vol,. X.\.M>. A. 



A N D n [I r I c I' L T i; r a i- r e r. i s t e r . 



4-i 



lie next year the coiirno rnrricil tlirotijjh them all 

 rithoul tlif possibility ol" fuiliiro. 



Upon a I'uriii in Surrey, where I spent »ix plea- 

 int anil aprceablo nionlha, I hud opportunity to 

 Be the nsc and tlio profits or systenmlic farininc. 

 t was a hay farm, of less tliiui two hundred acres 

 -the rent paid, about .fviOOO. The whole farm, 

 xcept the garden, was mowed. Alter tlio hay 

 ■as taken care of, the fields were all shut up until 

 icrc was a good feed upon them. Then Mr R. 

 •enl to the nearest fair and purchased large beeves 

 early fat. In those fresh, luxuriant pastures, 

 here the grass grew almost fu-st enough to render 

 Dt fabulous Sir Boyle Roche's story of the kite 

 irown into an Irish meadow over night, hidden by 

 le grass next fiioniing, the beeves became in a 

 bry short time fit for Smithfield or Old Lenden- 

 ill. .After a few days rest, the fair was resorted 

 for a second drove of cattle of smaller size, but 

 good flesh, which soon shared the lot of all fal 

 :rn, and became the roast beef of old England. 

 he fields were no longer in a condition to malic 

 ef, and therefore were to furnish the predica- 

 ent " nearly fal" to take the " first bite" in some 

 jfed meadow. Tlie fourth course was a herd of 

 lall Welsh cattle to be merely improved. Fifth 

 d lastly came sheep to be kept till the meadows 

 gan to siart in the spring, when they were sold, 

 d the meadows shut up. 



To illustrate the third division of my theme, I 

 iy also refer to the practice upon my Surrey 

 lend's farm. To recruit this farm, the carts 

 iiich took the hay to market returned ladea with 

 nDures to be used as a top-dressing. \\ hen not 

 inging back provisions for farm use, I thiuk I 

 ly say tliey always came back with manures. I 

 d some years ago in my possession a hook, which 

 .3 borrowed by some kind friend or other, who 

 I ed it so well that he forgot to return it. This 

 1 3k gave the best account of the English prac- 

 le with respect to manures, of any I have ever 

 l>n. It was said in that book that five thousand 

 I IS of manures had been applied in one year on a 

 I gle estate. I know that the quantities are im- 

 nse, and that the lands in that country are kept 

 a high state of fertility by the axiom impressed 

 the hii^l>andnian that food is as necessary to 

 • earth as to the human body. 

 Do not think, my dear sir, that I have selected 

 liattern farm for the subject of the foregoing re- 

 rks. It was in all respects only a medium 

 m. There could not be the same opportunity 

 the more elaborate practices of husbandry that 

 re is in large Yorkshire farms. It is my opin- 

 that some of the best managed farms in Eng- 

 d were nn the estates of tlie Duke of llucking- 

 n at Stowe, in Bucks. The Marquess of i^har- 

 j, the Duke's eldest, and indeed his only son, 

 s ambitious of leading the landed interest in 

 rliament, and thence was a warm advocate of 

 t interest inside of St. Stephens, and a most 

 rough patron without. It is, however, the fash- 

 in England to patronize agriculture: heaven 

 int it may become so here. 



You can form no idea with what ease an Ameri. 

 1 can introduce himself to the English, if he is 

 d of farming. The gift of a few ears of Indian 

 n to the Horticultural Society, brought me tick- 

 and invitations without number to their gardens 

 3 fetes at Chiswick. Kn passant, I visited Cob- 

 t's cornfield at Barn Elms, and a miserable fail- 

 ! it was. The arch humbugger's attempt to gull 



the English pc> pie into n briief that ii might be 

 made a national crop, was then in full blow. 



Yours, itc. J. A. J. 



for ilie N. E. Fariiiir 



ON BRAN AS A MANURE. 



Sir — As this is the season for preparin)' the tnr- 

 iiifTcrops, I am deturoiis of calling the nttciilion of 

 your readers and the scientific agrirtiltunsls. to the 

 consideration of bran (the husk of wheal) ns a ma- 

 niirc, not only fur turnips, but also for wheat and 

 glass. The great facility that every farmer hos 

 of obtaining it from his neighboring miller, and its 

 exceeding cheapness, (now about 4/. I'Is. per ton,) 

 warrants their tryintr a scries of experiments in 

 drilling it with the turnip.'* and whrat, and ptittuig 

 it over thoir grass lands as a top-dressing ; substi- 

 tuting it for bone and other manures, which are 

 costing two and three times as much as the bran 

 would. 



Experiments have been tried, but not extensive- 

 ly enough to warrant its being said how much is 

 saved in exficnse, and what quantities per acre 

 ought to be used to render the best return. 



It is to this point that 1 n i.sh attention to be di- 

 rected, and as Sir Humphrey Dnvy vn his " Ele- 

 ments of Agricultural Chemistry" writes — "Noth- 

 ing is more wanting in agriculture, than experi- 

 ments in which all the circumstances are minutely 

 and scientifically detailed" — would some of your 

 readers assist this object, and drill a small portion 

 in each of their fields of wheat and turnips, with 

 bran in quantities from 3 to (! cwt. per acre, and 

 report the result in your paper ; that is, the quali- 

 ty of the other manure used, the respective cost for 

 manuring an acre, the yield, and the quality of the 

 ground experimentalized upon. 



The following extracts from Liebig, would leave, 

 in theory, bran to be at once the cheapest and 

 best manure that could be employed : 



" Phosphate of magnesia, in combination with 

 ammonia, is an invariable constituent of the seeds 

 in all grasses. The bran of fiour contains the 

 greatest quantity of it. 



" The perfect development of a plant according 

 to this view, is dependant on th« presence of alka- 

 lies or alkaline earths; for when these substances 

 are totally wanting, its growth will be arrested, and 

 when they are only deficient, it must be impeded. 



" So likewise none of our corn plants can bear 

 perfect seeds, that is, seeds yielding flour, without 

 a large supply of phosphate of magnesia and am- 

 monia ; substances which they require for their 

 maturity. 



" It is the greatest possible mistake to suppose 

 that the temporary diminution of fertility in a 

 soil is owing to the iosa of humus — it is the mere 

 consequence of llie exh^uslien of the alkalies." — 

 Murk-lane Express. 



Fruit and Fruit Trees. — Two of tlic best farm- 

 ers in the range of our knowledge, one a resident 

 of Coos county, and the other in Orange county, 

 Vt, have communicated to iis the manner in which 

 they secuiR their fruit. It is this: they dig at 

 some distance from the body of a favorite tree, un- 

 til they find a root, which they cut ofT. The part 

 disjointed from the tree is turned up so as to ap- 

 pear above the ground. It sends forth shoots the 

 first season, and bears in a few years fruit precise- 

 ly like that upon the parent. Let those whose 

 trees are decaying, or who wish to increase good 

 varieties, try the experiment — .V. H. M'hig. 



OIL SOAP— WILLIS' SYRINGE. 



Mn PuT.VAM— Sir — I liau; lately noticed advcr- 

 tiscmcnlB and commiinicolioiis of Oil Soap, for de- 

 stroying insects upon rose buslicB, small trcrB, fic. 

 Il ought to be known by thoHe who cannot obtain 

 the oil soap, that ntroiig suds made of r':nimon 

 soft snap will answer most of the purposes ottri- 

 biitcd to the former. It kills the snail, keeps off 

 the rose bug, and I have preserved my plants by it, 

 for several years, against the attacks of the curcu. 

 lio. In sprinkling the plant, it is necessary to do 

 it early in the morning, while the dew is on, be- 

 cause it is ditlicull to wet a dry, green plum. 



Willis' brass syringe is recommended for using 

 the soap, i would not willingly be instiumcntal 

 in discouraging the use or sale of that almost indis- 

 pensable implement; but for the purpose of throw, 

 ing suds upon small single trees and shrubbery, a 

 smaller syringe than any I have seen of Mr Willis' 

 make, is much more convenient and economical. 

 Go to a tin-shop and get a tube mode 10 or 12 

 inches long, which will hold from a gill to half a 

 pint, with three or four small holes in the end to 

 produce as many streams, and the jack-knife of 

 any Yankee of common ingenuity, will make a 

 good piston in a lew minutes. This will save 

 your suds, is managed more readily, and with equal 

 if not greater efltct upon such trees. 

 Yours, &c. 



R. NEWTON. 



M'orccster, .Jug. 2, 1841. 



Best Cement for Joining Glass.— \{ the glass is 

 not likely to be exposed to moisture, the pieces 

 may be joined by a solution of equal parts of gum 

 Arabic and loaf sugar in water; or if these are not 

 at hand, the white of an egg may answer nearly as 

 well. But a strong water-proof cement, that is 

 equally transparent, may be made by digesting 

 finely powdered gum copal in thrice its weight of 

 sulphuric ether till it is dis.solved. This solution 

 may be applied to the edges of the broken glass, 

 with a camel-hair pencil and the pieces must be 

 put together immediately and pressed close till 

 they adhere. — A'. Y. Mechanic. 



Best Cement for Joining China. — Heat a piece 

 of chalk to a full red heat in o fire ; and while 

 this is heating, take the white of an egg, and mix 

 and heat together with it. one fourth of its weight 

 of powdered or scraped cheese, (such as is most 

 void of cream, or oily matter, is preferable,) or the 

 curd that is formed by adding vinegar to skimmed 

 milk ; take the chalk from the fire, and before it is 

 cold, reduce it to powder, and add as much of it to 

 the mixture as will form a thick paste, and beat 

 them anew nil together, and use the composition 

 immediately. When this is dry, it will resist, in a 

 great measure, either hiat or moisture. A semi- 

 transparent cement, suitable for China ware, may 

 be made by gently boiling the flour of rice with 

 water. — lb. 



Yeast. Boil one pound of good flour, a quarter 



of a pound of brown sugar, and a little salt, in two 

 gallons of water for an hour; let it afterwards 

 stand until it becomes milk warm, bottle it and 

 cork it close. One pint of this will make eighteen 

 pounds of bread. — Lady's Annual Reg. 



