234 



NEW E N G L A N l^ K A U AI K li , 



FEB. 3, IS36. 



NOTES ON FARMING. 



Breeding. — It is laid down by Cline, and sanc- 

 tioned by practiced breeders, tbat any improve- 

 ment of form by crossing, must dejiend entirely 

 on the selecting a well formed female, larger in 

 size than the usual proportion between females 

 and males. Let the male be rather small with 

 good points. — Sinclair, p. 61. The Hollanders 

 iDanage upon this principle, and seldom employ 

 a bull when over two or three years old. A cross 

 of a merino buck with a Leicester ewe, in the 

 course of four or five generations, will produce 

 fleeces rivalling in fineness Spanish fleeces (?) — 

 Sinclair, p. 14. 



Growth of Trees. — A plantation in Norfolk, 

 Eng. 30 years old, gave the following dimensions 

 five feet from the ground : — Scotch firs 39 inches 

 in circumference, larch 36, beech 32, alder 32, ash 

 21, oak and chestnut 28. — Marshall. '1 be inhab- 

 itants bf our old settlements will learn from this, 

 when it is time to begin to plant timber trees for 

 their children. The present forests of Great 

 Britain have been all planted by the hand of man. 



Planting. — '• A landholder," says Cato, " should 

 apply himself to planting of bis fields while in 

 youth, but he ought to think long before he builds. 



He ought not to think about planting, but be 

 ought to do it. When he is about thirtysix years 

 of age he may build, provided his fields are 

 ])lanted." 



The fact with us seems to be, that we do not 

 find time to plant when we are young, and when 

 we are old we consider it too late — for we are un- 

 willing to sow where we are not likely to reap the 

 harvest. We should at least preserve, if we will 

 not plant. 



FellenhergWs School of .Agriculture — Two only 

 of the pupils have left llofwyl for a place, says 

 Simond, before the end of their titne ; and one of 

 them, with M. de Fellenbergh's leave, is become 

 manager of the immense estate of Count Abofty, 

 in Hungary, and has doubled its proceeds by the 

 improved methods of husbandry he has introduced. 

 This young man, whose name is Maderly, was a 

 beggar boy, and not particularly distinguished at 

 school. Another directs a school establishment 

 near Zurich. JM. Fellenbergh has besides a num- 

 ber of puj)ils of the higher classes, some of whom 

 belong to the first families in Germany, Russia, 

 and Switzerland. They live in the family with 

 their master, and are instructed by the different 

 tiitore, in the theory and practice of agriculture, 

 and in the arts and sciences on which it is 

 founded. 



Carrots are sown in Flanders, in the spring, 

 upon winter and spring grain, — and give a crop 

 after the grain is harveste<l. — Sinclair. We have 

 little doubt but the practice, upon deep amelio- 

 rated soils, would answer tolerably well here, as 

 the carrot makes most of its growth after mid- 

 summer, when the grain is harvested. 



Milk. — To divest this, and butter, from the taste 

 of turnips, cabbage, wild onions, or other.oft'ensive 

 plants, on which the cows have fed, put a quart 

 of boiling water into each pailful of milk when it 

 comes from the cow. — Marshall. We have tried, 

 and found it successful. 'J be principle of flavor is 

 volatile, and the beat of the water dissipates it. — 

 Cultivator. 



The inspections of Flour at Baltimore in 1835, 

 show an excess over the inspections of 1834, of 

 37,000 barrels. 



CARROTS. 



Mr Editor. — As I have seldom had the pleas- 

 ure of looking over the numbers of your very 

 useful paper, I am by no means certain that the 

 subject of this article may not be familiar to your 

 readers; but presuming that "line upon line," is 

 as applicable to agriculture as to morals, 1 am in- 

 duced to communicate the results of my very 

 limited experience in this branch of husbandry. 



The soil best adapted to the cultiv.ation of the 

 carrot, is a deep sandy loam, uniformly rich to 

 the depth that the root is expected to penetrate. 

 Corn or potatoes are a good jjreceding crop ; but 

 f am unable to say whether they will successfully 

 follow Ruta Baga. It has been asserted, with 

 what truth I know not, tbat corn should not fol- 

 low this turnip. It may be that this root, being a 

 hearty feeder, extracts from the soil more than a 

 fair proportion of some peculiar constituent of the 

 corn plant. The land should be deeply ploughed 

 in the fall, and in the spring a good coat of well 

 rotted manure should be evenly spread upon the 

 surface and harrowed in. Cross-plough and bar- 

 row smoothly ; and the application of a roller, 

 four or five feet in diameter, would greatly im- 

 prove the preparation for this crop as well as for 

 most others. With a horse, plough the back-fur- 

 rows into ridges 1 1-2 to 2 feet apart ; then with 

 the head of a rake, or some similar instrument, 

 strike off" the crown of tlje ridges until they are 3 

 or 4 inches in width, and make a drill an inch deep 

 in any manner that the ingenuity of the operator 

 may suggest. The seed is then sown pretty 

 thickly along the drill, and covered either with a 

 rake head, or light hand roler, so as to be slightly 

 pressed down, — as soon as the plants are well up, 

 at the first hoeing, all the surplus plants are weeds ; 

 cut out without sparing. In the culture of the 

 carrot the crop is always injured by sparing the 

 hoe and the weeding ; keep the garden clean of 

 weeds, and if you are desirous of a great crop do 

 not allow two carrots to stand within three inches 

 of each other. In harvesting, run a small plough 

 with one yoke of oxen near the side of the range 

 of carrots, and as deep as possible ; by this means 

 the earth is loosened, and if the rows are straight, 

 one side of the carrot is nearly laid bare, this 

 greatly facilitates the 0|;eration of gathering, as the 

 laborers may then easily draw them by the tops 

 and throw them into carts. Two pounds of seed 

 are sufficient for an acre. For making the hol- 

 lows on the ridges for the reception of the seed, 

 I have used a wheel made of thick board, about 

 18 inches in diameter ; the circumference bevelled 

 on both sides to a sharp periphery, and managed 

 by a slight frame similar to a common wheel bar- 

 row ; any man may make such an one in an hour 

 or two. 



1 think the carrot, for milch cows, or fattening 

 cattle, is superior to any other root whatever, (pos- 

 sibly excepting the parsnip;) — For swine i liave 

 never used them, Horses are said to became re- 

 markably fond of them, and many hundred tons 

 are annually raised in the yicintty of Boston for 

 feeding livery horses in the city. No crop will 

 better pay for extra cultivation ; and fine tilth is 

 indispensable, — Mechanic and Farmer. 



Great and Important Invention. — Our in- 

 genious townsman, Mr Alexander McGrew, has 

 invented a mode for obtaining and applying power 

 for the purpose of propelling cars upon canals, 

 and rivers, which we deem of the utmost impor- 



tance, and which in our opinion, must sooner or 

 later in a great measure supersede the use of steam. 

 The power is derived from condensed air, obtained 

 and applied, in a manner so cheap and simple, as 

 to render the expense a matter of little or no con- 

 sequence. Air used in the manner proposed by 

 Mr M'G., has advantages over steam, in many es- 

 sential particulars. It is infinitely less liable to 

 explosion, but in case of such an event, power to 

 do mischief is greatly diminished, being uncon- 

 nected with boiling water. It is likewise much 

 more safe, in consequence of its not involving the 

 slightest danger from fire. Where cars or boats 

 are propelled by steam, there is constantly danger 

 from this, and numerous instances of immense 

 destruction of life and projjerty have therefore 

 occurred from that element. The annoyance, too, 

 arising from the sparks and smok,- of steam cars, 

 is very considerable to the traveller, but will be 

 wholly avoided by the use of condensed air. The 

 great and overwhelming superiority, however of 

 the use of the latter over the former element, con- 

 sists in its economy. Air may be condensed and 

 used upon the plan under consideration, without 

 scarcely any expense, except that which is incur- 

 red in the first instance in preparing the Receiv- 

 ers and Machinery. 



We have witnessed by the politeness of Mr 

 McGrew, the practical operation of this invention, 

 and are fully convinced of its entire success. Mr 

 McGrew has exhibited his plan and practical 

 models to several of the most distinguished Engi- 

 neers in the United States, all of whom concur in 

 deeming the invention of the highest possible im- 

 portance, and declare their belief that it will almost 

 entirely supersede the use of steam. — Cin. JFhig. 



The project of steam communication between 

 England and America contemplates the construc- 

 of two English and two American steatners, each 

 of 300 horse power and 1200 tons. 



The mercury sunk to 15 below 0, at Haverhill, 

 Mass. on Saturday last. 



Eli Whithey, the inventor of the cotton-gin, 

 was born at Westborongb, Mass. His father was 

 a respectable farmer. The invention is said to 

 have raised the value of real estate at the South. 

 100 per cent, and the benefits of it have been es- 

 timated at over one hundred millions of dollars. 

 It enables one man to perform the work of a thou- 

 sand men, and furnishes to the whole family of 

 mankind, at a very cheap rate, the most essential 

 article of their clothing. — JVor. Adv. 



Railroads in Winter. — In consequence of 

 the rails being coated with ice, the cars have 

 ceased running for the present on all the Rail- 

 roads in this vicinity. The Providence Railroad 

 and the Dedhani Branch are entirely " unavail- 

 able " — and the constant passing of stage-coaches 

 through our village reminds us of old times. — 75. 



A man was recently buried alive in a coal mine 

 in Ayreshire, where he subsisted twentythree days 

 on chalybeate water and tobacco, the former of 

 which from its astringency, and the latter by its 

 nauseating qualities, being calculated to allay hun- 

 ger. He became a perfect skeleton, and died 

 from extreme exhaustion shortly after he was 

 taken out. 



