October, 1842. 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR 



1x5 



whether fatting or store pigs, into consideration. 

 To tliis a little salt should he ndded occasionally, 

 and for swine fatting, a tahle spooinid of suljjhnV, 

 about once a week. 



It is the practice of some farmers to prepare 

 food and snffer it to undergo a process of fer- 

 mentation hefore feeding it out. To this pr.ictice 

 I most earnestly ohject. Jt is connaiy to all our 

 notions of good cookfiy, and otiunsive, nl the 

 table, both to the sen^e' of taste and smell, and 

 I never could see any cause why the .same rea- 

 soning which we apply to ourselves on this point 

 should not apply to animals having both those 

 senses in a remarkably acute degree, although 

 gnmting upon foiu- legs instead ol' two. 'J'he 

 Ibod should not only be sweet, hut free from the 

 dirt which usually adheres to potatoes, and from 

 im|>iirities of every kind. Jtiolher point of much 

 consequence is riixuhirili/ in the time, and in the 

 quanlily which is gii'en them. Jt never should he 

 an object to see how liriie ,i store pig can be kept 

 upon, but to give him, at all srasons of the year, 

 as much as he will eat w lih goo'l a|i|ietite. If at 

 any time, upon visiting thr |'i.;-rry, a portion of 

 food should be found Icl't in llw. inuigh, it should 

 at once be removed to the yard, cold water dash- 

 ed into the trough, and wuh the birch broom 

 which is always kept hanging in the passage, 

 thoroughly washed out. At the next feeding 

 care should be taken to give no more than will 

 be eaten greedily, and thus a healthy appetite 

 will soon be restored. 

 All this detail uiton 



paper may appear too 

 tnuch for the busy, driving larmer to come down 

 to; but I can assure him that when iediiced to a 

 system, it is easier and cheaper than the practice 

 commonly pursued. lie must remendier that 

 what he loses in time is more than repaid in the 

 rapidity of the growth of the animal, and its ex- 

 cellence when brought upon the table or exposed 

 in the market for sale. 



SWtNE PROFITABLE OPERATIVES. 



In furnishing swine siu-h commodious yards 

 as I have described, the object is not altogether to 

 provide them a place to wallow anil luxuriate in 

 inglorious ease, but to fm-iiish them a place and 

 the means to pay back to the fiuiner a i)ortion of 

 the cost of their keeping while yet they are on 

 the hoof In order to do this, the drain from 

 the kitchen sink should discharge itself into 

 these yards. This will probably supply tliem 

 with water sufficient to keep it staudingin low 

 places to the depth of two or three inches. Into 

 this there should be thrown from tiuKi to time 

 muck from the swamps — potato and pumpkin 

 vines, weeds from the gardi-n, leaves, an<l all 

 other vegetable substances — scrapings flom about 

 the bouse yards, and occasionally small quantities 

 of lime and ashes, and every thing of a perisha- 

 ble nature that can be procured.' Here will be 

 the materials li)r your swine to operate upon, 

 and by flinging an occasional handrul of corn 

 among the mass, yon will tiiid them as industri- 

 ous and intent upon tln'ir laliors as any creature 

 upon the premises. With such conveniences. 

 and (denty of materials to work upon, they will 

 nearly pay their keeping in maniitin-tm-ing ma- 

 nure, until about the time of tiittening. 



I have often examined a small litrm, originally 

 cold, swampy land, but now under the highest 

 state of cultivation, and very productive, w hich 

 was enriched almost entirely by the use of oak 

 leaves brought from a neighboring v^ood and 

 manufactured into valuable mamiie by swine. 

 The Israelite could not turn out his tale of bricks 

 without straw — the manutiuturer fails to produce 

 his fabric, if depiivcd of t!ie raw material, and 

 the swine will grunt away the time in profitless 

 discontent, if denied those various substances 

 among which it is his nature ami delight to root 

 and roll. Supply him amiily, then, with all the 

 materials which lie rei|nires, and in the month of 

 April of each year, you will find a mine from 

 whence you may draw forth hundreds of loads 

 of the richest manures. 



CLEANLI.NKSS OF SWINE. 



No animal, probably, has been more vilifiod 

 and abused than the hog. No epithet is thought 

 too coarse and degrading to be applied to him. 

 The veriest unwashed and loathsome loafer is 

 said to be "as dirty as a pig." The drunkard, 

 wallowing in the gutter, is accused of being "as 

 drunk as a swine." And the young man who 

 fails to tip his hat according to the rules of our 

 modern oxqiiisites, is at once put dowti "as un- 



mannerly as a hog." Now to all these charges 

 again.st the " critter" 1 enter my formal p 

 They are superfluous and untrue. It is imfair to 

 compare so sweet a porker to those so worthless 

 as to be incapable of raising their own bristles, 

 Nature is nature, and if pigs do poke their noses 

 into the trough, they are not to be slandered for 

 following its dictates. The hog, after all, is a 

 cleanly animal. If he wallow in the mire it is 

 but the application of the soap to start that which 

 sticks to the skin ; and if supplied with a prope 

 rubbing post ho will soon demonstrate how ad 

 vantageoiis the application has been. A pig of 

 the most incorrigibly slovenly habits may be re- 

 formed ill the course of one or two weeks. Visit 

 his sleeping a|iartment in the morning and it 

 will he found wet and filthy in the extreme. Re- 

 move every thing from this apartment to the 

 yard, and repeat the process every morning, and 

 in eight or ten days it svill be found clean and 

 (by. I never knew the experiment to fail. Suds 

 Ijom the wasli tubs thrown over swine is very 

 grateful to them, is a most excellent cosmetic 

 lor the skin, and will improve their appearance 

 far more than the rarest cologne will that of any 

 biped. ^ 



FATTENING OF SWINE. 



There is not much to be said under this head, 

 if the swine have been fed in the manner which 

 1 have stated above; for in that case they will 

 always be fat. But for three or four weeks pre- 

 vious to dressing, I think the pork may be im- 

 proved by fiseding principally upon meal. This 

 should always be mixed with boiling water, and 

 led out in small quantities six or eight times a 

 day, varying the amount as the appetites of the 

 animals vary. If any is left in the trough, it 

 should be removed, and then omit one of the 

 regular times of feeding, and commence agait 

 with such a quantity as will be eaten with avidi 

 ty. A haudful of raw potatoes and pumpkin 

 may also be given them occasionally. Let your 

 store pigs eat the •' pig corn." 



DRESai.<(J OF SWINE. 



Many a farmer has carried good pork to a 

 bad market because it was not dressed well. 

 Unseemly gashes and scratches upon the skin, 

 with scattering bristles and a somewhat thick 

 coat of the more woolly substance about the feet 

 and ears, are no recommendation to good pork, 

 or credit to the butcher. Every farmer shoidd 

 be supplied with a small tackle and fall ; it will 

 cost hut little and will greatly facilitate all his 

 butchering opeiations. When the water for 

 scalding is ready, a small quantity of pounded 

 rosin should be sprinkled over the animal and 

 rubbed on to the skin ; then drop him into the 

 water, slowly raising him U[> and down so that 

 all parts may be reached. In this way the bris- 

 tles, fine hair and scurt; if there is any, will ad- 

 here together by means of the rosin, and the 

 whole may be scraped off with the back of the 

 knife in the space of two or three minutes. But 

 the principal care should be in thoroughly scrap- 

 ing the skin after the ainm;d is taken li'om the 

 tub. I\Iy maiti object in dressing is to get the 

 skin thin and clear, and to efii'ct' this, scalding 

 water should at first be plentifully dashed on, 

 and the whole surfiice thoroughly scraped over 

 at least a dozen tiiiuswith a dull knife; then 

 fi)llow in the same maimer with cold water, and 

 close by going carefully over the whole with a 

 very sharp knile, which will take off any portion 

 of the bristles which have remained. When 

 pork has been dressed in this manner, you will 

 never be able to discover that strong, disagreea- 

 ble, hog-musk flavor, which has spoiled many a 

 goodly-boiled dish or pot of baked beans. The 

 skins of swine which have run at large are much 

 licker than those which have been kept up, and 

 re especially liable to this rank flavor. Too 

 inch pains, therefore, cannot well be taken in 

 lis finishing process of making good pork. 

 The above is the course which 1 have uniform- 

 ly pursued, and I am satisfied that no per.son ever 

 raised better pork, or at less expense. Many 

 may doubt the expediency of adopting a plan 

 which is precise, but they must recollect that 

 this preciseness is what gives excellence and 

 preference to all animals and fabrics which ob- 

 tain premiums at your agricultural fairs. So 

 those who obtain premiums for the best cultivat- 

 ed farms, exhibit in their reports a great minute- 

 ness in their details of practice. It is so in every 

 thing — with those who excel in the arts, sciences, 



or even literature. I hope some may be induced 

 to make the experiment, jind if all were to adopt 

 the plan, I am satisfied that there would be less 

 grunting about bad jiork. 



Truly yours, &c., 



SIMON BROWN. 



To the Editor of the Visitor. 



SuRRv, Me., Oct. I7th, 1842. 

 Sir— In one of the numbers of your Visitor, 

 you mention a fUriii belonging to Mr. Webster, in 

 New Hampshire, carried on by a tenant, a Mr. 

 John Taylor, who had two acres of Potatoes plant- 

 ed and covered by a machine, of which a Mr. Hale 

 of Franklin is the proprietor ; the hoeinga also 

 having been done with the same machine. Will 

 you have the kindness to inform me, if you can, 

 where such a machine could be obtained by me, 

 and for what price. You would, I think, confer 

 a favor on your subscribers by giving a descrip- 

 tion of this potato machine. The Visitor I refer 

 to, is number 9, Sept. 30th, 1842. 



Your obedient servant, 



EDWARD S. JARVIS. 

 P. S. We have this year threshed and winnow- 

 ed from one and a half acres of land, fifty-six 

 bushels of wheat, being thirty-seven and a" half 

 bushels to the acre. How will that do for the 

 eastern end of Down East? 



05=' A description of "Hernb/'s Patent Plough 

 Cultivator," the instrument alluded to in Col. Jar- 

 vis's communication above, will be found in the 

 Monthly Visitor for December, 1841, page 185. — 

 It is a machine for hoeing corn and potatoes, &c. 

 that in plain ground will save one-half of the la- 

 bor necessary in common modes of culture. "With 

 this instrument one man will, on an average, in 

 one day, with one or two horses, hoe from six to 

 eight acres of corn in the most approved man- 

 ner." 



Mr. Robert Hale, of Franklin, N. H., is the 

 agent tor the owners of the right to this instru- 

 ment in the State of New Hampshire, and in the 

 tier of towns bordering upon Connecticut river 

 in Vermont. What has been done with the right 

 of the State of Maine, we know not. Will Mr. 

 Hale or Mr. Nesmith of Franklin have the good- 

 ness to give Col. Jarvis the requisite information? 

 Col. Jaryis's information of the growth and pro- 

 duction of wheat, at the extreme east on the sea- 

 board of the State of Maine, is peculiarly gratify- 

 ing. When the new Aroostook lands shall be 

 cultivated— larger in territory, of the disputed 

 ground, than any other New England State— we 

 do not doubt that Maine will become the largest 

 wheat producing State eastward of the Allegany 

 mounlains. The humidity of her atmosphere 

 nearest to the waters of her rivers and lakes will 

 cause the small grains there to grow with as much 

 certainty as they do in England. Indian corn too, 

 full three degrees north of Boston, is quite as safe 

 a crop as it i« any where in New England. On 

 the 19th of October, in the high grounds of Hal- 

 lowell, the frost had not yet touched the late grow- 

 ing corn or potato vines. — Ed. Visitor. 



Poudrette and Bone Manure.— We ought 

 before this time to have mentioned the effect of 

 the experiments made on the two barrels of Pou- 

 drette, fiirnished us by Mr. Minor, in the year 

 1841. Our own trial was upon six rows of corn, 

 in a field which was severely injured by drout'ht. 

 The poudrette, about a table spoonful to a hill, 

 had the effect greatly to stimulate the growth of 

 the corn, and caused a marked dilference between 

 that and other rows alongside of it. It was also 

 used on potatoes, and had a good effect. 



One-half :i bushel of poudrette was used by 

 Mr. Levi Hutchuis ; and this distributed on 290 

 hills of corn, he thinks, made an increase of at 

 least one-fourth in the crop. He has ordered a 

 barrel of poudrette to be used in his garden next 

 year. 



Mr. llutchins last year inadB use of one barrel 

 of bone manure, from the manufactory of i\Ir. 

 Ward of Roxbiiry, Mass., which cost him, deliv- 

 ered in Concord, a little short of two dollars. — 

 This he used upon his potatoes and corn, at the 

 time of planting, the past summer, in quantity 

 about a gill to each hill. Wherever the bone ma- 

 nure was used, tli.-; crop of corn and potatoes was 

 more than doubled. 



Mr. H. has purchased in Boston at the cost of 

 $4 50, three barrels of Ward's bone manure. — 

 From the eficct of the last barrel he says he would 



