AND II O 11 T 1 C U I. T U R A L K E G I S T K II . 



PUULtSHBD BY JOSEPH BRECK * CO.. NO. 52 NOUTU M.\UKKT STllKKT, (Ao.icultubal Wa. »m»i..«.)-ALLKN I'Ur.NAM. b:DITOU. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 9, 1842. 



(HO. 3a 



N. E. FARMER 



Tins manure wa.'i u.fod 111 llic saiiiu inniincr mi.l Those who tcside where veiioinoim sprpeiilH nre 

 in the same quanlitieB as the iMai.uro from ihc p.^ ' common, may bo nble lo give na .vHl aulhenticatcd 



For the N. E. Fitrmor. 



MUCK. 

 Much has recently been said about muck or nii«i 

 I manure ; and 1 h^pc that none will think that 

 h has b«-cn :-:iid, till much more is known. — 

 »ve read wluit was lately said at the Stal House, 

 1 many communications in our agricultural p.i- 

 Wliat I have learned by e.xpcriment is but 

 le, for I am n very small farmer. Still, I am 

 aware that others have told all that has occurred 

 me as useOil to be known. 



There are a few acres of swamp or low meadow 

 my farm, covered with hassocks, wild grass, and 

 DCS. The mild or muck is from six inches to 

 ee feet deep ; and below this is a white sand, 

 king a very hard pan. This sand has not prov- 

 of Bny"*»luc when dug or plowed to the sur- 

 The meadow is difficult to drain, and proves 

 little value except for pasture in the spring, and 

 muck. 



Some years ago I looked at this meadow, and »t 

 itain pond holes where much mud was collected, 

 I asked how it came there. I looked al the 

 Iher lands, and saw that they lacked what tens 

 ledtd in the low places. I then guessed where 

 mud caine from, and resolved to carry soino of 

 lack. 



n the autumn I had forty or fifty loads carted 

 ■n two gravelly ridges, where scarcely any thing 

 lid grow, or had grown for many years. I 

 ced it ill small heaps, and spread it the next 

 ing. The grass upon wnicli it was spread, 

 rted very earlv ; partly because of the blackness 

 Lhe surface. Wherever any of it was spread, 

 crop was greatly improved. I plowed one 

 ;e aftersprcading a larfje quantity of mud, and 

 1 used some more in the hills of corn, squashes, 

 ito€8 and beans. The beans were followed by 

 lips. Wherever there was any mud applied, 

 advantage was very apparent. I applied more, 

 t lowed grass seed. These ridges »ill produce 

 »er, timothy, and any good grass, in large crops, 

 h a litlle mud. 



The fields which I usually cultivate, have a 

 ivy, clayey soil, with many stones and rocks. 

 manure them, I have tried the following r.\peri- 

 nts. 



n the .''pring or autumn, I have placed by the 

 ;!ofiny pig-yard, some loads of mi<J. I put this 

 ) tlio yard as fast as the hogs worked it over. 1 

 posed this lo be manure oi \\\c first qttalitij. In 

 cow-yard I placed a large quantity of mud in 

 autumn. In the spring, as soon aa it could be 

 ved, I prepared to make a manure heap. I 

 ead about three inches of mud, covered this 

 h lime slacked on the spot; then a little more 

 d, then two inches of horse and cow manure, 

 h the straw and hay that were mixed with it. 

 ese were followed by similar layers. Tlie mud 

 ■8 tlie greater part of the heap. When I carted 

 o be spread on the fields or put into the lulls of 

 n and potatoes, it was thoroughly mixed. 



yard ; and no one could perceive in one part of the 

 Bcason, that one kind was more useful than the 

 other. 



When some stable manure is collected during 

 the summer, or reserved from the winter, it should 

 bo used with mud and lime in the niilimin. 



The niuil and lime may be mi.\ed in the atlti<mn, 

 and the manure from the stable added in the spring. 



facts, which will aliow conclusively whether thii 

 tree has such powers as aro ascribed to it. Every 

 person must be regarded as inlercited in Rach in- 

 formation. 



'I he white ash is one of our most beautiful tree*, 

 and the strength and elasticity of its timber, render 

 it very valuable. If the obliging Kditor will afford 

 his aid, we may now learn jroiii every part of the 



The main points now urgo.l, nre that nuirf or i country what is known concerning its virtues in 



murJi should be returned to the higher grounds 

 from which they came ; and that lime and Inin mn- 

 nun, on such land as mine, are useful, when mixed 

 with the mii(/. The mud alone Is good — lime and 

 stable manure make it more useful. 



Every farmer should consider that if he has any 

 places containing mud, it needs to be carried back 

 to the fields from which the soil has been washed. 

 It should be dug, and placed on convenient ridges, 

 where it is dry, and when the farmer is not driven 

 by other work. Then he should never tllow his 

 car*, to return empty from the low to the high land. 

 If it is not loaded with the produce of the farm, it 

 should be loaded with mud. This should be 

 placed in tlie pig yard, barn yard, or in heaps on 

 the poorest lands. By spreading it in the spring, 

 when it has been placed in heaps, or by making 

 with it a compost manure, and then spreading it, or 

 using il in the hill, it will be found very vaiuaiilc. 



I do not doubt that new modes of improving the 

 quality of mud will be discovered ; but it is a good 

 rule to do as well as we nou> know how to do. 



S. W. 



preventing and curing poison. S. W. 



()^/*'We remember it used to be said in our boy. 

 hood, that if we had a mixture of white ash in the 

 wood-pile, no snakes would come near the house. 

 We had classed this among "idle tales" not worth 

 regarding. But as our correspondent lias experi- 

 enced the efficacy of the ash for other good purpo- 

 ses, we may have " idly" discarded the old saying. 

 Any facts upon the subject we shall be hoppy to 

 publish. — Ed. N. E. F. 



ForiheS. L Karmcr. 



For tlie New England Farmer. 



THE WHITE ASH. 

 It has frequently been said, and sometimes writ- 

 ten, that the leaves, baik, and wood of the white 

 ash have power over serpents, so that they cannot 

 bite where this opponent is near them ; and some 

 say that the leaves, bark or wood of the white ash 

 is a complete antidote to the poison of serpents. 

 We are told many things about this, which seem 

 marvellous; but 1 am inclined to believe that there 

 is much truth in what is related concerning the 

 virtues of this tree. 



I have had no means of malting experiments 

 with the ash upon serpent*, or wounds made by 

 them; but! have often applied an ash leaf, rubbed 

 between the finger?, to the pimples caused by mos- 

 quitoes. The itching and soreness were instantly 

 removed. In one case, when I had been stung by 

 a bee, I applied the same : when I applied the leaf, 

 the pain was severe ; as soon as the leaf was ap- 

 plied, the pain ceased. 



Within a year or two I saw an account, which 

 seemed to be well authenticated, showing that sheep 

 had been cured by a decoction of white ash bark, 

 when poisoned by the small laurel or calmla 



MEAT FOR HENS. 

 A late number of your paper, Mr Editor, spok« 

 well in respect to feeding and housing fowls. I 

 believe Ihc article was copied from thn Albany 

 Cultivetor. The writer omitted to say that meat 

 is essential to keeping fowls in good condition, and 

 making them lay well. During the summer, fowls 

 eat worms, files, bugs, grasshoppers,' — they eat 

 meat. In winter, buy for them fish and flesh of 

 the cheapest kinds — such as is often wasted. Cut 

 it fine, and see them eat it. Then gather the eggs, 

 and you will need no arguments to prove that this 

 is profitable feeding. S. W. 



From the New Genescu Farmer. 



STRAW. 

 How can I imkc my cattle eat straw ? I have 

 often askcil of some experienced fanners. "Give 

 them less hay," was the general reply. Not liking 

 this mode, however, :ind knowing that good farmers 

 ill England and this country made free use of straw 

 as food fir cattle, I resolveil last summer, when 

 threshinir, to change my plan. I stacked it os 

 usual, but in the progress of the w<irk, sprinkled 

 on from one to- two bushels of safc 1 used the 

 "Pitto Thresher," which gave md>l';- addliioiinl 

 ndvantrge of mixing the cliafT through the whole. 

 Well, during the warm wrather in the first pari of 

 this month, iny cattle, instead of wandering about 

 with little appetite, might be seen any day engaged 

 in filling themselves with straw. At night, when 

 the cows were lied up to receive their roots, their 

 hay would be almost untouched. Their rotund 

 appearance left me no apprehension of their starv- 



lowever. This was continued until near the 

 The few facts which I have witnessed, and the present time, when I was obliged lo reserve the 

 many that have been related, induce me to request j remainder of the stack for the use of the stables, 

 the Editor of the New England Farmer lo afford ' Nearly a month's feeiling of hay was saved, 

 his aid in obtaining information on this subject. ' Macedon, VZmo. 2W, 1841. W. R. S. 



