316 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



APRIL 13, 1836. 



(From Ihe Maine Farmer.) 

 SEA COAL. AS A MAKUKB — GROWIXa POTA- 

 TOES, &c. 



Mr Holmes : — Allliougli I am no faniiei- I feel 

 consiilerable interest in llie improvements of the 

 day. I am sensible tliat good manure is an essen- 

 tial ingredient in producing vegetation. I have 

 seen many suggestions on making compost man- 

 ure, in which the object seems to be to obtain the 

 largest quantity without regard to the quality, i 

 have noticed accounts of premiums awarded for 

 making large quantities of compost manure, when, 

 from the ingredients used, 1 was satisfied the 

 quality was indiflerent, or of little value. I now 

 wish to inquire, through your paper, of the truth 

 of a statement 1 saw in the Medical and Agricultu- 

 ral Register for February, 1806. Tlie article is 

 entitled, " Some Experiments on Sea Coal as a 

 Manure, by Thomas Ewell." In page 26, towards 

 the close of the article, he says, " Probably the 

 discoveries which have been made, are not as 

 generally known as they should be. It may be 

 owing to this cause — for example, tliat an ounce 

 of sulphuric acid is not added to every load of 

 manure — which has long since been found in 

 England to render it doubly valuable." 



I have no means of knowing what authority 

 Mr Ewell had for this statement respecting sul- 

 phuric acid. I should like to know more about 

 it. If one ounce can produce such an effect in a 

 load of manure, what would be the effect of a 

 larger quantity, &c. I am a friend to experiments 

 properly made. Experience is a good school- 

 master. I have notic^ed some communications 

 speaking lightly of Barnum's method of raising 

 potatoes, &c. I think highly of Barnum's com- 

 munication, and esteem it a valuable document. 

 I have fully satisfied myself by ex|)eriment. 



The last season I raised at the rate of fifteen 

 hundred and ten bushels to tho acre on Barnum's 

 principle. I have made a number of experiments 

 on vegetation — pfe'rhaps they are not worth men- 

 tioning. I will however mention some. 



From the proceeds of one seed of a potato ball 

 the second year, I now have 24 poundf. of hand- 

 some potatoes. I have eight different kinds of 

 potatoes — those produced from the seed are dif- 

 ferent from any others in my possession. The 

 produce of one eye of a potato last season was 8 

 pounds of good sized potatoes. By plantintr the 

 eyes of large potatoes in rich ground, I raise a 

 large size — I had many that weighed one and a 

 half pounds, and one weighed two pounds and ten 

 ounces — (a Quoddy blue) — 3 eyes of a jjotato is 

 as much seed as I want in a hill. 'J'he same 

 observations respecting manuring and seeding will 

 apply to all other vegetables. But in scle°cting 

 manure I would prefer one [lound of good strong 

 manm-e to ten pounds of the compost manure 

 which I have see^ described. Respectfully, 



Hezekiah Prince. 



Thomaston, Feb. 16, 1835. 



Remarks. — The experiments of Mr Prince are 

 very interesting, and we are extremely happy to 

 hear of his success in his labors. The great in- 

 crease from a single seed of a potato ball in so 

 short a time, gives one a pleasing idea of the 

 creative powers, if we may be allowed the expres- 

 sion, of the cultivation of the soil. By subniittint' 

 the seed to the earth and regulating the process^ 

 be is enabledtfo produce results whieh instruct' 

 delight and profit. His recommendations in rcard 



to manuring and seeding are worthy of attention. 

 In regard to the sea coal, we apprehend that very 

 few, if any, in Maine, have ever used it as a man- 

 ure, and are therefore unable to answer from 

 ex|)erience his question respecting it. — [Ed. 



Rail Roads m the United States. — It is 

 estimated on good authority, that at this time, the 

 rail roads in the '^.Tnited States, either actually 

 under contract, or in jirogress of being surveyed, 

 aniount to more than three thousand miles. Each 

 yard of the highest iron rails, fit for a rail road, 

 weighs sixtytwo and half pounds. As there are 

 1760 yards in a mile, each mile of rail road with 

 a double track, will require two hundred and 

 thirtyeight tons of rails, besides chains, screw and 

 bolts, amounting in the whole to at least 250 tons 

 of iron per mile — 250 multiplied by 3000, is seven 

 hundred and fifty thousand tons of iron, that will 

 shortly be used in the United States, in the con- 

 struction of rail roads. 



Such is the demand for rail road iron in England 

 for the American market, tliat common bar iron, 

 which one year ago, was worth only £6 10s. stg. 

 in Wales is now worth £9 10s. at the Welsh 

 works ; as appears by the British Prices Current. 



It is stated in the New York papers that at this 

 time contracts have been actually made in Eng- 

 land by American Houses, for four hundred thou- 

 sand tons of rail road iron, to be shipped to this 

 country. 



£9 10s. sterling is about fortyfive dollars of our 

 money ; but rail road iron costs more than com- 

 mon bar iron, and is it this time worth at least 

 850 per ton, at the works in Wales or Stafford- 

 shire. Four hundred thousand tons of iron at $50 

 per ton, is twenty millions of dollars, that the people 

 of the United States are bound to pay to tho En- 

 glish by their present contracts for rail road iron. 

 If all the projected rail roads of this country shall 

 be laid down with British iron rail, we shall pay 

 to the English nation within the next seven years, 

 a.\.\e&sl fifty millions of dollars for rail road iron. 



And yet, we have in our mountains both iron 

 ore and coal, of the best quality, and in quantities 

 sufficient to yield iron for the whole world.— Penn. 

 Tel. 



ScARCiTr OF Hat. — The Greenfield Mercui^ 

 remarks : — " We regret to hear that a scarcity of 

 hay is beginning to be severely felt in many of the 

 towns in this county — particularly in the bill 

 towns west of us. Many farmers have scarcely a 

 lock of hay left, and are unable to procure it except 

 at exorbitant prices, flieantinie their stock is 

 suffering extremely. A farmer in Heath, we 

 understand, lost five cows last week from absolute 

 starvation, and a farmer in another town ujtvvards 

 of twenty sheep from the same cause : the depth 

 of the snow preventing their going into the woods 

 to browse. We have heard of one or two instances 

 where farmers have offered their cows at $5, and 

 sheep for their fleeces when sheared, and been 

 unable to dispose of them, even at that rate. We 

 apprehend that this scarcity arises not so much 

 from an absolute deficiency of hay in consequence 

 of the light crop of last yi^ar, as from the with- 

 holding for a higher price, of those who cut their 

 usual quantity, and who have tons of a surplus to 

 dispose of. If the hay actually in possession were 

 more equally distributed, we have no doubt there 

 would be a sufficiency for all, enough at least to 

 prevent much suffering." 



The Northampton Courier says : " Hay is scarce 

 beyond example. The ' hill towns ' are suffer- 

 ing much, and the valley little better off. Hay is 

 selling for twentyfive dollars, and it can hardly be 

 had for love or money. We were told the other 

 day, that if all the hay in the town of Goshen 

 should be put before the cattle, it would not last, 

 them twentyfour hours. The mildness of the 

 weather will soon enable sheep to browse, and in 

 this way a great saving will be had in the shape of 

 provender." 



ITEmS. 



Sewing Silk is selling in Northampton at .f lOJ 

 per lb. It is becoming a scarce article, and al- 

 ready we feel the necessity of having our Norlh- 

 ampton Silk Company in operation. It has been 

 ascertained by a careful couijiutation, that not loss 

 than S15,000 worth of silk stuffs were sold in this 

 town during the year 1835. One firm sold $4000 

 worth. Only think of that! Fifteen thousand 

 dollars sent out of this single town to purchase the 

 one luxurious article of Silk ! when if our farmers 

 had had the business of silk growing in their eye 

 five years since, this comfortable amount could 

 have just as well been put in their own pockets. 

 What one item of produce is there raised in the 

 Northampton meadows which furnishes an income 

 of .$15,000 .'—Cotm'er. 



The Beef Cattle in this region are thiniiing out 

 fast. A number more superior animals from 

 South street, left for Brighton on Monday. The 

 Republican says, there are about eighty head 

 remaining in Northampton, three hundred in Hat- 

 field, one hundred and eighty in Deerfield, and 

 sixty in Greenfield. In Northfield, Hadley, and 

 Amherst about one hundred. The drovers from 

 abroad have been through the neighboring towns 

 but the cattle are held higher by the feeders than 

 they are willing to pay. — ib. 



A Broom Corn mania is getting up in this re- 

 gion, and the coming spring, from appearances, 

 little else will be seen in meadows. Broom brush 

 is unexampled in price, selling readily at fifteen 

 cents, and ashes to put on broom corn land sell 

 now at twentyfive cents per bushel in this village. 

 The produce of an acre of Broom corn was sold 

 the other day in this town for $130! ib. 



Curing Hams. — A subscriber hands us the fol- 

 lowing receipt as a superior one for curing haras, 

 which has until recently been held as a secret, and 

 now for the first time published. Take 2 oz. salt- 

 petre, and one large teaspoonful of pearlash to 16 

 lbs. of ham, add molasses in the proportion of one 

 gallon to the hogshead. Make the salt pickle as 

 strong as possible, dissolve all the above ingredi- 

 ents, put them in the pickle, and pour it on the 

 hams. Let them remain in the pickle under 

 weight, for six weeks, and smoke them during the 

 cold weather. They will keep an indefinite period, 

 and equal in flavor to any in the world. — Huron 

 Refleetor. 



Chinese Mulberry — A remarkable instance of 

 this plant's tenacity of life was mentioned to us 

 the other day by Dr Stebbins of this town. Dr 

 S. last autumn sent several boxes of the cuttings 

 of this plant to Illinois. One of them was sixty 

 nine days on its passage, and when received, the 

 earth in which the cuttings has been deposited, 

 was as dry as powder, yet the buds had started, 

 and were shooting forth as if enjoying the advan- 

 tages of sun, sky, and soil. — JVorthampton Gaz. 



