160 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Jft^V. 10, 1841, 



am) horticultl'rai. rkoister. 

 Boston, Wedkzsdat, Notimber 10, 1841. 



aclioii Dlriiiiis, nndlVosls and windc, ihey will become 

 so (flTic iiiallv (liliUuiI, that no one need fear to apply 

 them in llie greaicst profusion. — But if any one can so 

 far depart from old usage as to preserve tlie strength of 

 his summer manure, vie will hint to him that it may be 

 well cither to leave it where it is, on the bottom of his 

 barn yard unlit spring, or put it in as compact a heap as 

 possible, and so cover it with leaves, straw, muck, soil 

 or the like, as to preserve it from the weakening influen- 

 ces of the weather. 



But by some the contents of the yard are destined to a 

 different application. Their custom is to spread the 

 umrner manure upon their mowing lands —They will 



PREPARATION FOR WINTER 



Tlie harvp9lin» of the crops of the neason is now nca 

 ly over. Bui there is much which the prudent husband- 

 in.in may tind to do after his cr"|is are housed 



Protrcliiiu of Cellar and Buildings against Cold. — 

 Where ciiibankincnts around the house or barn are need- 

 ed, let llrein be mode before the winter is fully upon ] °" " 7 ■ "^i ""j ''j .i, f,„u .n^ 



tu, ici >. V ., put tlie compoBi in heaps a rod asunder in the held and 



^l_;- 1. :_ .1 ^ ..... ..««:l.. t.«rn*A llrn Aorth IB I ' ' ' 



VVii look upon this as 



ly. We prefer spreading directly from the 



cart. We prefer this, because in this way the dressing 



you ; this woik is .lone more easily before ihe earth is | ^^^^^ .^ ^^^^^ ^^^.^ ^^^ ^^^. 

 firmly frost-bound ; and when ,lone, it puts the "Vvner i ^_,_^^ ^,^^^^ We prefer 



fi 

 ofhi 



il land stores at ease, so far as relates to the in- 



oress of frost, — Not ihe cellars and house alone, but the i , .u i j i. ;= ;mnn= 



B'"" "' "" ' ' ] may be spread If. ore evenly over the land. It is impos- 



barn tlso slioiild be made as comfortable as possible 

 Ifone objects to keeping domestic an imals very warm — j 

 and perhaps ihere is no benefit in great warmth — there j 

 certainly cm be no sound objection to protecting them 

 from currenis of cold winds wl ich sweep ihrriiigh the 

 cracks on tlie sides of too many barns. This exposure 

 to such currents, which blow upon parts of the body on- 

 ly, is more ur.coinfortable and more harmful than expo- 

 sure to those whrch blow upon the whole body. We 

 should be as willing that a cow should' be exposed to 

 all the winds which might blow upon her in an open 

 shed as to mke such as would come immediately upon 

 her through a crack half an inch wide in the boarding 

 of the barn. If you cannot make the boarding nearly 

 tii'ht in any other way, you probably can find means to 

 batten. This may be »dnne by Licking shingles, clap- 

 boards, or boards over the cracks around the leanto, on 

 either the inside or oulsidc of the boordtng. If you 

 have* little prop<r prido which makes you slightly 

 ajhanied In put them on tho outside, where every passer 

 liy can sec Ihein — then put them wilhin. This will add 

 much to the comfort of your cows and oxen — and com- 

 fort is very economical food. 



The Hone. — This animal does best in a warm stall in 

 the cold winter nights, and a pood blanket does him no 

 harm. Indeed he will improve more in appearance by 

 sleeping under a blanket, than by eating an additional 

 quart of grain per day. 



Piirs It is difficult to make them tlirive unless they 



are protected from the cold. In a good warm cellar, 

 Btoro pigs will pain from 30 to .50 per cent, more durini; 

 the winl(-r months upon the same keeping, than they 

 will in a common pip-pen above pronnrl. Where a 

 farmer keeps half a dozen store swine, their additional 

 growth will pay him the interest on IfiO dollars outlay 

 in fixing for them a good warm cellar inlo which little 

 if any frost shall enler. If this cellar shall receive the 

 manure from the horse stable, the pijrs will get from 

 that an invigorating and nutriliocis warmth. Do the 

 best you can to keep your pigs warm. Do it for mercy's 

 sake — and do it for profit's sake 



Cotes. — .\s soon as the nights grow quite cool, let 

 your milch cows have shelier, lither in the barn or in 

 good sheds Sensations of cold and shivering are never 

 nccoiiipanied by a good flow of milk. 



Manures. — The present month requires much atten- 

 tion to preparation for tho winter's manure. Most far- 

 mers have now to clean out their boni-yurds. The con- 

 tents will be put in heaps in the field, where they may 

 lie mixed in the spring with fresh manure from the barn 

 or hog yard, and then used for planting corn. Here, 

 that is in the open field, they have a fine opportunity for 

 throwing oil all the liquids and gases, which might make 

 'hem too powerful for tho young plants ; here, under the 



sible, especially if the niaterial lies in heaps on the field 

 over winter, to avoid leaving more of the sirenpth 

 where the heap was diopped than on other paits of llie 

 land. If however the team is much wanted for other 

 purposes, it inny oflui be well to drop the top-dressing 

 in heaps. 



Af^er the yard has hnen cleared out, it is to be forth- 

 willi covered over from six to twelve inches deep with 

 the best material for compost which the farm affords. 

 Leaviis from the woods, muck from the swamps, soil 

 from the roadside or something else, every good farmer 

 will put in, for his cattle to trample upon and enrich 

 during the winter months. — And these who can pile up 

 or house some light substances which will not freeze 

 compactly — and thus have them on hand to be scattered 

 over iJie yard from week to week, will find this a bet- 

 ter course than to put the whole in at once in the Au- 

 tumn. — In the preparation of our own small barn during 

 the past summer, we have contrived so 4lial one corner 

 of the cellar iiiny bo filled- with meadow mud, and d.-^ily 

 mixed with the droppings of tho cattle and then worked 

 over by the swine. If our protections against frost are 

 siillicieni, wo expect to make manure with more success 

 during the freezing months than is done on most farms. 

 Shoul<l our plan be approved by our readers, they will 

 take a hint .ind prepare to do likewise at the first con- 

 venient opportunity. 



.lutumnal plowing. — It is- often recommended, and 

 probably with sufficient reason, to tarn up with the plow 

 ill Autumn, tile lands which have been tilled during the 

 past season. The mellowing and fertilizing inliueiic 

 of frosts upon the land when thrown into furrows, is 

 greater we may suppose than if it is suffered to lie in the 

 position it was in when the crop was taken from the 

 held. This operation exposes the eggs of insects to the 

 destroying action of culd. In some seasons — (open win 

 ters, with little snow and many freezings ami ihawings) 

 ihe plowing of quack lands in the autumn will kill the 

 quack grass. But in winters more steadily cold ihis 

 grass lives and grows tho more profusely the following 

 spring for having been plowed. — We know of no process 

 by which it can be killed hut that of pasturing or feed- 

 ing. It will all die out under the tongues and Itelh of 

 grazing aiiiinals, in the course of llirua or lour summers. 

 Why, we caiiiiut tell. 



Some prefer breaking up sward in the autumn tiiat is 

 intended for planting the f.rllowing year. Others choose 

 to break up late in the Spring. We have for several suc- 

 cessive years, tilled where part of the field was broken 

 up late in November, and the other part about the first ol 

 May. And so far as the amount of cri>p aod Ihe pres- 

 ence of worms goes, we have never been able to see any 

 difference, though our attention has been directed to 

 these points. The advice « hich our experience diclnles 



therefore is, to break up such lands in Ihe aui umn il 

 there is lime to do it without neglecting other work that 

 cannot be put off. For at this season of the year your- 

 team will do the work with less exhaustion than in May; 

 and the having the work done in advance is an impof 

 lant step in facilitating the accomplishments of the Spring 

 work. 



If any farmer is bold enough to venture upon an ex- 

 periment with the subsoil plow, a day or two in the au- 

 tumn can on most farms be more conveniently devoted 

 to this toilsome process, than tho days of Spring, 

 Where we used this instrument last May, our groundr> 

 were preserved by its use from any pinchings by tbo 

 drought in summer, when all the contiguous grounds, 

 suffered, though not severely. On the farm of the Hon. 

 R. C. Winlbrop, in Wenham, which is under the man- 

 agement of Win. R. Putnam, the sub-soil plow was run 

 several times across through the cenlre of his cornfield 

 and also through the cenlre of his carrot ground. Wei 

 have watched the effects, and it is the opinion of all the 

 workmen on the place, and we concur in it, that, each 

 of the crops was improved quite perceptibly. Why not,. 

 Mr Kditor, why not, as vou ask us to measure crops and 

 ascertain results with accuracy — why did you not meas- 

 ure and delermino the exact benefit of subsoil plowing.' 

 Because the hail storm of June 'iO, was very irregular iai 

 thinning our growing plants. We could find no two,, 

 otherwise suitable pieces for ineasiiremcnt, on which we 

 could suppose that the number of stalks or roots was any 

 thing near equal. 



PRESERVING ROOTS— ERRATUM. 

 In our account, Oct, 27, of Capt. Chandler's methodll 

 of keeping roots in beds— we stated that he covered then 

 pile with sea-weed or leaves to the thickness ol a foot 

 This was a mistake — 3 or 4 four inches is his depth. A, 

 foot he says would cause the roots to heat too imich. ' 



MASS. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Exhibition of Fruits, Oct. 29th. 

 From M. P. Wilder— Bleeker's Meadow, Passe Col. 

 mar, Buffuni, Duchtas d' Angouleme, Beurre Uiel aodll 

 Gloul Morceau Pears. 



From Wm. Oliver — St Michael Pears. 

 F'rom John Prince — a specimen of Co:n — probably i 

 new variety — of good promise. 

 For Ihe Committee, 



BENJ. V. FRENCH. ,i 



IO=Mr C. W. James, of Cincinnati, Ohio, (oflBce ao^ 

 residence on Harrison street, east of Bruadwav,) is aU'" 

 thorized to collect money and receive new subscribei^i 

 lor the 'New England Farmer and Horticultural Regis' 

 tor. He will be assisted by H. M. Lewis, IVI. Meeker, 

 mid James R. Smith. Receipts of either will be good. 



Worms in flower pots may bo destroyed by watering 

 the soil with lime-water. Too much must not be used, 

 nor must it touch the plant. Powdered charcoal assisif 

 tlie growth of the Cactus family. Decayed leaves of a 

 plant, ju,it buried undvr the surface of the earth, form 



an excellent compost, on the homapathic principle. 



The leaf of the sime plant is best for each. — Eztract. 



Twenty thousand bushels of potatoes havo been pur- 

 I based in this village for < xportation, during the jiast 

 week. As they bring two shilliiigs per bushel, qiiiek, 

 when delivered heie, farmers have thus carried into the 

 country in one week, from the sale of this product of 

 Ihvir farms, nearly seem thousand dollars. — Halloieell 

 Cultivator. , 



I 



