THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



CONDUCTED BY ISAAC HILL. 



Those who labor in the earth are the chosenpeopk of God, whose breasts he has made h'ls peculiar dtpositefor substantial and genuine i 



■"— Jesters 



VOLUME III. 



CONCORD, N. H. MAY 31, 1841. 



NUMBER 5. 



THE VISITOR 



For the Farmer's Montlily \'isitor. 

 Blubber Oil as a Mauure. 



As there lias appeai-ed in former minibers of 

 the Visitor soinethiug relative to Oil as a mauure, 

 it may not be uiiinterestiug to our readers to have 

 additional iufoi-mation. We subjoin the follow- 

 ing from the pen of a member of the Shaker So- 

 ciety at Canterbury, who has tried a series of 

 experiments in the above article as a manure: 



We have made a variety of experiments on 

 Oil as a manure, all of which go to establish the 

 conclusion that oil in its crude state is not only 

 useless, but may be decidedly detrimental to veg- 

 etation, in consequence of which it should not 

 be applied to the soil in that state especially in 

 the spring. If it is, the fibrous roots running into 

 it will die as a mutter of course ; but if applied 

 in autumn previous, and well mixed with the soil 

 it becomes partially decomposed, and the follow- 

 ing season it will be found to promote vegetation 

 to no inconsiderable degree. 



But in combination with ashes, l)y which it is 

 converted into a saponaceous compound, it is 

 found to be still better ; and this perhaps is the 

 cheapest mode of application. It should be mix- 

 ed in proportion of one quart of oil to the bushel 

 of ashes, thoroughly incorporated and allowed to 

 remain three or four weeks or longer. Of this 

 composition one-half pint may be put in each 

 hill, or if applied to the whole surface from thU- 

 ty to forty bushels to the acre. Last year we 

 made several experiments with this preparation. 



Three rows of corn were planted as follows: 

 On the first, near one-half pint of the above com- 

 pound was applied to. the hdl and covered so as 

 to be excluded from the sun and air. On the 

 second, the same quantity or aoiica ..-.ii.w^,. ,i,. 

 oil ; and to the third, no addition was made to 

 the common dressing which the whole had pre- 

 viously received. In the fall the corn was accu- 

 rately weighed, and it was found that the row 

 which received the ashes only, and that which 

 had none, were very nearly alike, weighing 8i lbs. 

 each, while the same number of hills of the row 

 which received the oil and ashes [)rodticed 15i 

 lbs. of superior quality. 



Again this same composition was applied in 

 the same manner to some root crops, and with 

 the same success — producing nearly or quite 

 double the quantity, plainly flowing it to be an 

 article %vorthy the farmer's attention. 



But though the oil jirepared as above is good, 1 

 do not think it gives that permanent body to the 

 soil that it does when treated by the following 

 method : — To each load of vegetable mould or 

 meadow mud add from one to two gallons of the 

 oil. These should be intimately mixed and al- 

 lowed to lay in a suus heap at least three months, 

 by which time the oil will have become decom- 

 posed by the [lutrefactive process. It should then 

 be dug over and at the same time should be ad- 

 ded half a bushel of recently slacked lime or one 

 bushel of uuleached ashes to each load, aud suf- 

 fered to remain from ten to fifteen days. By 

 these an abundance of ammoniacal gas will be 

 eliminated, which will neutralize the acids in (he 

 vegetable matter, and render its fertilizing princi- 

 ple soluble in the moisture of the soil, and thus 

 give us the double benefit of the animal and ve; 

 etable substances. We are however but me: 

 tyros in this business as yet, and do not pretend 

 to perfection, but we have seen enough of it to 

 believe it will yet be a source of improvement to 

 the farmer. 



We have noticed some complaints in the Visi 

 tor in relation to the destruction of the Ruta Ba- 

 ga by insects, commonly called lice, which 1 sup- 

 pose to be a species of Aphis. These insects are 

 very common, destroying many of our most val- 

 uable plants. 



Last year we prepared a piece of ground for 



that crop in various ways. To one portion was another the mauure directly from the horse sta- 

 applied the best barn manure. To another the blc. The first three were not in the least infested 

 manure from the barn yard. To another horse by these insects, while the last mentioned por- 

 inanure which bad previously been manufactured tion, although in the same piece, was nearly de- 

 to quite a different article by the hogs ; and to stroyed by them. 



For tlie Farmer's Monthly Visitor. 



Farm House Architecture. —IVo. 4. 



In this article I design to give a plan of a Farm-House, arranged in a manner to meet the want^ 

 of the largest portion of the farming interest, giving accominodations in the house for an ordinary 

 sized family, and extensive conveniences for the business department of the farm. It is not, how- 

 ', intended to suit all locations or all tastes, but only as a general design, shewing how the vari- 

 ous departments of the farm buildings may be connected without a violation of convenience, time, 

 cost, and labor. Every one knows the difficulty of making an arrangment of the buildings without 

 a knowledge of the place where they are to be erected; in a general plan, then, much may be se- 

 lected, and by a little alteration, adapted to the desired situation and circumstances. It is thought 

 that the accompanying plan contains quite as many conveniences as is usually found in houses of 

 the class in which it is intended to rank — those of the middling interest, or working farmer, and will 

 be found upon examination to contain many of the desirable qualities of an extensive farm estab- 

 lishment. The connection in the house is such as renders the several rooms pleasant and conven- 

 ient. The female labor can, in this arrangement, be performed with comfort to all : no long entries, 

 contracted stairways, encumber any part of the bouse. Wood, water, light, heat and air, can all be 

 obtained without sacrifice of time, if this design is carried out. The benefit arising from a well 

 arranged house can only be properly appreciated by the gentler sex. Their cares, their troubles, 

 their labors and enjoyments, are principally enclosed within the walls of the house. Every thing 

 that is added to the comforts and convenience of the interior, will render their cares less, and their 

 enjoyments more perfect. 



In this plan the parlor and sitting-room open directly into the kitchen : a bed room is attached 

 to the sitting-room: the pantry, cellar way, back stair way, back entry and pump room, are all ad- 

 joining the kitchen, aud so placed that no one interferes with another; yet all, are well located ai'ound 

 the laboratory of the farm house, the kitchen. This plan does not provide a dairy, but one could be 

 arranged in the cellar ; or, if that is not desirable, the room marked on the plan as a granary, can 

 be used for that purpose, and by supplying the room with shallow troughs and letting in water 

 from the pump, it may be made sufficiently cool and suitable for a dairy room. The granary can be 

 transferred to the attic room of the same building, which affords abundant space for all grain, &c. 

 that is desirable to be kept in dry places. 



The roof of the principal house is high, and will, by putting in two windows in each end, afford 

 space for fom- bed rooms. The piazza on the front part is simply constructed, cheap, in good 

 taste, and adds more to the beauty of the hwise than any other ornament that can be applied to it. 

 Ii l.„i..^o=,.u tinj iiavcnci iviii. :j^u>. „r »..„r.... -...1 oloonnce. and adds ilistlv to the pride of the 

 owner. The piazza should not be so tieep as to shade the windows too much : a northern winter 

 sun should never be shut out from our bouses — nor need it be — with a little precaution. A 

 sufficient depth should be given to it to shield the sun in hot weather, yet shoal enough to admit 

 the ra3'S in the cold season. It is advisable that all should place their dwellings in a position to re- 

 ceive as much of the sunbeams in the several rooms, as is possible. Some there must be without 

 them ; and the kitchen, if any, may be so placed without disadvantage : the greater amount of fire 

 kept in that apartment will make up for the want of the pure rays of the sun. It has often been 

 noticed by the writer, that tpuementsin the narrow shaded streets of our large cities, appeared cold 

 and moist to the senses ; and the atmosphere is exceedingly unpleasant to those who have been ac- 

 customed to the fresh air and free rays of a country sun. " Where the sim never shines, the phy- 

 sician is always found,"' is a saying, worthy of remembrance by every one who builds a house. 

 Most persons know the unpleasant sensations on entering a room that has long been kept dark, and 

 scarcely less is the effect in a room that is never open to the light of the sun without some means 

 of artificial heat and ventilation. 



DcsiCT a 



Fig. 1, IS A GROUND plan op a farm house and the xn-ecessart accompanting buii.di.vgs. 



.iccommodatwn.— This plan represents a house, 40 by 34 feet, with a porch, in the rear connecting 

 with the out-buildings, 15 by 12 feet; the house contains piazza A, 4 feet deep; par or and sittnio 

 room, B and C, 16 by 14 feet each ; front entry and stair way, D, 7 by 10 feet ; kitchen., wttli lire- 



