246 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



From the National jEgis. 



Barre,Jan. 30, 1824. 

 Mr. Rogers, — In the summer of the year 1822, 

 I raised from one potatoe, the growth of the pre- 

 ceding _vear, one hiskel, three pecks and two quarts, 

 of very sizeable ones. To such as may doubt 

 my veracity, I can produce satisfactory teeti- 

 inony ; and to such as may think this product 

 small, I would recommend the divine command, 

 " go thou and do likewise." 



Gardner Ruggles. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1824. 



[Conliniied from page 236.] 



PARING AND BURwiNG. Mr. Nicholson, author of 

 the Farmer''s JlssislanI, in an Essay, which obtained a 

 premium from the Agricultural Society of Albany 

 County, New York, has the following observations on 

 this subject. 



" A practice has long prevailed in Europe of paring; 

 and burning soils, for the purpose of improving their 

 texture and increasing their fertility. On clay lands, 

 and such as contain too much vegetable matter, we 

 conceive the process might be advisable, if not too ex- 

 pensive. Its effect on clays ie to destroy the adhesive 

 quality of the soil, as the earth burned becomes rather 

 ofa silicious texture ; and at the same time the surface 

 is much enriched by the operation. In the other case 

 it is calculated to reduce the redundancy of vegetable 

 matter as well as to enrich the soil. The operation is 

 performed in the following manner : — 



" When the ground is in a good sward of grass let It 

 be carefully turned over with the plough ; the irons of 

 which should be well sharpened. Let the plough run 

 about three inches deep. Then cross plough with a 

 very sharp coulter, and the sward all be cut into squares 

 of about ten or twelve inches. Set the square chunks 

 up edgeways, by leaning two together and they will 

 soon dry. When well dried, build a part of them up 

 in the form of little ovens, at the distance of about"! 8 

 feet each way. These are all to have a little opening 

 or door, at a common windward side, for the air to en- 

 ter, and another opening above for the smolce to pass 

 olT. On some dry day, when the wind is fair for blow- 

 ing into the holes below, place some straw or other 

 dry rubbish into the boles, and set fire to it. As soon 

 as the fires have got fully going In each of the heaps, 

 let the holes in the tops be stopped up, for the purpose 

 of retaining the smoke, and keep gradually building up 

 the heaps, as the fire penetrates them, until all the 

 chunks of earth are piled roumd them ; and when the 

 heaps have fully burned, and sufficientlv cooled, they 

 ate to be evenly spread over the ground and plough- 

 ed in." 



Mr. Cobbett's mode of burning is as follows : — 

 ^' Make a circle or oblong square ; cut sods and 

 build a wall all round three feet thick and four feet 

 high, then light a fire in the middle with straw, dry 

 sticks, &c. extending it all over the bottom of the pit ; 

 keep adding light fuel at first, then rubbish wood, till 

 there is a good bed of coals. Then put on the dryest of 

 the clods, taking care to keep the smoke in. Continue 

 thus for a day or two, when you may dig out the earth 

 a'ly where about the kiln and fling on. Put your 

 finger into the top of the heap here and there ; if you 

 fi id the fire very near, throw on more earth ; not too 

 in ich at a time, for It deadens the fire. The ashes 

 (or torrified earth) will be cool enough to remove in a 

 week, peat or bog earth may be burnt in the same way, 

 or rfrv. as in the paring and burning method. Some 

 onjy kindle a fire and lay on dry sods at first, and when 

 the whole is under good way, throw on the earth, (sub- 

 • )il, &c.) to be torrified, till the heap is sufficiently 

 large. This manure applied to cabbages, rutabaga, 

 Indian corn, and buck wheat, produces great eflect." 



ItwiU be observed that Mr. Cobbett's dlrectlonsare 

 not intended merely for burning the stirface of the soil, 

 but for burning earth, for mamire, including subsoil, 

 to any depth which way be convenient. If the sub- 



soil is wholly or in part clay, or perhaps any other spe- 

 cies of earth in which there is little mixture of silicious 

 sand, it is often useful to burn that as well as the sur- 

 face. But, as has been before observed, burning sand 

 produces no advantage, either for manuring other earth, 

 or altering the texture or qualities of that which is 

 burnt. (To be continued.) 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Mr. Editor, — I frequently notice in your paper de- 

 scriptions of new and valiiable improvements. From 

 this circumstance, I take the liberty to recommend 

 through its medium not only to our country brethren, 

 but to every citizen, rich or poor, who Cetds a horse or 

 cow, a new and very useful Machine, now in use at 

 the'exteusive establishment of Mr. Niles, Ilawley Place, 

 Boston, for the purpose of cutting hay and straw. 

 From the peculiar good feelings this gentleman bears 

 towards this very useful implement, it affords him the 

 greatest satisfhctlon to shew and explain its utillly. 

 From the full examination I have given it 1 am fully 

 satisfied. Its operation and eflect far exceeded my ex- 

 pectation. It is very simple In its construction, very 

 durable in all its parts, very effective In its operation, 

 and I am assured by the Inventor that it has cut sev- 

 entyfire bushels of Itay in one hour, with the labor of 

 two boys, not exceeding fifteen years of age. 



As it is well known that common hay, straw and 

 corn-butts, when cut and mixt, with a small propor- 

 tion of grain constitute the best possible food for an- 

 imals, I think this implement one of the best a far- 

 mer or stable keeper can possibly have in use. I un- 

 derstand that the inventor, a Mr. Willis, has an estab- 

 lishment on an extensive scale, is manufacturing those 

 machines, of various sizes, and has placed them for 

 sale at the Agricultural Establishment in Merchant's 

 Row. 



FOREIGN. 



An arrival at New-York from Havre, has furnished 

 Paris dates to Jan. 12. By these we learn that the 

 third campaign of the Turks had proved unsuccessful, 

 and that the Greeks oblalneda naval victory on the 4tb 

 and 5lh of November in the Gulph of Falante. The 

 Greek fleet consisted of 36 vessels, and the Turkish of 

 34, and notwithstanding the Turks had tri(51o the 

 weight of artillery, the Greeks were completely, suc- 

 cessful. It Is also stated that the Greeks had succeed- 

 ed in cutting off the communications of the Pacha of 

 Scutaria, with his military depositories, Arta and Pra- 

 vasa. They had also taken an entire train of Artillery, 

 with an immense quantity of munitions of war. The 

 war was still obstinately prosecuted on the coast of Ne- 

 gropont. 



An article, dated Constantinople, Nov. 20, and pub- 

 lished in the Augsburg Gazette, informs that " all the 

 news from the RIorea agrees in stating that the Greeks 

 have had the entire advantage in the last campaign ; — 

 in consequence of which the Divan is seriously engaged 

 in discussing this very Important question : — " Shall we 

 hazard a new campaign, or shall we instantly treat with 

 the Greeks." This subject has had a very Interesting 

 consideration, but the result i^not, as yet, known. 



Great excitement prevails in France respecting Dep- 

 uties to represent the French people in their CAnniftcr*. 

 Party spirit runs high. 



The papers continued to speak of an expedition 

 forming In Spain for South America, wholly on Spanish 

 account : — but it was said Russia had been called upon 

 by Spain, to comply with thetreatyof 1817, by which 

 she stipulated to furnish Ferdinand with five ships of 

 the line, and three frigates, provisioned for four months. 



.4 Tragical Criminal. — One Martial, an artist and 

 dramatic author, attached to one of the French Thea- 

 tres, was recently tried and convicted of theft. .Just as 

 the verdict had been read, and the Attorney General 

 moved for sentence. Martial drew from under his 

 clothes a shoit knife, with which having struck his 

 throat several times, he threw it at the feet of the Jury, 

 and fell lifeless in the bar. A general movement of 

 horror pervaded the Court, and several females fainted. I 

 The Judge ordered a physician to be called. There' 



happened to he one on the Jury, who rapidly approach 

 ed the culprit ; the gens d'armes also ran to his reliel 

 Martial pulling open his shirt, discovered his neci 

 which had not the slightest mark of Injury ; the knii 

 was so dull, that it had not even bruised the skin. Th 

 agitation produced by this tragic scene, as rapidly sul 

 sided, and the accused heard with great coniposun 

 though protesting his innocence, his sentence of impri 

 onment for five years. 



Jonah and the Jfliale. — Dr. Pearson, of London, i 

 lecturing upon the stomach, observed that this orga 

 had no power over substances endued with vitality 

 and that this circumstance accounted for the fact ( 

 the prophet Jonah having remained undigested in th 

 stomach of the whale for the space of three days an 

 three nights. Dr. Pearson's discovery is highly Impoi 

 tanl both in a medical and theological point of view. 



Perkins. — Extract of a Utter dated Liverpool, Dec 

 15. — "Our countryman, Perkins tells me that he hi 

 invented a Steam Engine to go in the long boat of s 

 Indiaman, and to take up but little room, that will tc 

 her three miles an hour in a calm, and which will I 

 in operation next summer ; also, that he has ccmplete 

 the most difficult part of the Steam Machinery, that • 

 returning the steam, and that it will require so litf 

 fuel to keep the steam up, that he is at prtseat afrai 

 to mention the minimum. 



DOMESTIC. 



Fire. — Between '12 and 1 o'clock on the morning i 

 the 25th Inst, a fire took place in Providence, R. I. 1 

 commenced in buildings near Market Square, owm 

 by Messrs. Charles Potter, John Brewer and Josep 

 Hawes. The flames burst through thereof and thre; > 

 tened destruction to the whole range ; but by great e; i 

 ertions were extinguished, after the buildings had sb i 

 tained considerable damage. Mr. John Hutchini 

 bookseller, sustained considerable loss. The office 

 the R. 1. American was in danger and sustained son 

 loss. 



A melancholy event lately occurred at Jersey Cit | 

 by the administering of laudanum for paragoric. Tw | 

 children of Mf . Isaac Edge, Jr. being sick, Mrs. E. sei | 

 to a store for a bottle of paragoric, and by mistake i i 

 the clerk the bottle was filled with laudanum, whic 

 was given to the children. — The eldest an interestil 

 girl, nged 20 months, died in 18 hours after the laud: 

 num had been given. The other, a boy only 3 monti j 

 old, lies dangerously ill, with little hopes of his recover [ 



Ephraim Colburn lately convicted at New-Haven 

 aiding and assisting In opening and removing the bod 

 of a young female from the burying-ground, for dissec 

 tloB has been sentenced to nine months imprisonmen 

 and to pay a fine of three hundred dollars. , 



On the 11th inst. a destructive storm took placet 

 ^^'ilkesbarre, Pa. which did nniVh damage by levellin 

 fences, unroofing and overthrowing barns and otbl 

 buildings, blowing down chimneys, trees, ice. Th 

 elegant bridge over the Susquehanna River was lik« 

 wise destroyed. It was lifted from its foundation in i 

 body, and hurled from the pleis on to the ice, and son 

 of the timbers were carried 30 or 40 rods. The N«t 

 Episcopal Church also received considerable damage 

 The loss sustained in the valley is estimated at not 1« 

 than $50,0CO. 



Umrelcome. Visitors. — On the 29th of January, threi 

 large Bears made their appearance In the village 

 Chambly, near Lake Champlain. The first was sen 

 between 3 and 4 o'clock In the afternoon, in the gp 

 den of Samuel Ilatt, Esq.; another was observed A 

 deavoring to get over a garden fence, and a 3d para(W 

 thro' the main street. The villagers not expecting such! 

 visit, were not prepared to give them the reception th«J 

 deservcil, and they all deliberately walked to the wotrfl 

 before the business of loi.ding and priming could be ftr 

 tended to. [. 



Thursdaythe Ist day of April next, has been appoint- 

 ed by the Governor of this State, a day of Fasting Hi 

 Prayer. 



The dwelling house of Dr. Oliver Morse, of DanviHe, 

 Vt. was destroyed by fire on the 10th Inst. The famil!|r 

 were absent, except two small chikUen and a 

 about sixteen years of age. 



I 



