£l)c .farmer's ittonthhj binttar. 



29 



The Visitor in .New Boston. 



.Yew Bosto7t, Jan';) 2!4, 1848. 



Dear Sir: — Having received a circular for 

 ■ uI.m-i ibei s in your valuable pnper, (the Fanner's 



Monthly Visitor) and being desirous to encourage 

 poll iii the noble work in which yoti are engaged, 

 — Unit of benefiting the fanner — 1 have taken 

 he pains to circulate it through my neighbor- 

 hood, and have obtained ihe number of subserib- 

 -■rs (45) whose names 1 send you. This number 

 TOghl to lie doubled in New Boston and still sus- 

 lin ihe agricultural papers which are taken from 

 Massachusetts, numbering seventeen, i have 

 leen a subscriber for a Massachusetts agricul- 

 tural paper for fifteen years, (the New England 

 Partner until its death, and tbe Massachusetts 

 Ploughman since,) it being ever since I com- 

 nenced farming on my "own book." Although 

 lot much of a farmer, I have never felt that 1 

 sould do without it, which has cost me not less 

 than >'<>.52 a year; and it is due to you to state 

 bat I prize your paper as highly as any other 

 igriculturnl paper with which 1 am acquainted, 

 uul would not now part with my last year's 

 lumbers which I have bound together, for twice 

 what they cost me, and do hope tbe time is near 

 ivhen, instead of a monthly it shall be a weekly 

 visitor, and then we can better dispense with our 

 Massachusetts papers. 



Yours, respectfully, S. D., Jr. 



The Planting of Apple Orchards. 



Mr. Editor:— In view of tbe prospect of rail- 

 road conveyance from this section of our coun- 

 ry, connected with other modes, to all parts of 

 bis continent and the civilized world, in my 

 ipinion, the time lias arrived, when many farm- 

 ;rs in this region may use their capital ami lime 

 :o great profit in transplanting apple orchards 

 jf extra fruit, I venture to offer a lew suggestions 

 in relation to them. It is well known that our 

 :Ht tiers were so anxious to raise apples without 

 oss of time, that they set apple trees on the first 

 spot cleared, which in most cases was the best 

 ploughing on the farm ; and many of these trees 

 yet remain, in a state of decay ; others having 

 tieen cut down as a cumhrance to the ground. 

 Mow there are many farms in New England 

 scant of tillage land, and on such farms, 1 be- 

 ieve it wise to plant orchards on warm and 

 •ocky pans, if the soil be rich and dry enough ; 

 nit in my view, orchards should in all cases, be 

 set where they will be least exposed to tbe wind, 

 •specially tbe north-west. I have noticed the 

 product of orchards in ibis vicinity for ihe last 

 twenty years, and have found those much expo- 

 sed to the raking north-west blasts to produce 

 tint a small quantity of small, knurly fruit »pne- 

 rally; while those not so exposed have produced 

 i larger quantity of much larger and fairer fruit, 

 I know the apples are some times saved from de- 

 struction by spring frost on trees much exposed 

 to the cold winds; hut this, in my opinion, is no 

 adequate effect to the general disadvantage of 

 placing orchards on bleak anil cold locations. 

 With much respect, vours, 



\VM. FELCII. 



Rending, Ft., FcVy I, 1848. 



The Potato Rot in Maine the past season. 



Exlritcl of a letter dated Cooper, .17c, Oct. 14, 1S47 

 1 will state to you that the potato rot has again 

 visited this vicinity. It is indeed a sorrowful 

 visitation upon us. I planted more than three 

 acres of blue-noses, and we shall lose more than 

 one half of our crop. There are farmers in Per- 

 ry, Calais. Baring and Dennysville, who will un- 

 doubtedly lose from $600 to >'1000. Every 

 farmer within my knowledge will meet with quite 

 a loss. A large (proportion of this part of the 

 county depend altogether on their blue-nose po- 

 tatoes for the main sustenance for their families 

 the whole year: on this class it. fulls very severe, 

 Some of our other kinds of potatoes have not 

 rotted but slightly : the white, red and blue Huck- 

 sters have done very well this fall ; there are but 

 few planted in proportion to the blue-nose. If 

 the potato rot continues to visit this part of 

 Maine it will cause hundreds of our farmers to 

 look for their bread and meal in the Western 

 States, where they can raise it cheaper than they 

 can in this part of the country. 



If anything like a preventative should come lo 



your knowledge, you will confer a lavor on your 

 subscribers in this vicinity by publishing it. 

 Very respcctlnlly, 



Vuur obedient servant, A. S. 



Another Complimentary Letter. 



Extract from a letter dated .X'ora'ich, Connecticut, 

 January 31, 1848. 

 A few years previous lo this, the ''Albany Cul- 

 tivator" and other agricultural papers have oc- 

 cupied the ground in ibis vicinity, from the- con- 

 sideration, as was believed, that they belter un- 

 derstood the system calculated to advance the 

 farming interest in this neighborhood ; but I 

 have heard it frequently expressed within the 

 last year, that the •' Monthly Visitor," edited by 

 Hill ol New Hampshire', was now the best agricul- 

 tural paper that was to be met with; and I can 

 most cheerfully say that I consider it the very 

 best I have ever seen. Long life to the Editor. 

 If 1 can possibly spare ihe lime, I shall do my- 

 self tbe pleasure of visiting some of his fine 

 fields in the course of the ensuing summer. 

 With much respect, 



I remain yours truly, S. S. 



Nest Eggs. 



Hon. Isaac Hill — Sir: 1 notice in your wel- 

 come Visitor, and in that excellent family news- 

 paper, t lie Saturday Evening Post, an article 

 from the " Prairie Farmer" concerning nest- 

 eggs, recommending wood or clay for that pur- 

 pose. Allow me lo recommend a cheaper and 

 more perfect shaped article for the purpose — 

 simply an egg boiled very hard, say fifteen min- 

 utes, lhey will not then suffer from the embraces 

 of "Jack Frost," even in Franconia. Having 

 used them on a prairie farm ill Iowa, I would 

 advise the " Prairie Fanner" to iry it. 

 Yours truly, 



C. S. HUBBARD. 



Deep River, Conn., Feb. 14, 1848. 



Increase of Beet-root Sugar in France. — 

 Notwithstanding the tax which the Chambers 

 established ill order to check the production of 

 heel-root sugar, the production continues to in- 

 crease. In the month of November last there 

 were, according to an official return in the Mutii- 

 teur, leu manufactories more i-n operation than 

 in tbe same month of 1846, and the production 

 of sugar in that month exceeded that ol Novem- 

 ber 1846, by 5,310,700 kilogrammes. 



The " tax" mentioned in this extract is pre- 

 sumed lo allude to the reduction of duty in 

 France on the West India cane sugar, which the 

 growers of the beet sugar in that country earn- 

 estly Contended was necessary for the protection 

 of their cultivation. Shut out from the sea for 

 several years by the complete ascendency of the 

 British army, Napoleon sought for a substitute of 

 the beet sugar for that of the cane of the Indias: 

 his plan, as did most of his plans for the further- 

 ance of the interests of France, succeeded — al- 

 though it was treated as chimerical by his ene- 

 mies, the English. Protected by high duties, the 

 beet sugar cultivation continued lo flourish 

 through the old Bourbons, and the new, down to 

 the time when llie free trade policy of France 

 took oft' those duties on imported sugars that had 

 been considered necessary for its protection. A 

 stronger instance of the mistaken policy ol 

 stringency as protection to any industrial calling, 

 cannot perhaps be presented, than this last tri- 

 umph of ihe beet sugar cultivation in France. 



A fanner in llenniker, in the cold State of 

 New Hampshire, raised one hundred and lifiy 

 bushels of choice peaches, [he past season. — Ex. 



Another farmer of ihe same town, has pro- 

 duced melons of the weight of thirty pounds, 

 equal to those raised in Carolina and Virginia. 

 Our soil, deeply stirred and iis mineral soils pro- 

 perly stimulated, will yield ihe greatest amount 

 of fruits, roots and vegetables that are most in use. 



American Fresh .Heats iu £nglaud. 



Considerable quantities of fresh carcase pork 

 were carried to Liverpool in nxiv packet ships 

 during the past winter, and .-old at a large profit 

 in the fresh meat markets ol that city. Why 

 could not this be made a good winter business 

 with our city butchers, and such graziers as live 

 in the vicinity of ihe railroads. The only ob- 

 jection to all extensive business of this kind — ice 

 Blld cold weather permitting — is the absence of 

 tbi right kind of animals to send to English 

 markets. Such meats as pork, beef; and mutton, 

 saying nothing of poultry of which we could al- 

 so send hundreds of tons, are worth in the Lon- 

 don markets 12 lo 18 cents per pound, at all 

 limes. And now, duties off, the expense of 

 freigh' j s a mere trifle — a hare per cintage of 

 their value. But such meats to he profitable 

 must be good — better in the beef and mutton 

 line than we are accustomed to see generally in 

 our city market. We may, however, readily get 

 into them, and it only requires that the fanners 

 adopt the best breeds of foreign cattle and sheep 

 now plentifully scattered throughout our country, 

 lo produce as line and desirable meats as the 

 English themselves can do. 



In cattle, the Short-Horns, the Herefords and 

 the Devons possess all the fine qnaliles for falling 

 purposes, being the best seen in the English 

 markets; while in sheep, the Southdowns yield 

 the tno-i desirable mutton. They are compara- 

 tively plenty in the United States, and nf excel- 

 lent quality, and altogether cheaper here than in 

 England. Indeed we do not know of better in- 

 vestments for our farmers in the extensive graz- 

 ing districts bordering on railroads and canals, 

 than to obtain animals of these valuable breed, 

 and goat once into breeding and preparing them 

 for the English markets. A;i lean stock, if of the 

 right kind, they may be transported to the graz- 

 iers in the neighborhood of our cities during the 

 fall of the year, anil then led oft" for winter mar- 

 ket; or if equally convenient, better fed and fat- 

 tened at home, and in winter slaughtered and 

 sent by railroad to the cities for exportation. 



The experiment of exportation has been tried 

 and found successful; and there will be plenty 

 of buyers who will embark the necessary capital 

 and go permanently into the business. But it 

 will he useless to send poor hall-fed meats to 

 England. The carcases must be fat, and to be 

 profitably fed, they must he of such kind as will 

 take on flesh kindly, fatten rapidly, and show 

 well in market. Such animals will always sell 

 at a round profit ; but such too, we are sorry lo 

 say, do not exist either in our commun American 

 cattle or sheep. We must resort to the best for- 

 eign blood, and their crosses on our native stock", 

 to a high degree for that purpose. We hope to 

 see this branch of husbandry become extensive- 

 ly pursued. — American Agriculturist. 



Atmosphere of The Moon. — Astronomers 

 for a long period have not admitted that the 

 moon possessed an atmosphere, but from late 

 improvements in astronomical instruments, it 

 seems to be settled that, that luminary has a 

 slight and very rare atmosphere, of about one 

 quarter of a mile in height, capable of support- 

 ing (according to the calculations of Prof. Loomis, 

 of the Cincinnati observatory,) about the 45th 

 part of an inch nf mercury — while our atmos- 

 phere supports 30 inches. It is so rare that it 

 exceeds the most perfect vacuum that can he pro- 

 duced by the air pump. An European astrono- 

 mer maintains, that iis reflected light contains an 

 appreciable quantity of beat; lor he was able, by 

 concentrating the rays through a three foot con- 

 cave lens, to effect a mosl delicate and sensible 

 thermometer. 



Electricity applied to Plants. — It seems 

 by a carefully conducted set of experiments, that 

 artificial or increased electricity, or ihe electro- 

 magnetic fluid, has not ihe remotest effect on the 

 vegetable tissue, neither increasing or retarding 

 growth, and that the reports on the subject are 

 one ol' the humbugs of tbe day. 



The London papers announce the arrival of 

 large quantities of American apples and oilier 

 fruit, among which arc several thousand boxes 

 of the Newtown Pippins. 



