(jfarm^rs jlWIjlg Iftsitcrt. 



CONDUCTED BY ISAAC HILL. 



" Tho*E WHO 1.1MB H THE EARTH ARE THE CHOSE* t*KOrt.E OF GOD, WHOSE BREAST* HE HAS M \DE HIS PECULIAR DEPOSITS FOR SUBSTANTIAL AND GENUINE VIRTUE."— Jeffcrvon. 



VOL. 11. NO. 10. 



CONCORD, N. H., OCTOBER 31, 1849. 



WHOLE NO. 130. 



THE PARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR, 



PUBLl'sHED BY 



JOHN F. BROWN, 



ISSUED ON TUE LAST DAI' OF EVERY MONTH, 



At Ayer's Block, Concord, N. II. 



53" General Aoents.— John Marsh, 77 Washington St. 

 Boston, Mass.; Coolev, Kttn it IIii.l, 191 Broadway, New 

 Yoik City ; \\M. U Moaaisoir, Pennsylvania Avenue, u ash- 

 ington I'm i 11. A. Hill, Keene, N li. ; Thomai ('handler, 

 Beilford, N. H. 



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Soils on which Lime is useful. 



BY JAMF.S HTATT, CHEMIST OF THE MOUNT AIRY AGRI- 

 CULTURAL 1BST1TUTE, GI RMANTOWN, PA. 



Limo may be advantageously a|iplied, in pro- 



. per quantities, and tinder proper circumstances, 



tn ail soils, except to marly and calcareous ones; 



that is, except lo those which already contain 



" upwards of five or six per cent, of carbonate of 



. lime, and in certain cases, even, to some of 



'these. 



The lands which lime benefits in the greatest 

 •degree are the following : Peaty soils, and those 

 which contain large quantities of vegetable mat- 

 ter; clayey soils, which are needed to be render- 

 ed more light, open, and active; lands that are 

 worn out by long and exhausting culture; soils 

 sterile from the existence of green copperas 

 (proto sulphate of iron) in considerable quanti- 

 ties ; soils wanting potash ; and those which are 



■ found to be deficient in the quantity of lime ne- 

 cessary lor its supply to the growing crops. On 

 other soils, lime nitty often be profitably employ- 



" eil according 10 their mechanical condition and 

 chemical composition, and to the expense of 

 liming; ay will be hereafter explained. Those 

 soils which contain a proper proportion of 



■ the other different mineral ingredients neces- 

 sary to fertility, together with sufficient organic 



'matter, and which are of the right mechanical 

 structure ns to mellowness, being neither too 



4 compact nor too open, may need no application 

 of lime for a lung series of years, although the 

 percentage of lime in them is very small. 

 Chemical analyses have shown, that soils known 

 to be fertile without manures, may contain no 

 'more than one five hundredth part of lime ; for 

 .then, though the proportion of lime is inconsid- 

 erable, yet we learn by calculation that an acre 

 of soil, six inches in depth, will contain about a 

 ton and a half of lime — undoubtedly more than 

 sufficient (or the supply of rotations of crops for 

 a quarter of a century. 



These fertile soils, however, which contain 

 .such small, and even somewhat larger propor- 

 tions of lime, may doublless be made to yield 

 'larger and surer crops, by its addition in consid- 

 erable rpiantities. The effects of lime on such 

 soils are, with proper management, altogether 

 beneficial, notwithstanding that they then re- 

 quire, besides the expense of liming, a more 

 costly system of manuring. The increased pro- 

 duction thai follows the liming tends to exhaust 

 the soil of its necessary ingredients, and to de- 

 stroy its fertile properties, so that, while lime is 

 continued to be applied, instead of supplying the 

 place of other manures, it becomes necessary to 

 , lu. inn--'. |".i ■ ■ ! ■ • ' ; .j; ; . ..;,,.. '''' :' 



who increases his crops, without increasing his 

 manures, will soon rentier his soil barren. All 



this extra labor and expense, however, will be 

 amply repaid by the gain in production ; lor if 

 there is any profit in raising a light or a medium 

 crop on a piece of land, this profit rapidly 

 swells, as the same land is made lo yield its 

 heavier products. It would not be advisable that 

 time and money should be lavished in the inju- 

 dicious and extravagant application of manures. 

 That which a farm is capable of yielding in the 

 shape of animal and vegetable manures, should 

 be carefully husbanded, as well as that which 

 can be economically purchased and applied. 

 And foreign substances, in the shape of ashes, 

 plaster, bone-dust, or salt, of which the land 

 may stand in absolute want, must be procured. 

 With care and good judgment in these matters, 

 such a soil as is referred to may be limed with 

 great advantage. — Transactions JVt Y.Jlg. Society. 



In England, and some parts of this country, 

 great improvement has been made in lands by 

 the liberal application of lime alone. In some 

 cases, several hundred bushels have been ap- 

 plied to the acre, and the abundant crops from 

 soil that was previously sterile, have amply re- 

 paid the outlay. 



But in New England, farmers have not gene- 

 rally found sufficient advantage from the use of 

 lime to pay the expense. In many sections, 

 there is sufficient lime in the soil ; and in some 

 cases, the failures from the application of lime 

 may have been owing to the improper applica- 

 tion. Caustic lime is often applied directly to 

 the growing crop, which would probably be in- 

 jurious the first season, even if it would prove 

 beneficial in future; and the cultivator often 

 judges hastily, and condemns lime without wait- 

 ing to give it a fair test. The result should be 

 carefully noted for several years. Some experi- 

 ments in England have shown a favorable re- 

 sult for twenty years after the application of 

 lime. — j\~eiv England Farmer. 



Fattening Swine. — If your corn is hard, it 

 will do the animals more good if ground than if 

 fed whole. As to feeding the meal wet or dry, 

 there is probably no difference, unless it is to be 

 cooked. We do not suppose that it " adds to its 

 nutriment lo cook it " — but we think the cook- 

 ing brings the food to a condition in which the 

 nutriment is easier and more thoroughly extrac- 

 ted. The " proportionate " gain by cooking must 

 depend on circumstances, such as hardness o( 

 the grain, and the quantity fed to the animal 

 daily. A hog in good health will extract the nu- 

 triment from a small quantity of corn or raw 

 meal, daily, but if full fed he is unable to do it 

 anil the food is only partially digested. The 

 cooking assists digestion, and in some instances 

 will make a difference of half the nutriment the 

 food contained — that is, by cooking, the animal 

 oblains the whole, whereas if the corn was fed 

 whole and raw, only half the nutriment might 

 be extracted- — Albany Cultivator. 



The Culture of the Grape. — We are glad 

 to notice a disposition on the part of citizens, in 

 various sections of the Union, to pay more atten- 

 tion to the culture of the grape. Vineyards are 

 springing up everywhere. In the neigboiing 

 county of Berks, we are told that already sixty 

 thousand gallons of wine are made per annum. 

 At the Syracuse Pair, specimens of American 

 champagne, manufactured in the immediate 

 neighborhood, also a specimen of port wine, so 



called, manufactured from a native grape found 

 in the vicinity of Columbus, Georgia, were exhi- 

 bited. No spirits of any kind or coloring matter 

 was mixed with it, and the gentleman who sub- 

 mitted the specimen made two hundred gallons 

 last year. But for the early frost, which killed 

 much of the fruit, he would have made a thou- 

 sand gallons. While on this subject, we may 

 state that a few evenings since, we tasted, at the 

 house of a gentleman in ibis city, some very de- 

 licious American champagne, manufactured from 

 a vineyard near Cincinnati. A French gentle- 

 man present, who, we have reason to know, is 

 an admirable judge of wines, pronounced it to 

 he very superior — possessing the qualities of 

 strength, richness of flavor, color, and bright- 

 ness. When prepared and bottled according to 

 the most successful plans adopted in France, 

 and a full age given to it, this wine will, in the 

 opinion of the French gentleman, become an 

 article of domestic consumption and foreign ex- 

 port of great value. — North American Farmer. 



From the New England Farmer. 

 The True Farmer. 



Mr. Editor : With your permission, I am 

 geing to give you my views and ideas of what 

 constitutes the true farmer. We know that the 

 country is full of those who style themselves 

 farmers; but, in my opinion, there are but few 

 who cau justly lay claim lo so honorable a title, 

 as the true farmer. There are such, however, 

 scattered here and there all over the country ; 

 and wherever they may be found, they deserve 

 the respect and esteem of all classes of citizens, 

 — because they stand al the head of society, — as 

 there is no occupation in the known world more 

 respectable than that pursued by the tiller of the 

 soil. 



It was the first business pursued by man in 

 the garden of Eden ; and it should stand first 

 now. But this is not justly telling what and 

 who the true farmer is. Well, to come right at 

 the point, the true farmer is one who owns a 

 respectable sized farm, stocked with just enough 

 lo keep the farm in a good condition, and the 

 grazing herds in a thriving state. This is one 

 essential feature. Next in order, he must be one 

 who has been brought up to the business, and 

 served a regular apprenticeship therein, that he 

 may know how to take the proper care of the 

 crazing herds that roam over his fields, and un- 

 derstand how to provide for their wants at all 

 seasons of the year. This is another essential 

 feature. 



Again, he must be acquainted with the nature 

 of soils — understand what soils are best adapted 

 to the different crops which he grows. He must 

 be the overseer of his own affairs, as connected 

 with his farming operations, and see that every 

 thing is carried on tinder some regular system 

 or plan. He must see that his sons are brought 

 up to labor, and provide for them tools suitable 

 to their age and strength. He must have a work- 

 shop on his premises, provided with tools, where 

 his sons may employ their time rainy days. 

 (This is one necessary feature connected with 

 the farmer's trade.) He must, too, provide well 

 for the female part of his household. Every 

 thing should be made convenient in and about 

 the farm-house; the dairy room should be handy, 

 and all its departments provided with the neces- 

 sary articles with which to carry on the business 

 in the most expeditious manner. 



(again, on washing days and other particular 

 days of hard labor, be will have the good wile 

 assisted by some one of the male part of the 



