THE GENESEE FARMER. 



103 



Noiitts to Corrtaponitntjs. 



Mr. I. G. Fanning will please accept our thanks for his 

 instructive communication on " Flax-culture in Ohio." 

 Mr. S. A. E1.1.1S, of the same State has favored us with an 

 article on •' Rocky Mountain Flax," and sent samples of 

 the stem and lint of the plant, wliich appear to possess 

 several important advantages. This plant is perennial, 

 and it is thought that successive crops may be mown like 

 common meadow grasses, and yield a profitable return. 

 Both of the above communications will appear in our next 

 issue. 



Other communications, and several books, pamphlets, 

 letters ©f inquiry, &c., will also receive due attention in 

 the June number of the Farmer ; they having come to 

 hand after the pages of the present number were engaged. 



^ 



Proposi.vg to raise $500 worth of pork, can j-ou toll me bow 

 many acres I must have in potatoes and in ruta bagas (reckoning 

 upon a common yield), to keep my pigs in good growing condition 

 till put up to fat ? And how many acres in corn to fat them on ? 

 My land is nem, a middling loam, several feet deep, being dry up- 

 land, and lies in Wisconsin. In summer it is covered with a thick 

 growth of natural gr.ass. I propose to commence in spring, buy 

 breeding sows, and raise mj- own pigs. How m.any sows, the same 

 being ton or twelve months old (common breed), must I have, and 

 In what month bu}' them, to raise fifty pigs, which shall weigh, 

 when dressed, 200 lbs. each, or something more ; so that if pork 

 should not bo §5 when disposed of, the (rvr.rweighl shall secure me 

 the S500 any way ? I intend to feed the potatoes, and bagas, and 

 com, raw ; except during the time of weaning the pigs, when I 

 nhall feed with boiled bagas and corn meal, mixed. Provided I feed 

 thera regularly, attend fo them carefully, give them good warm 

 lodging, and have it well littered in winter, in how long a time 

 may I be able to do tliis thing ? 



What is the smallest quantitj' of the Canada field pea that can 

 be sown by di-ill, on an acre, with a probability of producing a fair 

 crop ? G. COLSOX. — Rochester, N. Y. 



To bring a large lot of spring pigs up to an average 

 weight of 200 Rs. each of dressed meat by the first of 

 January, 1855, will require better keeping than farmers 

 generally give their swine. There is so much difference in 

 the fertility of sows that no one can say what number will 

 produce fifty pigs without a chance of a considerable sur- 

 plus. Early sown oats make a fine range for hogs after 

 the heads of the grain are nearly ripe ; and where land is 

 cheap and rich, o.ats and peas yield very economical food 

 for swine. In reference to the quantity of small peas 

 which may be profitably drilled per acre, that too depends 

 on the fact whether one has a small amount of seed as 

 Compared with his land or not. Assuming seed was dear 

 and scarce, we should not plant over twelve quarts per 

 acre, especially if the pexs were small. As to the area to 

 be planted in corn and potatoes, every thing depends on 

 the quality of the soil and the season, to obtain the amount 

 of food needed to make the $.")00 worth of pork. 



Having seen a statement of Mr. Rozell, of N'ashville, Tenn., in 

 relation to the Oregon pea, in which he claims it to be far superior 

 as food for stock and a better fertilizer than red clover, I should 

 like to have some light upon the subject. Where can the peas be 

 procured ? J. A. P. — Marshall, Mich. 



Charcoal as a Fertilizer. — I am a new beginner here altnopt, 

 on a new farm. Much of the soil is of a light, saudy nature, ai d 

 I am inclined to think destitute of a proper quantitj' of vegetable 

 matter. I find it somewhat dilTicult t« get clover to take on tho 

 lightest spots. With clover once started, so as to plow under a 

 good growth, I believe its fertility may be rapidly augmented. I 

 have thought too that a dressing of pulverized charcoal might be 

 very benefici;il, supposing it would tend to absorb ammoniacal mat- 

 ter for the sustenance of plants, as also to ameliorate the soil othei - 

 wise. But the question with me is how to pulverize it cheaply and 

 expeditiously, and apply It to the soil to the best advantage. I 

 have not means yet to get mc all the necessary tools for farming 

 properly, and can not therefore go into much expense for machinery, 

 however profitable the investment might prove in the end, because 

 I might be swamped before reaching the profits. I should like very 

 much to see the matter of charcoal for the improvement of land 

 elucidated in your journal, knowing that your extensive knowledge 

 and experience might give us something reliable upon it. Also, I 

 should like very much to have you give the cheapest practicable 

 method of pulverizing the coal, with perhaps drawings of the in- 

 strument or apparatus necessary. I think it might prove accepta- 

 ble to others of your friends and subscribers. If you deem the 

 subject of sufficient importance to impart the information desired, 

 I shall feel myself under many obligations. T. E. Wetmork. — 

 North Cannon, Mich, 



We have seen charcoal ground for agricultural purposes 

 in a common iron bark-mill, such as tanners use for grind- 

 ing tan-bark ; and it is sometimes crushed with pestles in 

 large troughs. It is proper, however, that we inform Mr. 

 Wet.more that pulverized coal has not proved of late 

 years, by carefully conducted tests, so valuable as it was 

 esteemed ten years ago. "We should advise him to expend 

 the money that charcoal will cost in the purchase of gyp- 

 sum and ashes, to improve the poor places on his farm 

 where clover refuses to grow in a satisfactory manner. 



Can you give me some simple mode of managing night-soil ad- 

 vantageeusly as manure ? I have burnt a pit of charcoal for tho 

 purpose. 



Nearly all our land in this region is in urgent need of draining, 

 and there is a growing disposition to do it; but the expense of tiles 

 (about double the New York price) is so enormous as to amount to 

 a practical prohibition. If you can spare time and space, I should 

 be greatly obliged to you for some instruction on the subject. 

 Which is the right kind of clay ? And how can tiles be most sim- 

 ply and economically made on a small scale ? Our subsoil is a very 

 compact, heavy, reddish-yellow clay, remarkably retentive of water ; 

 and our position on the river aflfords great facUities for the trans- 

 portation of tiles. MosES H. Hunter. — Gross Isle, Wayne Co., 

 Mich. 



Any clay that will make good brick will answer for 

 draining tile. Where several in a neighborhood or town 

 need tile, and wish to study economy in procuring the same, 

 jt may be wise to unite and purchase a machine which will 

 make both horse-shoe and pipe tile, and cost only $250. 

 Such a machine is durable, and will soon pay for itself at 

 any brick kiln, or works erected on purpose for burning 

 tile. Wilson describes the Tweeddale machine as re- 

 quiring a man and a stout boy to work it, and two boys to 

 carry the tiles to the drying shelves. In a fail- season it 

 can produce 600,000 tiles, and as many soles. The present 

 price, he says, is £40. " A pipe tile machine," he remarks. 

 " is of the simplest construction, and costs only about £6 

 or £7." Many prefer pipe tile to either tile with soles, or 

 those with covers ; and they can be made so as to be 



