Vol. I.— No. 17. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



131 



anJ much timo and labor are saved in prepa- 

 ring it for planting- I" l ' le early pan of the 

 season, the corn will not appear very promi- 

 sing, and will be uneven, and pe-haps will not 

 produce as great a crop of stalks as in the o- 

 ther way; but at the time of producing the 

 ears of corn, both lha decomposing -ward and 

 manure are doing then best to Old that pro- 

 cess, and succeed to admiration. The ex- 

 tremes of drought or wet are much less injuri- 

 ous to land treated in this way than the other 

 — the weeds are not more than half a-> troub- 

 lesome, and the land is left in a better state. 



The second year, the land is plowed and 

 harrowed, sowed with oats or other spring 

 grain and grass seed, and made smooth, and 

 then laid down for mowing or feeding. Be 

 fore planting I soak my seed corn ami roll it 

 in plaster, ash it at the first and third hoeing, 

 and put plaster on at the second. 



Mv method ot'gathering my corn and stalk*, 

 is to'cut the stalks above the ears at the pro- 

 per season, bind and -tack or pike them in the 

 lield, and as soon as sufficiently dried cm them 

 and put them under cover. If this can be 

 done before any great rain falls, I consider a 

 ioad of stalks worth as much for fodder as a 

 3oad of good hav. My cattle ibis year did not 

 leave uneaten a handful to a load. When the 

 Corn is ripe, I cu: it up close to the ground, 

 with a scythe or sickle, cart it to the barn or 

 shed, and there husk it, and keep the stalks 

 and husks under cover till winter, when it is 

 thrown into the yard for litter or fodder. This 

 does not cost more labor than to pick and husk 

 the com, except the carting of it, and it saves 

 a great deal of good litter and fodder, which 

 would otherwise be entirely lost. My eattle 

 this winter ate at least one half of these 

 Stalks. 



Perhaps I have been too minute, and stated 

 nothing but what farmers in every town in Nf» 

 Englend knew before; but if any thing has 

 been suggested by which, with the same ex- 

 pense, one more bushel of corn to the acre 

 can be grown, one day's work in a year saved 

 to the cultivator or one dollar's vvorih of fod- 

 der or manure, my remarks will he worth all 

 they cost. The farmers in thi- vicinity form- 

 erly made then' ground mellow, by plowing 

 and harrowing, before planting— but expert 

 ence has taught them that the mode here de- 

 scribed is much hetter in all respects, and it is 

 now, for corn, verv generally practiced ; and 

 I would very respectfully suggest to Mr. Phin- 

 ney. whether, considering the saving of labor 

 in preparing for planting, which I thing must 

 be at least one half, and the safe deposit of the 

 manure under the sod, for the corn to make a 

 draft upon effectually, in time of the greatest 

 Deed, my method of raising corn, ever, on his 

 smooth and even land, would not. when the 

 succeeding crop is to be spring grain, he pre 

 Jerable to his : at any rate, I think it i- a good 

 substitute among our s.ones, hills, and hules. 

 One one of my neighbors last year tried Mr. 

 Phinney's mode on e level, moist piece of 

 ground, and it being a wet season, he nearly 

 lost his crops. Had either the weather or his 

 ground been dry, it would doubtless have suc- 

 ceeded. 



Since writing the above I have read in your 

 last number some remarks and queries about 

 dunging corn and potatoes in the hill. I have 

 often been much surprised in learning from pa- 

 ragraphs in your numbers, tha that practice 

 should be continued when such great improve- 

 ments were making in agriculture as in Massa 

 chusetts. I had before supposed it abandon 

 ed, as one of tho ■ orst of the old fashioned 

 modes of tillage, calculated, with much labour 

 and trouble, to obtain a little present advan 

 tage, at the expense of keeping the land poor. 



Tillage should be so managed as to improve, 

 not to impoverish the soil. If the ground is 

 pretty well manured at broad cast, dunging in 

 the hiil is unnecessary. If not, then this 

 mode, if it barely pay the labor and expense, 

 which I much doubt, will leave the land worse. 

 1 may be thought an incompetent judge, hav- 



ing never tried that course; nor have I ever 

 tried feeding my children with cider brandy to 

 make them sprightly at the time, and good 

 members of society afterwards, but should as 

 soon think of doing one as the other: this I 

 know is not argument, but strong opinion. 

 Plimouth, Conn. March 7, ld31. B. 



STOCK F4RM IN THB VICINITY OF BOSTON. 



A prospectus of such an establishment has 



been issued, to be " devoted to the important 



object of breeding and rearing the best breeds 



of horses, neat cattle, sheep and swine ; th 



receiving and selling on commission all kinds 



of live stock; and combining with these, the 



business of Agriculture and Horticulture, upon 



the most approved and economical svsietn. — 



The business also of disciplining young and 



[refractory horses," &c. A skilful veterinary 



surgeon will also be added to the establish- 



I ment. The whole is to be under the care and 



[superintendence of Col. Samuel Jacques, of 



jCharlesiown, so extensively known by those 



[ who have attended to the march of improve- 



j ment in the husbandry of Massachusetts, as one 



foremost in its encouragement. — Bost Pat. 



The following letter from Gov. Lincoln on 

 the subject, is from the New England Farmer. 

 Colonel Jacques : Boston, March 8, 1831 



Sir — Having examined your proposals tor 

 the establishment of a Stock Farm, I take great 

 pleasure in expressing to you my cordial ap- 

 probation ol the plan, with my best wishes for 

 your success, in so important and interesting 

 an undertaking. With the skill and experience 

 which you possess in the rearing and manage- 

 ment of stock, the public will have a reasona- 

 ble assurance that there will be the best selec- 

 tion of domestic animals of every desirable 

 race, and in the variety which such an estab- 

 lishment will present, the occasions and pref- 

 erences of farmers for breeds of cattle suited 

 to different objects, will be abundantly satis- 

 fied. I know of no arrangement in rural affairs 

 more important ihan that by which the prop- 

 erties of the breeds of domestic animals may 

 be fairly tested by comparison with each oth- 

 er, under the same course of keeping and man- 

 agement. No two breeders will be found to 

 feed and treat their slock in the same manner. 

 Hence the great uncertainty, as well as diver- 

 sity, in the results of practical observation. — 

 Interior animals, by more care, are often made 

 to appear belter and give a greater product 

 than others of decidedly superior qualities, 

 with le>s attention. But by collecting indi 

 v, duals of different races into one establish- 

 ment, and subjecting them to uniform treat- 

 ment under 'he same careful inspection, their 

 characteristic differences will be ascertained, 

 and the peculiar properties which recommend 

 them for different uses and purposes of econ- 

 omy. will become well understood. The feed- 

 er will learn how to select for the pasture and 

 the stall. The husbandman, who looks for 

 streng'h, activity, and hardihood under the 

 yoke, will not meet frequent and mischievous 

 disappointments, and the dairy will be sure of 

 its products. 



The benefit of such opportunity for com- 

 parison and for selection, in conformity with 

 the particular interest of each purchaser, will 

 be equally experienced by those, who are en- 

 gaged in the rearing of horses, sheep and swine, 

 with all which, as much as with horned cattle, 

 it is now well understood, there lies the entire 

 difference, in different breeds, between utter 

 worthlessness, and great productiveness and 

 value. Indeed I cannot but indulge much con- 

 fidence, both in the utility of your scheme to 

 i he public, and in its rewards to your own ex- 

 cellent spirit and enterprise. I mean this re- 

 mark should apply to your whole plan ; as well 

 to the part which respects the course of hus- 

 bandry proposed on the laud, as to the breed- 

 ing and keeping of animals ; although, as I am 

 not acquainted with the precise character ofj 

 the firm which you have selected, I beg to 

 decline offering any opinion as to the particu-l 

 lar purchase, or the atnotuit of the Investment/ 



which may be required for the establishment, 

 Your ob't serv't, Levi Likco&n. 



ORANGE FARM. 



We hope soon to be able to comply with the 

 requests of numerous correspondents for a 

 statement of the management, stock, &c. in 

 'elail, of the Orange Farm. In the mean 

 lime, we can assure those who have expressed 

 surprise at the amount of sales stated in a late 

 lumber of the Farmer, to have been made 

 from this farm during last year, — amounting to 

 about $9,600, — that the fact there stated was 

 literally correct. \ remark made by a much 

 re-pected friend at the south, However, ha? 

 much truth in it. He observes, that a cow 

 and an asparagus bed near a large city are val- 

 uable, while they would be worth but little in 

 the interior. It is irue, the Orange Farm is a 

 dairy farm; but there, are numerous other dai- 

 ries in this vicinity, not one of which, we ven- 

 ure to say, call exhibit such a »ear's work.— 

 It is not so much to the branch of husbandry- 

 pursued, as to the order and system oi manage- 

 ment, that all farms —whether near to or re- 

 mote from a large city, — are indcbt- d for a 

 large or a small amount of income. One great- 

 cause of the small profits of most farms may 

 be found in the fact that they are all devoted 

 to the cultivation of two or three staple arti- 

 les — bread stuff-, cotton and tobaoco, com- 

 prise the great objects of agricultural atten- 

 tion in the United States. The farmer who 

 ultivates wheat, never cultivates any thins 

 Ise, the same may be said of ihe tobacco and 

 he cotton planter, and let the state of the de- 

 nand and the supply be what it will, from yeas 

 o year the same unvaried routine is pursued. 

 The result is what alone could be expected-— 

 very small profits. The merchant who should 

 continually fill his store widi a few staple ar- 

 ticles, of which there was already an abund* 

 ant supply, and disregard the demand for vari- 

 ty, would very soon have to shut up shop. — 

 If it be asked, to what other objects can we 

 turn our attention 1 We answer, to any of 

 hose articles which enter into the consump- 

 tion of the country, and for which we are in- 

 debted to other countries, or with the use of 

 vhich we are obliged to disye.ise for the want 

 'f ability to obtain the in. A country such as 

 ours, — with a diversity of soil and climate a- 

 dapted to the growth of almost every thing 

 that human necessity or luxury can demand, — 

 ought not to complain of unprofitable farms 

 while its agriculture fails to supply its actual 

 wants. While we import silks, linen, wool, 

 hemp, wines, oils, &c. Ac. we ought not to 

 complain of unprofitable agriculture — it will 

 be time enough for that when we shall have 

 rendered ourselves independent of other coun 

 tries fur necessary agricultural products. If 

 the system and good management pursued at 

 the Orange Farm were generally adopted, and 

 the objects of agricultural attention varied to 

 meet the wants of the country, complaints of 

 depression in this branch of our industry would 

 soon cease. — Am. Farm. 



Captain George H. Richards has ob- 

 tained patents in Europe, South Ameri- 

 ca, and the United Slates, for a method 

 of applying India Rubber lo various use- 

 ful arts and put poses. Several scientific 

 gentlemen have certified that the im- 

 provement is practicable, of immense 

 use, and will produce great pecuniary 

 profits. The fluid Caoutchouc which 

 Captain Richards uses can be obtained in 

 any desirable quantity. The gum is pro- 

 duced in the greatest luxuriance in Asia 

 and South America ; and might he pro- 

 duced in the United States. Dr. Hewit 

 has bet'ors his mansion, on the Hudson, 

 a species of the Caoutchouc growing Ye* 

 ry vigorously. 



