NEW ENCttAN® FARMER, 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



9f 



PUBLISHED BY GEORGE C. BARRETT, NO. 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, (Agricultural Warkhousk.) — T. G. FESSENDliN, EDITOR. 



»I» XIV, 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 5, 1835. 



..MO. 4. 



sh.\de: op trees. 



As trors arc plaood either naturally or artifi- 

 y nround the borders of fields approjiriated to 

 ago, it is important that the farmer should be 

 prized of the different effects which the shades 

 different trees may have on certain plants, 

 'iiitormation on this subject is derived Irom 

 eertiticate of Mr Livingston, of New York. 

 I planted maize, says he, on the west side of a 

 mjr wood, consisting of oaks, poplars, a few 

 ■stunts, and a large ninlbcrry somewhat advan- 

 1 into the field. The shade made by the rising 



I extended nearly across the field, and was not 

 ircly oft" until about ten o'clock. I remarked 

 t as far as the shade of the ehestntit reached, 



corn was extremely injured; it was yellow and 

 all. The conical sha|)c of the morning shade, 

 m particular trees, might be traced to consid- 

 ble extent, in the sickly appearance of the 

 nts. The black oaks were likewise injurious, 

 : less so than the chestnuts: the poplars very 

 le so. Near the nr-ulberry tree the corn was 

 •ered by its shade for a very long time every 

 rning, and though not so large as that which 

 1 more sun, maintained a healthy appearance. 

 He further remarks, that the shade of the black 

 I . is particularly hurtful to the growth of w heat: 



I I of the locust is, on the contrary, beneficial to 

 I ss grounds : and that of the sugar maple docs 



very little injury to the growth of grain, and 

 re to grass. 



■"rom the observations respecting theeflTects of 



shades of the sugar maple, the mulberry, and 



locust, it might be expedient to plant those 



;s around some fields designeil for pasture, 



I in, or meadow : especially the locust, which, 



I he essay on the management of wood land, is 



I cribcd to be very valuable for many mechani- 



ft purjioscs, which require solidity and durability. 



vill propagate itself too, in the most barren 



ces, where the soil is even so light as to be 



wn away by the winds. By sheltering such 



3es, and dropjing its leaves ou them, it causes 



ward to grow over them, anil grass to grow 



4n them. It is however, objected by some, that 



1 not advisable to plant the locust on the bor- 



s of fields, on the aceoimt of their spreading 



much, by scattering their leaves, unless on 



se which are most barren. This objection, 



vever, it would seem, might be obviated, 



en the field to be enclosed by the locust, was 



•n to he ap. ropriated to the purposes of tillage, 



ccia ly in the culture of the hoe, by which 



ry snperfluons plant may be suppressed. — 



ititr's Library. 



[From the Baltimore Farnier.) 

 SHEEP HUSBANDKY. 



Roberts, 

 MR— Being unused to appear before the pu!. 

 it is nalural that I should feel some delicai 

 en I attempt to answer the questions jou have 

 poimded ; but as you assure me that my ideas 

 1 be useful, at least to some of your readers, 



I will venture to communicate the result of my 

 experience. In rcsi)cct to your first question, 

 whether I believe the sheep husbandry to be profit- 

 able, I reply that it is a very profitable business in 

 Maine. With regard to pasturing thenr on worn 

 out lands, I answer — they will greatly enrich such 

 lands, and destroy most of the noxious weeds and 

 bushes which may come in their way ; and to 

 these generally succeeds a rank growth of white 

 over. Such weeds as the sheep will not destroy 

 they crop the herbage close about the roots of, so 

 that they may be handily cut with a scythe or dug 

 up with a hoe. I believe all herbs of a bitter or 

 aromatic taste, are eaten with avidity by sheep, 

 and are generally soon cleaned from the ground. 

 The hrake and thistle arc noxious plants which 

 shecpWill not eat till they are cut and wilted ; but 

 they may be broken down and checked in their 

 growth by a little care in salting the flock on the 

 spots infested. I have known land which was so 

 worn out and weedy, that it would not produce a 

 crop worth harvesting, so completely renovated as 

 to yield abundant crops of corn, wheat, or grass. 

 The time necessary to jiasturc the land will vary 

 froni three to six years, according to the state it 

 is in when appropriated to this use, and other cir- 

 cumstances. This may be thought a slow way of 

 manuring land, but let the farmer remember that 

 it costs him nothing; but on the .contrary, yields 

 him a handsome profit all the vvliile. Unless t .e 

 ground to be pistured is already ingrass, it should 

 be sowed with red clover or timothy, and some 

 rye would doubtless be beneficial, as it would come 

 forward sooner than the grasses. 



I have had but little acquaintance with any par- 

 ticular breed of sheep in its pure state ; our sheep 

 are mostly a mixture of the Merino and Saxon, 

 with the English or common sheep first intro<luc- 

 ed into the country ; so wo have almost every 

 grade of wool from the coarsest to the finest. I 

 think the nearer they approach the merino, the 

 more weighty* and valuable the fleece, but the ewes 

 are less sure to raise their lambs, and are consid- 

 ered loss valuable for mutton, but I think the me- 

 rinoes are the most profitable sheep. 



A good flock of sheep grade | merino J ewes, 

 h wethers, | of which are yearlings, well washed, 

 should average about 34 per head. 



I have endeavored to answer your questions ac- 

 cording to the best of my knowledge; if any far- 

 mer doubts the veracity of my statements he can 

 try for himself. 



I am aware that a flock of sheep by judicious 

 management may be inqiroved to almost any de- 

 gree, but so many wiser lieads and abler pens 

 than mine have been enq)Ioyed to point out the 

 necessary steps, I think it unnecessary for me to 

 say any thing on that subject. 



Lewis Armstrong. 



* The neighbors of our friend from Mai.ie, cannot yet 

 have had any of the Bakewell or Suuthdown's inlFDdu- 

 ccd among them, or he would not lalk of the nierinoes 

 imparting weighty fleeces to the respsctive grade sheep 



Why shouldn't a Farmer know a thing 

 OR two.' — Why should not a farmer know moro 

 than other folks ? They certainly ought to, for 

 they have iii this country more to do than others. 

 They have to make more use of the powers or 

 laws of nature than other folks; they have to use 

 the elements for tools — they are indeed practical 

 chemists (whether they are aware of it or not,) 

 for they have to make use of the various substances 

 which nature gives them — they have to combine, 

 separate, modify, and change, both sim|)le and 

 compounds. Their fitrm is at one and the same 

 time a laboratory and a workshop, and in propor- 

 tion as they operate in such a way as to afford 

 the several elements of which the substances are 

 composed, and upon which they are operatin^r, to 

 disunite or combine will be their success. They 

 depend upon the vegetable world for subsistence 

 — their labor is among and upon the plants of the 

 earth— why should they not know the i)roper 

 nume and nature of every tree and herb and plant ? 

 They have to contend with insects and animals — 

 why should they not know the habits and the na- 

 tures of these as well or better than any other 

 class of people ? They have to work upon the 

 earth, they have to put it into a condition to bear 

 a good crop, they have to change the state of it 

 and adapt it to the various purposes and crO[S; — 

 why should they not know more and better re- 

 specting the ingredients of their soils — the va- 

 riou? mineral or fossil substances which they may 

 find either nyon their ownorother's farms ? They 

 have to " discern the face of the sky," and watch 

 the changes of the atmosphere, and regulate their 

 movements in accordance to the changes of the 

 weather, temperature, &c. W'hy should they not 

 know as much or more of the composition of the 

 air or atmosphere, and the science of meteondogy, 

 than any other people ? They must use tools or 

 implements of labor. They must take advantage 

 of the principles of mechanics, and the a- p'ica- 

 tion of mathematics to practical life. Is there 

 any good reason why they should not know as 

 much or more than others, respecting the science 

 of Mechanics or Natural Philoso; by. In this 

 country they have to contribute largely to the sup- 

 port aiid formation of the government, and upon 

 them depends the election of rulers and lavvmak- 

 ers why should they not understand the funda- 

 mental I rinciples of national law— political sci- 

 ence, and political economy? They have to ad- 

 minister to the sickness of animals under their 



charge, heal wounded and restore health, — why 



shouhl they not perfectly understand compara- 

 tive anatomy, at least, and also physiology and 

 treatment of diseases, as well as any other.'! .= In- 

 deed, so wide is the field of his labors, so numer- 

 ous the objects with which he is connected, so 

 various the operations which he has to perform, 

 that we verily think a fanner ought to be the most 

 learned man on earth. But can one man conquer 

 or make himself perfectly familiar with every sci- 

 oncs and everything ? By no means— y-^t ncvpr- 

 therless he should have his mind so well stored 



