vol.. XiV. XO. 3S. 



AND G A R D E iN K II ' S J O U li iN A L 



299 



50 00 



•25 00 



30 00 



For the cr.;it.-st <niaiilily of raw iiiimiuui- 

 faciurr.l Silk, not kss than 10 pomi.ls, 

 raised by the claimant, an.l presoiilod 

 before the first ot Dec. 1830, $20 00 



TREKS AND LIVE HTDGRS. 



For the best i>laiitntion of White Oak trees, 

 not less than one aere nor fewer than 

 1000 trees per acre —raised from the 

 acorn — not less than three years old, 

 and which shall be in the most thri- 

 ving state on the first of Sept. 1836, 

 For the best [)lantatiou, not before offered 

 for premimn, of White Ash, Larch 

 and Yellow Locust trees, each not 

 less than one acre, nor fewer than 

 1000 trees per acre, to be raised from 

 the seeds, and which trees not less 

 than three years old, shall be in the 

 most flourishing condition on the 1st 

 September, 1836, 

 For the best Thorn Hedge, not less than 

 fifty rods, and which shall be in the 

 most thi'iving state in 1838, 

 Claims under the two last heads, together with 

 the proper evidence, must be delivered to Renja- 

 min Guild, Esq. in Boston, free of sxpensc, on or 

 before tbe'first day of January, 1837. 



Claims for the premiums on vegetable and 

 grain crops, and experiments and inventions, to- 

 gether with the evidences required, are to be m 

 writing and sent, free of expense, to Benjamin 

 Guild,°Esq. in Boston, Assistant Recording Secre- 

 tary, on or before the 1st day of Decembar next, 

 and they will be examined by the Committee, 

 previous to the 7th day of December. 



It is understood, that whenever, merely from 

 want of competition, any of the claimants may be 

 considered entit'ed to the premium, under a literal 

 construction ; vet, if in the opinion of the judges, 

 the object so offered is not deserving of any reward, 

 the judges shall have a right to reject such claims. 

 Persons to whom premiums shall be awarded, 

 may, at their option, have an article of plate, with 

 suitable inscriptions, in lieu of the money. 



In cases where pecuniary premiums are offered, 

 the Trustees may, having regard to the circum: 

 stances of the competitors, award either the Soci- 

 ety's gold or silver medals, in lieu of the pecuniary 

 premium annexed to the several articles. 



That if any competitor for any of the Society's 

 I)remiuins shall be discovered to have used any 

 disingenuous measures, by which the objects of 

 the S^ociety have been defeated, such person shall 

 not only "forfeit the premium which may have 

 been awarded to him, but be rendered incapable 

 of being ever after a competitor for any of the 

 Society's premiums. 



Time of paying premiums.— The Treasurer will 

 attend on Thursday, the 8th of December, at 12 

 M. to pay all premiums awarded. 



All premiums not demanded within six months 

 after they shall have been awarded, shall bs deem- 

 ed to have been generously given to aid the funds 

 of the Society. By order of the Trustees, 

 JOHN HEARD, ') 

 WILLIAM PRESCOTT, | 

 PETER C. BROOKS, )■ Committee. 

 E. H. DERBY, | 

 JOSFAH QUINCY, Jr. j 

 March 1, 1836. 



(I'otllie Noiv Knsliinil Fanner.) 

 lUKIGATION. 



By llo.N. John W. Lincoln. 

 (Ooiicliided.) 



The first Agricultural School in Eurojie was 

 founded at Milan in 1770. 



But 1 return to Tatham. On page 67, it is 

 stated, that *' the advantages arising from this 

 mode'of watering are many and great. If it be 

 well executed, I may freely venture to assert, that 

 this mode of cultivation will be found mon; pro- 

 ductive than any modem improvement in Agri- 

 culture. By it, land, whatever its kind or quality, 

 is increased to double or treble its former value. 

 \nd it does not derive this enriching power from 

 the assistance or spoil of the neighboring lauds, 

 but it iliffuses a general fertility. Jt does not rob 

 the farm yard of its stores, nor even take back 

 from the abundance which it there produces: for 

 it stands in need. of no dung, no expensive pre- 

 paration of manure or compost. So that the 

 farmer, who occupies fifty acres of this watered 

 land, has a hundred tons of hay to carry off, anil 

 spend upon his other grounds. But it is not 

 merely the crop which constitutes the excellence 

 of watering ; it is the earlincss and certainty of 

 the crop. 



" Every intelligent farmer is sensible of the 

 great value of grass very early in the spring ; and 

 we by watering have plenty of grass at the begm- 

 iiinn-'of March, and when the season is mild, 

 son^ewhat earlier. The ^'ood effect this grass, has 

 upon cattle that have been unhealthy or hard 

 wintered, is astonishing. The second week after 

 turning into the meadows, a very visible change 

 is made in all cows, horses, and sheep ; and the 

 faimers are here enabled to begin cheese-makmg 

 at least a month sooner than their neighbors, who 

 enjoy not the benefit of watering their lands. — 

 And in fatting of lambs, the value of, grass is 

 inestimable. * 



" With regard to the certainty of a crop, I need 

 not say much ; the thing will speak for itself. 

 Between March and May we are sure of spring 

 feed that is worth, at least, a guinea per acre ; in 

 June we have a crop of grass that will yield two 

 tons of hay per acre; and the latter math is 

 always worth a pound. Let the summer be ever 

 so dry, we have nearly the same quantity. After 

 the last dry summer, the advantage of watering 

 was evident; for the neighboring farmers were 

 obliged to come hither to buy hay, at whatever 

 price the owners thought proper to demand. 



" Other advantages of watering there are which 

 ought not to be passed over unnoticed. The land 

 thus treated is continually improving; its herbage, 

 if coarse, is fined ; its soil, if swampy, becomes 

 sound ; and an addition is made annually, both to 

 the depth and quality of its mould. 



« As a kind of proof of some ui' the above 

 assertions, I shall thus instance thi. product of one 

 of our meadows this present year. It is one that 

 has been watered longer than the memory of the 

 oldest man in the parish ; but it is by no means 

 the best meadow upon the stream, nor has this 

 year been a favorable one for watering. It is 

 about six acres and a half. The siiring feed of it 

 was let for seven guineas, and well sujtported an 

 almost incredible number of sheep (an hundred 

 and fifty) for two months ; the hay was sold for 

 thirtytwo guineas, and the latter math for six." 



On [.age 100, it is said, " there have been some 

 objections raised against irrigating by art, but I 

 think these have been founded on a superficial 



view of the subject. If it is said, that much land 

 is wanted in cutting the drains and trenches, may 

 it not be asked with propriety, if the land does not 

 produce three times as much grass as before ; and 

 if this is not considered among the most intercsl- 

 ing kinds of gain which can be added to annual 

 income ? 



"If it is said to be expensive, let me ask, if tlio 

 money thus sunk in ameliorating the farm, does 

 not return a better interest, and a more permanent 

 one, than could have been obtaiiK^l for the same 

 sum elsewhere? 



"If it is said that the hay of these meadows is 

 not so good as others, it may be re|)lied that ' the 

 best proof of a pudding lies in the eating;' for 

 Mr Wright assures us, that he has seen a cow 

 fatted wholly on this hay, whicli sold for twenty 

 pounds. 



" Some again, it seems, have raised an objection 

 to paying millers for the use of water. If this • 

 were a general case, it would apply with some 

 degree of weight, but not insurmountably. Mr 

 Wright gives as a proof of this, that one meadow 

 of stxteen acres, in his ])arish, pays six guineas 

 per annum to a miller for the use of bis water; 

 and if the proprietor did not find his account in 

 it, he would certainly decline it." 



I have attempted to show, that our climatodoes 

 require the artificial use of water on our land, and 

 that it is not "too expensive for our scale of hus- 

 bandry." And while 1 admit that " irrigation is 

 es.sential in southern climes, as Italy, Egypt, 

 Spain, &c. where rain seldom falls in summer, 

 and where the heat is great and unremitting," I 

 contend that it may be profitably practised with 

 us, and i have endeavored to sustain this position 

 by' the uniform testimony of all the writers resi- 

 dent in the northern section of our Union of whom 

 I have knowledge confirmed by the experience of 

 practical farmers. I did, however, omit to refer 

 to a "Treatise on Agriculture, by a Practical Fur 

 mer," a work well known to Judge Buel, and I 

 neglected to notice it, because I had reason to 

 believe that the distinguished author had changed 

 his opinion since he comi)ilBd that book. I have 

 also adduced much authoiity in favor of irrigation 

 derived from a country where rain more frequently 

 falls in summer than with ue, and where the cK- 

 mate is too cold for the successful cultivation of 

 Indian corn. / 



And I will here submit this case to the consid- 

 eration of the intelli.gent farmers of our country, 

 soliciting from those who have no personal know- 

 ledn-e on this subject, that they will examine for 

 themselves, for certain I am, that they will never 

 re<jrpt having made the experiment ; and this, it 

 is "desirable that they should do as early in the 

 season as the weather will permit, that they may 

 be able to intercept a portion of those riches with 

 which streams are in the spring time fully loaded, 

 and which otherwise would be water borne to the 

 ocean, there to be irretrievably lost. 



Perhaps the best shoe blacking in the world is 

 Elderberries. Mash the berries with your hand 

 in a large kettle of water ; set them in the shade 

 a few days until they ferment ; then boil it half a 

 day, filling' it up will, water. After it is cool, 

 strain and wring them through a coarse cloth, and 

 then boil it down to the thickness of molasses.— 

 Put a small quantity with a feather on a brush ; 

 rub the shoe till there is a fine gloss, 'ihe same 

 will make good writing ink. 



