278 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



statement can be entirely relied upon, now owns a 

 heifer from her, who made last season, when she 

 was on trial and milked three times a day, 17 lbs. 

 of butter in a week. The milk was weighed each 

 time, instead of being measured, and reached about 

 75 lbs. per day. He weighed it himself to avoid 

 mistakes. 



The simple recipe here given, and also one by 

 James Gowen in the first number of the Farm 

 Journal, of the hay rope in cases of hoven, (and 

 which I also tried and thereby saved the life of a 

 Durham bull which cost me $550,) are strong il- 

 lustrations of the value of agricultural journals, 

 and are worth the price of many years' subscrip- 

 tion. Paschall Morris. 



West Chester, June 20, 1851. 



AGRICUIiTURB IN FRANCE. 



A letter writer for the Republic says: — "A trip 

 of six hundred and fifty miles, from the northern to 

 the southern extremity of France, justifies me in 

 the expression of my opinion that God's sun does 

 not shed its rays on so fair a land, or one so thor- 

 oughly cultivated. The whole country is literally 

 a garden. Every square foot, from the mountain- 

 top down to the lowest ravine, is made to produce 

 something, if it be susceptible of it. Their mode 

 of planting or sowing their crops, whether on plain 

 or hill-side, produces the finest effect on the ap- 

 pearance of the landscape; the space allotted for 

 each crop is laid out in squares or parallelograms 

 with mathematical }>recision, and, whether large or 

 small, the best garden could not be divided with 

 greater accuracy. As there are no fences or 

 hedges, and as the different crops are in various 

 stages of maturity, you can imagine the variety 

 of hues that meets the eye, and the magnificence 

 of the panorama that stretches out in every direc- 

 tion as far as the vision can penetrate. I am sorry 

 to add in this connection, that seven-eighths of the 

 agricultural labor is performed by females, while 

 two or three hundred thousand stalwart men in 

 uniform are idling away their time in the barracks 

 of the cities and villages. In the absence of fen- 

 ces, cattle, secured by ropes, are driven about their 

 pasturage by females; and sheep are confined 

 within the required limits by boys, assisted by a 

 shepherd's dog. Speaking of cattle, reminds me 

 that, notwithstanding fresli pork is abundant enough 

 in market, both in England and France, I have 

 not seen a live porker in either country." 



DECOMPOSITION OF BONES BY FER- 

 MENTATION. 



If fresh bones are thrown into compact heaps and 

 mixed with moist sandy loam and ashes, they will 

 gradually become heated and decomposed. The 

 result will be materially hastened, by occasionally 

 sprinkling with urine, and especially by mixing 

 with horse manure. If the bones have been de- 

 prived of their animal matter they will not ferment. 

 The presence of nitrogen is essential to induce and 

 carry forward fermentation, and this is only found 

 in the animalized matter of the bones. During the 

 decomposition of bones, putrefactive odors are 

 given off, which occasion a loss to the manure 

 heap, vvhile they are an insufferable annoyance to 

 the olfactories. This objection, however, may, in 

 a good degree, be remedied, by covering the heap 



with rich decayed turf, peat, plaster, charcoal, or 

 any other absorbents. 



The value of bones for agriculture may be in- 

 ferred from the fact that nearly 33,000 tons were 

 imported into England in 1848. The value of 

 bones used for agricultural purposes in that coun- 

 try, annually, is estimated at about $4,400,000. 

 In the United States they are fast becoming appre- 

 ciated, and it will not be long before every bone in 

 this country will be carefully husbanded, and ap- 

 plied to the augmentation of our crops. — American 

 Agiiculturist. 



j[[^ "Scientific farming" is the ascertaining of 

 what substances the plants you wish to raise are 

 made — which of these substances are wanting in 

 )'our land — and what manures will supply them. 



fllccljtinics' Department, ^rts, ^"c. 



OUR NAVIGATION. 



The following statement shows the number and 

 tonnage of the vessels built in each State and Ter- 

 ritory of the United States, for the year ending on 

 the 30th of June, 1850. It is taken from the re- 

 {)ort of the Registry of the Treasury of the com- 

 merce and navigation of the United States for the 

 fiscal year. 



Of the vessels comprised in the table, there were 

 two hundred and forty-seven ships, one hundred 

 and seventeen brigs, five hundred and forty-seven 

 schooners, two hundred and ninety sloops and ca- 

 nal boats, and one hundred and fifty-nine steamers. 

 The largest number built in any State was one 

 hundred and twenty-seven, in Maine; and the 

 largest number of steamers, thirty-four, in Ken- 

 tucky. The largest tonnage set afloat during the 

 year is that of Maine, and the next largest of New 

 York. Of the one hundred and fifty vessels built 

 in Maryland, one hundred and twenty-five were 

 schooners. 



RECAPITULATION. 



Stales. Vessels built. Total tonnaee. 



Maine 326 91,211 73 



New Hampshire, 10 6,9 14 32 



Vermont 1 77 41 



Massachusetts, 121 3.5,8-36 14 



Rhode Island, 14 3,587 Li 



Connecticut, 47 4,8 1 9 79 



New York, 224 58,342 73 



New Jersey, 57 6,201 68 



Pennsylvania, 185 21,409 93 



Delaware, 16 1,848 82 



Maryland, 150 15,064 80 



District of Columbia, 8 288 17 



Virginia, 34 3,584 04 



North Carolina, 33 2.651 59 



Georgia, 5 683 82 



Florida, 2 79 75 



Alabama, 3 113 66 



Louisana, 24 1,592 38 



Kentucky, 34 6,460 69 



Missouri, 5 1,352 62 



Illinois, .- 13 1,691 21 



Ohio 31 5,214 62 



Michigan, 14 2,061 62 



Texas, 1 1 05 .'i4 



Oregon, 2 122 42 



Total, 1,360 272,218 54 



MARBLE STAINING. 



This art, which is practiced to some considerable 

 extent, in rendering more rich and beautiful many 

 of the harder kinds of marble, appears to have been 

 known at an earlv date, even as far back as 1666 — 



