vol.. XX. NO. «<«. 



AND H O R TI C U I. T U Pv .\ F. R E G I S T V. R . 



221 



ien«i(>n'< — Trom tlic size (if b \nrge nr orcurii to 

 of i\ man's arcn, ami even Inrgor. Troni llu- 

 p, as well ns from Ilic purpose to wliicli it >v:is 

 lied — beinf a coinplrte substitute for corn in 

 failcnin^ of pork — this root took the nnnio of 

 n llou(, and as such is known in the neighbor- 

 d. 



hir infiirmanl gave us the names of several pen- 

 ten 111 ItrookficM and towns odjacent, to whom 

 miplit apply for more particular informalioii 

 •eriiiiii; this root. We wmto to some of these 

 Icmcn, but received no answers ; and wc hnd 

 n up the idea of ever henrinj any thinjf furlli- 

 n tiie subject, until some time last fall, when 

 of our subscribers in llrookfield happened to 

 on lis at the office. On miikinj inquiries of 

 he staled that he had frequently seen the Corn 

 t, and could undoubtedly send us a sample of 

 >gotlier with something more dclinitc in reln- 

 its history. During the last week wo re- 

 ed from tliis gentleman the following letter, 

 h contains all the information we at present 

 ess on (his subject. If our correspondent can 

 ny means send us one of the roots, he will not ' 

 confer a personal favor on us, but do an cs- 1 

 al service to the agricultural community in 

 1 1 fliis root can be introduced into other 

 nps, and used for the some purpose, and with 

 ainc success that the Bronkfield farmers have 

 it. It must prove of immense value to our 

 try ; and we should rejoice in being instru- 

 al in its general dissemination ell over the 

 Coiin. Farmer^s Otiz. 



BrookfulH, .Voy. 27, 1841. 

 i:ab Sir — Agreeable to your request, I made 



inquiries about the Corn Root, some time ago. 

 9 told by a gentleman who lives near to the 

 lh.il the root had become scarce, and those 

 had formerly found it a source of very great 

 ntage in raising and fattening hogs, now found 

 iltle. Two reasons were assigned by him for 

 carcity wliich now exists. The first which he 

 ioncd was, that when the hogs found a root, 

 stuck to it until it was gone. The second 

 •n was, that about four or five years ago, con- 

 able labor and e.ypense were laid out at the 

 t of the creek, in lowering the rocks, in order, 

 uic measure, to drain it ; and this draining 

 lad the eflTect to lessen the growth of the 



and root. 



lis information I obtained from a gentleman 

 hoiu I can rely, as he is not now, nor ever has 



in any way interested in those swamps where 

 orn root grows. I have since been^ble to 

 lain that his .statements were correct. 



I am yours, &.C. S. li. 



Ik- supplied nt this season lit comparatively Binnll 

 expense. Thosu who havu never prncticrd upon 

 this important principle, and who have been acciis- 

 toiiied to have rccourKO tj their mechanical neigh- 

 bors for every implement necessary in their line, 

 woiiUI be snrpnscd a( the saving which ita syslc- 

 iiiatic adoption would elVecl in a single year. Many 

 a man » ho would think himself ruined by a slight 

 ilomand upon his e)!ch<'i|uer to defray the unneces- 

 .snry cvpenses of some indoor duty which ho hail 

 reason to suppose was within the capacity of the 

 " good dame" or her daughters to perform, does 

 not hesitate in making large and ruinous disbursc- 

 nionts, annually, for implements which a little in- 

 dustry and self-determination would enable him to 

 supply himself. " D'conomy ia wealth," says the 

 I'ld adage, and wc would therefore seriously re- 

 commend to every one who is in the habit of under 

 estimating his mechanical capacities, and running 

 to a mechanic whenever a cart gets Biuashed or a 

 harrow broken, to provide himself with a book nnd 

 set down the various small items of expense to 

 which this practice gives rise. 



Such a practice can involve nothing very difli- 

 cult or expensive in lis prosecution, while it can, 

 a! the same time, scarcely fail we think, o."" being 

 productive of the best results. — Maine Cult. 



From the Maine Farmer. 



PREP.ARATION OF TOOLS, 

 le present ii a proper season for farmers to 

 up and prepare their tools. 

 i the spring is necessarily a very busy season, 

 :)uld be a standing rule with every farmer to 

 ly himself beforehand with the various imple- 

 requisite in the prosecution of its pursuits, 

 lere are but a few farmers, probably, who do 

 .ossess sufficient skill in the mechanical arts 

 lable them to furnish for themselves, and with 

 own hands, many of the most important im- 

 ents usually found upon the farm. Harrows, 

 3, drags, racks, and carts of all descriptions — 

 Jier with a larg^e variety of other articles no 

 issential in the management of the farm, may 



AVERSION TO NEW INVENTIONS. 



Dear Doctor — We frequently read of wonderful 

 discoveries in agriculture, which strike us as new 

 and surprising, and go out in the highways with 

 the e.vpectation of proclaiming an unhciird of and 

 wonderful experiment. But we are often met with 

 the repulsing information, that we are only enu- 

 merating an old and long published truth. This 

 result convinces us that there is more truth than 

 poetry in the declaration of Solomon, "There is 

 no new thing under the sun." I supposed that 

 the announcement in a French periodical, that 

 grains of every kind could be scattered upon the 

 surface of the earth, and covered with straw, and a 

 bountiful crop so produced, was all that it purport- 

 ed to be — an actual promiil^'ation of something 

 hitherto unknown, iiut 1 have learned that it is 

 no new thing with our fanners. It wa^ known and 

 practiced by the first settlers on this river more 

 than half a century ag'>. 



I do not know that iiny grains were raised in 

 this way, but potatoe.-! were frequently thrown upon 

 the surface of the ground, and covered with straw, 

 and no further care taken of them lill harvest tiHio 

 arrived. The straw was then removed, and a good 

 bed of good sized potatoes, and average increase 

 from the quantity deposited, were the sure return. 

 If this had been the best and surest mode of rais- 

 ing potatoes, why was it abandoned ? It was cer- 

 tainly easier to produce them in this manner from 

 a small piece of ground, than the present mode of 

 plowing, manuring, planting, hoeing and digging. 

 It must be then that the experiment did not always 

 succeed, but that casualties would occur to destriy 

 the increase to which the present mode is not lia- 

 ble. Our farmers, though in the main, indusfious 

 men, are not so very fond of labor as to prefer the 

 present method to an old one, if it secured to them 

 ao equal return for a less bestowul of care and toil. 



Laboring men, sometimes, look with jealous eyes 

 upon the use of machines which economize in la- 

 bor. But notwithstanding all the inventions of all 



the adepts iii nuichinen, " the sweat of the brow" 

 IK as much reijuirod and as much ixpundi'd, im in 

 ages when the hand wai aliiinit' the vole " labor- 

 saving" impleinrnt. 



A curious iiistaiico of llii< aversion to such in- 

 novations was onre given on this river. B'fore 

 the invention 'f the "tread back nigger," the ]itng 

 carriages of\cr the saw had run its course through 

 the log, were thrown back by hand — a lever wan 

 placed between the upokes of the rag-wheel, and 

 it required all a man's strength, with the hi'o»y 

 timber of that period, to give the wheel a backward 

 revolution. The throwing back of the carriage! 

 in this way, was a slow and toilsome operation, and 

 it oflcn required more lime than was consumed in 

 sawing the former run. It ivould seem, then, that 

 the "tread bock nigger" coming to the aid of Iho 

 iiiillman, would have been sure of a kind reception, 

 and his proffered services gladly accepted. Liko 

 Watt and Arkwright, he was a wonderful econo- 

 mizer of toil, and, like them, he received only vitu- 

 peration from his own generation. The old inill- 

 inen were jealous of this new competitor, and one 

 man, when the nigger wns put in operation, ac- 

 tually threw down his nxe, shouldered his jacket, 

 and lefl the mill, declaring that "it would bo no 

 work at all to saw in a mill, and any fool could 

 manage one with that nigger wheel to roll b ick 

 the carriages, when he ought to do it himself." 

 The old millmnn prided himself upon hin frequent 

 exhibitions of skill and strength in throwing back, 

 by personal force, the carriage sides, when cum- 

 bered by'S log of huge dimensions. Tlic glory 

 and boaSt of his occupation was gone, and there 

 was no sfttsfaction in working longer in the mill. 

 But the " nigger," though slandered by one, who 

 ought to have considered him his best friend, and 

 praised him withont measure, kept his place, and 

 gradually by his "tread back" course, worked him- 

 self into hi^'h fnvor. And now, tlie expulsion of 

 the "tread back nigger" would be the signal for a 

 general strike with millinen. Though no aboli- 

 tionist has penetrated to his obscure station, and 

 prayed that lie might be absolved from perpetual 

 bondage luid unrewarded toil, yet he is not forgot- 

 ten. Whenever his footing becomes insecure, by 

 his con.^tant waltzing", it is made safe at once, and 

 his fall is guarded against. Should his head work 

 become derangiid, caused by. his perpetual back 

 whirl, the needful remedies are at once applied, 

 and his blind stagger gives place to a sober revo- 

 lution ; and /ii» revolution is ever backwards — an 

 excepticn to the general rule. Black though he 

 be, olone of all his name, he is regarded with no 

 antipathy, and his way of life is as smooth ond UD- 

 interriipted and easy as a weekly ajiplicntion of 

 grease can make it; so that at the very period of 

 labor, ho is all the time living on the f<U of the 

 land. 



There are yet many in the ngriciilliiral commu- 

 nity who still persist in carrying a stone in one 

 end of the meal bag, because their fathers did so 

 before them. But the number of those who rever- 

 ence their ancestry so fnr as to be more careful in 

 imitating their crror«, is rapidly diminishing. They 

 may love their parentage, if they will, " errors and 

 all," but they have enough of their own. without 

 reckoning those which belonged lo their dead fath- 

 ers, nnd not to them, into the account. They had 

 better "let the dead bury their dead," and follow 

 living and safe counsels for themselves. 



Yours, iruly, Sai.\tbiel. 



Saco River, Dec. 1841. 



