156 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



NOV. 17, 1841. 



For the N. E. Farmer. 



HINTS FOR THK MONTH. 



Lodk to the drains about your lowlands : see that 

 they are free from obrttructioii'", so thai the water 

 from heavy rains may pa.sa off, and no large quan- 

 tity be left to stand and freeze upon the land, as 

 by this the trrnss roots ar« injiirod. 



If yon would not have your meadow or salt marsh 

 cut up by the treading of cattle and horses, see 

 that the fences around them are in good condition. 

 The pijT.pen — see that thi.s is made comfortable 

 for its inmates; that they are well protected airainst 

 the severities of winter. A hog, thouijh lie be n 

 hop, and plebinn as is his rank amnnfr domestic 

 animals, has iieverthele.ss as much feeling about 

 him as the noblest of those of more patrician blood, 

 Biid will as well repay for all the attention you 

 may* expend upon his comfort. 



Adopt some plan by which your cattle can be 

 watered at homo this winter, and not be compelled 

 to wander a mile or two throuijh cold and storm, to 

 some distant brook for their drink. 



Tighten your barn about the cattle stalls; shin- 

 gle over the crevices ; bank up the underpinning, 

 if its condition exposes the cattle to cold. The 

 cows' quarters especially, should be made comforta- 

 ble ; they will reward you for it in an increased 

 yield of milk. 



If you have no covering for your manure, erect a 

 ehed or dig a collar for it immediately. It is need- 

 less to state the advantage of this, as it must be 

 apparent to every one who has devoted a thought 

 to the niatti.'r. 



If you have no barn cellar for the dcposite of 

 roots, and if the circiimstancca are favorable, set 

 about constructing one for the purpose. 



Increase your wall fence at odd jobs: this im- 

 provement pays a good interest in the long run : anil 

 what of this you do make, make compact and strong ' 

 — better build one rod thus than five of loose and 

 slight construction. 



Make a bon-fire of those eye sores, the bushes 

 Bt the sides of your fields and avenues: cut them 

 up or burn them down, without regard to the state 

 of the 7noo;i or ony thing else. 



Construct a comfortable fold for your sheep, and 

 make provision for supplying them with water du- 

 ring^ the winter; — the notion thai they do not re- 

 cpiire this, is a " barbarous relic of a barbarous age." 

 It is the opinion of eminent sheep-growers, that the 

 exposure of sheep to cold and storms, coupled with 

 feeding them solely on dry food, as hay, seriously 

 impairs their constitutions, and, as a consequence, 

 their otfspring are weak and delicate and iriany of 

 them die. Sheep, should have a meal of some sort 

 of roots once a day. 



Construct an apparatus for steaming apples, po- 

 tatoes, &c. for your ewine. A siiiip'o contrivance 

 for this purpose will occur to almost every one: if 

 it should not, make an inquiry for a plan through 

 •omo one of the agricultural papers. It is more 

 profitable to feed with cooked than uncooked food. 

 Would it not bo well to substitute some new 

 gate posts for those old rotten, ricketty things which 

 are threatened witli overthrow by every breeze .' 



In what slate is the shingling on your barn and 

 granary roofs ? Perhaps a look there would dis- 

 cover soinetliing which needs remedying. 



You know best whether it would be wisdom in 

 you to break up that old piece of pasture, which 

 has'nt felt a plow these fifteen years, and which 

 now produces hardly sufficient herbage to keep a 



couple of yearlings from starving. If you should 

 conclude to break it up, plow deep and lay the fur- 

 rows Hat. 



Dispose of all stock you have more than you 

 have the means of wintering wf// ; — and perhaps 

 should you procure a straw-cutting machine, and 

 use yiiur straw cut and mixed with your hay — per- 

 haps by this means you might be enabled to winter 

 a head or two more of olock than you otherwise 

 could. 



But in attending to these matters, if they need 

 your attention, do not neglect to he collecting ma- 

 terials for manure ; for upon assiduity in this busi- 

 ness depends much your prosperity ns farmers. 



If you are blessed with abundance, imparl of it 

 to the poor. Should you present old Mr Goodsoul 

 a turkey for Thanksgiving, and tip up a load of 

 wood at the door of widow Worthy, do you think 

 you would ever be the poorer for it? 



Finally, in the words of Franklin, " Resolve to 

 perforin what you ought, and fail not to perforin 

 what you resolve ;" leave not that for tomorrow 

 which may well be done today — " Procrastination 

 is the thief of time." J. H. D. 



P. S. Since writing the above, Mr Editor, I see 

 that some of its suggestions have been anticipated 

 by you in an article in your last. Good advice, 

 however, will justify repetition. 



From the British Farmer's Magazine. 



ON LUCERNE. 

 The cultivation of this plant is extending, since 

 its valuable qualities liave become better known, 

 and the foddering of horses and catlic in enclosed 

 yards has been adopted. It succeeds well upon 

 any description of land of deep staple, provided the 

 subsoil is dry ; but this is not always an e.vceplion, 

 as upon some of the strong rjay soils of good quali- 

 ty, it succeeds as well as upon most others, which 

 is not in accordance with its general habits, as no 

 drainage except that effected on the surface can 

 bo given; and as far as my experience extends, I 

 have found all descriptions of soil that will produce 

 mangel wurUel and Swede turnips in perfection, 

 will likewise produce this excellent plant in per- 

 fection. I have also found it invariably succeed 

 well after a crop of mangel wurtzel, and it is rare- 

 ly if ever injured by the fly upon such rotation, 

 from the facility with which I obtain a plant under 

 my present system, which is by sowing every year 

 and plowing up a portion that is wearing out, or 

 has become overrun with grass. My process is 

 simply as follows: The land is first summer-tilled, 

 with or without turnips, for barley or oats, and all 

 root weeds are thereby destroyed. After the bar- 

 ley or oat crop is harvested, the land is immediate- 

 ly plowed, and if the weather permits, one or two 

 more plowipfrs are jiven before the winter ; the 

 land is then put upon ridges for the mangel wurt- 

 zel, and during the winter or in the spring months, 

 from sixteen to twenty loads of good compost ma- 

 nure are added, and the land aftenvorda planted 

 with mangel wnrtzel ; after that crop is gathered 

 in November, the land is ogain carefully plowed, 

 and in the following spring, if perfectly dry and 

 friable, another plowing is given, or it is scarified 

 so us to produce a fine tilth upon the surfare ; nnd 

 about the middle of April the seed is drilled in, at 

 the rate of about If! lbs. per acre, in row.s ten in- 

 ches distant from each other, or it may be sown 

 broadcast with 20 lbs. and lightly harrowed. The 



sowing may take place at any lime afttr the mid- 

 die of April until the middle of June, but should 

 not be sown earlier; the late frosts being equally 

 injurious as the fly, which frequently destroys it 

 akogpther. Upon '.he young plants appearing and 

 liecoining well established, the land should be 

 kept free from weeds by hand-weeding and repeat- 

 ed Iioeings ; at midsummer or soon after, it should 

 be mown, and again mown early in September. Id 

 this process the scythe should have a keen edge,) 

 and u|)on no account shonUI it be cut with any but 

 a sharp instniinent, as, if bruised by that opcratioO( 

 the next shoots will be weakened and dwindling^ 

 In the autumn, after the cuttings have been con^ 

 pleted, sheep should be closely folded upon it ; audi 

 if fed upon the spot with turnips, cake or corn, adi 

 ranch the better. The manuring on this plan ia 

 better adapted to ensure a full crop than by anj| 

 other mode ; and whilst it prevents the grass in* 

 creasing, it lends to increase the produce in th(| 

 greatest possible degree; but if sheep cannot" 

 avoilable, a dressing of well mixed compost, con^ 

 sisting of stable dung ond fresh maiden eartkjj 

 should be applied. In the following spring litlU 

 requires to be done, further than picking ufl' the 

 loose stones, pieces of wood, &c., that may have 

 accumulated so as to retard the scythe during iImi 

 process of mowing. If any weeds appear, lhe]| r 

 should be carefully removed in .March, but the hi 

 should be used sparingly, for at this season thH 

 slightest exposure of the roots to frost will injuiii 1 

 it greatly. The first mowing will be ready to coi 

 nience in the latter part of April or the beguiiiina n 

 of May, and from its growing rapidly at this se4* -t 

 son, may be cut early, as the succession will bt> 

 better maintained ; three or four cuts may be taken 

 altogether during the summer. In the ai:tumn ttn 

 every year the folding with sheep must be repeaK 

 cd, or a dressing given by the compost will bi i 

 quit'; sufficient : and if thus early repealed, ti. lu j 

 cerne may be kept in vigorous growth from ei 'h 

 to ten years ; but as it is far more nutrilioiis in til 

 first tiv9 or six years, if other land is available, ai 

 a succession of pieces is once established, it ou 

 never to remain longer from one so 

 those, however, who may wish to convert the lai 

 to permanent pasture, perhaps no bettor mode 

 be adopted than by letting the lucerne coiiti 

 until the natural grasses supersede it. It is 

 necessary literally to follow the plan I have 

 down ; I only state it as my practice, and by lb; 

 succeed. The essential points are — First, that thi i 

 land should be thoroughly cleaned, but the lucenn i 

 does not succeed will immediately after the lallot | 

 until a crop of turnips, mangel, or some other crO| | 

 has been taken, that lias also been kept free Iron i 

 weeds. Secondly, it should not be sown too early t 

 and the seed should be new. Thirdly, clean tlw | 

 roughly the fir-'t simmer, and regularlv fold npoii 

 it with sheep al'ternards, discontinuing the hue ll | 

 together. As the produce must vary accordioii 

 to the nature and quality of the soil, no slntemeil 

 can be furnished of the quantity other than bv st» t 

 ling the weight of that which has already been pro ii 

 clucod ; three cuttings from good land will \ loli 

 from five to six cwt. per square rod. Upon 

 acres I have kept six horses and colls from 

 middle of April to this time, besides a portion 

 for weaned calves, Upon another far, 

 have supported ten cart ond two nag I 

 the same period. And a friend ofmii, , ^ 



very strong cloy land farm of nearly 4V0 acrei 

 has kept sixteen powerful horses upon eight acre 



I twi u , 



