222 



NEW ENGLAND FARMEK 



Jan. &8, 1S3I 



Extracts from the Albany County Agricultural Report 

 for 1S30. By J. B. Originally published in the New York 

 Farmer for December last. 



JVhtal. — The quality of this crop has improved 

 within a few years from the attentioji paid in select- 

 ing soil and preventing smut. Tlie nietliod of 

 steeping the seed in brine, and intermixing lime 

 with it before sowing, is become more general, 

 and is found to be a certain prevention against 

 smutty grain. 



Barky has been a good crop, particularly wh ere 

 sown early, upon dry or well conditioned land. 

 This is an important staple of our country ; and 

 at the present price, 73 cents, one of the most 

 profitable of our tillage crops. Its product upon 

 good dry loams may be considered double that of 

 wheat, and less exhausting to the soil. It is recom- 

 mended to roll this grain when two or three inches 

 high. I have found the ])ractice beneficial. It 

 buries the collar of the j)lant, and causes thereby 

 an increase of seed stems. 



Indian Corn. — Corn as well as barley is a good 

 crop on grounds adapted to its growth ; but on 

 soils that are exhausted by croj |)ing, that are stiff 

 and cold, or habitually wet, it is seldom that the 

 product of eitlier compensates for the labor be- 

 stowed upon their culture. I find from twelve 

 years' practice that the cheapest and best mode of 

 harvesting corn is to cut it up at the root as soon 

 as it is fit to gather, and immediately to tie it in 

 stooks. It may be husked and cribbed in two or 

 three weeks after cutting, or suffered to remain 

 longer. Two men will cut with a proper instru- 

 ment and stook two acres in a day. I think that 

 it economises labor, increases and in)proves the 

 fodder, and leaves the ground free in time for a 

 wheat crop, and does not impair the quality of the 

 grain. I usually cut my corn the first w^ek in 

 September, but have sometimes done it in August. 

 There is an economy in preparing this food for 

 swine, which I will take the liberty of recommend- 

 ng. Tills economy coiisistsin grinding and boiling 

 it the same as for family use. — Admit that one tenth 

 goes for toll, the boiling costs nothing, for it can 

 be done evenings on the kitchen fire ; and I ven- 

 ture to say, that two bushels, thus prepared, will 

 make inore pork than three bushels fed in the or- 

 dinarj' way. Who has not observed that an 

 animal whether hog, ox, or horse, fed high with 

 dry corn or other grain, voids a portion of it in a 

 half digested, and often in a sound undecomposed 

 state. Common sense teaches that grain thus fed 

 is half wasted. The cob, it has been satisfactorily 

 ascertained, contains considerable nutriment. If 

 ground with the corn therefore and scalded for 

 neat cattle, it both increases and improves the 

 food. Hogs do not eat it. 



To gentlemen cutting lucerne for hay, and it is 

 often desirable to do this with the third cutting, 

 I would particularly recommend, that after the 

 gra.ss has laid a few hours in the swarth, to make 

 it into cocks, not exceeding a yard in diameter, and 

 as high as convenient, placing it on in layers with 

 the fork, and pointing at the top. Two days will 

 cure it sufficient for mowing, and every leaf will be 

 saved ; whereas by spreading, the leaves will crum- 

 ble and be lost ere the stalk is dry. This is the 

 practice I also adopt with my clover.merely opening 

 it two or three hoiu'S to the sun before it is drawn 

 from the field. By the bye, — let me I'epeat my 

 advice to my brother farmers, who have light rich 

 soils, to try an acre of lucerne. If they have 

 small farms, one acre of this grass is worth twelve 



acres of pasture. If they have large farms, it will 

 prove extremely servicealde to the dairy, when the 

 [lastures are short, and is always convenient for 

 working cattle. ] compute an acre to be worth 

 to me fifty dollars annually. It will keep six cat- 

 tle, and keep them well, from the 15th or 20th of 

 May. I sowed an acre on the 7th of May. 1 cut 

 it twice for soiling, and then feed off a fine after- 

 math. As pastiue grasses, the orchard and tall 

 meadow oat grasses hold a pre-eminent rank. 

 They grow at all seasons where the ground is free 

 from frost, — they grow luxuriantly, and they yield 

 an abundance of tender nutritious food. 



Fruit was seriously injured by the late frosts of 

 spring. The plum, however, escaped unhurt ; and 

 as the cold weather of May destroyed or kept back 

 the cnrculio, we had a very abimdant yield of tliis 

 fruit. — The peach and pear gave but a very light 

 crop. Grapes were generally cut off, except in 

 the city. In some neighborhoods the apple was 

 wholly destroyed in the blossoms, in others there 

 has been a tolerable crop. — Many peartrees suffered 

 from what is termed, I think erroneously, a blight. 

 The disease has assumed a new form this year. 

 Its attacks were heretofore confined to the branch- 

 es. It has now seized the trunks. I have taken 

 up several, of foin- and five inches in diameter ; 

 the limbs and foliage of some were apparently 

 sound and healthy, but the bark of whose trunk.s 

 was i)eafectly dead, from 6 to 24 inches, at differ- 

 ent heights from the grounrl. Among all the spec- 

 ulations iq)on the cause of this disease, I have met 

 with nothing satisfactory. Kirby and Spence, in 

 their ' Introduction to Entomology,' vol. i, p. 212, 

 13, s])eak of a small beetle, which at different 

 times has devastated the fir forests of Germany, 

 (Barfrichius T^jpographus, F) which feeds upon the 

 soft inner bark only, but which attacks this impor- 

 tant part in such vast numbers, 80,000 sometimes 

 being found in a single tree, that it is infinitely more 

 noxious than any of those which bore into the 

 wood. I introduce this passage to induce new 

 vigilance in our orchardists and gardeners to dis- 

 cover the cause of this disease in one of our most 

 valuable fruits. 



Oats and Buckwheat. — I have already extended 

 my remarks too far to say much of these. Indeed 

 I could say little to interest a good farmer : for he 

 seldom raises either oats or buckwheat. And any- 

 thing I might offer to show their improfitableness 

 to the cultivator, would, I fear, be lost on a bad 

 one. 



BEES. 

 The Editor of the Windsor, Vt. Chronicle, after copy- 

 ing Dr Smith's article on bees from a late New Eng- 

 land Farmer has added the following remarks : 



Dr Smith doubts the existence of the queen bee. 

 Now we have never heard a bee promulgating 

 laws or appointing subordinate officers, &c, but we 

 have seen what may perhaps be worth telling of 



There was an empty hive at the north end of 

 the bee house, intended for the next swarm. From 

 the hive next south, a swarm had issued, and after 

 flying about for a while, returned. The reason 

 assigned by the owner was, that the queen was 

 unable to fly. A day or two after, the swarm 

 came out again and soon began to return asbefore. 

 It occiuTcd to us, that possibly her majesty, in at- 

 tempting to fly, might have fallen to tlie ground. 

 Stepping in front of the hive, we saw, six or eight 

 feet from its mouth, some twenty bees, flying 

 about near a tuft of grass ; and on drawing nearer 

 we saw jjerched upon a blade of glass, a bee, 



about as long as a drone, but much more slender, 



the back of a brighter black, and the legs reddish 

 — evidently neither a drone nor a working bee. 

 A stick being presented to this singular insect, shr 

 crept upon it, and was carried upon it to the 

 mouth of the empty hive before mentioned. A 

 few bees hud alighted at its mouth. These im- 

 mediately followed her into the hive. Some of 

 them soon returned, and ran, evidently as fast as 

 they were able, to the old hive, the stool and front 

 of which were covered with the returning swarm. 

 Having arrived among these, the messengers, for 

 such they appeared to be, would occasionally sto|), 

 and shake themselves violently, swinging or rather 

 rocking themselves from right to left and the con- 

 trary, as they are sometimes seen to do at and 

 about the time of swarming. This motion was 

 invariably followed by a general scampering of 

 the surrounding bees to the hive. Some of these 

 messengers entered the old hive, wiiere their oper- 

 ations were out of sight ; but their entrance was 

 S30U followed by the pouring out of multitudes, 

 who made their way with all possible speed to the 

 new hive. In a few moments the odd looking bee, 

 picked up on the grass, was surrounded with a re- 

 spectable swarm, all was quiet, the usual labors of 

 bees comenced, and in the end, a good summer's 

 work of honey-making was done. — This, and 

 having seen a number of bees of the same ap- 

 pearance, but never more than one in a hive, is all 

 we know by our own eyes, about a queen among 

 bees. 



31ANGEL WURTZEL. 



At the Doncaster Agricultural Society, Lord AU 

 thorpe described an interesting experiment which 

 he made to as certain the comiiarative merits of 

 Swedish turnips and Mangel Wurtzel, in thefatten- 

 i^ng of cattle; the result of which went toprovetlie 

 superiority ofthe latter. His lordship further ob- 

 served that during the present droughty season, 

 when the turnips had been nearly burnt up, or 

 destroyed by the fly. Mangel Wurtzel had flour- 

 ished, and was an abundant crop. — [Farmer's Jour- 

 nal.) A correspondent informs that Mangel 

 Wurtzel may be used for feeding dogs, and that 

 they are very fond of this root, while they will 

 not eat the turnip. 



Recipe for Scalds and Burns. — Linseed oil and 

 lime water each equal parts — the bottle to be. 

 shaken previous to the application, as the ingre- 

 dients will separate — lint or a piece of linen to Iks 

 applied to the burn, and kept constantly saturated 

 with the liniment. 



Fattening Fowls with Potatoes. — There is a greal 

 profit in feeding geese, turkeys and fowls of every 

 sort, with potatoes and meal mixed ; they will fatten 

 in nearly one halftbe time that they will on any kind 

 of corn, or even meal by itself The potatoes 

 must be bruised ^nc, while they are hot, and 

 the meal added, — when the mess is given to them. 

 — TVans. ofSoc. of Arts. 



The late Storm. — Our New England hills now wear 

 the aspect of the olden lime. They aie beautiful. He 

 that ' makelh the clouds his chaiiots,' hath sent ' snow 

 like wool.' It is piled in the streets from six to ten teel 

 in height. The Common and the distant country are 

 covered with a glorious sheen, and there is none so infi- 

 del as not to admire it. 



At New York, the storm commenced at 11 o'clock 

 on Friday, and ended aliout the same time as in Bos- 

 ton. Eighteen inches fell there, and much damage is 

 supposed to have been done at sea. — JUass. Jour. 



*,* Several communications are deferred. 



