isl. I could raise them in line crops, after 

 her growths were removed, as I have men- 

 )ned in another communication, yet they were 

 t good for tlie table. But with the use of 

 ne, the last season, I succeeded in raising 

 em over the greater part of my garden in a 

 ry tine state, and in quantity sufficient, I should 

 ink, to pay for all the manure I have used 

 ring the year, with no other labor than sow- 

 f and hoeing them once. — And all after one 

 two crops had been procured. That it was 

 i lime that preserved them from the worms, 

 d also from being spongy, is fully evident 

 »m this, that in some small parts of the gar- 

 q I did not use lime, and in those parts the 

 mips were defective as usual. 



Seeds. This is a subject of much greater im- 



•tance than is usually supposed. 1 will advert 



the age of seeds when they should be used. Do 



Olistake in supposing that it is gener:illy 



ought the newer the seed the better? When 



> produce is looked for under ground this 



y be true. Also when it is to be in leaves 



I vines. Brt when in things produced upon 



es, as peas, beans, cucumbers, &.c. the seed 



• uld not ordinarily be used till it is two vears 



. If it were twice that age it would be 



lie the worse, except, in planting, a little 



I re seed should be required. Trial and ob- 



« vation will afford proof of the justness of 



I se remarks. 



EMARKS BY THE EDITOR. We agree with ourcor- 



r 'oij dent iu opinion that the subject he has adverted 



ti o( great importance ; and we think it has not receiv- 



' ' t attention from farmers and gardeners, which it 



erits. Dr. Darwin in his work entitled " Phy- 



, ays, " Gardeners in general prefer new seeds 



r their principal crops, as they are believed to 



(> sooner, and with greater certainty, and to 



; H e luxuriantly." *' But peas and beans of a 



/' Mr. Marshall observes "are by some pre- 



> new as not so likely to run to straw. And 



CIS and melons are best to be several years old, 



to their shooting less vigorously, and thence 



.■•miijg more fruitful. But this principle is carried 



far by some gardeners, who say these seeds cannot 



too old, and will allow ten years to be within 



ads ; three for cucumbers, and four for melons, how- 



', is age enough. 



As to the age of seeds at which they may be sown, 

 uncertain, and depends much on how they are 

 t; those of cucumbers and melons are good a long 



I:, because very carefully preserved. 

 Peas and beans will germinate very well at seven 

 rs of age ; but the seeds of lettuces and kidney 



beans, and some others, arc not to be depended upon , lars, on a crop of Indian Corn, of one hwuiriJ 

 afler a year or two; and, generally speaking, i\\a\ and twelve bushels and J-fO /)cc/;s, CM one acre oi 

 smaller seeds are of the least duration." — Marshall on\^TO\im\. The soil of this acre is a gravelK 

 Gardening. , loam ; the year previous it was well inaimred, 



If it be true, (as our correspondent says it " may i and two crops fakoii from it, one of bay, and 



the olherof round turnips. Last Spring, Iwcntv- 

 scven loads of good composi manure wcio pu' 



be") that new seeds are best " when the produce is 

 looked for under ground," or " when it is to be in 

 leaves and vinos," the fact is of great Umporfancc. — 

 Nor is the other assertion less worthy of notice that old 

 seed is best" for things produced %i.pon vines, &c. We 

 hope that farmers and gardeners will turn their atten- 

 tion to this subject, and by accurate and repeated cx- 

 perijncnts ascertain at what age the most important 

 seeds, which are used in farming and gardening should 

 be sown in order to produce the most valuable crop. 



9. Glass Lamps. The shape of these is of 

 sreat importance inasmuch as beauty and utility 

 happen here to coincide, which is not always 

 the case. The lamp should be oblate, not 

 globular or oblong as they are generally to be 

 found. The opening at the top should be as 

 small as convenience will allow. One pipe on- 

 ly for a wick, and a little higher than usual. — 

 And if there is any fluting, it should be confin- 

 ed to the under part of the lamp. And the 

 lamps should never be very long. The pari 

 designed to be lighted should be trimmed in the 

 shape of a cone, and oil the excrescence above 

 the tube carefully taken off every day. A lamp 

 of this shape, and thus trimmed will give as 

 much light as lamps of the more common shape, 

 with one third less oil, and will have a much 

 more bright and lively appearance. And the 

 light, as it is produced in great measure by re- 

 flections, will be more uniform, and, so to speak, 

 more mellow. This is no speculation, but the 

 result of more than three year's experience, at- 

 tended with the most careful observation, and 

 with several lamps. I have one now in use of 

 the right shape, which gives sufficient light for 

 any common family purpose, reading or sewir^ 

 with a consumption of oil not greater, for the 

 time, than is expended by a common taper, as 

 has been shown by actual measurement. The 

 truth of these observations will be readily per- 

 ceived by those who have any considerable 

 knowledge of the laws of light and shade. And 

 those who have not will find the most satisfacto- 

 ry proof in the lesult, which will attend the 

 trial. 



In choosing a glass lamp have regard to the 

 foregoing observations; but whatever shape 

 you prefer, be sure to obtain those of small 

 tops, and always with single pipes. If more 

 lights than one are wanted it is better to use 

 two lamps. A lamp of the shape recommend- 

 ed and prepared as above will, with one wick, 

 give more light than those in the usual shape 

 with two wicks. 



RHODE-ISLAND SOCIETY 

 For the Encouragement of Domestic Industry. 

 At an adjourned quarterly meeting of the Standing 

 Committee of said Society, holden at Fawtuxet, on 

 the 3d inst. the Committee on Agricultural Products 

 submitted the following report : 



Dr. Charles Elbkidge, of East-Greenwich, 



on it, and the land was twice ploughed; on Uic 

 201h of May it was furrowed, north and south, 

 three feet apart ; the coin whs planted twelve 

 inches apart, in the furrow, from two to three 

 grains in a bill ; it had li.o ploughings, with a 

 horse plough, and two hoeiiigs. After the first 

 hoeing, thirteen barrels (ff Menhaden fish were 

 put on fourteen rows of corn, which made a 

 great improvement in the growth. The ex- 

 pense of cultivation, placing hall' the value of 

 the manure to the growing cro[), is staled at 

 twenty-five dollars and eighty cent.». 



Mr. Nathaniel Cook, of Cumberland, is enti- 

 tled to the Society's premium of eight dollars, 

 on a crop of /n</ian Corn of one hundred and fixe 

 bushels on one acre of ground. The soil on 

 which this grew was naturally good, and has 

 been watered about twenty years. It was plant- 

 ed wilh corn, last year, and about forty loads of 

 manure put on it. It was planted this season 

 about the middle of May. The ground was 

 jiloughed twice, mid then furrowed about seven 

 feet apart. These furrows were tilled wilh sta- 

 ble manure, and consumed about twenlv-two 

 loads. A furrow was turned from each side ou 

 to I he mai..,re. There were shewed in these 

 last furrows, aiiout tweiity-(wo lonrls of mailure 

 made of mud, which had been yaidcii uf.o„ 

 about four months. The corn was planted in 

 these last furrows, about eight or ten inches 

 apart. It was ploughed twice and hoed three 

 times. The seed was a large white corn, har- 

 vested about the middle of October, and the ex- 

 pense of the cultivation about thirty dollars. 



Thomas Fry, Esq. of East-Greenwich, is enti- 

 tled to the Society's premium of twenty dollars, 

 on a crop of Indian Corn, of three hundred and 

 ninety-nine bushels and twenty-nine quarts, on four 

 acres of ground; which is within a fraction of 

 one hundred bushels to the acre. — This land is 

 a strong loam, was mown the past year, and 

 cut about a ton of hay to the acre. — It was 

 ploughed about the middle of May — one hundred 

 loads of compost manure were carted and spread 

 on the ground after ploughing. — About half the 

 ground was harrowed with an ox harrow, then 

 furrowed with a plough about three feet apart, 

 and two grains of corn dropped, once in from 

 nine to twelve inches. It was planted on the 

 Iwo last days of May, and was hoed twice. At 

 'he first hoeing it was harrowed twice in a row, 

 wilh a horse harrow, and, at the second hoeing, 

 was ploughed twice in rows, deep enough to 

 turn up the sward. The expense of cultivation, 

 mcluding half the value of the manure, was 

 eighty-four dollars and seventeen cents. One 

 ere of the above was measured separately, and 

 produced 133 bushels. 



Mr. Stephen Greene, ,Jun. of East-Greenwich, 

 has raised this season on one acre of ground, 



isent^tirr; V, '^'^^''J'f\ *" J^^ast-ureenwich, ^•,., hundred and seventy bushels of carrots, twenty- 

 is entitled to the Society's premium often dol- si. bushels of onions, from five to seven hundred iL 



