552 



NEW EJ^GLAND FARMER. 



De 



and enthusiastic zeal in the cause he had so zeal- 

 ously espoused and ably promoted. Truly, " in 

 the midst of life, we are in death !" 



In the death of Mr. Delafield, the agricultural 

 interests of Western New York, the State, and 

 indeed the whole country, sustain an irreparable 

 loss— while the event will be sincerely deplored by 

 thousands of warm and admiring friends and ac- 

 quaintances. As we have before said in these 

 pages—" Such men as Mr. Delafield are rare— 

 would that each county in the State possessed one 

 who could and ivould do as much as he has for 

 Seneca — and wherever and whenever found, should 

 receive the distinguished honor to which thev are 

 entitled." ^ 



THE OLD FARMER>S ALMANACK. 



Jenks, Hickling & Swan, Boston, Mass., have 

 just published number sixty-two of this old and 

 useful friend. It is filled with information valu- 

 able to all, beside telling you when it is going to 

 snotv and rain, and the wind blow too hard for 

 comfort ! See what it says below :— 



The "Bat State."— The Buffalo Advertiser 

 remarks : " The statistics of Massachusetts show 

 some striking facts in regard to the enterprise and 

 increasing prosperity of that admirable State. In 

 ten years its commerce and manufactures have in- 

 creased 100 per cent. There are twice the num- 

 ber of cotton and woollen spindles there were in 

 1840, and more than in all the rest of the United 

 States together ! Her importations of foreign goods 

 have more than doubled ; and her tonnage has in- 

 creased more than 50 per cent. The wealth of 

 Boston and its suburbs has increased from 120 mil- 

 lions in 1840, to nearly 270 millions in 1850— a 

 gain of ovtr 12 per cent, a year ! That city alone 

 has a valuation equal to the whole of Kentucky 

 and nearly double that of Maine." ' 



The Population Centre of the United States. 

 —The centre of the Republic, according to a Cin- 

 cinnati writer of the Times, is just west of the 

 Ohio river, in Ohio. Dr. Patterson, of Philadel- 

 phia, calculated the centre. In 1790, the centre 

 was near the line of New York and Adams County, 

 Pennsylvania. Then it passed into the edge of Vir- 

 ginia, bending towards the south, then ascended 

 north into Pensylvania. In 1840, it was a little 

 east of Marietta, Ohio ; and in 1850, a little west 

 of the Ohio. 



Newspapers in the United States and other 

 parts of the World.— The papers in the United 

 States number neariy 3000— more than all others 

 in the worid. In England there are but thirteen 

 daily newspapers— twelve in London and one in 

 Liverpool— in a population of eighteen millions 

 In Scotland, with a population of three millions, 

 there is but one — the Glasgoiv Mail. In Ireland 

 with a population of seven millions, there are but 

 three, and all those in Dublin. 



Massachusetts in Miniature.- In the State of 

 Massachusetts there are 152,835 dwellings ; 192 - 

 676 families ; 484,284 white males; 501,420 white 

 females ; 4314 colored males ; 4481 colored fe- 

 males; over one million total free population. 

 There were 19,414 deaths in the State in the year 

 1851. There are 34,235 farms in cultivation, and 

 p637 manufacturing establishments, each produc- 

 ing, upwards of $500 per annum. 



For the New England Fanner. 

 PRODUCT OF AN ACRE AND A QUAR- 

 TER. 



Dear Sir:— I have frequently noticed state- 

 ments of gram crops, &e., in the New England 

 Farmer, from different parts of the country, but 

 none from Canada. I will give you a statement 

 ot the management and crop of one acre and one- 

 Jour th, a part of my farm, containing about 150 

 acres ; nearly all may be improved in this way. 



I carted on to grass stubble, soon after the hav 

 was taken off, about 30 common cart-loads of 

 green manure ; after spreading and plowing, I had 

 about the same quantity of rotten manure left in 

 a heap until May, when it was spread evpn over 

 the piece, well harrowed, and then furrowed with 

 a plow-cultivator, which brought the manure 

 nearly all into the row. I then planted two rows 

 of potatoes on one end and one side of the piece • 

 about the middle of May, planted it with our early 

 Canada corn. After the first hoeing, I planted it 

 with beans, about the same number of hills as of 

 corn, with a fair supply of pumpkin seeds. 



Now for the crop. I shall not pretend my corn 

 was as high as many specimens I saw in your 

 Farmer paper, but otherwise probably as good • 

 fully 25 bushels of potatoes, 200 baskets of ears of 

 corn, including the poorest saved for hogs, 15 bush- 

 els of beans, and 7 cart-loads of excellent pump- 

 king. I send you a few ears of the corn, beans, 

 and a few pumpkin seeds, which I hope you will 

 give to some good farmer, who will plant the same 

 next season ; and I have no doubt he will be sat- 

 isfied with the crop, if he does justice in preparing 

 ^island. Wilder Pierce. 



Stanstead, Canada East, Oct. 6th, 1853. 



Remarks.— We are always glad to get definite 

 returns of the products of a given quantity of land. 

 We are in the full belief that most of us still cul- 

 tivate, or attempt to cultivate, too much land. 

 Now, let us look at the product of this one acre 

 and a quarter. The Canada corn will make a 

 bushel and two quarts of shelled corn to twenty- 

 two baskets of ears, making about 53 bushels, 

 worth, this year, say. 



Corn, 53 bushels <»r;n nn 



Potatoes, 25 do {Yz^ 



Beans, 15 do ".* no'so 



Pumpkins, 7 loads •.'....'..........'.'.'.. ".I'oQ 



$91,75 



Is not that a good deal better than to half work 

 4^ acres in order to get 20 bushels of corn ? Will 

 not many farmers nest experiment upon half an 

 acre, and satisfy themselves whether high cultiva- 

 tion is not the most profitable ? 



Spanish Merino Sheep.— In another column, 

 the reader will find an interesting article from the 

 Wool Groioer, on the subiect of sheep, which 

 adduces many sound reasons for the breeding of 

 the Spanish Merinos instead of the coarse wooled 

 breeds. Although we do not feel certain that 

 Mr Rockwell is altogether correct in his views 

 of animals' " consuming food in proportion to 

 their live weight," we feel sure that there is much 

 that is valuable in the article, and give it entire. 



