October, 1842. 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



159 



CO lltc It'll ill f;l,iss vessels, as mudi falliii'; snow 

 as afforded 3U00 ounces of water. Tliis carefully 

 evnporatod, afforded GO grains of calcareous mat- 

 ter, with some grains of muriatic acid, and traces 

 of ifitrons vapor. An equal (|uantity of rain vvn 

 ter, aflTarded 100 grains calcareous matter, witl 

 some muriatic acid ; and in both cases the tnat 

 ter was discolored by an oily substance. A sini 

 ilar result was obtained long ago in Ireland, by 

 Dr. Rutty, who found in a gallon of snow water 

 4 grains, and in one gallon of rain water, 6 grain: 

 of calcareous matter. This is about the propor 

 tion found by Margraf, and would give tor each 

 inch of snow wateraboiu 10 lbs. of salts per acre. 

 From the existence of free acids in this case, it is 

 evident that no carbonate of ammonia could hav( 

 there existed. 



There are some experiments perfoimed by oui 

 countryman. Doctor Williams, formerly Hollis 

 Professor of Mathematics and Natural 'Philo.so 

 phy in Harvard College, and detailed in the first 

 volume of his history of Vermont, where the e: 

 periments were performed. In 1791, (j galloi: 

 of fresh falling snow water, afforded by evapor; 

 tion, 11 grains calcareous matter, 2 grains of s; 

 line matter, 5 grains of a dark brown oily matte 

 In January, 179'2, 6 gallons of snow waier, froi 

 snow lying three inches deep on the grass, on a 

 area of 16 square feet, wheie it had lain 59 days, 

 covered with a depth of 27 inches of snow 

 forded the same salts as above, and 105 grains of 

 this oily mutter. This is the most remarkable 

 fact, and may afford some weight to the sugges- 

 tion before made, that organic "matter exists gas- 

 eous in the air. It must have been drawn up by 

 capillary attraction, or evolved from the surface 

 of the earth. It is there condensed by the snow 

 and returned to the earth, impregnated with its 

 salts of lime and anmionifi. The snow is "the 

 poor man's manure." It not only adds salts and 

 geine, but prevents the escape of the last. But 

 is it possible that it should escape in the cold ? 

 Doubtless it does when the ground is not frozen. 

 The snow by its warm mantle actually prevents 

 the earth growing colder, and as has been in- 

 geniously suggested, keeps up an imperfect vege- 

 tation. The snow thaws frozen ground. In 1791, 

 Professor Williams found that the ground which 

 had been frozen (i inches in depth, before the 

 snow fell, not only had this frost extracted in a 

 few weeks by snow, but that the ground, 6 inches 

 below the surface, had a temperature of 39 de- 

 grees. This slight elevation of temperature was 

 enough to allow the gaseous exhalation of organ- 

 ic matter, which was (bund to exceed that of 

 fresh fallen snow, by 20 times. This quantity in 

 snow 3 inches deep, vvoidd give per acre, 40 lbs., 

 and to this are to be added 5 pounds of salts. If 

 this geine is not a natural addition in weight, it 

 has imdergone a transformation and become solu- 

 ble. Besides, every inch of fresh fallen snow, 

 actually adds a little of this same matter; it will 

 not be extravagant to estimate the total addition 

 of geine at 50 lbs. per acre for the winter. This 

 added to the warming efiiectsof snow, shows that 

 it may have a genial and enriching power on 

 vegetation, independent of its ammonia. The 

 old notion of the existence of nitre in snow is 

 not supported by evidence ; but in whatever view 

 we consider the salts of lime, in snow and rain 

 water, it is difficult to believe that carbonate of 

 ammonia exists in atmospheric air. 



Mw Ipswich, Oct. 7tk, 1842. 



Hon. Isaac Hill — Sm : I noticed in a late 

 nundier of the Monthly Visitor a request that 

 Deacon Hildreth, or some other person, would give 

 you some account of the cost of getting in a crop 

 of rye on new cleared land ; and believing from 

 minutes I have kept, that I can meet your request, 

 I will attempt to do it. 



I purchused in July, 1839, of the Waterloom 

 Corporation, ten acres of wood land lying from 

 half to three fourths of a mile from Bank village, 

 for thirty-six dollars per acre. In 1840 and '41 

 the wood was cut from two acres — and amounted 

 to 80 cords. After deducting the expense of 

 chopping and teaming it produced clear $1,17 per 

 cord. The ground was burnt over the 2ttth of 

 July, '41 ; the burning was so thoroughly done that 

 no after clearing of any consequence was neces- 

 sary. 1 called the expense of burning two dol- 

 lars. The 13th of Sept. I sowed two bushels of 

 rye ; and it was harrowed by two teams of one 

 pair of oxen each in one day. Hoeing in around 



the stumps occupied one hand half a day, as it 

 was harrowed and cross harrowed. It came 

 lip well, and entirely covered the ground lasl 

 fall. It was much trampled the pipsent sea- 

 son by dogs and other animals which made much 

 waste. I connnenced reaping it the 'Md m" July, 

 which was nearly two weeks earlier tiiaii ,i large 

 portion of our farmers would have cut it. The 

 reaping was slow work, and such reapers as we 

 have here either could not, or would not rea[> 

 more than one fourth of an acre per day. 1 set 

 down the cost of reaping and drawing to the 

 barn six dollars, which is pretty high. There was 

 778 bundles, rather small ,whid7 yielded 50 bush- 

 els of clear good rye, as handsome as any I ever 

 saw. When bolted it makes better flour than 

 nuich I have seen sold by the barrel. 



The account of profit and loss on this land 

 stands as follows : 



Cr. 

 By 80 cords wood, standins— at 7s, 83,33 

 By 50 bushels of rye— at 5s, 41,67 



By two tons straw — at $6 per ton, 12,00 



$147,00 

 Dr. 



Two acres of land, at 36 per acre, 72,00 



Burning and clearing, 2,00 



Two bushels of rye, and sowing same, 2,50 



Two teams harrowing one day, 4,00 



Reaping and drawing to barn, 6,00 



Thrashing, 8 cents a bushel, 4,00 



§90,50 



§56,50 



The waste wood has more than paid me for 

 any extra trouble about the land ; — and the croji 

 of grass wben I took oft" the rye stood thick and 

 uniibrni over the whole piece from twelve to 

 eighteen inches high. 



In connection with the foregoing statement I 

 wish to make another of a single half acre of 

 rye I have raised the present ye.u". I have seeti 

 lately in the papers many accounts of " tall" rye, 

 and many kernels from single seeds. When 

 you have read what follows 1 think you will be- 

 lieve that if 1 had i.dien the trouble to count and 

 measure I could have beat them all. 



On one corner of my tiirm is a small piece of 

 land containing little more than half an acre, 

 level and stony, but lying upon a high bank, and 

 entirely separated from any other land by walls 

 and a deep gulley which serves as a drain for 

 water from the neighboring hills. It was cover- 

 ed with brakes, briars and bushes, and liad been 

 of little value to me. 



Without having any particular object in view, 

 in June, 1841, 1 mowed the bushes on it and my 

 boys raked them into small heaps; the season 

 was so dry soon after that I dared not set them on 

 fire, and should probably have let them rot on the 

 ground, had not sotne mischievous hoy been tnore 

 ventursome, and put fire to them. For two or 

 three weeks it threatened a "general conflagra- 

 tion" by getting into the neighboring dry grass,and 

 gave me and one of my neghbors much trouble. It 

 was ploughed in August, and I had to go betbre the 

 team with a hoe to dig the fire out of the ground, 

 to prevent injury to the cattle's feet. The first 

 day of Seplember, I sowed eighteen quarts of 

 rye upon it, and it was harrowed in. It grew so 

 luxuriantly that I began to fear it would head out 

 before winter ; and 1 put on my calves, and they 

 remained upon it tlio vvhole fall. In June last, 

 when it was in full 1/lossoui a wet foggy spell of 

 wealher lai<l the whole piece prostrate, and I 

 had serious thoughts of cutting it up for fodder. 

 The principal part of it regained its upright po- 

 sition, and was the tallest specimen of r\e 1 have 

 ever seen. Although 1 am over six feet high, I 

 had to mount the wall to seeihe njiddle of the 

 piece, where it was not more tlinn five rods in 

 width. It was reaped the 20th of July, and car- 

 ried the same day to the barn and set up to dry. 

 There were 330 bundles. I thrashed, winnowed 

 measured it carefully myseti; and it yielded 

 21 bu.<hels free from all waste. Four stooks of 

 this rye were lodged so early that the heads did 

 not fill out — of course were lost. There was not 

 a head of ergot or spurred rye in the whole. I 

 have carefully paced the land at difterent times 

 and upon what the rye grew was just half an 

 acre. The stubble was so thick and strong, that 

 it was impossiWe to plough it in well with a 



Prouty seed plough, and I ploughed it a second 

 lime, and sowed it with rje again, intending to 

 try its productive power to its fullest extent. 



I have never cou.sidered this land, and iilmiit 

 three acres adjoining which is walled off" by itself, 

 us worth five dollars peracie ; and it had not for 

 eight years paid me the interest of that price. 



The sceil rye I have used is of my own manu- 

 facture. Four years ago I mixed IJ bushels of 

 a very small kind of winter rye with the same 

 (pauility of large white rye. 1 have used these 

 kinds togethej- until thereis no perceptible difTer- 

 ence between them. It is now a very large and 

 handsome grain nearly the size of wheat. 



The cost of this crop is as follows — to say 

 nothing about mowing the bushes which took 

 half a day, and keeping the fire from mischief: 



Ca. 



By 21 bushel rye — at 5s, 

 By li tons straw, at 6,00, 



All sold 



7,50 



$35,00 



Dr. 



Ploughing a half day, two yokes o.xen, man 

 and boy, $2,00 



Harrowing first time, 50 



Eighteen quarts of rye, sowing and 



harrowing, 1,25 



My eldest son and hired man two thirds 

 of a day reaping and binding, 2,00 



Drawing to barn, 80 roils, 50 



Thrashing 21 bushels, at Sets., 1,68 



$7^ 

 Respectfully yours, &c. 



JAMES SPAULDING. | 



Comparative Weight of Cattle. — We [ire- 

 sent below a letter from an intelligent gentleman 

 of York <;oimty, Maine, showing the difference 

 which has taken place in the weight of cattle in 

 little more than half a century. As this is a 

 subject of interest to very many of our readers 

 and to farmers generally, we would invite par- 

 ticular atte;ilion to it. Cannot some of our New 

 Hampshire llirniers give us further statistics.' 

 South Berwick, Oct. 11, 1842. 

 Hon. Isaac Hill — Dear Sir: — An account 

 book has fallen into my hands in which 1 find an 

 account of the weight of cattle slaughtered in 

 1790, as follows:—" 



Hatch Ox, Quarters 73.| 



71 

 71J 

 72} 



Weight of Quarters 

 Hide and Tallow 



Whole weight 

 Hussey's Cow, Quarters 



Weight of Quarters 

 Hide and Tallow 



Whole weight 

 Perkins' O.x, Quarters 



Weight of Quarters 

 Hide and Tallow 



Whole weight 



Joshua Emery's Oxen, 97 



101 



110 



114 



Hide ^ 70 



Tallow 16 



289i 

 72i 



361i 

 64 



257 

 64 



321 



97 

 99 

 107 

 106 



16 



Whole weight 508 459 



I will now give you the weight of a cow and 

 lieil"er slaughteied" in Dec. 1841, belonging to 

 Hon. Charles N. Cogswell:— Cow 772— Yearling 

 Heifer 562 — a two year old heifer, live weight, 

 1174 lbs. . S . 



If you think the above of sufficient importance 

 in showing tlie diflereuce in the weijjhl of Cattle 



