214 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Jan. 21, 1831. 



I am much inclined to think that I have raised, and 

 shall raise in the present year, 1828, nearly as large 

 a produce per acre of a well known small early 

 variety, the Ashleaved Kidney Potatoes. Ol'thi.-i va- 

 riety, I selected in the [tresent si)ring the largest 

 tuhers which I could cause to be proiluced in the 

 past year ; and I have planted them nearly in con- 

 tact with each other in the rows, and with intervals, 

 on account of the shortness of their stems, of only 

 two feet between the rows. The plants at present 

 display an unrivalled degree of strength and vigor 

 of growth, arising from the very large size (for 

 that variety) of the planted tubers; and as large 

 a. breadth of foliage is exposed to light by the 

 small as could be expo.sed by a large variety ; and 

 as I have always found the amount of the produce 

 under any given external circumstances to be regu- 

 lated by the extent of foliage, which was exposed to 

 liglit, I think it possible t^iat I shall obtain as large 

 or nearly as large a cro^' from the small variety the 

 present year as I ohtKined from the large variety 

 in the last. I have tinifornily found that to obtain 

 crops of potatoes of great weight and excellence, 

 the period of planting should never he later than 

 the beginning of March, [in England.] 

 Postcrijit. 

 March 23, 1829. — Somewhat contrary to my 

 expectations, the produce of the snjall early pota- 

 toes exceeded very considerably that of the large 

 one above mentioned, being per acre, 665 bushels 

 of 82 pounds. It is usually calculated by fariners 

 that eighty pounds of potatoes though eaten raw 

 after they have begun to germinate, will afford two 

 pounds of Pork ; and 1 doubt much if the haulm and 

 the whole of the manure, made by the hogs were 

 restored to the ground, whether it would be in any 

 degree impoverished. I am not satisfied that it 

 would not be enriched, an important subject 

 for consideration in a country of which the produce 

 is at present unequal to the support ofitsinhab- 

 tants, and which produce 1 confidently believe and 

 fear is growing gradually less while the numlicr of 

 its inhabitants is rapidly increasing. 



POISON FROM WEEDS AND POTATO TOPS. 



We have received a communication from Mr J. 

 H. Gibson of Philadelphia County, from which 

 the following facts are obtained. On the 15th of 

 Dec. last it rained very i)lentifully. The next mor- 

 ning a favorite cow was lying down and could 

 not get up to be milked. She appeared in some 

 pain, groaned, and her head was doubled back on 

 her side much in the manner of a kitten asleep. 

 On being moved, her muscles were found very flex- 

 ible, but she had not the power of moving from 

 any position in which the strength of several men 

 placed her. She was dreijched with oil and whis- 

 key. There was no distention. The eye looked 

 bright except when occasionally rolled about in the 

 paroxysms of pain. The cow had always been 

 healthy and was so the night before. She died, and 

 in the gasp of death discharged a large quantity of 

 dark colored fluid from her mouth and nostrils in 

 a broad stream. On dissection, the first stomach 

 had in it some dark colored water mingled with the 

 food. The second stomach was filled with the 

 different articles eaten in a very dry state. The 

 gall bladder was much distended, and full of a 

 dark fluid which had discolored in a short time the 

 adjacent viscera. 



Soon after, a pig belonging to the writer was af- 

 fected by similar symptoms and soon died. Ten 

 minutes after its death the stomach was found fu i 



of food, and directly opposite to something eaten, 

 which resembled the dung of the cow; the stomach 

 was found of a red ash color. 



It appears that the writer had deposited a' very 

 large quantity of potato vines in the barn yard 

 which is hollow in the centre, so that the water 

 does not pass off.' Potatoes belong to a poisonous 

 class of vegetables, too many of the weeds were 

 ripe before they were hauled into the yard, and 

 strong infusions remained in the bottom of the yard ;' 

 and from various circumstances and appearances, 

 detailed in the conninication, the writer is of opin- 

 ion that the cow having eaten drier food than usual, 

 and drank of this contaminated water, ' was poi- 

 soned by the infusionsof weeds of various descrip- 

 tions, such as grow among highly manured crops, 

 and of the vines and apples of the potatoes. 

 The writer adds ' I have kept cows and sheep in a 

 close barn yard for months in the winter without 

 water, and ivhen they ivere freely fid with rula baga 

 and potatoes, they would not drink. But at the 

 commencement of the season greater care is neces- 

 sary.' 



TO FARMERS. 

 John Hare Powel, Esq. the distinguished agri- 

 culturist, late of Philadelphia, who is now in 

 England, has written to a member of the Senate 

 of Pennsylvania, that he has 'high authority for 

 saying that the supply of grain is short on the Con- 

 tinent of Europe, and that agents have been sent 

 from France to the U. States to buy up breadstuffs.' 



IMPROVED BREED OF CATTLE. 



A Steer four years old, slaughtered last week at 

 Worcester, belonging to his Excellency Gov. Lin- 

 coln, presented good evidence of the value of the 

 Improved Durham Short Horns for the shambles. 

 His weight was as follows. 



Weight of Quarters, 270 



279 



27S 



290 ' 



Hides 113— Tallow 101, 214 



Total, 133 libs. 



We learn that this animal had only been fed 

 with grain since the middle of November, and 

 that, at the moderate rate of a peck of corn and 

 cob meal per day. The last month, there has 

 been added from a peck to a half bushel of pota- 

 toes. He ran in the pastures till November, with- 

 out any focid but grass, having neither pumpkins, 

 stalks, nor any of the usual fall fodder. During 

 the winters of his second and third years he was 

 kept in a yard with several other hardy animals 

 principally on coarse hay, husks and straw. It is 

 supposed that his keepiiig has not cost more than 

 is usual with farmers in raising stock to the same 

 age, excepting that he was not worked. 



some of the interior states of India — Natural at 

 Revealed Religion — Modern Novels — Inquiry ir\ 

 the rise and growth of the Royal Prerogative 

 England — French edition of Reid's Works — P& 

 liamentary Reform — National Library — Gerra; 

 Literature — The New Parliament. — Price $5,( 

 per annum. 



The Committee of the Massachtisetls JlgncuUuT 



Society, on Grain and Vegetable Crops, and J 



the best cultivated Farms, have aioarded, 

 To Tristram Little and Henry Little 



Newbury, for a crop of spring wheat, beii 



34.^ bushels on an acre, 

 To Benjamin B. Howard, of West Bridgewate 



for his crop of barley, 48 bushels to the acre, i 

 To Richard Adams, Jr, of Newbury, for his or 



of winter rye — 38|- bushels on an acre, ! 

 To Payson Williams, of Fitchburg, for his cr 



of potatoes — 570 bushels on an acre. 

 To Gideon Foster, of Charlestown, for his cr 



of Mangel Wurtzel — 1542 bushels, or 86,3. 



pounds on an acre, I 



To Henry Colman, of Salem, for his crop 



ruta baga — 741 bushels on afi acre,* 

 To Joseph Perkins, of Newbury, for his crop 



onions — 657 bushels on an acre 

 To William Buckminster, of Framingham, i 



his experiment of turning in green, crops as 



manure, ! 



To Erastus Ware, of Salem, for the skilful &/ 



successful manner in which he has cultivated 1 



farm, 



* Estimating Mr Colman's crop of RutaB^gaatl 

 lbs per bushel, the standard of (he Society and by wh' 

 Mr Foster's crop of Mangel Wartzel is estimate;', 

 crop is equal to 903 bushels or 50,563 lbs. — the amO 

 required by the Society to entitle to a premium is U 

 bushels. 



Landscape and Ornamental Gardening, Horticul- 

 ture, the Culture of Mulberry Trees and Silk, the 

 ornamenting of Public Roads by Shade Trees, and 

 the Culture of Grape Vines are deservedly be- 

 coming popular subjects for lectures before Ly- 

 ceums in the interior of New England. 



Edinburgh Review. — Messrs Lilly and Wait, 

 Court Street, Boston, have just republished the 

 103d No. of the Edinburgh Review, which is well 

 filled with articles on the following subjects. Re- 

 flections on the late Revolution in France — Geol- 

 ogy — Travels in Africa — Annals and Antiquities of 



DESTROYING CATERPILLARS 



Mr Richard Williams, Gardener to Thoi 

 Andrew Knight, Esq. F. R. S. &c, &c, Prea 

 letter to the Secretary of the London Hortii 

 tural Society, stated that he succeeded in desti 

 ing calerpillars on gooseberry bushes byspriid<l 

 them with quick lime. He says ' having sonn- qu ; 

 lime fresh from the kiln for other purposes, I s|irii it 

 led some of it upon tlie caterpillars and 1 saw I " 

 as soon as it touched them they dropped frma jj 

 bushes. I then proceeded innuediately to spi jl 

 kle every bush in the garden, taking up tlie li jl 

 in my hands, at first, and afterwards in a si 

 wooden spoon, standing on the side from wj 

 the win<l blew, and dashing it among the lei 

 of each husli. As soon as the caterpillars 

 fallen off, I placed with my hands round 

 bottom of the stem of every hush about a h 

 pint of lime to prevent the caterpillars cli 

 up and I saw no more of them. But in abi 

 month afterwards a second hatch apjioared' 

 some of the bushes, when I again used the q| 

 lime with the same efti^ct. What becomes oti 

 caterpillars I do not know ; I saw a good 

 alive on the ground under some of the busheS'-ll 

 day after they dropped off; but 1 suppose they 

 perished, for not a single one has been seen in t 

 garden this year, though in every preceding yi 

 they gave me a great deal of trouble.' 



Cure for Ladies'' Rheumatism.— Take a good wii 

 double Scotch shawl, and apply it immediat 

 round the shoulders and chest; and add £ 

 secundem artem, a stout Welch flannel pettic- 

 and remain at home at least long enough tovj 

 them on. 



