478 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



this country are valuablo for this purpose, I can- 

 not say. 'I'he change produced on the hide by the 

 process of tanning, by which it is made tough and 

 durable, is made by the conversion of the gelatin 

 or glue, by steeping the hide in a solution of the 

 bark. The gelatin is, by this process, made capa- 

 ble of resisting decay, and imparts toughness, 

 strength and durabilry to the hide. 



I have hinted that this business might be made 

 a branch of rural economy. With your leave, I 

 will say a few words on this subject, desiring it to 

 be kept in mind that my remarks are intended, in 

 particular for remote places, which are rather 

 pastoral, and not for the more densely populated 

 farming districts. In tliose interior rural districts, 

 where the raising of cattle is extensively prosecu- 

 ted, and the animals are slaughtered at home ; — 

 under these circumstances, the raw material and 

 the means of converting it into leather are both on 

 the farm. Here the tanning material would be of 

 no value, while at the tanneries a high price is 

 paid for it. No machinery is required, and all 

 the articles being at hand, it would seem to me, 

 that in each township or neighborhood, it would 

 be easy and little expensive to have a few pits 

 where each one might take his hides to be tanned, 

 as he sends his pork to a neighbor's smoke-house. 

 ■The transportation of the hides and of the bark 

 to a distance to be tanned, adds a considerable 

 item to the cost of the leather, while the former 

 has both at liis hand. It would be a great im- 

 provement of the condition of the farmer, if he 

 could convert his articles of product into the state 

 necessary for their economical use. Where ex- 

 pensive machinery is not required, it would seem 

 this might be done. A portable mill has lately 

 been invented, designed to make the farmer his 

 own miller. If he could also convert his hides 

 into the state for use, he would still fiu-ther in 

 crease in independence. 



It is always desirable for a farmer to manufac 

 ture as much as, and whatever can be done ; and 

 this includes such articles generally as arc manu- 

 factured without machinery. Formerly in all 

 farmers' families, most of the wear was made by 

 the women of the household. This has been dis 

 continued, because by the introduction of machin- 

 ery the price of clothing has become less. There 

 is no such reason against tanning. But the cause 

 why this is not pursued as a branch of rui-al econ 

 omy is, that it would come upon the man, not 

 upon the female part of the household ; and the 

 man is so apt to think that the tilling and the 

 care of the stock is euougli for him. But I am 

 inclined to think that if one farmer in each neigh- 

 borhood, situated as I have mentioned, would tan 

 the hides for himself and neighbors, it might be 

 another step of the farmer towards independence. 



Essex, 1854. j. w. a. b. 



Agriculture in Nova-Scotia. — Through the 

 attention of Messrs. Besonett & Browx, of Hali- 

 fax, we arc favored with a pamphlet of 148 pages, 

 being " Practical Hints to the Farmers of Nova- 

 Scotia on the Management and Improvement of 

 Live Stock, and on General Husbandry : By J. 

 W. Dawson, author of Seicntilic Contributions 

 towards the Improvement of Agriculture in Nova- 

 Scotia." The work is mostly a compilation of] 



valuable papers from the writings of Youatt, 

 Johnston, Peters, Stephens, &c., and will be more 

 valuable, perhaps, to the farmers of the Province, 

 than any collection of their own operations would 

 be. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 



At this season we are particularly remembered 

 by our friends, and receive from them specimens 

 of the fine fruits which have been produced by 

 their industry and skill. In order to look abroad 

 among the farmers, and in attending the gather- 

 ings of the farmers at their annual festivals, we 

 are necessarily away from home considerably, and 

 cannot give their favors quite so much attention 

 as we could desire. 



The pears from Ashfield, sent in by Wir. Bas- 

 SETT, Esq., were received in good order. It is a 

 pretty one and of fair quality, but we have better 

 varieties of the same season, such as the Rostiezer, 

 Tyson, Brandywine, and others. Still, if worthy 

 in other characteristics than those of the fruit 

 alone, it may be advisable to cultivate it. The 

 great objection to fruits of this season, is that the 

 Bartlett takes the market before all Others, on ac- 

 count of its size and usual good qualities. 



One of the apples sent in by J. R., Feltonville, 

 will be noticed hereafter. The other, the Red 

 Sweeting, is not among the best sweet apples 

 in point of texture and flavor ; but as it has great 

 beauty, it would always sell well in any market, 

 and therefore is worthy of cultivation. 



The corn sent by G. S. R., Feltonville, being a 

 mixture of the Tuscarora with the 14 rowed sweet 

 corn, is not, we think, as tender, juicy, and free 

 from hulls, as some of the kinds now common 

 among us. The best corn for boiling, in our 

 opinion, is the black corn; when unripe it is 

 whitish, but turns as it ripens and becomes black. 



It is not quite so early as some of the sweet 

 white corn, but is so tender and juicy as almost 

 to melt upon the tongue. It shrivels like sweet 

 corn, when drying. 



Farmers in the United States. — The census 

 returns for 1850, give the following number of 

 farmers in the States and Territories : — 



Maine 7,706 New Hampshire 47 



Vermont 48,312 Massachusetts 55, 



Rhode Island 8,39H Connecticut 31 



New Jersey 32 



Delaware 7 



Dist. of Columbia 



North Carolina 81, 



Georgia 81 



Alabama 



Louisiana 11 



Arkansas 



,408 

 ,082 

 "66 

 ,392 

 ,848 

 .246 

 ,898 

 ,364 

 610 

 ,697 



New York 311,591 



Pennsylvania 206,347 



Maryland 27,040 



Virginia 106,807 



Ssuth Carolina 32,863 



Florida 5,750 



Mississippi 44,833 



Texas 25,054 



Tennessee 118,941 Kentucky 114,715 



Ohio 269,690 Michigan 65,709 



Indiana 163,130 Illinois 140,894 



Missouri 65,161 Iowa 32,716 



Wisconsin 40,865 California 1,486 



Minnesota 340 New Mexico 7,889 



Oregon 1,702 Utah 1,570 



Total in 36 States and Territories 2,363,958 



