302 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



April 6, 1831. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL C, 1831. 



roils, cousists of a rich loam, but a sni;ill part of 

 it very gravelly and apt to suffer by drought. It 

 produced a tolerable crop of Indian corn and 



afterwards they were not so much rotted as t 

 oak. In 1772, a fence was made partly of chi 

 nut and partly of oak posts and rails — the trc 



FARMERS' WORK FOR APRIL. 



SPRI.VG WHEAT. 

 Continued from page 294. 

 Your seed should be of the largest and finest 

 of the crop, well ripened before it is harvested. 

 With regard to its preparation both to prevent 

 smut, and to quicken and invigorate its early 

 growth, almost every farmer has his favorite 

 recipe ; and ihe accounts which oiu- paper contains 

 of the manner of cultivating the wheat crops 

 which liave from time to time entitled diligent and 

 skilful cultivators to premiums from our Agricul- 

 tural Societies give modes forpre[)aring seed wheat 

 for sowing, which have been found useful by that 

 infallible guide, experience. The method used by 

 Payson Williams, Esq. of Fitchburgh, in raising bis 

 premium crop, is the most simple, least expensive 

 and probably as effective as any. He prepared 

 his seed wheat by 'a thorough washing, after 

 which it was immersed in thick whitewash made 

 from good lime so as to coat every kernel — no 

 fears need to be entertained from the plcntiftri 

 use of this liquor, as by way of of experiment, 

 I have planted wheat after its lying in this liquor 

 four days which vegetated well.' A variety of 

 other ingredients, such as salt, blue vitriol, salt 

 petre, urine, arsenic, &c, &c, have been recom- 

 mended for forming steeps for seed wheat, but it 

 is believed that lime is the safest, and perhaps it 

 ia quite as effective as any which is ever used for 

 that pm-pose. 



The quantity of seed to the acre recommended 

 by our best agriculturists is from 2 to 2| bushels. 

 In England, however, acording to the supplement 

 to the British Encyclojiedia, the quantity varies 

 from two bushels or less to three and sometimes 

 even four bushels per English statute acre. 

 Land sown early requires less seed than the same 

 land when sown late in autumn or in spring ; and 

 poor land is at all times allowed more seed than 

 rich land. 



It is reconmiended in Bordley's Hushandnj to sow' 

 a border of ry^ round trie field of wheat to pre- 

 vent its being blasted. The writer states that ' iVIr 

 Isaac Young of Georgia mixed rye among b is 

 seed wheat and thus escaped the blast of his 

 wheat. It was repeatedly tried till he was con- 

 vinced of itsefiicacy ; and then he sowed five acres 

 of jcheat surrounded iviih a list lor border) 25 /eei 

 in breadth of rye ; this also succeeded and being 

 repealed is found a certain security to wheat. It 

 is very important to puss a lieavy roller over the 

 ground soon after the wheat is sown and har- 

 rowed in, especially when grass seed is sown, as 

 well to level the ground for the scythe as to an- 

 swer the other important purposes of that useful 

 implement. 



The following letter to the Trustees of the Ply- 

 mouth County Agricultural Society on the subject 

 of cultivating spring wheat, written by Dr James 

 Thacher of Plymouth, to whom the community of 

 cultivators is indebted for the Orchardist, Treatise 

 on Bees, &c, was republished ft-om the old Colony 

 Memorial in the 2d volume of the New England 

 Farmer, page 285. We'presett it again to our 

 readers, as containing a plain and concise e.v 

 esoplificauon of some the best rules for growing 

 spring wheat. 



])otatoes the two preceding seasons. In April last made use of were of the same age, and were wr 

 it was covered with a full coat of stable manure, ' may be termed young trees. In nineteen yei 



and on the 15th and 16th of the month it was ] the oak posts had so decayed at the surface, as 

 ploughed twice and harrowed ; after which the need to be strengthened by spurs [braces] wh 

 wheat and grass seed being sown, it was again j the chesnut required no such support. A gate pi 

 harrowed. The wheat was immersed in sea water j of chesnut on which the gate had swung for fii 

 twentyfour hours and afterwards rolled in lime. ! years was found quite sound when taken up, ai 

 The quantity sown was one bushel, and of that i a barn constructed of chesnut in 17-13 was ibu) 



species of wheat from Italy, the straw of which 

 is employed to make leghorn bonnets. The wheat 

 exhibited the most favorable appearance during 

 the season, entirely free from smut or mildew and 

 in August it was harvested. The produce is eigh- 

 teen bushels one jieck and two quarts. The grain is 

 remarkably well formed, and being ground and 

 bolted, the flour is not inferior to the suiierfine I i 

 flour brought from the southern states. The land 

 is now covered with a superior growth of herds- 

 grass. 



' This is among the instances in proof that our 

 climate and soil are well adapted to the produc- 

 tion of summer wheat. One of my industrious 

 neighbors obtained a few years since, 34.^ bushels 

 from an acre; and another has expended in his 

 family no other flour than the produce of his own 

 soil for the last five years. Our farmers in this 

 county are greatly deficient in their attention to this 

 object, though it is nelieved that every farm would 

 afford suitable land to yield wheat sufficient for 

 the consumption of the family. On the iirinciple 

 of profit and economy the cultivation of wheat 

 ought to be encouraged, more especially as it is 

 found to be the preferable grain to accompany 

 clover and herdsgrass for mowing the ensuing 

 year.' 



FENCES. 



Fences now require a general, thorough, and 

 critical review ; and all deficiencies should be 

 supplied with materials somewhat more dura- 

 ble than a snow bank in April. Cattle when first 

 permitted to take leg-bail, after a winter's imprison- 

 ment are very apt to become tresspassers on the 

 freehold, without regard to any man's right of 

 [iroperty. Hunger urges them to pass ovtr or 

 break through even stone walls, unless they are 

 surmounted by poles, secured by stakes, and thus 

 present an effectual barrier to the predatory excur- 

 sions of the most desperate quadrupeds. 



In many parts of the country posts and rails 

 will be found the cheapest materials for fences ; 

 and with proper precautions may be rendered very 

 durable. In making fences of this descri|)tion, it 

 is advised by Mi' Preston, of Stockport, Penn. to 

 set tlie posts, with the top ])arts in the ground, 

 and he asserts that they will, in that position, last 

 three or four times as long as when they are set 

 with t!ie butt ends down. He advises, also, in 

 making fences always to place the rails with the 

 heart side up. 



The best timber for rails, according to Dr Deanc, 

 is red cedar. It is easy to split, light to carry and 

 handle, sufficiently strong, and the most durable 

 of any. In the Transactions of the Society of 

 Arts, in England, there is an account, which states 

 in substance that jiosts of oak, and others of dies- 

 nut were set down in Somersetshire, where they 

 had to undergo repairs in 18 years. "The oak posts 

 were then found to be unserviceable, and the ches- 

 nut very little worn. The oak posts were renewed, 



(piite sound in every part in 1782. It shoo 

 seem, therefore that young chesnut is superior' 

 young oak for all manner of work, which must 

 put jiartly in the ground. * 



If the lower ends of posts are scorched ig "" 

 hot flame before they are put into the grouB '' 

 they will last the longer. Some recommend soa 



them in sea water to keep them from rottil ike 

 The posts should be set at least two feet in 

 ground. Some farmers cut their posts so 1 

 and mortise them in such a manner that they 

 turn them upside down when the lower ends 

 come rotten 



* With reo;ardto the culture of the chesnut, see Ni 

 England Farmer, vol. ii. page 1.3S. 



MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIET 



Proceedings of the Massachusetts Horticultural Socie. 



at a meeting held at the Hall on the 2dof.^pril, 18! 



The following letter from Wm. S. Rogers, Esq., was rea 



ISosTon, Die. 11, 1830 

 lion. II. A. S. DxiBsgaN, Ties. Maes. Hon. Soc. 



Sir — I have the honor to transmit you a box cc 

 taining all the seeds and flowers and shrubs I cot 

 collect while in Brazil. That they may be as use 

 and ornamental, as the objects of the society t 

 praiseworthy, is the sincere wish of. 



Your ob't serv't, Wm. S. RocERa 



Resolved, That the thanks of the Society- be preseni 

 to Win. S. Rogers, Esq. for his valuable present of Sei^ 

 collected in Brazil. 



Col. Phinney resigned as a member of the Comml 

 on Fruit Trees, Fruit, ^c. 



Scions of the Moskey Sweeting and Lyscomb orj 

 sbene striped Apple, and a package of Seeds from Bi 

 presented by Mr Rogers, were distributed. 



Charles Ellis of Newton was admitted as a member. 



A fine specimen of Camellia myrtit'olia was exhibit 

 by Mr D. Haggerston from the Charlestown vineyard. 



'The land, measuring half an acre and twelve 1 the chesnut remained, and in tvventyfive years 



The National Debt is now reduced to ab«i 

 thirtijseven millions, and in three years more, wil 

 proper economy, the whole debt will be li(]uidate( 

 How proudly must America stand among the W 

 tions of the world. Without a national deb^ 

 without direct taxation, and possessing a revenu 

 more than sufficient liy millions of dollars to deft' 

 the expenses of government. — Hudson Gaz. 



New 25 and 5 cent pieces have been is8B0 

 from the mint, much handsomer than the old one 

 They are much thicker, and the motto, ' E Pluri 

 bus Unum,' is omitted, not having been at any to 

 directed by the act of Congress regulating the coin 



No nation issues handsomer coin than the UniB' 

 States. 



Treaty ivith Austria. — A liberal Commercial Tiw 

 ty has been concluded between this country Mi 

 Austria. 



A great earthquake had taken place in the Provinc*"* 

 Pecheli and Honan, which had destroyed 12 cities "" 

 towns, and from 500,000 to i,000,000 of inhabitants. 



