vol.. XX. NO. 1.1. 



AND H O R T I CMT L T U R A I, K E f i I S T K R 



115 



r loiii ihe Ktrmcr'i Guelte. 



ACRICULTl'KAL SOCIKTY. 

 Wlial is llie object aiiiieil at in llio flT.irlii mnjo 

 (f ntjriciiltiiral inipriivciiieiit .- .\iul how does 

 icli iiuproveinciil ntVccl the farmers ? 

 The ohjccl Biiiioil Bl is not iiicrt-ly to excite more 

 tciilioii to the subject of furiniiiii jroncrally — imr 

 it to IcaJ our farmers to launch out into prcal 

 penihliircs upon their fiirn)* — nor to introduce 

 (ubtt'ul experiments or cosily mode of cultiva- 

 The true object is, to incite our farmers to 

 lopt that mode of cultivatmn which causes tno 

 des of grass to prow, whore but one prew he- 

 re, in connexion with that spirit of personal en- 

 rpi/.o and emulation which shall induce them to 

 it forth their whole energies in their occupation, 

 d by leading them to reflection and careful c.im- 

 rison, enable tJiom to employ to the utmost ad- 

 ntagc the means they already possess. 

 This induces increased elFort ; and who will not 

 rfully make such ctTort, when certain that its 

 ulis will be returned ten-fold int" its own bos- 

 Phis increased effort does not necessarily 

 d to increaseil expense ; for although more care 



I labor are requisite to cultivate land well than 

 et it cultivate itself, — yet if that cnrc and labor 

 io much saved from procrastination, the thief of 



,e or from dissipation, the death of hopes, — 



o can lament its bcstowment.' Who will not 

 jicc at such expenditure ? 



riie object aimed at, therefore, is not the inlro- 

 tion of more expensive modes of cultivation, 

 the adoption of that system of farmlnof, and the 

 itement of that spirit among the farmers, which 



II enable them to double their crops in quantity, 

 greatly improve their quality, by their own 



1 directed and more spirited efforts. 

 he expense of cultivating the farm, aside from 

 n increased efforts, and the consumption of pro- 

 is upon the farm, remain the same; and of 

 rse, therefore, all increase in quantity and im- 

 ement in quality, increases the marketable sur- 

 , and the farmer is just so far the richer, 

 e too it is worthy of notice, that this is an an- 

 ' increase, and is to the fanner jiist us valuable 

 "he had so enlarged his capital that the addi- 

 •i\ interest upon it was just equal to that in- 

 ae of income. But this is not all. The im- 

 ement of one year is but the stepping stone for 

 her. Ihe increase of the fertility of the soil 

 le year forms the foundation for still greater 

 ovement in the years to come. The expan- 

 of the mind and the increase of knowledge 

 )pen the door for still higher attainments. 

 4nu3 much for the farmer. What for his cliil- 

 In the present condition of society among 

 yl ic young man of 21, who, with right moral 

 iplea, and a proper preparation for a profes- 

 1 ri or a trade, relies alone for success in life on 

 wn energies and the powerful workings of his 

 regulated mind, is far better situated than he 

 is content to live upon the accumulations of 

 Such is usually the case witli the eldest 

 .jlof farmers. 'Ihe patrimonial acres will not 

 re a division during the life of the father, and 

 only resource therefore is to seek employ- 

 some city, or a home in the wide west, 

 youngest son succeeds to the paternal estate, 

 e, living with his father when years had bro- 

 is physical powers, and time and care had 

 id his mental energies, has acquired the hab- 

 d feelings of the father when the inole-hill 



I had become a mountain and there were lions in 

 Ithowny.' Thono liabits hang like a mill-stone 

 nrniind his neck, and crinh his every aspiration for 

 1 higher effort!". Why should he mnko greater cf- 

 I forts thnii his father? Why should ho rise early, 

 an<l sil lip late, and eat the bread of watchfulness? 

 Ho sees no necessity for exertion. Ilis Oitlier has 

 pursued the same course, and has Biicrecdcd well 

 in life. 



lie forget?, that he begins where his fiither end- 

 ed — and he is atteniptinu' to carry on Ihe same 

 biisino.is, with the same habits of expenditure, but 

 " ithoiit the means. He retains the whole farm, for 

 lli.^ affections cling to it as a whole. The personal 

 property of the father pays debts, or is distributed 

 to the other members of the family, and In- as- 

 sumes to pay the balance of their shares. 



He enters upon life, therefore, w'ith a farm, but 

 without means to stock or to cultivate it, and deeply 

 in debt. He dares not deviate from the practice 

 of his father, lest thereby he increase the burden 

 already crushing his energies and paralyzing his 

 every effort. 



This of course is not the case in every instance, 

 but in far too many. Is it to be wondered at, 

 therefore, that so large a proportion of our farmers 

 are involved in debt, or that there is so little pro- 

 gress in agriculture among us ? 



Why need this be ? Why should the art of til- 

 ling the soil remain stationary, while all else is 

 moving onward in the march of improvement ? 



Let but our fnrmers be inspired with the true 

 spirit, and their sons will no loiif;er need to seek a 

 distant home ; but over progressing in improve- 

 ment, the farm divided among the sons, in each 

 several part would yield far richer returns than its 

 present products, cultivated as it is without means 

 and almost without hope. 



What to the proud self-relying farmer can be a 

 source of higher satisfaction, than the spectacle 

 around him of well-cultivated farms with their neat 

 dwellings, occupied by his own manly and inde- 

 pendent sons ? 



What farmer will sit down satisfied with his 

 present condition, when there is so vast a field for 

 effort and improvement before him ? 



Let our farmers, therefore, one and all, unite in 

 the efforts now made, and the condition and pros- 

 pects of the farming interest among us will be 

 greatly improved. CHAS. ROBINSON, 



Ck airman of Executive Commillee. 



New Haven, Sept. 27, 1841. 



HINTS FOR THE MONTH. 



The past months have been devoted chiefly to 

 the production, — the present must be to the pres- 

 ervation of crops. 



Corn should be suffered to stand in the shock, 

 until it has become fully ripened by nourishment 

 from the stalk — but not later, as husking with cold 

 fingers is unpleasant. Let it be placed whore it 

 will be well exposed to the air; as the quality of 

 corn, both lor domestic consumption and for feed- 

 ing animals, is greatly injured by moldiness, even 

 of the cob only, though it may appear perfectly 

 sound. For the same reason, care should be taken 

 that shocks of corn standing on low ground, are not 

 injured by wet weather. 



Potatoes, after digging, should not be exposed to 

 the sun. They lose their fine quality, and acquire 

 more or less of bitterness, when kept in cellars ex- 

 posed to the light merely. Those for immediate 

 domestic use, should be kept in barrels, and the 



rent either in large bins lined ond covered with 

 turf, or mixed with niirth in barroU or hognheadu, 

 or else hurried in huaps in the open air. But vtn- 

 tiliiiion i.i necrstarij. \ hole BJiould bo made -vilh 

 a stick or crowbar in the upper part of every pota- 

 to heap, nnd continue open till the HOverrnt weath- 

 er sets in; for want of this, thoiiaands of bushels 

 are lost yearly, and the Iobj attributed to frost only. 



Apples, nnd all root rro|n, ni-ed the samo care, 

 hut turnips more especially, which will inevitably 

 be ruined unless the hnalud air from the heap caa 

 pass off. 



Mangel wurtzel and BUgar beets should bo com- 

 pletely secured by the end ol the month, and ruta- 

 bagas not much later, if the danger of loss by freez- 

 ing is to be avoided. Got a ruta-baga hook, de- 

 scribed in our eighth number of this year, by which 

 a man may easily harvest an acre a day. 



Winter apples should be gathered before the ar- 

 rival of severe frost — till near the end of the month 

 — they should be carefully picked by hand by 

 means of convenient ladders — and should not be 

 suffered to become in the least degree bruised un- 

 til they are well packed. — Genesee Farmer. 



For ihe N. E. Farmci'. 



HOUSES FOR TOOLS. 

 " Economy is weallh." 



Every farmer should provide himself with a con- 

 venient building for the storage of his tools during 

 wjnier. 



The cost of such a Btriiclure would be but slight- 

 ly, contrasted with its importance, and would be 

 convenient for other purposes when not needed for 

 the protection of tools. Most farmers are shock- 

 ingly remiss in this particular, and many who are 

 emulous of being thought " g-oo(//urmer.«," and who 

 are really exemplary patterns, in other respects, 

 lose annually far more by the careless exposure of 

 their tool.*, during winter, than would be reciuired 

 to keep them in complete repair the year round. 



How often indeed is it the case that we see the 

 yards of farm-houses, cluttered and encumbered 

 with wheels, carriages, and drags, sometimes buried 

 in snow and ice, and sometimes partially protected 

 by a temporary shed or covering of boards I And 

 how often are the feelings of the economical farm- 

 er shocked, during his winter peregrinations, by 

 that most revolting of all sights — a cart stationed 

 beneath the ham window in order that it may be 

 ready loaded in the spring ! ■' ! 



Visit the domicil of such a farmer, and ten to 

 one you will find his wood-house sans wood, and 

 his children without shoes. Such economy is not 

 wealth, and reminds one of the use practiced by 

 tlie negro who hung up his pig to fat, in order to 

 obviate the difficulty of lifting him when he became 

 a hog. n. D. W. 



H'indham, Me. Oct, 1, 1841. 



Milk and Meal for Chickens.— We purchased a 

 pair of uuusually fat chickens from a country wag- 

 on, a few days since, and had the curiosity to in- 

 quire of the seller how he succeeded in getting 

 them 80 fat. His reply was that he fed them with 

 Indian meal and milk. Merely take uncooked 

 meal and wet it up with cold sweet milk, and feed 

 liberally, and your chickens will fatten as rapidly 

 as can be desired. There is a pleasure in carry- 

 ing fat poultry to market ; and all our farmers may 

 eiijov this pleasure, by following the above direc- 

 tion in feeding. — Farmer's Gazette. 



