342 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



May 11, 1831.- 



an over faltened goose is too nuicli in tlie oil-cake 

 and grease-tub style, to adiiiit even the idea of 

 delicacy, firmness, or true flavor. With clean and 

 reneweil beds of straw, plenty of clean water, oais 

 crushed or otherwise, i)oa or bean meal (the latter, 

 however, coarse and ordinary food,) or pollard 

 mixed np with skim milk, geese will fatten pleas- 

 antly and speedily.* 



It is said that geese may be fed to advantage 

 on turnips, cut in small pieces, similar to dice, 

 but not so large and put into a trough of water. 

 Mr Cobbott says ' when the young ones are hatch- 

 ed they should be kept in a warm place for abunt 

 four days and fed on barley meal, (probably In 



least for the summer support of all liin teams and 

 oilier horses ; and if in additiim to this quaniity, 

 he provides also for thus feeding much other .'^tock 

 in his farm-yard, he will find it a most )irofitable 

 practice. The ])roper soil depends principally on 

 two qualities, that it be quite dry and very rich. If 

 near the stables and yard, the convenience will be 

 much the greater; but to choose the bi-st land on 

 the farm is, upon the whole, the best direction he 

 can have. Those who at present cultivate it on 

 the largest scale in Kent, Sus.~ex and Hampshire, 

 where are to be found large quantities of it, very 

 generally have it in the broad-cast mode, and as 

 far as positive practice goes, this method iinist be 

 dian meal is as good) mixed if possible with milk : | preferred i but as effective cleaning it, and espe- 

 and then they will begin to graze. Water foi-{ cially from indigenous grasses is an object of great 



■II 



them or for the old ones to swim in is by no means 

 necessary nor perhaps ever even useful. Or how 

 is it that you see such fine flocks of fine geese, 

 all over Long Island, where there is scarcely such 

 a thing as a pond or a run of water.'' Water 

 for geese to swim iu, however, is said by other 

 ■writers, to be useful, if not indispensable for the 

 welfare of geese, as it preserves them from verinin. 

 The Complete Farmer, an English work, says 

 ' if you would fatten geese you must shut them 

 lip when they are about a month old, and they 

 will be fat in about a month more. 15e sure to 

 let them have always by them in a small rack 

 some fine hay, which will much hasten their fatten- 

 ing. But fiir fatting older geese it is commonly 

 done when they are about six months old, or soon 

 after harvest, when they have been in stubble 

 fields, from which food some kill them, which is 

 a good way. But those who desire to have them 

 very fat, shut them up for a fortnight or three 

 weeks, and feed them with oats, split peas, barley 

 meal, or ground malt mi.xed with milk. But the 

 best thing to fatten them with is malt, mixed with 

 beer. You nmst, however, observe in fattening 

 all sort of water foivl, that they usually sit with 

 their bills upon their rumps, where they suck out 

 the greater ])art of the moisture and fatness, at a 

 small bunch of feathers which you will find stand- 

 ing upright on their rumps, and always moist, 

 with which they trim their feathers, which renders 

 tlicm more oily and slippery than the feathers of 

 other fowls, and causes the water to slip off them. 

 If therefore the upright feathers are cut away close, 

 they will become fat in less time, and with less 

 food than otherwise. If you give them rye be- 

 fore or about mid summer, it will strengthen theui 

 and keep them in health, that being commonly 

 their sickly time.' 



consequence, which nmst be executed when broad 

 cast by a powerful and heavy harrow, it much 

 deserves attention, whether drilling very straight 

 ,at nine inches cqui-distance woidd not be a prefer- 

 able method. Drilling has been tried by many and 

 abandoned for raiidnni sowing ; but nineteen twen- 

 tieths of the drilled lucerne which 1 have seen, have 

 been at 18 inches, 2 and some even 3 feet. The 

 consequence has been a heavy expense and trouble 

 ir, reaping instead of mowing ; and, if the spaces 

 are kept truly clean [from weeds and other grasss] 

 the lucerne being damaged by the pulverized earth 

 adhering to it and carried to the racks. If drilled 

 at 9 inches, it might once a year be most effeclive- 

 ly horse-hoed, which would eradicate grass far 



When lucerne becomes yellow»it should be e 

 and the plants will si)ring,up free from the diso 

 der. 



The Hon. J. Lowell, of Roxbury, has cul 

 valed lucerne successfully for 8 or 9 years [last, ^ 

 Irom time to time has favored us with his remai tif^ 

 on this grass, anil the soil and tillage best adapt 

 to it. Mis last observations on this subject are gi j] 

 in page 243 of the cmreiit volume of the JV. . 

 Farmer. One piece cultivated by Mr Lowell w 

 sown with tall meadow oat grass, in the propi 

 tion of one bushel of oat grass to six pounds of 1 

 cerne. . 



' The first crop was very great ; it was diflicult 

 decide in this first crop which excelled the luceB 

 or the oat grass. But in every succeeding era e 

 the lucerne predominated to so great a degree tl 

 it seemed to be the only crop. This was owing 

 the greater breadth of its leaves. I never cut 

 till it flowered. I made 4 crops last summer 

 excellent hay from it, amounting in all to six to 

 and an half per acre — and after that it fmiiish 

 rich supply of after feed. This crop was 

 and admired by a great number of intelligent 

 mers. 



' Having been convinced tliSt it was suite 

 my soil, I last year laid down an acre and a qj 

 ter for a pasture, being satisfied that it isadi 

 biy ada|ite<l to that purpose. 1 laid it down 

 barley, but it grew so fast that I was obliged t 

 the barley stalks very short, or else 1 should 

 have been able to thresh it, so thick and succ 



better than any harrowing that could be given to 



abroad-cast crop, without a formidalde expense, ' was tlie lucerne. I cut over this field once 



and some danger of ilauiaging the crop, tough as 1 then depastured it. 



the roots are. The grand oliject in the prepara- j 'I mention this fact as a remarkable one, I 



lion of the ground is, to have it as free from weeds, 



and especially grass, as skill and perseverance can 



effect. 



'Not less than 12 ll)s. an acre should be drilled, 

 and 20 lbs. if sown broad-cast It is apt to be eaten 

 by the fly, &c ; if it escape that damage, all is safe 

 and the fanner may be assured that his care will 

 be well repaid 



* Loudon. 



FARMER'S WORK FOR MAY. 



Lucerne. — The following observations on Lucerne 

 are from Arthur Young's Farmer's Calendar ibr 

 May. 'This plant may yet be sown ; beiug a per- 

 ennial, and, well cultivated, yielding an immense 

 profit, too much attention caimot be given to lay 

 the seed in the ground with all possible advanta- 

 ges ; that is the land should be very rich, fine and 

 perfectly free from weeds : these requisites a man 

 may not be able to procure in .April. In such case 

 let him not sow in April, Init w.iit till May : ar:d this 

 whether drilled or sowed broad cast : if the latter let 

 it by all means be sowed with buck wheat, which 

 is preferable to sowing it alone. 



'The advantages of cultivating lucerne are so ex- 

 tremely great that the young agriculturist should 



be determined at all events to have sufficient at 



No manuring at this period is 

 ecessary; but to sow soot just as the yoimg lu- 

 cerne comes above ground, may be beneficial 

 agaiwst the fly. With regard to proportioning the 

 quantity of land thus occupied to the stock inten- 

 ded to be fed on it ; a quarter of an acre per head 

 is sufficient for all sorts of large cattle, taken one 

 with another, if the laud is very rich and good ; 

 but on more moderate soils, half an acre per head 

 will te a proper allowance. It is much better to 

 have too much than too little. 



From some experiments made by the Hon. Rob- 

 ert Livingston, recorded in the Transactions of the 

 Agricultural Society of JVew York it appears that 

 with good cultivation and abundant maimring, from 

 six to nine tons of hay may be obtained from an 

 acre of this gra?s in a season. It answers very 

 well with red clover, and is not injured by the cold 

 or the changes of our climate. 



Mr L. advises as the residt of his experiments, 

 1. Never to sow on ground not perfectly jMilver- 

 ized. 2. Not to sow till the ground has acquired 

 a degree of warmth friendly to vegetation, viz. in 

 May. 3. To sow with no crop that will probably 

 lodge. 4. If sown with buck wheat to apply no 

 gypsinn or other manure till the buck wheat is off. 

 5. Wheh the quantity sown is small and the far- 

 mer can afford to lose a crop to give the ground 

 one turn in autumn, another in April, harrowing 

 fine, and a third the beginning of May, and then if 

 the weather be mild and warm sow if the ground be 

 in perfect tilth, otherwise give it anotlier ploughing. 



cause the French writers speak of it as a very rt 

 occurrence even in their climate, that il will bean 

 scythe ihe first year. 



'At the South and in New York the lucernet 

 done as well as with me, yet many persons hti 

 not succeeded with it here. It will not endl 

 wet or black soils. The land in which I hs 

 raised it is a warm soil — the surface good, I 

 thin on a gravelly bottom. It has stood droug 

 better than any other grass. I have always us 

 gypsum, and perhaps owe my success in part 

 that valuable stimulaut. I have employed tv 

 bushels to the acre.' 



By the Ontario, from London, and th-; Durhai 

 from Havre, Messrs Buel & Wilson have receive 

 a valuable addition to their nursery assurtmen 

 comprising'50 of the choicest and mostly new Frenc 

 and Flemish pears, and 30 new roses, from th 

 well known Noisette, at Paris ; 40 choice frilil 

 from the Loudon Horticultiu-al Society's garde 

 at Chiswick ; 50 new roses and 40 splendid dal 

 lias or Georgianas from the best I/ondon nurseriei 

 and about 60 varieties of fruits, and several ne^ 

 ornamei'.tal plants from correspondents and aili! 

 teurs. The whole will bo propagated with a 

 despatch, and soon added to the catalogue of [ilaDti 

 for sale at Albany Nursery. 



At Greenfield, Mass. last week, one Harvey A, 

 Wright was sentenced to the State prison for tv 

 years, for stealing oats from a barn in the nigh 

 lime. He is a drunkard, and stole the oats to pa; 

 for rum. 



2764 passengers from foreign ports arrivd 

 at New York between Dec. 1, 1 830 and 1st inst. 



Abouta hundred vessels arrived at the port of Bo£ 

 ton on Wednesday last, and the night before. 



