^242 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 23, 1827 



INDIAN CORN FOR FODDER. I grains of Sugar of lend, in lialf a pint of rain, river j above are new to us. We have i,ot known of 



Mr. Fesue^ce.-v— The drouirht ofthP laslsum-lor snowwater, premising one or two purges.— I leaves being used as fodder for cattle, nor thej 

 mer having caused farmers in tliis vicinity to des- ( Leeches are also highly useful in this complidnt.— | for feeding sheep" or pigs, though we have kif 

 pair of crops of hay sufficient for wintering their | Eyes naturally weak may be strengthened, by fre- j them given to poultry. We have no reason, I 

 usur.l stock of cattle, I be^an to thinl: of cxpedi- I qnently washing them with green tea ; to a cup- ever, to doubt but that they may be profitably 

 ents for remedying the anticipated deficiency ; and I ful of which, add a tea-spoonful of brandy; and by j plicd^to the:ie purposes. ^And if the leaves of 



wearing a white hat, with black 



having seen it recommended in your very respec- 

 table and useful paper to sow Indian corn for fod- 

 der, I determined to make the experin'.cnt. Grass 

 seed sown the preceding year, except on low 

 and moist iand, was so unpromising tliat many 

 planted their stubbles or sowed them ever airfiin. 



nndorneath, in I sun-flower will furnish fodder ibr cattle, \\( 



summer. [Ibid.] 



Tliefat of Animals. 

 Used for food.is wholesome when not burnt, or not 

 rancid; in either of these cases, it produces in- 

 digestion and heart-burn. Fat is thrown away too 



lera artichoke, (vhicli lias been frequently rec 

 mended for field culture as well by Americt 

 British writers on husbandry) may likewise be) 

 uable as food for neat slock. 



From a paper on the subject of sun-floweti 



in the first vol. of the Trans. Jlmtr. Plal. Socf 



because by means of crumbs of bread, or tlo'jr it|jj^^^ ^^^^ that one bushel of sun-flower seed yH 



may be made miscible with water, and form^ a pa't-jthree quarts of oil, and that this quantity of 

 of soups, and s-iuccs. {Ibid., .^ produced from an hundred plants, seta 



Elder, Smnhurus JVig:n:. three feet apart, in the same manner tliat Inl 



The following- mixture is excellent in the drop- com is planted. The oil is ibin, clear, and o9 



Having neglected to do cither, I selected a half. - r ri , i i , h, „„„.=, o,-.,,, .l-innino-s 

 f ^ , , , , , L- u T often. In France nobody throws av.-ay u.ippmgs 



acre, the most naked and bare or grass, which 1 - • 



prepared for the seed by deep and faithful plougli- 

 in*, then carted on two small loads of barn yard 

 scrapings, very dry and light, with very little of 

 •he stimulating or nutritive qualities, (the only 

 manure obtainable at that season, the 17th of June;) 

 this was spread upon the ground, then fife peeks 

 of our comoion yellow corn were sown broad cast, 

 ploughed in and the iron tootlicd harrov,' passed 

 over it, and for want of a roller, the harrov,- was 

 inverted and drawn over the ground again. The 

 earth was dry and parched, and my labourers 

 said the crop would not repay me for the seed, 

 but the sin of tlinir want of faith was not visited 

 Xipon me, for the corn germinated and grew bet- 

 ter than my expectations; some of it attaining a 



uo reason to doubt tliat the leaves of the .firm I 



sy, viz. Put an ounce of the inner bark of elder in 

 to a china basin, add a gill of boiling water, and a 

 few whole caraway seeds. — Let it stand eighteen 

 hours, and then squeeze out the liquor. It is a 

 brisk cathartic and diuretic. [American Herbal.] 



Laws of Vegetable JVature. 

 Vegetable substances are always acid v.'Iien the 

 oxygen, [vital air] they contain is to the hydrogen, 

 [inflammable air] in a greater proportion th»n in 

 height of five feet, and varying from that to one j "'ater ; Sdly. Vegetable substances are always 

 foot ; this variation I attributed to the unequal \ resinous or cly or spintous when the oxygen they 

 manner in which the manure was spread. Some <^onmv> is to the hydrogen m a smaller proportion 

 of the stalks had ears larn-e enough for boiling, i 'h''" i" «»t" ; 3dly. Vegetable substances are 

 and most of them, cars of a smaller Mze, some j "hither acid nor resinous, but saccharine, or mu- 

 having not more than three ov four kernels.— ^ilaginous, or analogous to woody fibre or starch. 

 The fodder was mowed the 2!Hh Sent, but the "hf " t''^ oxygen and hydrogen they contain are 

 weather bein- unfavourable for curing it. it was '" ^^e same proportion as in water, 

 not housed till the 7 th Oct. when the quantity was ' [Traite de Chem. Element, torn. III. ch 



m.] 



estimated at thirty Iiundred weight. The cattle 

 eat it clean, and prefer it to any fodder except 

 English hay. It contains a large quantity of the 

 saccharine and nourishing principle, and I consid- 

 er it equal in vnlue to a ton of the best hay. The 

 expense of cultivation was or -$7. lam far] 

 from thinking that I used the best means ofcul-i 

 tivating such a crop, and I send you this, not 

 with the presumptuous expectation of instructing j 

 others, but with the ho[ie of drawing information j 

 from yourself or your correspondents who are i 

 competent to impart it. INEXPERTUS. 



■^PREPARED FOR THE NEW F.NGJ.AMI FARMER.] j 



Contraction of the Limbs. 

 One yolk of an egg, ifgradunlly beaten up with 

 tliree ounces of pure water, and reduced to the ut- 

 most degree of thinness, has been used for con- j 

 tractions of the liinbg. [Dr T. Cooper.] 



Common Elecampane, or Inula L. ] 



A decoction of this plant has been employed by 



Cermiiintion of Seeds. 

 Tiie following table indicates the periods of the 

 gcrinination of a considerable variety of seeds, as 

 observed by Adanson. 



Uses of Sun-Flower. 



- ,. , .. , , ■ , ,1 The cultivation of the common sun-flower 7/</i 



larmers tor the cure of the scab in sheep; and ex- ,, . j j . .u .• 



,, ,■ , ^ ,■ , i. ■ \antlius annuus \^ recommenced to the notice o 



ternaliy applied, lor removing disorders ot the 



skin. Professor Knackstadt,of St.Petersburgh,has 

 prescribed the elecampane botli ways, and found 

 it a remedy of singular eflicacy in curing the scald 

 head. [Domestic Encyclopedia.] 



Preserving the Eyes. 

 Few remedies for preserving the eyes are more 

 refreshing and invigorating than bathing them iu 

 cold water three or four times in the day. 

 _ In common inflammations of tlie eyes, a very 

 cheap and efficacious remedy is a solution of ten 



the public, as possessing the advantages of furnish- 

 ing abundance of valuable fodder for cattle in their 

 leaves. When in flower, bees flock to them from 

 all quarters to gather honey. The seed is valua- 

 ble in feeding sheep, pigs and other animals ; it 

 produces a sti iking effect in poultry, occasioning 

 tliem to lay more eggs, and it yields a large quan- 

 tity of excellent oil by pressure ; the dry stalks 

 burn well, the ashes affording a considerable quan- 

 tity of alkali. — [English publication.] 



2^/^Sorae of the uses of sunflower, as mentioned 



agreeable taste. It is recoiuuiendcd to set < 

 seed in a hole, and when the plant is a yard fa| 

 to throw in the mould round the stalk, so that 

 surface of the ground may be even around it. 



The process for expressing the oil is the 

 as that for making linseed idl. It is suggesB 

 that cold drawn oil is less liable to turn rag 

 than when heat is used ; but the quantity is i 

 If, however, care be taken constantly to stir I 

 niasli in an iron pot, over a moilerate fire, (oSlI 

 pressed) not to heat the plates too much, tlirrewf 

 bo no danger of burning the oil. There cm 'oe 

 doubt, that the sun-fiower, on poor laii' 

 yield much more profit than many other r: 

 Ed. N. E, 1 



Yeast. 



Dr Mease recommends yeast made aflei ii^-' 1 

 lowing recipe as preferable to any other '..r:-'. 

 Boil twelve clean washed, middle-sized putatoc 

 and at the same time, boil, in another vessel 

 handful of hops in a quart of water ; peel o 

 mash the potatoes in a marble mortar, pour part 

 the hop water, while hot, upon the potatoes, i. 

 them well, and pass them through a seive ; th 

 add the remainder of the hop-water, and h.alf 

 tea-cup full of honey, beat all well, and add 

 small portion of leaven to bring on the fernien 

 tion. Put the whole into a Htone jug, and set it 

 the fire (in the winter.) All tlie utensils must 

 scalded every time they are used and wnsliod p' 

 fectly clean. One tea-spoonful of the above po 

 t(. yea^t will answer for three quarts of flour, 

 summer the yeast ought to be made every eecc 

 day. — [Domestic Encyclopedia.] 



Litter for Cattle. 



Litter is very essential to cattle, when let ii 

 yards, without which yard manure is of small ; 

 count, and unless it be in full proportion to t 

 cattle ill the yard, it is not thought highly of; L 

 is as a half done thing. Good farmers, in En 

 land deem full littering of cattle, when in yarJf 

 such importance that after reaping with sick 

 and inning their wheat, they cut the stubble :. 

 stack it for litter. Besides straw and stubble I 

 litter, they apply to the same use, fern (braki 

 and such other vegetable substances as they c 

 procure ; and they buy straw from common far 

 ers, who are not in the practice of littering. 

 all countries, common farmers- are indifferent 

 improvements : they look not beyond old habi 

 and it is prudent that they venture not on extc 

 sive new projeets,without first making experirafr 



