THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



75 



and size, studded all over with hard white spots ; 

 cut auy of its ducts, and the fluke-worms issue 

 out hy huudieds, immersed in a bilious-like li- 

 quor. Til !se creatures 1 consider the consequence 

 and not the cmtse of the rot ; their extraordinary 

 increase being no doubt owing to the diseased slate 

 of the liver, in which they multiply to such im- 

 mense numbers as to accelerate the death of the 

 animal. There is always a quantity of serum 

 loose in the abdomen, in which the bowels float, 

 and over the whole carcass are sundry yellowish 

 spots, which are, not unfrequeutly, where fat 

 should exist. 



Excess of fluid, therefore, in those varieties of 

 grass which the animal selects for its food, and a 

 deficiency of those firm, consistent varieties 

 which are peculiarly adapted for strengthening 

 the stomach, for animating and establishing the 

 muscular system, I take to be the radical cause of 

 this disorder; yet secondary or exciting causes 

 may operate with such force and vigor as to un- 

 hinge the best constitution and dissolve the best 

 constructed parts, and when this is done, the rot 

 is always the consequence." * 



From the JSew Haven Kamier's Gazette. 

 Under-Drainiug. 



The past month has been very unfavorable for 

 ont-door business, in consequence of the almost 

 continuous rains. It has however, aflfbrded me 

 an excellent opportunity to witness the benefits 

 derived from under-draining. This branch of ag- 

 ricultural improvement is wholly neglected by 

 most of our larmers, while there" are no twenty 

 five acres of ridge land lying contiguous, to say 

 nothing of low or swampy grounds, but what some 

 parts of it at least would be materially imi)roved 

 by draining. 



With many persons, the discovery is yet to be 

 made, that a super-abundance of water is as det- 

 rimental to the growth of most plants, as a stinted 

 supply of this fluid. They admire tiiat elevated 

 lands should be wet ; the reason is, they do not 

 look deep enough, — if they did, they woidd discov- 

 er that the soil of most of our ridges rests upon a 

 sub-soil, v^hich is very tenacious, and fS impervi- 

 ous to water, as a dish : consequently there is no 

 way by which the water falling upon the surface 

 can escape, except by the slow process of wend- 

 ing its way through the soil to some less elevated 

 place, or by evaporation, except it is by ditches, 

 either covered or open. My remarks regard the 

 former. After recommending a system, the infer- 

 ence will be that 1 have derived some benefit from 

 it. I answer in the aflirniative, and will state brief- 

 ly my experiments. 



I have an orchard, one side of which is wet, stiff 

 land ; rarely any water stands upon the surface, 

 but for several inonths in a year the soil is com- 

 pletely saturated, — so much so, that a hole dug 

 a few inches deep will immediately fill. The 

 trees did not flourish as well as on the more ele- 

 vated parts ; it occurred to me that it might be ow- 

 ing to the roots being so immersed in water. Ac- 

 cordingly, two years ago I caused thirty rods of 

 ditch to be made, in different directions, all in the 

 compass of half an acre, and terminating in one, 

 and that in a low place, where I could witness the 

 discharge ; and the quantity surprised me. The 

 favorable influence of the drains upon the land 

 lying some distance ofl^, as well as that in their 

 immediate neighborhood, also exceeded my ex- 

 pectation. The effect upon the trees is decidedly 

 favorable, and the grass is much sweeter and 

 iTiore abundant. 



Again, I have a field of ten acres, in which 1 

 have made one hundred and fifty rods. This lot 

 had always been occupied for grazing; some part 

 of it was so wet (made so from springs) as to pro- 

 duce but little, and by far the greater part a kind 

 of knot grass, which indicates the coldest of land : 

 will only keep animals, but not fatten them, The 

 ditches had so favorable an effect, that I determin- 

 ed to put the lot under the plough, — that being 

 my intention from the beginning, provided I could 

 drain it. I have had two crops from it, and my 

 experience is, that those parts of the lot which 

 were the most wet have become by means of the 

 drains the driest, and the soonest fit to plow after 

 a rain, and producing the best nop. It would 

 surprise any one to witness the ruMility of wster 

 discharged, r.r.d that it is r.ot ii.Kiiipud in the 

 coldest weather. 



Now as to the size and expense of muking. — 

 Tliat will vary according to circumstances. 1 1 



have made mine two feet wide, from eighteen i 

 twenty-four inches deep. The depth, howeve 

 is to be determined by the nature of the ground, 

 and the kind of water to be drawn off. If siu-face 

 water, when you meet the obstruction (hard pan,) 

 that is sufficient ; if spring, deeper cutting may 

 be necessary. The most expeditious way of fill- 

 ing the ditches is to dump the stones in ; but the 

 best way, and the one which I have practised, is 

 to lay them in by hand, leaving an aperture of four 

 or five inches square, just as the stones seem to. 

 favor. As to cost, I calculated twenty-five cents a 

 rod ; this is what I pay for digging and stoning. — 

 The drawing the stones I count nothing, as they 

 can be disposed of in that way at a less expense 

 than to draw them into the highway, or to some 

 distant ledge or broken piece of ground. The 

 drawing the dirt on after placing the stones, is so 

 quick done, that it need not enter into the ex- 



in six inches of the surface. Sods or straw should 

 be laid on the stones previous to replacing the 

 dirt. The quantity of water to be discharged, 

 and the stones upon the land, will influence as to 

 width and depth of the ditch. R. H 



Danbury, May 3, 1841. 



The Bone Business.— The Philadelphia North 

 American states that certain old men, women and 

 children may be seen dady in all parts of that city 

 gathering up old bones. This branch of business 

 started about four years since, gives employ- 

 ment to hundreds, almost thousands of poor peo- 

 ple in Philadelphia. Many of them are able to 

 earn from 50 cents to $1 each day by these small 

 gatherings hy the way side. In the country there 

 are several large establishments where these bones 

 are jmrchased. One in Moyamensing pays out 

 more than $100 each week "for these apparently 

 worthless materials, gathered in every part of Phil- 

 adelphia. 



Bones gathered up in this way, and from such 

 sources, one coidd hardly imagine are of any val- 

 ue. But the variety of purposes to which they 

 are put, shows in political economy that nothing 

 is literally worthless. The bones are assorted and 

 each particular kind is put to a specific use. — 

 Some are made into neat's foot oil. Others are 

 sold to knife and umbrella makers, while another 

 portion is used by comb, brush and button man- 

 ufacturers. Many of them are used in the Man- 

 ufacture of blacking and printer's ink and by the 

 sugar refiners. Even the tallow chandler and 

 manufacturer of soap is deeply indebted to these 

 bones for his success. The bone dust which is 

 made from refuse ])arts, is purchased by farmers 

 and greatly tends to enrich the soil. 



The piu-poses for which bones are used are 

 almost innumerable. Such is the demand for 

 them in Europe, that the field of Waterloo was 

 thoroughly examined and every thing remaining 

 of |)oor humanity there, which could be obtained, 

 has been garnered up. In our own coimtry, the 

 value of this article is beginning to he estimated 

 for agricultural purposes, and in all the various 

 departments of business, both of utility and orna- 

 ment, they constitute an important and valuable 

 species of merchandise. — Phil, paper. 



Transplanting Trees. — Many trees are lost 

 by setting them too deep in their new bed, There 

 is a natural anxiety to do all that cau be done to 

 make a young fruit or ornamental tree live and 

 flourish. By this anxiety many people are influ- 

 enced to place the roots deep, and to make a hol- 

 low or cup of earth around the trunk, thinking 

 thus to give roots greater protection and abimilant 

 moisture. Pei-iiaps the particulir objects they 

 have in view are thus accomplished. But they, 

 by this course, place the roots where they are too 

 cold, and cannot perform their proper offices. — 

 The most experienced nursery-men in this vicini- 

 ty inform us that the lateral or horizontal roots 

 should be placed on about a level with the surface 

 of the ground ; and that the other roots should be 

 allowed to take the same relative position in the 

 ground that they occupied before the tree was 

 taken up. After the tree has l;c?n properly pla- 

 ced, earth up over thi; roots, letting the ground 

 slope from the trunk. It is a good course to dig 

 a large and deep hole, and to fill if uj) by replacing 

 the earth, or putting in other earths more fertile. 

 Small stones at the bottom of the hole.«, have been 

 found eminently serviceable to the growth and 



health of trees Orchards have flourished well 

 where the trees have been placed upon the surface 

 of the ground without digging, and then a load 

 ef soil (.ut upon the roots of each tree. Avoid 

 gettmg them much below the surface of the sur- 

 rounding soil.— AC E. Farmer. 



Wonders op Cultivation.— There is scarcely 

 a vegetable which we now cultivate, that can be 

 found to grow naturally. Buffon has stated that 

 our wheat is a fictitious pixiduction, raised to its 

 present condition by the art of agriculture. Rye, 

 rice, barley or even"oats, are not to be found wild, 

 that is to .say, growing natural in any part of the 

 earth, but have been altered by the industry of 

 man tiom plants not now resembling them, even 

 in such a degree as to enable us to recognize their 

 relations. The acrid and disagreeable apium gra- 

 veolens, has been transformed into delicious celery, 

 and the culewort, a j)lant of seventy leaves not 

 weighing altogether half an ounce, has been im- 

 |)roved into cabbage, whose leaves alone weigh 

 many pounds, or into the cauliflower of consider- 

 able dimensions being only the embryo of a few 

 buds which in their natural state, would not have 

 weighed as many grains. The potato again, 

 whose introduction has added millions to our pop-. 

 Illation, derives its origin from a .small bitter root, 

 which grows wild in Chili and Monte Video. 



European Agriculture. Visit to a Holstein 

 Farm. 



Arrived at 2 P. M., and were received with great 

 [loliteness by Mr. Hirchfield. After dinner, visited 

 the stables ; the first contained six carriage and 

 two riding horses, all hays ; also, a long-tailed black 

 horse for the use of the dragoons, every gentle- 

 man being obliged to keep ahorse subject to the 

 king's order. This stable is 12C feet long, 44 

 broad, and 55 feet high : at the end is a carriage, 

 wagon, and harness house. The next stable, un- 

 der the same roofj was for 30 horses, standing in 

 pairs : the whole is causewayed, and a space of 

 20 feet in the centre for threshing the grain ; at 

 the end are rooms for the men, corn-chests, &c., 

 and a sjiace above for 80 loads of hay, and two 

 tiers of grain lofts. 



We next visited the cow-houses: the first was 

 198 feet long, 70 broad, and 60 high, with four 

 tiers of stalls lor 340 cows : the standards are ten 

 inches thick, and between each, a s))ace of nine 

 feet, stood three cows. A trough of solid ma- 

 sonry ran from end to end, about a foot deep 

 and two feet broad at the top, for the food and 

 water. All these houses have doors largo enough 

 to admit of a cart of hay passing through. The 

 next cow-house is 90 feet long, 24 broad, and 30 

 feet high, with 58 stalls, and a large space to feed 

 young cattle : the space above these stables will 

 contain 400 loads of hay. Adjoining stands the 

 large barn, 180 feet long, 70 broad, and 65 feet 

 high. The new barn is 159 feet long, 64 feet 

 broad, and 50 feet high. 



The dairy-house js 125 feet long, 36 feet broad, 

 and 50 leet high ; the floor is laid with brick on 

 edge, with a slope towards the centre, through 

 which a stream of water runs. On the right is a 

 store house, and a dining-room for the servants, 

 twenty-six in number; the fire-place or chimney 

 being 12 feet wide ; on one side is a fixed boiler, 

 on the other arc large sways for hanging coppers 

 for dressing food, &c. Next is a neatly furnished 

 room for the head dairy-maid, and behind that a 

 room for a respectable old man, who superintends 

 the whole of that department. On the opposite 

 side of the building is a large bed-room for twelve 

 Itr^male servants. The neat manner in which the 

 female servants of the dairy are dressed, deserves 

 particular notice : their dress consists of a short 

 gown, with full, fashionable sleeves, which do not 

 reach to the elbow ; a yellow, black and scarlet 

 linsey-woolsey pctlicoat; blue stockings and san- 

 dals ; their hair is neatly braided under a low- 

 crowned cap, and as smooth as |)Ossible, with not 

 a hair out of its place: in the field, while milking, 

 they wear straw hats. The head dairv-maid 

 might have gone to any assembly, she was so prcl- 

 t_v, neat and clean ; yet she worked more tl/an her 

 appearance bespoke. Returning back to the left 

 is the milk-cellar, down a few steps, neatly laid 

 with brick and kejit (lerfectly clean, and at llic foot 

 of the stairs stand the salt barrels; that used for 

 the Imlter is from Lunenburg, in Hanover; that 

 for the cheese, from Liverpool. The butter-room 

 is on the left side of the stairs, and is railed round ; 



