314 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



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i^cttCiU. 



on, it would probably have rotted in one year, 

 that the closeness of birch bark prevents the 

 escape of sap. Hence he reasons, that a close 

 coat of paint put on unseasoned wood, instead of 

 preserving, operates like the birch bark by con- 



larly careful to save their own seeds, and save 

 the best of them. In placing so much confidence 

 in imported, the farmer egregiously errs ; he 

 waits for the seedsman to come and cheat him as 

 he does for the pedlar to cheat his wife. Let him 

 who lives halfway from the equator to the pole 

 never look south lor any kind of seeds he can 

 raise himself. I tried in a garden three fourths 

 of an acre twelve successive years one halt ot 

 my seeds from Massachusetts ; the other of my 

 own raising ; the latter, I found uniformly the 

 most certain in growth. Here is a way honest 

 men are often, very often deceived. — A country 

 merchant buys more seeds than he can vend, the 

 next year,with a few new, his box is replenished ; 

 therefore all are new ; the ignorant purchaser 

 does not know the tact, and perhaps does not 

 know that altera term of y ears some »eeds will not 

 grow. The expectant family plant their gar- 

 den, the little ones having staked out their me- 

 ted lot, but look for plants in vain. — Perhaps it 

 is fortunate, 1 am not an absolute monarch, 1 

 might let the shop-lifter go free and hang the 

 ^hop-keeper for the greater crime." 



The writer gives us some " Family Recipes,'''' moat 

 or all which have appeared in the New England Far- 

 mer, and concludes his pamphlet with a " Treatise on 

 the Apple Tree," which ■will claim our attention in 

 some fature number. 



( To be continued.') 



Touches on Agriculture ; including a Treatise on 

 the Preservation of the Apple Tree, together with 



Familii Recipes, Experiments on Insects, iS-e. S^c. _ r, r-. n 



Bi, the Author of a Description of Brmiswick, fining the sap to rot li.—See N. L. farmer, 

 and other Towns in Maine. Portland, A. W. _ '_' In good_seasons, farmers should^be part 

 TH.4YKR, Printer— 1824. 

 We have received, and been requested to give some 



notices of a pamphlet of between 40 and 50 pages, 8 



vo. with the above title ; a request, which we comply 



with readily, and cheerfully. The work consists of 



unconnected hints, but many of them will, we believe, 



prove useful, and their brevity may cause them to be 



read by those, who want leisure or inclination to pe- 

 ruse more bulky and elaborate works. Many articles 



are taken from the New Knglaud Farmer, but not, as 



is often the case, without referring to the source from 



which the author derived his materials. This little 



publication is an agricultural tract, which every far- 

 mer can afford to buy, and no farmer, if he reads if, 



can fail to get much more than the worth of his money 



from its contents. We are, however, of opinion that 



the author is not always correct in his theories, asd we 



apprehend that some caution may be necessary before 



some of his suggestions are adopted into practice. But 



this observation will apply to all works on agriculture, 



a science in which, owing to innumerable circumstan- 

 ces, such as variations of soil, climate, seasons, &c. as 



•well as the fallibility of those who give us instructions, 



absolute certainty is of rare attainment. But, though 



some recipes may fail, and some directions prove erro- 

 neous, still great benefits may be gained from others, 



and the balance will be greatly in favor of him who 



reads, meditates on, and adopts with due caution ma- 

 ny of the prescriptions of the above mentioned 



pamphlet. 



We will give a (evr quotations from the tract before 



us, and hope that some of our readers may be induced 



to purchase and peruse the pamphlet, which we learn 



may be had of Cummings, Uilliard & Co. No. 1, 

 Cornhill. 



" As most of the specifics mentioned have been 

 tested by actual, and successful experiment, I 

 have little fears from the cynical critic. And 

 although the word quackery is extremely odi- 

 ous, it should never intimidate, where improve- 

 ment equals expectation." 



" SEASONING TIMBER. The theoTV, that the 

 Moon has an effect on the motion of the sap in 

 plants and trees is discarded by modern Philoso- 

 phers. I agree with Mr. Pickering, that the 

 weather calender ought no longer to disgrace 

 onr Almanacs. As the rays of the moon afford 

 no heat, what effect can they have on (he va- 

 pors of the earth, or the juices of plants? The 

 l)elief that timber, cut at the old of the moon in 

 February will be most durable is very general. 

 The late Mr. Cooper, of New Jersey, has giv- 

 en this fact. He says when the British army 

 lay in Philadelphia, they cut a quantity of white 

 oaks in May 1778, which they were obliged to 

 abandon ; these he split into posts and rails, 

 which remained sound twenty years afterwards. 

 !n the old of the moon in February following, 

 he felled more of the same kind of timber and 

 put it into posts and rails on the same kind of 

 land. These rotted in twelve years. A far- 

 mer in Massachusetts, in the hurry of planting, 

 cut a -ehile birch for a well sweep, the sap run- 

 ning freely. He barked the pole and it lasted 



will give the corn the same distance with th& 

 grass ; which may be represented as follows : 

 The black lines represent the grass, and the 

 dotted ones the corn. 



But should the descent of the hill be more '" 

 gradual, I would give the grass rows a distance 

 of 12 feet apart, leaving two rows of corn be. 

 tween every two rows of grass; thus: 



From the American Farmer. 



TO PREVENT ARABLE LAND FROM WASHING. 

 Pottcrsville, March 17, 1824. 

 Dear Sir, — 1 did not intend communicating 

 to the public, through the medium of the press, 

 my plan for preserving lands from washing by 

 means of grass, till established on the broad 

 basis of experience, but, as you have published 

 an allusion thereto, which 1 incidentally made 

 in a little communication on summer grafting, 1 

 have concluded to offer you the plan entire ; 

 either, for present publication, or to lay by, till 

 experience shall confirm its utility. 



However, should you consider my theory de- 

 serving publicity, it may not be amiss to lay it 

 immediately before the public, and thereby ex- 

 pose the plan to be confirmed or rejected by 

 numerous experiments at once. The impor- 

 tance of a preventive to the washing of lands, 

 all must admit; since lands generally do not in 

 fact wear out, but washout. If a plan could be 

 devised to obviate so general a misfortune, al- 

 together practicable and efficient, it would essen- 

 tially contribute to llie interests of agriculture. 



And in order to effect so desirable an end, 1 

 propose to establish permanent rows of grass, 

 nearly in a horizontal direction across the sides 

 of hills. For example, suppose a hill side to 

 have one regular slope dovvn to a stream of wa- 

 ter ; 1 would run the rows of grass parallel with 

 the water course, and apportion their distances 

 to the declivity : should the descent be very 

 great, I would have a grass row at the distance 

 ot every six feet, and the corn to occupy the 



It will be observed, there is a corn row on 

 each side of the grass, at the distance of three' 

 feet which still gives, as before, six feet dig* jj, 

 tance to the corn rows. But should the hill's 

 inclination be still less, I would give 13 feet t( 

 the grass rows, and have three rows of corn he-- 

 tween every two rows of grass. 



17 years. He says had he put it up with the bark] middle space between the grass, which of course 



Here the corn will have the same distance 9 

 before. The ground of course to be ploughed' 

 in but one direction. The grass must resist th< 

 rigors of winter, and have a perennial rooi 

 without spreading beyond the space allotted ii 

 The kinds I prefer, from a partial experience,) 

 the tall meadow oat and the Missouri grasses,aBi. 

 a tall winter reed grass. The Missouri and reei 

 grasses are abundantly more nutritive than th' 

 oat. But my plan may be objected to, as super 

 fluous, since the deep horizontal ploughing bit 

 been introduced. But I presume no scientifii 

 agriculturist will contend, that this plan is fre<' 

 from objections, as it requires more capital aOM 

 skill, than the people generally can spare ; an 

 over a stiff unabsorbent substratum, the cr9[ 

 must be in danger of drowning in wet seasoiji' 

 while the ridges must be somewhat inconvenieB 

 for a rotation of cropping; and lastly, the ridg- 

 es can answer no other purpose, than to sayi 

 the land; for while they retain superfluqp- 

 water in wet weather, from their exposure t< 

 the sun, in a droaght, vegetation will su&r 

 more than on an even surface All which & 

 fects, my plan proposes to remedy, it is so sim 

 pie, every farmer who can run a tolerabli 

 straight furrow, may adopt it, and is at salBi! 

 time, as cheap as simple. The grass will retail 

 the water sufficiently long, to deposit its allu 

 vion ; but not long enough to injure vegetation 

 The grass will be as much benefitted by cul 

 lure, as the grain, and will improve for yean 



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