84 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



SEPT. 83, 183 



[From I'le Meclianic and Farmer.) 

 SWAMP MUD. 

 Mr Editor : — What is swamp niiul composed 

 of? Priiicipniiy of vegetables in a state of decay. 

 ,\i)d what is tlie composilion of plants, but the el- 

 cnieutai-y parts of other plants, whicli arc decom- 

 posed, and have | rodiiced, by new combinations, 

 plants different in their habits and properties from 

 their own ? Scarcely nothing. 



It has long been my intention, should I be placed 

 in a situation to do it, to test the value of swamp 

 mild, as a manure. There is, at the base of Mount 

 Hope, a hollow of tliree-fourths of an acre, con- 

 taining from two to three thousand loads of veg- 

 etable mould. I last season, by way of experi- 

 tnent, dug out a quantity and laid it in heaps till 

 last spring, when it was shovelled over, and a cask 

 of Lime mixed with five cords. After Ir.ying in 

 the heap as long as time would allow, it was made 

 use of as manure for corn, potatoes, beans, and 

 various other vegetables. So far the experiment 

 is quite satisfactory. Potatoes ))lanted alongside 

 of those manured witli the mud, manured with 

 dung from the barn window, have tops inferior to 

 the others. There has been no opportunity to 

 test its relative value with any other vegetable. 

 But thex corn, beans, and other vegetables have 

 preserveA through the season a healthy and vigor- 

 ous appearance ; and 1 see no reason at i)resent 

 why the crops with the mud will not be as good 

 as those from a like quantity of barn manure. 

 Should there, however, be a falling off, you shall 

 be advised this autumn. 



This communication is made at the present 

 time, because norv is the season for my brother 

 farmers to be up and doing, should any of them 

 think this communication worthy of consideration. 

 If they cannot readily obtain Lime, they may with 

 very little expense put into the barn yard one or 

 two hundred loads, and thereby benefit themselves 

 much more, than to stand still, with their mouths 

 watering for the loaves and fishes of the land spec- 

 lators. Here is a speculation and a sure one, 

 which almost every farmer in the State may make, 

 and one that will be permanent too ; for there is 

 liardly a hundred acres of land where mud suffi- 

 cient to last an age, and make a farm as produc- 

 tive as need be wished, may not he found. En- 

 couraged by present appearances, T am getting out 

 a large quantity to be used next season, and at 

 present 1 think it much cheaper than any other 

 manure within my reach. B. 



have seen my litter are much jilrased with them- 

 and the females, seven in nunjber, are so disposed 

 of,* that; those who wish next spring to avail 

 themselves of a good breed of swine will be like- 

 ly to be gratified. B. 

 Mount Hope, Au^iiH, 1835. 



* MrC.H. Alibm.of Dultu 

 nei«libor!iood. 



Never select your seed corn from the crib but 

 from the staik. 



Never feed out your best potatoes and plant the 

 refuse, nor sell your best shee|) and keep the poor- 

 est. 



.'\ fat ox is worth more than a poor horse, and 

 does not eat as much — , a yoke and chain can be 

 bought for less money than a wagon harness. 



[From the Mechanic and Farmer.] 

 Mr Editor: — The Pigs taken notice of some 

 weeks since, are much obliged to you for the com- 

 pliment, because they tliink it may be likely to 

 preserve the lives of their progeny to a good old 

 age, theirs hiiving been already secured from the 

 Butcher. As there was some forgetfulncss on 

 your part, allow me to refresh your memory. 



Soon after the close of the revolution, (as the 

 chronicles inform us,) the Duke of Bedford pre- 

 sented Gen. Washington with a pair of |)igs called 

 in England Broadbacks, (a name significant.) 

 Nearly 40 years sinc<", Dr Fiske of Worcesfjr, 

 Mass. procured a pair, and lias to this day pre- 

 served the blood pure. Mr Sandford Howard of 

 Hallowell, introduced the breed there, where they 

 are highly spoken of. The breed you saw is a 

 cross of the Bedford and Wingate, so called, a 

 breed which the Wingate family in H. have been 

 many years making by various crosses. All who 



SOWING ACOKNS. 



What is the best Time to sow .^corns'} and how 

 may they he test preserved till soivn ? are questions 

 wliich admit, perhaps, of considerable difference 

 of opinion. No doubt, naturs seems to dictate 

 that the acorns should be committed to the ground 

 as soon as they are jierfectly ripe ; for they will 

 often begin to chit, i. e. sprout, even before tliey 

 fall from the parent tree. But then, if sown im- 

 mediately in autumn, they run great ri.<k of being 

 devoured by birds, niice, or other vermin ; while, 

 on the other hand, if kept till towards spring, and 

 in too dry a state, many will perish : and, again, 

 if in a moist one, many more will sprout nut to a 

 considerable length, and thus (as is sui)posed) 

 exhaust their strength by premature vegetation. 

 From an experiment, however, which I made this 

 year, quite accidentally, it should seem that nei- 

 ther the late sowing nor the sprouting of the 

 acorns is at all prejudicial to the future growth of 

 the young plants. Of the acorn crop of 1833, I 

 had occasion to sow a considerable quantity ; sev- 

 eral beds were .sown in the end of autumn ; others 

 in the early part of winter ; and some acorns were 

 reserved, to be diblded in among newly-planted 

 (]uickset fences. After all were disjiosod of that 

 1 had an immediate occasion for, a large gartlen 

 potful still remained : instead of throwing them 

 away, I had them sown in rows in a bed. I re- 

 gret that I did not note the exact time ; but think 

 I am safe in saying it was not before the latter end 

 of February, or, perhaps, the beginning of March : 

 and the acorns, I am sure, had sprouted out, many 

 of them, to the lengtli of several inches; and the 

 sprouts were so entangled one with another, that 

 it was difficult to sejiarate tlirin without injury. 

 These late-sown sprouted acorns, conti\-<ry to my 

 expectation, came up well, and have Miade the 

 finest seed-bed of any sown on the premises. 

 Many of the young plants now measure 16 inches 

 and 17 inches above the ground, and some few 18 

 inches. In the autumn cr earlier sown beds, with 

 the exception of a single plant about 17 inches 

 high, very few have attained to 14 inches. The 

 late-sown ones, in short, are decidedly the tallest 

 and finest p'ants. The acorns in question, I 

 should .state, had been kept in a common garden 

 pot placed in a rather danij) situation. Does the 

 experience of other planters correspond with the 

 above result ? — Gardener^s Mngazine, 



Hints to F.tnjir.r.s. — Never feed jiotatoes to 

 stock without boiling or steaming, as this increases 

 their nutritive (pialities. 



One bushel flax-seed, ground with eight bush- 

 els of oats, is belter for horses than sixteen bushels 

 of oats alone, and will effectually destroy the hots. 



Never burn all dry wood in your fire place, nor 

 use a fire place when you can get a stove. 



Cut your trees for rails in February, as they are 

 most durable. 



Never dew rot your flax, unless you wish to 

 render it worthless. 



MoRus Mui.TiCAULis. — ^\. has been a question 

 among culcurists whether this plant was a distinct 

 species of the Mulberry, or only a variety of the 

 White. In regaifl to the Multicaulis introduced 

 here by Mr Whitmarsh, and of course most in the 

 country, it is found by him that the seed does not 

 produce the like plant, but an inferior one, more 

 resembling the common White Mulberry. This 

 favors the opinion of the French culturists that it 

 is a variety merely. Of course growers cannot 

 trust to the seed, but must propagate by layers, 

 cuttings, grafts, and transplanting. On the other 

 hand, it is confidently said that the seed imported 

 last year from China an the Morus Multicaulis, and 

 extensively distributed, by Dr Stebbins, is a dis- 

 tinct species and may be raised from the seed, and 

 is undoubtedly far superior to the common white, 

 if not the genuine Multicaulis. All the plants of 

 the Multicaulis now existing in this country or in 

 Europe, were propagated from two plants which 

 originally were purchased by a French botanist, at 

 the Pliillippine Islands, were they were introduced 

 from China. On his passage homeward he found 

 that they were very easily multiplied by cuttings, 

 and on his arrival had great nun)l)ers for distribu- 

 tion. — Hampshire Gazette. 



Silk. — We were shown yesterday a jiiece of 

 Silk of fine textuse and durable fabric, just cut 

 from the loom in the Silk ^V'orks of Mr Joseph 

 Rotch, in this town. Mr R. uses Mr Gay's im- 

 proved machinery, and his establishment now in 

 successful operation offers to oiir agriculturists a 

 ready market for silk cocoons in any quantity in 

 which they can be supplied. We learn that this 

 establishment is only second to one in Providence 

 yet in operation in this country, and it is the in- 

 tention of the proprietor considerably to enlarge 

 its operations as soon as the necessary supply of 

 cocoons can be relied U]ion. — J^. Bed. Mer. 



Broom Corn is bringing an unprecedented price. 

 In Deerfield and Hatfield it is selling for from 80 

 to .f 100 per acre, standing. We have heard of an 

 instance, where $95 has been offered and refused. 

 A farmer in this vicinity, whose crop was but lit- 

 tle more than two thirds one, has sold at the rate 

 of $70 per acre. At these prices, after deducting 

 all charges, an acre will pay the interest of a thou- 

 sand or twelve hundred dollars. — Franklin Mer. 



The way to preserve pigs in good health and in 

 good ai>petite during their period of fattening, is 

 to mix with their food a few gall nuts, bruised with 

 charcoal. We are unable to account how this 

 operates so beneficially on the economy of the 

 health of these animals, but wc are wishful to 

 make it public, as we have experienced the result 

 to be decidedly good. — Brit. Far. Mag. 



The white Mulberry^ besides its admirable qual- 

 ity of affording food for silk worms, is said to fur- 

 nish a wood as durable for jiosts as the best locust 

 or cedar. — Ball. Far. 



It is computed that there was about 2,000,000 

 sheep in Vermont, the wool of which amounts to 

 nearly .*4,000,000 per annum. 



