&l)e Ja rmct'0 illontljli) Visitor. 



187 



to cultivate. All that is required is the plough, 

 harrow and cast the seed into the earth, and wait 



patiently for the time of harvest. This course 

 will, in time, exhaust their soil, however fertile 

 it may he now. Alter generations will be under 



the necessity of studying the art of wheat rais- 

 in? or he content with diminished crops. The 

 experience of some of the older States is read- 

 ing this lesson to them. 



It has heen doubted if the culture of wheat is 

 any belter understood in England than in ourown 

 country, or that they do raise any larger crops 

 than are raised in Western New York. That 

 they do, can he abundantly proved ; ami even if 

 they raised no better crops, but those equally as 

 good, it must he evidence that they understand 

 the art pretty well, for it must be remembered 

 that their soil has been a long time in cultiva- 

 tion, ami if it had not heen well replenished 

 with what that crop requires, it would have been 

 exhausted long since. 



In the transactions of the New York Slate 

 Agricultural Society for 1848, we find a letter 

 from J. Sloeum, addressed to the secretary of that 

 Society, on this very suhject. Previous to Mr. 

 Slocum's visiting England, he did not believe 

 that the English did raise better wheat crops than 

 were raised in New York ; hut actual inspection 

 convinr,.,! him of the contrary. In the letter re- 

 ferred to, he says:-" On the 20th of August, I 

 visile, I the firm of Mr. Peter Lane, at Nazehy, 

 Northamptonshire, seventy-live miles from Lon- 

 don, and was much gratified to find him in the 

 midst of his wheat harvest, and most seriously do 

 I wish I could present to the view of the farmers 

 of this country, his luxuriant fields of wheat, as 

 they appeared to me. Having heen bred a farm- 

 er, and having had fur many years opportunities 

 to ohserve the wheat crops of Western New 

 York ami of the Western Slates, I thought I bad 

 seen as good wheat as could be produced ; but I 

 had never seen any thing that could compare 

 with this whole crop.which consisted ofahout fiQy 

 acres of winter wheat and twenty-two of spring 

 wheat. On inquiring of Mr. Lane how much 

 the seventy-two acres would probably yield, he 

 answered four hundred quarters, or thirly-tutb 

 hundred bushels, and in this estimate he was not 

 disappointed, as I was again at Nazehy j n No- 

 vember, when he bad threshed and sold a large 

 ponion of his crop. Although this seemed to me 

 an extraordinary, yield, it was not so regarded by 

 Mr. Lane, and I was saiisfied, from subsequent 

 inquiry and observation, that it was not. much 

 above the average yield of the whcal-prnduciug 

 counties of England." The soil of this farm, 

 Mr. S. says, is " what is termed, in England, 

 'strong land,' being a stiff red clay, intermixed 

 with flint and iron stone, alternating occasional- 

 ly, in the same field, with loam and gravel." 



Our farmers would think they were doing 

 pretty well to average over Ihnv-luur bushels to 

 the acre, in a field ofseveniy-two acres of u hea,t, 

 and it is fair to infer that this excellent crop 

 must he attributable as much to understanding 

 the art of cultivating as to the strength of the soil. 

 OT^The wheat production in New Hamp- 

 shire upon the new lands aforig [be Coi ct j cu , 



river valley— the production encouraging lo the 

 safely sowing of winter as we.ll as spring wheat 

 —has been unexpectedly successful the last two 

 years. With ihe aids of true agricultural science 

 given to the best practical knowledge* we nun 

 scarcely doubt that hereafter the three northern 

 States of New England will become as the best 



v. heat producing counties of Old England. One 

 thing we know, and that is if the railroad com- 

 panies going north shall not shut out business 

 by the mean, miserly idea of raising their tolls 

 to the maximum — there will be such a quantity 

 of breadstuff's produced in the four hundred 

 townships of Canada West, lying in the fine 

 natural wheat region between the lakes Ontario, 

 Erie, Michigan and Huron, as may turn the 

 whole flour trade in this part of New England 

 from the interior to the seaboard. This purchase 

 of Canada flour will enable the New England 

 formers to bring money from the cities for their 

 beef, their butter and cheese and for all that 

 abundant surplus of apples, potatoes and vegeta- 

 bles which give a much better profit than wheat 

 and other small grains.— Ed. I'isitor. 



Raisins and Keeping of Stock. 



An Address by a Bedford Farmer at an agricultural 

 meeting, 

 Mr. President— As I was selected at our 

 meeting which was held on the 28lh day of May 

 last to address this society on the best method of 

 raising and keeping of stock, I will give my 

 views in a simple and unadorned farmer style. 

 But when I rise, Mr. President, and look around 

 this hall and see my friends ami neighbors, it 

 brings very forcibly to my mind that passage' of 

 scripture which says, "a prophet is not without 

 honor save in his own country." Mr. President, 

 as you all know who I am and what 1 am, you' 

 must have patience to indulge me in giving my 

 views on so important a subject. 



First— If the calf is for the butcher and your 

 cow in good condition and a good milker, she 

 will give milk enough to fat the calf; and in this 

 case, you should let the calf suck the cow ni»ht 

 and morning, and take care that the calf have 

 but one teat the first week, two the second, 

 three the third week; and then all four teats till 

 the butcher takes it. Veal is better at five weeks 

 old than it is at four. 



But if you have a heifer or a cow that wont 

 be likely to give milk enough lo fatten a 

 well, take the calf off the third day and learn 

 to drink ; and then the last two weeks you can 

 increase its feed from other cows so as to make 

 good veal. Your heifer will break in sooner and 

 be more gentle than she would have been to let 

 the calf make sore teals, which is commonly 

 the case with young heifers if the calf suck four 

 weeks, and then it is difficult to milk them. 

 Heifers want gentle usage. Calves fur veal 

 should he kept in small pens well littered. 



Calves ihat are lo be raised for cows and oxen 

 should always he taught to drink their milk and 

 not to suck the cow after the third day if the 

 swelling of the bag does not require a longer 

 time. It makes the calves fond of those that 

 feed them ; ii makes them docile, easy to he 

 handled, much easier to break into cows and ox- 

 en, and easier to he learnt to take meal, crusts of 

 bread or any other kind of food as a substitute 

 for new milk. When weaned fed cakes may he 

 put into the same pasture with the cows. We 

 generally milk off the first of t!„. mill, ,„ ,,; V( , 

 the calves, ami we think in that way we gel 

 about as much cream as we should to set the 

 whole. The calves will do better on that lhat) 

 they will on skimmed milk, and are nut so liable 

 to scour! I recommend good keepirlg, wintei 

 and summer, and large pens for those calves yptl 

 raise ; it will give exercise n, their limbs, strength 

 to their muscles, so necessary to "grow with 



Good free exercise when young will make their 

 limbs straighter, ami they will make quicker 

 travellers. 



In selecting a yoke of oxen, look well to their 

 limbs, a large foot, a large ankle, .-mall above ibo 

 dewclaws, and straight fore lege, toeing in a lit- 

 tle, are all desirable for a good traveller. Put 

 avoid crooked fore legs on an ox, knees stand 

 in, toes out and a small foot, when you pur- 

 chase. 



Fatting cows and oxen will be governed by 

 circumstances. The man who has a pasture of 

 his own, may buy oxen and farrow cows in 

 spring, and turn them out. Put |those who hire 

 pasturing cannot make it very profitable to buy 

 and turn out. According to my experience, for 

 me and such of us as are short of pasture, is to 

 take and buy thin cattle in the spring and do out- 

 work through the season; feed well and turn for 

 beef in the fall. Buy again in the fall another 

 pair: these may be worked, and by careful man- 

 agement you may have them fit for the butcher 

 in March. As hay and grain is in this part of 

 the country, it cannot be made profitable to stall 

 feed on meal and make beef for our market. 

 You are well aware lhat there is notwiih us 

 that difference in the price of good beef and 

 poor that there ought to be, and that there is in 

 other markets. Good fit beef will not bring its 

 true value in proportion to poor. The came 

 weight of hone may he made to contain one 

 third more meat on good stall fed beef than it 

 does on our common working beef cattle, so the 

 good beef would be cheaper at nine cents than 

 the poor at six cents, because it would furnish 

 more juices to assist in cooking. 



We have too much of a Yankee notion of liv- 

 ing cheap. A sells me a beef creature for four 

 dollars per hundred. I go to B, he asks me six . 

 I cannot yive that, for I have just bought for 

 four. But B's is rather better than A's, and I 

 give, say seventy-five cents per hundred more, 

 and at the same lime the beef that I buy for §4 75, 

 is actually cheaper for the consumer at six than 

 calf that is I buy for four. Until the proper difference 

 is made in the price of the different qualities, 

 we cannot here make beef en meal and sell in 

 our markets to a profit. 



To make any kind of stock profitable, ii is ne- 

 cessary to take proper care of it, whether sheep 

 or lamb, cow or calf horse or ox. In purchasing 

 a yoke of oxen, choose a good color and shape, 

 well matched, and they are half sold even if you 

 give a good price. Do not call a yoke of oxen 

 or a cow cheap because the price is small. One 

 good yoke of oxen will do more work and bring 

 more money than two poor yoke half Cvtt, and 

 will cost only half as much for keeping, besides 

 the yokes and chains. One good cow is worth 

 more than two poor ones: we save a great deal 

 in keeping. 



I have wdiat I call two good cows: one I rais- 

 ed, and I have been offered $50 for her. The 

 other I bought last soring and paid $40, and the 

 hired man who lives with me now lived with my 

 neighbor last hay time: bis employer then kept 

 fifteen cows. The hired man had three to milk 

 night and morning, and at our house he milks 

 that for which I paid §40. He says he gets 

 more milk from the one than Ik; did from the 

 three : there is yuu see a great saving in keep- 

 ing, if nothing else. I would recommend to 

 keep no more stork than we can well keep and 

 that we try to gel the best breed. 



A wcril on feeding of horses and store cattle. 



, . - » *'* » "■ -" •'*'*. oiuiu Willie. 



tneir growth and strengthen with their strength." I We »»<ft« n great mistake oftentimes when we 



