86 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



answer very well. Leave the mixture at rest in 

 the gliss. The coarse sand will soon be seen col- 

 lecting at the bottom. The finer sand will form 

 a second layer, and the clay the upper or third lay- 

 er. By observing the amount of each thus depos- 

 ited, we may ol)tain a sufficiently accurate notion 

 of the proportion of each ingredient in the soil. 



A good soil must have clay enough to retain 

 the water, the carbon, the lime, the ammonia, and 

 other aliments that minister to the growth of 

 plants, so that they may be found and absorbed 

 by the roots, as they stretch tliemselves among the 

 particles of the soil, feeling after the kind of nutri- 

 ment which they need. At the same time it must 

 contain sufficient sand, to allow the surplus matter 

 to settle through it, or evaporate from it, so that 

 the soil shall not be too Avet or too stiflf. Differ- 

 ent vetjetables, as has been already remarked, re- 

 quire different proportions of these elements. — 

 Herdsgrass is fond of a moist soil, containing a 

 large proportion of clay, wlsile clover delights in a 

 mellow, loamy soil. Rye thrives best in a w^arm, 

 sandy soil, while Avheat requires a stronger soil, 

 with a lar^r proportion of clay. Both require a 

 good supply of lime. The art of mixing soils in 

 proportions, suited to the crops that are to be put 

 upon them, is one of the most important that can 

 engage the attention of the farmer. Whenever 

 Massachusetts shall establish an agricultural col- 

 lege, the study of this subject will demand its 

 share of time and talent. The ancient Italians, 

 as we learn from Virgil, understood that certain 

 soils were suited to certain crops ; but it does not 

 appear that they knew how to supply the elements 

 that were wanting, or to neutralize those that were 

 injurious, by the addition of others, that would 

 combine with them, and form useful, or at least 

 innocent compounds. This is an art that belongs 

 to modern times. It has received but little atten- 

 tion, as yet, in this country. Its importance will 

 be more and more estimated, as manures become 

 more expensive, and more difficult to obtain. 



Concord, Nov. 9. j. r. 



OFFICERS OP COUNTY SOCIETIES. 



The following is a list of the officers of the 

 Hampshire, Fraxklin and Hampden Society, for 

 1853. 



President— Vkoii Lathhop, Smith Iladley. 



Vice Presidents— George W- Hubbard, Hatfleld; William 

 Clark, Northampton; Elisha Edwards, Southampton; George 

 Dickinson, Hadlej ; Christopher Wright, Northampton. 



Treasurer— H. L. Hinrkley. 



Secretary— WUlltim O Gorham. 



Auditor — L. I. Washburn. 



Franklin County Society. 

 President— Uesrv \y. Cushman, Bernardston 

 Vice Presidents— \SB. Howlaiid, Conway; Zebina Steb- 

 bins, Deerfield. 



Secretary— H. G. Parker, Greenfield. 

 Treasurer— A. G. Haniiuond, Greenfield. 



Hampshire County Society. 



President— Alfred Uaker, Amherst. 



Vice Presidents — F.dwnrd Dickinson, of Amherst; Linus 

 Green, Hadley; Edmund .Smith, South Hadley; Israel Towne, 

 Belchertown; N. Austin Smith, Sunderland; Samuel Wells. 

 Northampton. 



Secretary and Treasurer— J. W. Boyden, Amherst. 



Lime Water for Hens. — Accidental Discovery 

 — During the last season, Kir. Joseph Wilcox, of 

 this town, having occasion to administer lime wa 



ter to a sick horse, inadvertently left a pail of the 

 preparation in his barn, which remained there for 

 some months, serving as a favorite drink for liis 

 hens. He soon afterwards found that the laying 

 of his hens was apparently increased to a consid- 

 rable extent. Being convicted of the importance 

 of the (to him) new discovery, he has, during the 

 present season, kej)t his hens constantly supplied 

 with lime water, placed in troughs within their 

 convenient access, and the result was an increase 

 in eggs of nearly four-fold tis cumpared with previ- 

 ous experience. lie is willing to share the ben- 

 efits of the experiments witli h.is neighbors if they 

 choose to try it; and hence this publication. The 

 newness of the discovery (tliough it may not now 

 be new to all,) is claimed only asapplicalile to the 

 iiKxle of impiirting tlie lime in this case — its use 

 in another form fn* the same purpose, having been 

 previously understood by many. — Wayne Senti- 

 nel. 



For the Neiv Enstand Farmer. 

 THE CHESTNUT TREE. 



Gent. : — Sometime since, I sent to the agricul- 

 tural warehouse in Boston to get some chestnuts 

 to plant, but fiiiled to get them. I can get enough 

 of them at the stores, and wish you, if you will, 

 to inform me if those will answer to plant ; how 

 tliey should be kept through the winter to plant 

 in the spring, and whether it would answer to 

 plant them this winter, if I should catch the ground 

 open. Yours, &c., N. J. Thomas. 



Eden, Maine, Jan., 1853. 



Re-marks. — The chestnut, both on account of its 

 timber and the fruit it produces, deserves more 

 attention than it receives. The nuts intended for 

 planting should not be allowed to become thor- 

 oughly dry. Those having been kept in quantity 

 in the stores would probably sprout. They should 

 be kept slightly moist through the winter and 

 planted in the spring. Nature plants them in the 

 autumn and covers witli a thick coat of leaves ; 

 but it is probable that large numbers of those 

 spared by the boys and squirrels never germinate, 

 for want of being placed under favorable circum- 

 stances of light and warmth. It is said that they 

 need protection the first winter, as there is dan- 

 ger of their being killed by freezing. In trans- 

 planting, the next spring they require much the 

 same attention as other trees, but without so rich 

 a soil as is required for fruit trees. In Italy, 

 chestnuts grow to the size of small apples, and 

 are used for food by the peasantry. 



At a farnfbrs' meeting, in New York, Mr. Rice, 

 speaking of planting chestnut timber, remarked, 

 that he plowed up a tract of unproductive liill side, 

 several years ago, and planted it with chestnuts, 

 in rows four feet aptrt every way. The first 

 sprouts coming up rather crooked and scrubby, he 

 went over tlie field and cut them down close to the 

 ground, which caused new shoots to spring up 

 straight and vigorcms. The trees are very thrifty, 

 completely shade the ground, and grow more and 

 more rapidly as tlie soil becomes strengthened by 

 the annual deposit of leaves. »So well satisfied is 

 he with the experiment, that he is now placing 



