Vol. V N'o. 5. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



S5 



"jicorns ol' the Society, and tlie increasing ut- 



II « Iiich is paiil, through the County, to the 



iii^ principles of rural ami ilomcstic economy. 



Ilect this desirable object, liovvever, it may 



iecess!iry to correct an erroneous impression, 



gjrd to the principles, upon which the premi- 



aro awarded. W^hen engaged in viewing 



s. we liave sometimes noticed with rogret,thal 



mind of the proprietor was directed, almost 



rclv, to a particular piece of ground, while the 



as such, showed marks of neglect, or mis- 



ijemcnt. It might bo well, to encourage such 



tions, by premiums given for limited improve- 



ts, but, by no means, for the " best cultivated 



\" The intention of the Society appears to 



been, to encourage, not clianges, without re- 



to improvement, nor imp.'ovements, iudepend- 



cf tlieir cost, — but snug, tidy, and economi- 



arir.ing. 



:ome instances, the Committee may seem, in 

 awards, to have deviated from this general 

 iple, but this should not discourage our neat, 

 , and prudent farmers, from engaging in the 

 iticn. 



( 'ommittee will endeavour to take into con- 

 ation every thing connected with the farm ; 

 e buildings, — their economy and convenience 

 c general system pursued in the appropriation 

 management of the lands; — the collecting and 

 of manures, with the application; — the rais- 

 nd minagement of live stock; — domestic econ- 

 and such other things as deserve the at- 

 on of every good farmer. And that will be 

 dered the " best cultivated farm " which e.x- 

 s tiio best management, in these several par- 

 irs. 



ose wlio intend to present their farms for in- 

 ion, will enter them, at Ri[dey's Coffee House, 

 bcfoj;§ Monday the 4th day of Septembei. — 

 members of the Viewing Committee are re- 

 ;ed to meet at Ripley's, on the 6th of Septem- 

 at 10 o'clock, A. M.' 



SAMUEL S. STEBBINS, 

 Cliainnan of Viewing Committee. 

 llcnburgh School, Windsor, I 

 August 11, 182(5. ) 



This is not theory unsupported by e.xperience. 

 Fortunately there are many practical proofs of it 

 in almost every town in the State. 'Our soil of 

 medium fertility, wlien ])ro))iily dressed, will, in 

 ordinary seasons, produce from one and a half to 

 two and a half tons of hay per acre ; from forty to 

 sixty bushels of corn ; from thirty to forty bushels 

 of oats and other small grains, and other products 

 in the same proportions : where the same lands 



formed by the closing of three leaves with mar- 

 gins deeply fringed, upon each other, protecting 

 tlic fine flowers and the delicate filaments from 

 cold and wet. [Nat. /Kgis.] 



CROPS. 



The crops of hay and grain have been considera- 

 bly diminished by the early drought, and, in some 

 towns, by the grasshoppers. We are induced to 



,,., , ,, . . 1 . ■ 11 .u I believe, from the information we have receive*!* 



under the present system, do not yield more than ,, ^ ,, .■.£-, , j, , '•";'<▼ 



i,„ic,i,„.,K„„„ iL^A „,.„..,:>■. J , that, the quantity ot hay made and to be made. 



half the abovemontioned quantities 



But in regard to pasture lands, the difference is 

 still greater. Little or no attention is paid by the 

 great mass of farmers to grounds of this descrip- 

 tion — consequently their products are generally 

 very inferior both in quantity and quality. Per- 

 haps it would not be far from the truth to say that 

 from four to five acres are now usually required 

 for pasturing one cow ; whereas that quantity of 

 land ought to afford feed sufficient for at least two. 

 Indeed two cows have been pastured in this town, 

 most of the time during the present season, and 

 might have been all the time, on less than two 

 acres. They have been and still are in the finest 

 order, and have been deep milkers. This is a 

 fact that has fallen under our own observation, 

 and is fully illustrative of the point we would es- 

 tablisli. It is granted that there are but few cows 

 that would, with the same keeping, give the same 



in the County ot Hampshire, the present season, 

 will not much exceed two thirds of the last year's 

 crop. In some towns, it is said, not more than 

 half the usual quantity of fodder will be gathered. 

 The deficiency in rye and oats is nearly as great 

 as in hay. Indian corn and potatoes have a promis- 

 ing appearance, where they have not been attack- 

 ed by grasshoppers. Broomcorn looks well. 



Hay from the meadows is selling in this town 

 from $9 to $12 per ton. [Northamptoa Gaz.] 



GREAT WHEAT CROP- 

 A correspondent of the St. Lawrence Gazette 

 of the 1st inst. furnishes the following memoranda: 

 There is a farmer in the town of Louisville, in 

 New York, who is now reaping rising of 200 acres 

 of wheat — the sowing of 270 bushels. It is all in 

 one field, and presents a beautiful appearance. — 



So luxuriant is the crop that some of the stalks 

 quantity of milk. Should it be asked, why ? the i are more than 6 feet high ; and the whole field 

 answer is obvious. From a want of proper atten- I will average 5 feet in height. On Wednesday 

 tion and care, our farms arc generally stocked with last, two men reaped 21 shocks of 15 sheaves each, 



AGRICULTURAL. 



IS often asserted, by farmers themselves, that 

 mg can be made by Agriculturists. That this 

 •rous and respectable portion of our citizens, 

 i as a whole, do in fact make little or nothing 

 than a bare support for themselves and fami 

 cannot be denied. But this does not prov 

 ncapahility of their business being made hi- 

 ve when properly conducted. Its unprofitable- 

 there is reason to believe, is to be attributed 

 lipally to an injudicious and mistaken policy 

 mJucting it, or to carelessness and inatten- 

 Among the capital errors of our practical 

 ers may be ranked a disregard to manuring 

 tilling their lands suiStiently. Altliough much 

 already been said on this subject, yet it is one 

 cannot be too often brouglit into view, so 

 as the present system is pursued. Most of 

 farmers attempt to improve more land than 

 t tliey can attend to advantageously. If they 

 Id e;:pend all the labour and manure on one 

 i, or at most one half the quantity of land they 

 do generally, they would in most instance.; 

 in tv.'enty-five or fifty per cent, more pro- 

 and the danger of a »otal failure in their 

 )i would be greatlj lessened. 



an inferior and degenerate breed of cattle, which 

 actually impoverish their owners. This suggests 

 the consideration of a second error in the present 

 system of agriculture — the want of due attention 

 to the breeds and qualities of domestic animals. — 

 On this topic some remarks will be made hereafter. 

 [Wor. Yeo.] 



DROUGHT IN NORTH CAROLINA. 



Extract of a letter from a friend who lives not far 

 from Roanoke river. 

 August '3, 1826. — I resided in this country in the 

 year 1806, which has since been called the dry 

 year. That drought was nothing to be compared 

 with this, either as to extent or severity. All the 

 rain that could now fall would not make corn en- 

 ough in this and the adjoining counties to feed the 

 population plentifully for six months ; and, what 



on a piece of ground 30 rods long by 13 paces 

 wide, which gives nearly 40 bushels to the acre. 

 One ear of the wheat was 10 inches long, and 

 had 90 grains, full and large. There are 52 reap- 

 ers and binders in the field. At a very moderate 

 estimate the crop will yield 30 bushels to the acre, 

 throughout. 



RALM. 

 We have agcounts of the late rains extending as 

 far East as Halifax, and South as Baltimore, near- 

 ly 1000 miles ; and in immense quantities ; but 

 travellers from Lower Canada, and the White 

 Hills inform that the quantity which fell there was 

 abundant but not extraordinary. From almost 

 every other quarter, we have tidings of destruc- 

 tion to mills, dams, bridges, factories, and to build- 



^ _, , ings and property on the banks of streams and in 



adds to the distress, there is no fruit, not even an I jow situations. Some roads have been rendered 

 apple — no oats, no wheat — and a general scarcity I impassible. — We have heard of only one life being 

 of bread stuff at this time. You can imagine what ' lost ; and that at Sparta, Penn. where a Capt. 

 p I it will be this time twelve mar.ths. The common 1 Williams, being on his house making exertions to 

 price of corn is one dollar and fifty cents per bush- 1 gave it when it fell, was carried off by the torrent 

 el. All the vegetables in my garden, containing I and perished. The quantity which fell in various 

 more than four acres and better cultivated than ■ parts has been variously reported. — That ascer- 

 l ever knew it to be, are not worth five dollars. — ; tained by rain guages varies from 9 to 18 inches ; 

 A gentleman from Tennessee says, that we suffer while many by estimation have made it three or 

 no worse here than they do in East Tennessee, and four feet I The quantity which usually falls in a 

 from the mountains to this place. [Nat. Intel.] '; year averages about 32 inches. Some tribes of the 



COTTON ^veiretable kingdom in low situations have been 



The noble stalks, and green leaves of the Indian linfured ; but generally the P'-°f"'^\'' "Z '""» 

 corn, a plant singularly beautiful in every stage of | promise a most abundant harvest. [Ce nt.nel.] 

 its growth, would not excite more interest among j^, j^ njentioned in the Philadelphia Aurora that 

 the spicy bowers of the East, than does the Cotton I g^^^ ^.j^^ ^^^X^^ are cried about the streets at six 

 '- ''^— '—" ""-'•■"'" '<■*;»•"'== «"'-" gj. gg^.g^ j,gnts tijg pgck, delicious peaches are pro- 



when it wanders into northern latitudes. Some 

 plants are now growing in \Vorcester, raised from 

 the seed, in the open air, which bid f'ir to bring 

 forth a respectable product. They have attained 

 to the height of about eighteen inches. The 

 opening buds and the ripening pods of this shrub 

 are provided with a curious triangular covering. 



portionably cheap, and excellent melons may be 

 had for very little more than the trouble of carry- 

 ing them from the market. 



Captain Parry is preparing for another expedi- 

 tion to find the North West passage. 



