120 



£l)e jTanncr's jHcmtl)hj faisitor. 



cut at that time, although then more staid Slid 

 straight-laced than at present, that New England 

 freedom and New England hsnYrfs were equally 

 conducive to all the attractions which make life 

 desirable as the very best state of society in the 

 most enlightened countries upon earth. We 

 have heard of the chivalry and high hearing of 

 the people of the South : there is probably no 

 city of the Union where traffic and commerce 

 are conducted upon more honorable principles 

 than in Charleston; the capital of Mr. Calhoun's 

 favorite State : every one who encounters a man 

 or family brought up and long resident of 

 Charleston, will scarcely fail to find a liberal 

 gentleman and an accomplished and amiable 

 family. And yet Charleston has been for nearly 

 two centuries a place where slaves have almost 

 altogether been employed in performing the ser- 

 vile labor. 



Cattle Trade of the West. 



An interesting and true, though very brief ac- 

 count of the catlle trade of the Western States, 

 especially of that portion of it which centres in 

 the Scioto Valley, Ohio, is given in the following 

 extract from one of Mr. Mansfield's letters to 

 the Cincinnati Atlas. Though a very important 

 branch of otir productive industry, the modus 

 operandi of this business is not generally under- 

 stood. It is conducted with much system, and 

 is yearly becoming of greater extent and im- 

 portance. 



When the business of packing beef for the 

 English market, for some years under way in 

 this" city, and more recently commenced in 

 Chillicothe, shall have reached the extent to 

 which it is in all probability destined to attain, 

 the plains of the Scioto and the Big Darby will 

 be darlt with their thousands and tens of thou- 

 sands of cattle, grazing and fattening for the 

 slaughter. 



Mr. Mansfield says: 



" While at Yellow Springs, I saw a fine drove 

 of cattle, which were driven from the Wabash; 

 I was told that about 25,000 head a year passed 

 that point ; that heing a common route from Illi- 

 nois and Missouri to the grazing lands of Madi- 

 son and Fayette. This is an immense business, 

 and employs four classes of persons. 1. The 

 raiser of cattle, who sells his animals at one or 

 two years old, or even three, to the grazier. The 

 raisers are chiefly in the great prairies of Illi- 

 nois, Missouri and Iowa. 2. The graziers are 

 chiefly the owners, or renters of the great pas- 

 tures of Madison, Fayette and Union counties, 

 Ohio. 3. The cattle feeder, who is the corn 

 raiser, who takes the catlle in the autumn and 

 feeds them on corn, till they are fat enough fur 

 the markets of the Atlantic cities. Sometimes 

 two of these occupations are united; but not 

 often. 4. The fourth class of business, which 

 arises out of the cattle trade, is that of the hank- 

 er, who furnishes the funds. The banks of 

 Chillicothe, Circleville, Columbus and Xeriia, 

 taken together, do more of this sort of business 

 than of any other. It is the most profitable 

 hanking business done in the State. The cattle 

 trader about to buy a drove of cattle to fat with 

 bis corn, applies'to the bank for a loan. For 

 this he gives a bill of exchange on Philadelphia 

 01' iVew York, at four month's, which the bank 

 discounts— receiving the funds, when the cattle 

 are sold, and getting both interest and exchange, 

 which brings the profit to about 10 or 20 per 

 cent. But this is not all. The cattle feeder re- 

 ceives the notes of the haul;, which are paid to 

 the grazier, who pays them out for cattle, 

 through the entire Western States. In this man- 

 ner the circulation of the bank is kept out. 

 These transactions are as truly commercial and 

 safe, as they can hi- possibly made; for, they arc 

 all bused oil the actual sales of cattle in the At- 

 lantic cities. I suspect the sales of cattle in the 

 counties of Ross, Pickaway, Franklin, Madison 

 and Fayette, amount to near a million of dollars, 

 and which, therefore, supply that amount of bills 

 of exchange." 



"Love labor," cried a philosopher; "if you 

 do not want it for food, you may for physic." 



The Crops in New England. 



Hay.—\n Massachusetts, the crop is very good, 

 and ii has been secured in most excellent condi- 

 tion. There is much old hay on hand. From 

 what we have heard from Connecticut and 

 Rhode Island, it is nearly the same there. In 

 some parts of Maine, the hay crop is good ; in 

 others, it is rather light, but better than was ex- 

 pected before haying, flinch old hay on hand in 

 some sections. In the northern part of New 

 Hampshire and Vermont, the drought continued 

 longer than in other sections ; and as the grass 

 crop was later farther north, the crop will be 

 light. As many are trying to save all the fodder 

 thev can, and economizing in its use, and the 

 crop is well secured and will spend well, it is 

 thought that there will be a pretty good supply. 

 Corn is generally very promising. The hot 

 weather has brought it forward rapidly, and if 

 I be latter part of the season should be favorable, 

 the crops will be good. On very dry soil, where 

 the drought has been severe, the crop will be 

 rather light. 



Potatoes were generally planted early in the 

 southern and middle sections of New England, 

 and nearly got their growth before the late rains, 

 and they will be very light. Those planted late 

 are very promising. In the northern section, 

 they were planted later, but in some parts of 

 that region, the drought has been so long and 

 severe, that the crops will be light. More pota- 

 toes were planted in this State than usual ; in 

 Maine, not so many, owing to light crops there 

 last year. The crop will probably be lighter 

 than it has been for many years. 



Small Grains.— Wheat varies from very good 

 in gome sections to very light in others. Rye 

 generally good. Oats and barley vary much in 

 different places. In some parts, the crop is very 

 light by reason of the drought. 



Fruit. — There has been about half a usual 

 crop of strawberries. Not more than a third of 

 a crop of cherries. Gooseberries and currants 

 have been pretty good. There will not be a 

 quarter of a usual crop of pears, perhaps not 

 more than a sixth or tenth part so many as usual. 

 PI urns are very scarce. No peaches on low lands, 

 nor on flat lands of moderate elevation. On 

 high lands, in some sections, the crop will be 

 tolerably good. The crop of apples will be very 

 light indeed, probably not more than one-fourth 

 or sixth as many as last year, confirming our 

 views, as to large crops in even years, and light 

 ones in odd years, geueVally. — JV. E. Farmer. 



Cheering Prospect of the Crops. 



We have intelligence from the fanning re- 

 gions in Penobscot, Piscataquis and Aroostook 

 counties, and learn that the prospect for good 

 crops generally is now very cheering. Contrary 

 to expectation and !o the sad experience of 

 three years past, the weevil has scarcely made 

 any impression upon the wdieaf, and wherever it 

 has been sown the present season good crops 

 will be realized. The quantity sown, however, 

 was much less than formerly. 



The potato crop appears finely, no disease is 

 yet apparent, and good potatoes are now dug for 

 consumption and the market. 



Barley and oats do well and will yield a full 

 average crop. 



Corn is now promising, and is coming for- 

 ward very rapidly. 



Turnips and other root crops and vegetation 

 generally are vigorous and healthy. 



This great change from the few years past 



will give new courage to the farmers of Maine, 

 particularly in the great valley of the Aroostook, 



where are fine intervales and beautiful swells of 

 excellent soil. One man living there informs us 

 that he has twenty-five acres of buckwheat now 

 in excellent order. He will also raise this year 

 a thousand bushels of oats. The increased value 

 of the crops the present season over the last will 

 much more than compensate for the heavy 

 drawback upon the lumbering interest although - 

 less immediately felt in the money market at 

 the sources of trade. It gives us pleasure thus 

 to notice the prospects of that numerous and 

 essential class, the fanners of Maine.— Bangor 

 Whig. 



Mosses on Meadows. 



Mosses on meadows, like vermin on cattle, are 

 a consequence rather than a cause of evil. They 

 indicate a deficiency of stamina, health, or con- 

 dition in the field or animal, rather than induce 

 it themselves. But where either exist, they 

 show something radically deficient, which must 

 first be remedied before any useful results can 

 follow. A farmer might as well leave his money 

 with sharpers, or his manure heap under a spout, 

 as his meadows in moss, or his cattle covered 

 with vermin. All are spendthrifts together ; 

 and, if left to themselves, will, like Pharaoh's 

 lean kine, soon consume his evidences of previ- 

 ous plenty, and show no equivalents in return. 

 But how are we to get rid of mosses in mea- 

 dows ? Let us see how they get there. The 

 surest way to get rich, is first to know how you 

 become poor. 



Mosses are generally the result of a feeble 

 growth of the grasses on a moist surface. The 

 moisture of the land is not of itself objectiona- 

 ble, but decidedly the reverse; hut wheu the 

 profitable occupants of the soil fail or become 

 thin and meagre, the profitless are ever ready to 

 come in and supply their [daces. This is the 

 case with the mosses; and it is not till the culti- 

 vated plants have declined, that these have gath- 

 ered strength. To remove the latter, the former 

 should be put in the very best condition. Scari- 

 fying, harrowing, closely feeding, and treading 

 them thoroughly by the sharp hoofs of sheep 

 and cattle, are all useful in extirpating the moss- 

 es from meadows. Sowing strong quick lime 

 over them, when recently mown, or after short 

 cropping by animals, is attended with decided 

 advantage. Ashes will sometimes produce a 

 similar effect. Guano, when mixed with mould 

 and sown broadcast, is exceedingly useful ; and 

 so, too, are compost manures of all kinds. These 

 help to destroy the mosses by invigorating the 

 grasses. Properly draining, and especially thor- 

 ough under-draining the lands, is one of the 

 most efficient modes of removing mosses and 

 worthless aquatic plants. By earning off all 

 surplus, and particularly stagnant waters, the at- 

 mosphere and heat penetrate the soil, and in- 

 duce a vigorous, healthy growth of the cultivated 

 plants, and thereby withdraw so much of the 

 space and food which otherwise wquld be mo- 

 nopolized by the intruders. 



When these and some other of the most obvi- 

 ous means of renovating meadows fail, there is 

 no alternative but to break up the sod, ami sub- 

 ject the field to another course of cultivation. It 

 is not absolutely necessary that this undergo a 

 series of rotations, although for many reasons 

 this is better; yet a rotation may he secured ex- 

 clusively with the forage plants, the clovers, and 

 numerous varieties of the grasses. The mea- 



