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AND HORTICULTURAL U E G [ S T K K . 



PUBLISHED BY JOSKPH BRKCK & CO., NO. 63 NOttTH MAIUCET STREET, (Ao«lcotTO»*L 



Wau«moo««.)-ALLEN PDTNAM, EDITOR. 



^kXX.l 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, NOVKMIU'.R 3, 1841. 



[JIO. !<( 



N. E. FARMER. 



For the N. E. Pinner. 



Tin: FIRST GUN FROM MUCK-I.\NA! 

 Doii'l be aUmied at this caption, Mr Editor — 

 ere 's nothing polilical tn it — not a whit. I am 

 it about to any a word respeclinfr part;/ triumphs: 



I throw politics to the dogs, for all ino. My 



DUghts are on the more important triumphs of 



tck tliat real creator of real wealth — and vvhicli, 



cording to the standard set up by the shrewd 

 an of St. Patrick's, is " worth more than the 

 lolc race of politiaians put together" — for, of a 

 th. It "can make two spears of grass grow where 

 one grew before." 



noticed in your last, sir, a communication over 

 signature of " \ Life Subscriber," in which the 

 iter gives an account of a very satisfactory cx- 

 riment made by him in the use of muck as a ma- 

 re, after it had undergone a judicious prepara- 

 n in his tan-yard. — His sagacity in adopting, and 

 mode of preparing the material, I deem deserv- 

 of commendation ; but especially would I 

 ise the disposition which led him to mak'! his 

 periment publicly known through your columns 

 the benefit of his brother farmers; and that, in 

 doing, he teas actuated by this laudable motiv-?, 

 nfcr from his wiihliolding his name froui publicity. 

 Now, sir, I must believe that there are many — 

 iry many others whose names are recorded in 

 subscription list, who have made experiments 

 ith muck the past season — and who could give 

 honorable account of its effects. Now, I want 

 Bee these come out like " A Life Subscriber," 

 id " tell their experience." — What can keep thera 

 k? Is it a diffidence of their ability to write 

 sU ? Fudge upon tliis as an objection. — Ton, 

 nathan Stokes — you can exprcs.s yourself un- 

 rstandingly enough to Dr. Stubbs, or Parson 

 fimes, or your neighbor Deacon Spruce, if either 

 >them inquire of you respecting your management 

 a crop. Why will you not, then, be convinced 

 »t the same style of expression will bens cum- 

 •hensible if done upon paper as if it were direct 

 m your lips ? It is nut required by the editor 

 this paper — who is himself a plain farmer, though 



I good fortune an educated one, and wlio, by 

 2 way, is as acctssible to any of his hre'.iron of 

 ! plow, though they may come in their cnv-hide 

 ots and clad in homespun, ns he is to men of any 

 ife.ssion, — he docs not require — I know ho does 

 t — tliat communications upon fanning matters 

 ended for his columns, should be nicely worded 

 t!ie studied style of a candidate for academic 

 nors: by no means. And then, indeed, it is of 

 consequence however rrroneously you may 

 II, or how many grammatical errors there be in 

 ur writing, — these are no objections to it, so 

 ig as it possess the merit of being iHtelUgil'le — 



Now you, Mr Swiitli, and _i/ou, Mr Brown, and 

 you, Mr Jones, cnii each of you state if you will, 

 (and I trust after reading thisyuu will kIiow us that 

 you have both the ability and thn disposition,) your 

 methods of cultivation ; and though there be not 

 anything (though most probably there will be some- 

 thing) now or peculiar in thuiii, still your pubiifhcd 

 atntementb will be productive of good, for they 

 will stimulate others to slatfi wherein and where- 

 fore they arc successful in their cultivation ; and 

 ilius the chance is — and it is by no means small — 

 that some new facts will finally bo elicited, which 

 will be of general usefulness. 



Come, farmers — who of you will follow the ex- 

 ample of" A Life Subscriber,'*and give the second 

 ^im in honor of .UucA-idiia ? or, in other words, 

 who of you are ready to take up "the grey goose 

 (luiU" and give ns an account of your success with 

 your crops the past season — detailing, with as 

 much regard to exactness as possible, your modes 

 of management, and, if convenient, the cost nltend- 

 ing the cultivation of different crops ? Do not 

 tiiiiiiy respond, "I'll try"." JVous verrona. 



Lei tho?e now wriie who never wrote before. 

 And ihose who've always wroie, now write Uio more. 

 Old cuujilrlimproved. 



I cannot better close this epistle, Mr Editor, than 

 by rt-eclming, as a seasonable hint, your well-eup- 

 porlod cry of ''Muck!" Muck, farmers, for the 

 compost heap, the cuUle-yards and the hog-pen ! 

 Experience is fast demonstrating that this material 

 possesses in a greater degree the virtues attributed 

 to that great undiscoveretl | jwer in alchyiny, the 

 manage to raise a so much larger crop of potatoes philosopher's stono, than ftjiy discovery of modern 



. , ■ 1 1. ^_ ^.L _ I .L_ ' . • . 11.1 u ...:.l. I 



ly particular or modest in respect to your literary 

 acquirements, you need not append your namo to 

 your writing. The omission to do this would proba- 

 bly constitute no objection to its publication, if, 

 withal, It bore the inark.^ of (ri(//i. 



It is true in agriculture as it is in other sciences, 

 that one well-ascertained practiced Jnct is worth 

 more than a thousand unpracticcd theoretical opin- 

 ions ; and it is obvious that nothing will contribute 

 60 much to the benefit of the art of cultivation, us 

 the piiblicaticm of the observations made and the 

 results obtained by practical farmers. It is, indeed, 

 by the accretion of such facts thus derived, more 

 than by any other means, that the science of agri- 

 ricuHurc is to be perfected. There are, doubtless, 

 many such facts known, but undivulged, either 

 from selfish or more defencible motives, which if 

 made public would add something important to 

 what is already known of the best methods of in- 

 creasing the earth's products. 



Tliese rejections, aside from other considera- 

 tions, should induce every farmer who would pros- 

 per himself, and to whom it is a gratification to he 

 in any way instrumental in promoting the prosperi- 

 ty of his brethren of tlie common family, to dis- 

 close such knowledge as has resulted in any bene- 

 fit to him, that others may profit by it, and be in- 

 duced from his example, to publish some fact which 

 lliey may have discovered in their cultivation, and 

 which, not unlikely, may be new and of advantage 

 to him. 



'J"o come more directly to what I mean to con- 

 let me ask you, Mr Smith, how it is you 



vey- 



to the acre than your neighbors, who have the rep- 

 utation of being as good husbandmen as yourself? 

 Here you have upwards of three hundred bushels 

 to the acre, in an unfavorable season, while most of 

 the fanners in your vicinity think themselves lucky 

 if they secure about lialf that quantity. State your 

 management, from the preparation of the ground 

 to the harvesting of the crop. Do n't persuade 

 yourself that you canl write out on paper an ac- 

 count of what you perform with your own hands. 

 Sit down and make the effort, and imagine the 

 while that you are addressing your neighbor. Uncle 

 'Miah, and in the confidence that what you are 

 saying is wtll enough said. 



And you, .Mr Brown, who"ifl»ariably surpass all 

 your townsmen in your crops of corn — obtaining 

 (iO and SO bushels to the acre, while your neigh- 

 bors can seldom get over 40: will you tell us, if 

 you please, (and no matter in how homely a way,) 

 the secret of your success with this crop. State 

 the kind of seed you use — the manure, the quanti- 

 ty, and mode of applying it — whether you hill 

 or not, and whether you top or cut up, &.c. We 

 propose you rather an imperfect outline for your 



times. As soon as you are all tlirough with har- 

 vesting, make a sortie upon Ine muck-bed, to bor- 

 row a military metaphor: go with your full force, 

 well equipped, and take it by itorm. 



October 20. J. H. D. 



CORN OIL. 



In the valley of the Wabash, oil for lamps is 

 now obtained from Indian meal. There corn is 

 worth 10 cents per bushel, and oil $1 .'iO per gal- 

 Ion. The corn is ground into meal, which is fer- 

 mented by the use of barley malt in large masses. 

 The oil rises to the top, and is taken off with !a- 

 dlr-a or skimmers. .\fter this fermentation, the 

 meal is said to make harder and better pork than if 

 not thus treated. 



For the West this is likely to prove a valuable 

 discovery. But corn is too vnluable here for such 

 a use. We can get our oil cheaper from the 

 whale.— Ed. 



LOUISIANA CORN, 

 riie editor of the Louisiana Chronicle has re- 

 account— fillTn to your liking, and don't be afraid ' cfived some stalks of corn from the plantation of 

 that you shall be too minute in giving particulars. Mr Bnrgeat, of Point Coupee, which seem to cast 

 ..„--_,- - „ .. And j/OH, Mr Jonea— your monstrous crops of 'the far-f^med Baden com in the shade. Some of 



-the editor, or (his very able coadjutor) the " type rula ba^a— or 700 bushels per acre ;— you must : H'C stalks were sixteen feet high, bearing as many 



have some peculiar " fr/ioc/fc" of preparing your as eight ears each, and those ranging froin ten to 

 ground for this root, or in cultivating it. Just stale | fourteen inches in length, well 

 in what it consists, if you please. ''"'' -"""■•■■'■"""> n-.i ^^.t r«. 



cker," I am confident would be pleased to cor 

 ct any errors which might l)e committed by the 

 ■iter. And then, again, if you are very sensitive- 



filled. The land 

 had been cultivated without manure foroight years. 



