Vol. 



31. 



AND [lOllTICULTUIlAL JOUIINAL. 



245 



with torrible dreums, and he is oppressed by day, 

 with a todions iiiehincholy, in which he is often 

 tenipti'd to make awiiy with himstilt". He graddally 

 surriMidcrs one part of his body alter another to the 

 insali:ile mahaly ; and at lengtli death, tlie lonjr 

 wishcd-tbr deliverer, comes suddenly and puts an 

 end to his misery. 



'.•\s the leprosy is infectious, almost every person 

 shuns the company of the sufferer, which must 

 jreatly add to the misery of his situation; nor can 

 le rialtor himself, after the distemper has advanced 

 ,0 a certain deijree, with any hopes of relief from 

 nedical assistance. It is considered to be irregn- 

 arly hereditary ; yet the symptoms do not become 

 risible before the person has reached the years of 

 naturity. In cases of infection, too, it sfenerally 

 lappens that three or four years elapse before any 



ruption breaks out in the skin. It then proceeds 

 vith slow but steady progress, and it is possible for 

 he person who is afflicted with it, to dra;; out a 

 vretclied existence to the p-olracted term of fifty or 

 ixty years. Very emphatically have the inliabi- 

 ants ot the East given this disease, among other 

 ignlficalory designations, the name of "The First- 

 orn of Death." The Icelandic " Likthra" is scarce- 

 y less striking. It properly signifies a rancid, pu- 

 refying corpse, than which there is nothing a per 

 on inveterately affected with the leprosy more per- 



ctly resembles.' 



MILCH COWS. 



The attention of farmers is invited to the con- 

 sideration of the character and condition of our 

 milch cows. 



How much milk ought a cow to yield to be 

 worth her keeping .' What is the average time 

 that our cows are in milk ? Is there much, if any, 

 waste of fodder among us by keeping animals that 

 yield little or no return of profit.' Questions like 

 these, and there are many such, ought to be put 

 and answered in the New England Farmer. It 

 may turn out that our dairy stock is extremely low 

 in character and its management wasteful. 



would think more of the advantages of employing 



bulls of the improved breeds Heifers would be 



milked with great care and very thoroughly to get 

 them into the habit of holding out long as milkers. 

 If they once dry early, no cane and keeping after- 

 wards will correct this fault. — Heifers with the 

 first calf will be fed well and with some additional 

 care the last 3 months they are in milk, to make 

 them hold out. 



The profit of a milch cow is not generally un- 

 dcrstood. Milk is not only the most nutritious but 

 the cheapest article of food. The food necessary 

 for a cow in full milk, does not exceed 



T,^ , . ,., — r* «"" **• •"" twni», u«j,,.T injL v;Ai,t;cu 111 price. 



If some hing like an average quality of milch one third of what is necessary in feeding for the 



ows could be settled— to afford a standard— and butcher. 



' ould be understood that no good farmer would t>i, ' r i i .-, , 



>= Ihese few remarks are hastily made to draw 



BLACKSTONE CANAL. 

 We have been favored, by one of the Cotn- 

 lissioncrs of this Canal, with the foilowiu"; ab 

 ract of the detailed report, sulunilted by the 

 'reasiiier to the corporation, at their lute annual 

 leetinsf. 

 The business of 1828 commenced late in Oct 

 id continued hut little more than one month, 

 iring which time the tolls amounted to about 

 evert hundred dollars; and the business of 1829 

 as tnuch affected by the general pressure felt 



every jiortion of New England, but more 

 irticularly by the various manufiicturers, on the 

 ospi.'rity and success of whose concerns, this 

 Dnipany will at all times lie much dependent. In 

 Idition to the general pressure before mentioned, 

 e navi^'aiion of that year was considiably iii- 

 rrupted, by frequent breaches in the Canal and 

 pen.lages, as might reasonably have been expect, 



in this, like all other works newly constructed. 

 le gross receipts for tolls, that year amounted to 

 ^ht thousand six hundred und three dollars; tlie 

 pense of repairs on the Canal, the expenses of 

 ;k tenders and all other charges, except the Coi- 

 ;torjpcom[)ensation, were paid by the commis- 

 ners, and included in their general account of 

 sbuisements for constructing and building tile 

 nal. The operations on the canal for 1830, are 

 w closed and the result known. The grots 

 lount of tolls for Xh\syea.r,'\iitwelve thousand mvl 



dollars and one cent, !W(\ the whole nmr.ber of 

 IS transported, is 14,842, viz: 7312 carried U|i, 

 d 5330 brought down , being an increase of more 

 m 50 per cent, on the jiumber of tons transport- 

 1S29. In that year the whole number of 

 is was 9448, viz: 6292 carried up, 3155 brougIi|: 

 wn. 



keep an animal for milk that fell below it ; all th 

 cows in the country would soon come up to that 

 standard and go beyond it. 



A milch cow, of medium qualify, in this State, 

 will give, it is supposed, 12 quarts of milk per day 

 for 2 months after calving, and about 7 quarts ner , 



day on grass feed for the next four months, and 4 L^^^."^ MANURE FOR WET MEADOWS. 

 quarts per day for the next following 2 months 

 and perhaps 2 quarts one month longer. Alto 



out farmers, and particidarly scientific farmers, on 

 this subject. There is a great deal to be said upon 

 it, and a great many facts to the purpose, which 

 should come to light. — Mass. Agnc. Report. 



gether 1500 quarts in a year. 



It takes 9 quarts of milk to give a pound of 

 butter, and 4 quarts to yield a pound of cheese. 

 The skim milk and dairy lohetj may be valued at 

 ■93 a cow per annum. 



Now, a cow that gives 1500 quarts of milk in a 

 year will produce 166 lbs. of butter, worth at 16 

 cents per lb. ^^q .gg 



Skim milk, say 3 44 



L. VVinlliron, Prpsident of the Ma: 

 ly fcir Die Promotion of Agricullure. 



Or 1500 quarts of milk will give, at 4 quarts to 

 the pound of cheese, 375 lbs. which at 8 cents 

 per lb. will be $.90 00 



Whey, say 3 qq 



33 00 



Rail Roads. — The first anniversary of the com- 

 nccment of the South Carolina Rail Road was 

 Id at Charleston on the 15th inst. 'Charleston's 

 St Friend' made two trips on the part of lie 

 ad that is finished, having several pleasure c;is 

 .ched, in which were more than 100 passeii- 

 "S, including « detachment of U. S. troops, vvi|h 

 ield piece. A Federal salute was firetl, a d'lh- 

 p eaten, &c, &c. 



Nothing is said of the worth of the calf, as all 

 the milk the cow gives is credited. A milch cow's 

 keeping one year cannot be short of 25 dollars in 

 the interior. 



Suppose a farmer to resolve that he would keep 

 no cow that did not hold out as a good milker 9 

 months in the year — and that did not give sixteen 

 quarts of milk per day for 2 months after calving, 

 and 12 quarts per day the next four months— an'd 

 six quarts per day the next 3 months, and 2 quarts 

 per day the month following. — Such a cow would 

 yield per annum 3000 quarts of milk. 



Here it may be remarked, that with the addition 

 of 5 dollars per annum to the cost of food as esti- 

 mated for a common cow, the neat profit would 

 probably be four fold. 



Is it not practicable to have throughout the 

 counlry, as common dairy stock animals as good as 

 the last described ? 



This question is submitted to farmers for con- 

 sideration. The probability is, that in taking some 

 pains to get stock as good, they would get even 

 better. 



If the various modes of obtaining this object 

 were resorted to at once and with zeal throughout 

 the country, there would be a prodigious improve- 

 ment, in a very short time. — No young animal of 

 promising appearance for milk would go to the 

 butcher. — More care would be taken of.youno- 

 stock. — More young stock would be retained to 

 insure a better selection for milch cows Farmers I the philosophy of manures that I shall not speak 



Sir — It is wellknown to all readers of agricultur- 

 al works that a vast variety of substances are used 

 ill older countries than ours (for the purpose of 

 increasing the fertility of lands) which have been 

 unknown to us. It is no reflection on our coun- 

 try, because we have not wanted them. The time 

 has now arrived in Massachusetts at least, in which 

 these treasure.s should not be lost I beg leave to 

 mention one, not of my own discovery, but to which 

 I have been indebted to the sagacity, and Uberal 

 intelligenee of my neighbor. A few years since, 

 the Hon. William Ellis of Dedham, recommend- 

 ed to me the use of the head and feet bones of 

 oxen as a highly valuable manure on meadow 

 lauds. He said that he had observed in passing, 

 that I had grounds remarkably well adapted for 

 this manure. I however neglected his hint, 

 though I constantly kept it in mind, until the last 

 year, when seeing an immense load of the heads 

 of oxen passing by, I inquired of the owner, for 

 what purpose he was carting those materials, and 

 he answered me to the following facts, viz. That 

 he came down a distance of eight miles with an 

 empty team, and was carrying back a load, which 

 cost him two dollars, to put on his meadow land. 

 I found that it was no new experiment with him, 

 and that he came often for this purpose. 



Here then I had facts. I knew the habitual 

 economy of our citizens, that they were not re- 

 markably prone to idle experiments, or to waatou 

 expenditure. 



I entered with my very intelligent infonner into 

 many particulars as to the process and effects, but 

 I own that I was more impressed with the simple 

 fact, that he would devote his team and labor for 

 a day and pay two dollars for his materials besides, 

 than with all his other assertions. 



If this man can afford to come 16 miles, and 

 carry back a manure which costs him as much as 

 a load of dung, surely it must be more valuable to 

 me, who can cart eight loads at the expense of his 

 one. 



I made the experiment. Its success surpassed 

 all his descriptions. The manure brought in new 

 grasses. It encouraged and invigorated the old. 

 I am aware that it is only of limited application, 

 but it is no trifling thing to render useful an arti- 

 cle formerly thrown away. We know so little of 



