1854. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



307 



plexing and unprofitable. Never suffer a -weed to 

 mature on your premises ; cut down, root up and 

 annihilate all. This is the only true policy. This- 

 tles, white- weed, mullen, burdock, chickory, and 

 a host of other indigenous and exhausting produc- 

 tions, which are of little or no value, are ever 

 ready to spring up, and abridge the profits of the 

 farm, and require no idle hand to hold them in 

 check. All weeds are gross feeders, and sap the 

 soil more than cultivated plants of e<:iual size and 

 wsight. 



BOOK FARMING A SWAMP. 



Mr. Editor : — I have recently purcluised about 

 20 acres of land, being a slice ofl' from the sides 

 of two adjoining farms, both now vastly too large. 

 The soil is a light loam, perfectly free from stone 

 and beautiful land to cultivate, but in a miserable 

 state of cultivation. In the centre, on either side 

 of the old line brush fence, is a muck swamp con- 

 taining about two acres, which has been covered 

 with aider bushes time out of mind, and has been 

 the receptacle of the wasli of the highway eversince 

 the settlement of the town. In 1851, I let out 

 the land at tlic halves, while erecting my building, 

 and took what the unlucky tenant pleased to give 

 mo, which I assure you was not much. - 



The last season I carried it on myself, and I 

 increased the potato crop 55 bushels to the acre, 

 the corn crop 20 bushels to the acre, and oats 20 

 luishels to the acre. I planted about an acre of 

 corn on land so poor that the man of whom I pur- 

 chased .said it would not raise corn at any rate, 

 and so all my neighbors said ; liut as I knew noth- 

 ing about farming, I was fool enough to try. I 

 began by carting 49 loads of manure, about half 

 horse and cattle manure, rather strawy. I then 

 plowed it, holding tlie plow myself, and I put in 

 pretty much all ])ut the beam and handles, and I 

 must confess, that after the operation the land 

 looked rather pale ; l)ut as "revolutions never go 

 backwards," I Avas determined to go ahead. I took 

 care that the manure was covered immediately 

 after spreading — I then put into the hill, on about 

 three-quarters of the piece, a liberal supply of 

 the very best stable manure from a neighboring 

 l)arn-cellar, and on the remainder I put swamp 

 mud, that was carted out the fall before, and 

 mixed with barn-yard manure in the proportion 

 of one load of manure to eight of the muck. — 

 iJotli patches were cultivated alike. 



Now for the results. In four to six weeks 

 from planting, the corn where muck was used, 

 would weigli at least four times as much as the 

 other, and was much more even and of a better 

 color. !Many of my neighl)ors examined the 

 piece, and were perfectly astonished at the dif- 

 ference in fiivor of the compost, at the same time, 

 remarking that the other would overtake it bo- 

 fore harvest. The other did gain upon it, but 

 was never nearly as sound and }ie;ivy. The differ- 

 ence, in the fall, was strikingly apparent. The 

 crop I did not mc;isure, but it was admitted on 

 all hands, that more than an average crop was 

 raised on what w\xh termed a miserable piece of 

 land wholly unfit for corn. 



Now, Mr. Editor, tliat is book-fanning, for I 

 know very little about any other, and I intend to 

 book-farm that swamp on to the rest of my land. 



after having prepared it in a barn-cellar ; and if 

 the land wont produce better crops than it did 

 in other hands, then I will emigrate to the West, 

 that's all. I do not tliink compost better for the 

 land than stable manure, but I believe for a corn 

 crop it is worth fifty per cent. more. ay. 



— Journal of Agriculture. 



For the IVrw England Farmer. 



SHALL I BE A FARMER? 



"Shall I engage in fixrming, and when," is the 

 inquiry of your correspondent B., in the Farmer 

 of the Gth inst. The question is asked of Massa- 

 chusetts farmers ; ))ut a New Hampshire farmer 

 ventures an ans.wer, — which is, certainly engage 

 in farming, if j'ou are an intelligent, enterprising 

 and industrious man, — and being a subscriber to 

 the New England Fanner, is indication of intelli- 

 gence at least. We want you to engage in the most 

 ennobling calling that occupies human beings — 

 cultivating the earth. 



On tlie other hand, if you are a stupid dolt, 

 believing that Adam and Abel knew all that is 

 necessary to know about farming and rearing 

 flocks, and that scientific cultui-e is a humbug, and 

 agricultural papers are a nuisance, thenbeadvi.scd 

 to go thy Avay to college and a profession, or any 

 where else, rather than to the farm, fur the gener- 

 ous earth now mourns and looks sad by I'cason of 

 so many stupid cultivators. 



As it is of less consequence where a man is than 

 what he is, if you are of the right sort, you need 

 have no difficulty in selecting a spot of earth i\;rn 

 farm, that needs your care, and will reward abun- 

 dantly your labor, both of head and hand. 



Yours truly, W. H. Farmer. 



For the Ifeic England Farmer. 



WASH FOR FRUIT TREES. 



Various compounds are recommended as washes 

 for fruit trees, — as potash, ley, soda, Avhite-wash, 

 &c. In the January number of the Farmer, D. 

 W. L. advises a mixture of soap suds, soap stone 

 dust, lime and ochre, an application of doubtful 

 utility I should think. Some of the above I know 

 have proved injurious and destructive, and others 

 I thing rather objectionable. The design of all 

 washes should be to free theljark of foreign substan- 

 ces — as dust, moss, insects, &c., cleansing the Imrk, 

 opening the pores and stimulating to healthj' action. 

 I have used Avith good effect, soap suds (for econo- 

 my) that in which clothes liavc been Avashed, ap- 

 [ilied very freely with a sponge, and in some in- 

 stances witli a soft scrubbing brush. For tAvo 

 years past have used once during the growing 

 season, (the mimth of June I prefer) soft soap, 1 

 part, soft water 2 parts, applied with a sAvab and 

 rubl)ed quite hard; it should bo used during damp 

 weather or just before rain. 



Cultivators of fruit trees now are very much 

 annoyed Avith the green aphis, tlic bark and scab 

 louse; — the Avoody aphis, lias also made its ap- 

 pearance. For tlie first on apjile trees I find a de- 

 coction of Quassia a perfect remedy. I make it 

 quite strong — 1 lb. of Quassia chips (costing 8 

 cents) to S galls. Avatcr l)oiled to galls. , applied 

 witli a garden syringe. To two or three trees bad- 

 ly infested, I found it neces>^ary to make a second 

 application. Previoua to tliis experiment, the 



