'Ifllft 



'"l. 



VOL. XIV. NO. 19. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



147 



"ean tliiii lione of tlie head nnil legs, ami tlin 



rge, thin, prickeil-ui) ears, set on each side of 



o top of the head, and in the short, thick, 



nooth. olear hair of the face and lejjs. 



The section of the lonii of (he fat sheep is (■ven 



lOro n\atheniatically like a |iarallelograni than 



^"iat of the tat ox. Tlie touch of the skin is also 



e same in kind, and is as sure an indication of 



e disposition to fatten as in the ox. In regan 



lat wool varies so ■;roatl_v in the many breeds of 



leep, I can only make this general reiDark on 



' ' le fleece best suited to every breed, namely, the 



"''' hole boily should be well covered with wool, 



'"'i 'ith the exception of the face and legs, which are 



""M ways covered with hair. A large covering of 



'""'ool, not only protects them against the incle- 



lencies of the weather, and the coldness and 



ampness of the ground, but it sup;ilies a large 



eece to be disposed of to the wool buyer. One 



eviation from the rules of judging cattle, must 



e made while judging sheep, to which I have 



Ircadv alluded, namely, while the neck of the ox 



hould be thin, that of the sheep should be thick ; 



ecause a thin necked sheep is found to possess a 



.•eak spine, and is generally a had feeder. A 



ain neck has thus the same effect on sheep that 



small tail has on cattle. As in cattle, a droop- 



ig neck in sheep indicates a weakness of consti- 



jtion, arising from breeding in and in. 



Some of the rules for cattle and sheep are ap- 

 plicable to swine. Swine should have broad 

 traight backs, round ribs, thin hair, thin skin, 

 mall tails, short and fine muscles, pricked ears, 

 mall and fine bones, and round and well turned 

 boulders and hams. * 



Ii-. conclusion, it is obvious that the rules for 

 udging live stock are not founded upon arbitrary 

 issumptions. Had no natural means of judging 

 xisted, man could no doubt have contrived rules 

 o suit his own convenience ; and in such a case, 

 le would probably have chosen such as he could 

 lave most easily apjdied ; but unless they could 

 )e applied to growing as well as the mature condi- 

 ion of animals, they would be of little value. 



But we have seen that natural means if judg- 

 ing do exist, and although they cannot be easily 

 jnderstood without much observation and ju-ac- 

 lice, yet, by practice, they can be acquired, and 

 easily applied to the existing circumstances of the 

 animal, whatever these may be. Any person, it 

 is true, cannot at once perceive that their necessary 

 tendency is to lead to a correct judgment. Long 

 and careful pjrsonal observation is requisite to 

 convince the mind of their value in that respect. 

 Tuition, without practical observation, cannot of 

 itself do it. It has been the study of nature, in 

 short, which enabled men to establish these rules 

 for his guidance ; and as all the operations of na- 

 ture are regulated by general laws, these rules 

 must be of universal application. It is clearly 

 established by observation, as an uniform princi- 

 ple of judgment, that when an ox, in a growing 

 state, presents a certain degree of purity of breed- 

 ing, a certain form of boc'y, and a certain kind of 

 handling of its skin, a certain result is nndevia- 

 tingly exhibited in the mature state from these 

 given premonitory symptoms. Should this result 

 conduce to the acquisition of wealth, we are 

 anxious to possess the growing animal which 

 exhibits such favorable points ; and, on the other 

 hand, we are as anxious to avoid the possession 

 of that animal which exhibits unfavorable points, 

 unless at a very depreciated value. Now, it has 



bc-en ascertained by experience, ll];il pure breed- 

 ing, perfect f(U-ni, and fine touch, make the best 

 mature animal, llcuce these points will insure 

 both the growing and the mature animal a ready 

 market ami a good price ; and heuce also, that 

 breed which (vuiBlantly presents these points, de- 

 serves, by its intrinsic worth, to be generally cul- 

 tivated. 



[For the New England Farmer.] 

 ST. HBIiBIVA POTATOES. 



A variety of potatoes, new in this vicinity, bear- 

 ing the above name, was introduced here last fall 

 by Moses Mealy, Waterville, Me. ; which is, we 

 think, deserving the particular attention of culti- 

 vators. 



The potato is white, and very much resembles 

 the English kidney in shape, hut conies to matu- 

 rity later. It is hardly inferior in quality to the 

 famous Butman's, and vastly superior to them in 

 quantity or productiveness. 



Gentlemen who raised (hem in this vicinity last 

 year, speak of them in high terms of commenda- 

 tion, and consider them superior to any kind ever 

 brought to this market. And some who had them 

 from Mr Healey last spring for the tab'e, will use 

 them this year to the exclusion of every other 

 kind. 



This certainly speaks well for the good quality 

 of the potato ; and we should recommend to our 

 readers that they try them ; for, notwithstanding 

 the multiplicity of sorts that are known and culti- 

 vated, a. good kind, — one that will produce abun- 

 dantly, and at the same time be palatable, — is a 

 desideratum. Some sorts we know of that are 

 less than palatable, which ought to be thrown (to 

 the hogs we were a-going to say, but beg their 

 swineships' pardon) to the barn yard. Even in 

 our Boston Market, we too often meet with po- 

 tatoes that hardly deserve the name ; poor, miser- 

 able, soggy, vile tubers, that look as if they might 

 have been generated in the Dead Sea, and taste as 

 if they were fit only for the use of the Grand Turk 

 or his Satanic Majesty, though, thanks to the ad- 

 vancement of horticulture, this remark is not so 

 applicable now as it was a few years since. The 

 quality of potatoes that are raised for this market 

 is hetter now than it was; we are glad of it, but 

 we want to see it still better. An article of so 

 much imjiortance, which constitutes so important 

 an item of family consumption, yielding, as it 

 does, the most nutritious and economical aliment 

 of all vegetable substances, well deserves all the 

 care and all the trouble that can be bestowed upon 

 it, in order to improve its quality and productive- 

 ness. 



The potato in q-iestion we have fed upon, and 

 when we saw them smoking upon our board so 

 white, so mealy, so inviting, and when we regaled 

 our palate with the luxurious and farinaceous sub- 

 stances before us, we thought of times ' lang syne,' 

 when (because we couldn't get any better) we 

 used 



" lo fee:] 



On 'tatoes, which, sc.nrce fit to dig, 

 Might turn the stomach of a pig " — 



and, in our gratitude for the possession of the 

 'tatoes before us, we silently invoked a blessing 

 upon him who had given the country such a trea- 

 sure. VVe pronounce the potatoes good I — ex- 

 cellent. Below is a letter from Mr Ilealy, briefly 

 stating the facts in regard to the cultivation of 

 them. Dea. Adams, the gentleman referred to in 



the leticr inf jiiiis us, it. at he has 1000 bushels of 

 superior potatoes, a part of which he will reserve 

 for S(xd to propagate from himself, and for those 

 of his friends who would like to give tiiem a trial. 



H'alervillc, Me. Oct. 25, 1835. 



Dear Sir: — .\ccording to your request, I s nd 

 you a history of the St. Helena potato, as far as 

 I am acquainted with it. 



In May, 1830, a friend of mine handed mo two 

 very fine looking potatoes, which he said were 

 the product of potatoes imported from the island 

 of St. Helena, requesting me to cultivate them; 

 and, if good, preserve and increase the variety as 

 fast as po.s.sible. Accordingly, I have planted 

 them every year since. I find them very good for 

 table use, and very productive. My crop the se- 

 cond year was eight bushels, half of which I lost 

 by freezing ; I planted four bushels, crop seventy 

 bushels ; 1 sold all but 23 1-2 bushels, crop 50O 

 from 23 1-2 seeds ; this year, 1834, there wefe 

 raised from the last year's crop of seventy bush- 

 els 1400 bushels, which are scattered through a 

 number of the States. Last spring I sold Mr Na- 

 than Adams, .Tr. of Medford, fifty bushels for seed ; 

 I think that he can give you satisfaction as to 

 their good qualities. I think they are quite a good 

 variety, and quite an acquisition to the country. 

 Respectfully yours, 



MosES Healt.* 

 Mk Barrett, > 



Agricultuml Warehouse, Boston. J 



Preservino silkworms' egos. — The cocoot>8 

 selected for seed should be firm and of the largest 

 size. After having stripped the floss from them 

 they should be strung together and hung up in a 

 warm airy room or chamber partially darkened. 

 In about two weeks from windinir, the moths will 

 emerge from the cocoons. The male is known 

 by its smaller size snd continual fluttering of its 

 wings ; after having been paired and suffered to 

 remain together during the day, they should be 

 separated by the wings^ and the females placed 

 upon sheets of paper where they will deposit their 

 eggs. It is computed that one hundred females 

 will produce an ounce of eggs, and an ounce of 

 eggs will produce forty thousand silkworms. The 

 papers on which the eggs are deiiosited should be 

 rolled up and put in tight boxes, and placed in ii 

 cool dry cellar. Where they will not freeze. If it 

 be required to keep them late in the season for a 

 .second crop, it may be necessary to have recourse 

 to the ice-house Silk Ctil. 



Immf.mse lumber business VVe are assured 



that upwards of twelve millions superficial feet <jf 

 lumber have been carried to the Baltimore mar- 

 ket this season, from the .Susquehanna river, all 

 of which met an immediate sale, at ai. advance of 

 from 12 to 15 per cent, over former prices. On« 

 float contained six acres in measurement, as it 

 rested, raft-stowed, on the water ; and another 

 upwards of eight acres ! — jVorfolk Herald. 



Snow. — On the 10th ult. there was snow, a«- 

 companied with rain and hail, a little this side at' 

 the Alleghany mountains, between Bedford and 

 Somerset. Another hard winter is prognosticated 

 by some good observers of the weather in pa«t 

 years — Indiana Aurora of the 29lh Oct. 



So natural is the love of power, that he who has 

 no design on another's life, likes to have it at Kis 

 control. — Juvenal. 



