50 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



date, which will be an improvement in a permanent 

 work like this. As our paper is stereotyped, we 

 cannot publish the doings of these meetings imnie- 

 diatcly, but notliing will be lost by deliberation, in- 

 stead of a hasty report, as it gives an opportunity to 

 correct errors that are liable to occur, or ascertain 

 more distinctly the views of a speaker. 



SWINE. 



At the first agricultural meeting, the subject for 

 discussion was " Swine." 



Mr. Buckminster said, that the Berkshire hogs had 

 been extolled highly, but farmers have been deceived 

 in them. They do not open well, though of good 

 appearance externally. The meat is stringy and 

 tough ; and for barrelling, it does not sell well in 

 the market. The Bedfords and Markays are more 

 valuable. He thought the Suffolk breed was very 

 good. One objcctioji, they are not good breeders. 



^Ir. Wilder, the president, said, that he had kept 

 the Suffolk hogs two years, and had raised no pigs. 

 They were probably too fat for breeding. They sell 

 at an extra price in the market. The 'size is small. 

 Mr. Stickney, who imported this breed, increases 

 the size by crossing thcni with the Middlesex. 



Mr. J. Breck, of Brighton, said, that he had tried 

 the Berkshires ; they did not cut up well. He 

 thought they might be improved by a cross with the 

 C'hina breed. 



Mr. Brooks, of Princeton, said, that the Berkshires 

 are excellent for ham, for roasters, and lard, and he 

 would raise them for these purposes. They produced 

 more lean meat than others. The liit fries away 

 more than usual. He said that no breed of hogs 

 would answer all purposes. 



Mr. Bartlett said, that fat hogs would not breed 

 well. Poor people, v/ho do not keep their hogs in 

 high condition, generally raise the most pigs. He 

 had a sow which he kept mostly on raw riita bagas, 

 and she j^roduccd a baker's dozen of pigs. 



Mr. Cole remarked, that the Berkshires had been 

 extolled too highly, and now they were undervalued. 

 They had been very useful in New York, and in the 

 western country, in crossing with other breeds, which 

 had made great improvement. There is a great de- 

 mand for fat meat, and hogs are deprived of pure air, 

 and exercise, and high fed, till they are diseased Avith 

 tat, and sometimes they cannot get up, and cannot 

 sec, and would soon die, if not butchered. I,can 

 meat is best for nutriment, and to supply the wear 

 of muscle in a person that labors ; but if the ob j ect 

 of eating is to grow fat, then fat meat should be 

 preferred. 



THE WHITE CARROT. 



A few years ago the white carrot excited great 

 attention in this country and in Europe, and it has 

 been tried extensively, and farmers generally say that 

 it is found Avanting in niitriment, color, or some 

 other quality, and the cultivation of it is nearly 

 abondoned in this section. 



We think it is the same a\ ith tliis carrot as it has 

 been with the Chinese Tree corn, Rohan potatoes, and 

 Berkshire pigs, first extolled too highly ; and, as they 

 did not come up to the high imaginary standiird, they 

 have been undervalued. The white carrot is esti- 

 mated higher in other sections than in this, and we 

 hope that it will continue in favor, at least long 

 enough for it to have a fair trial. We copy the 

 following from the Gcrmantown (Pa.) Telegraph : — 



I have recently examined some superb specimens 

 of this variety of the carrot family, and cannot resist 

 the conviction that, with proper management and a 

 congenial soil, they will be found fiir more profitable 

 and productive than cither the orange or red. The 

 individual by whom they were exhibited is noted 

 for his intelligence and enterprise, and has sever.al 

 times received premiums and other honorable dis- 

 tinctions from Agricultural Societies, for the best 

 crops, animals, &c., and is, withal, a citizen of whom 

 the agricultural community may well be proud. Our 

 friend speaks in terms of high approbation of the 

 white carrot as a " field crop," being, he thinks, far 

 more hardy and prolific than any other variety of 

 the carrot he has ever cultivated. As the roots in 

 question were grown on the same soil with others of 

 the red and orange varieties, and cultivated precisely 

 in the same manner, without the smallest modifica- 

 tion as to manuring or after culture, he was able to 

 ascertain, with the nicest accuracy, the comparative 

 value of the several kinds. The result of his obser- 

 va'lons were, that, on the same soil, and with the 

 same advantages, the white carrot is of far greater 

 value to the root grower, if his object be stock 

 feeding, than any root he can cultivate with the 

 same advantages of climate and manure. 



In the cultivation of carrots, — unquestionably one 

 of the best roots the farmer can raise, — it is necessarv 

 to have the soil of a good texture, and properly pre- 

 pared. Old lands, that have been well worked, and 

 reduced to a fine tilth, are much preferable to now ; 

 and if not exhausted, or so far emasculated constitu- 

 tionally, as not to admit of ready and thorough 

 resuscitation b}' the application of strong and ener- 

 getic manures, they will rarely fail of producing a 

 good crop. When intended for stock, carrots may, 

 like turnips, be sowed late. The ground should be 

 rolled after sowing, and great care exercised to keep 

 down the weeds, especially while the plants are 

 young. We frequently hear complaints tliat carrot 

 seed does not readily germinate, and that the crop 

 is principally unprofitable on this account — trans- 

 planting or resowing being impracticable. If farm- 

 ers would soak their seed twenty-four hours before 

 sowing, in urine, and then roll it in gypsum, and 

 a/ter sowing, carefully compress the soil by the 

 application of the roller, or some other suitable 

 instrument, there would rarely be any failure; the 

 difliculty being in the management oftener than in 

 the seed. 



LAST OF RAILS. 



Rails split in the spring when the bark will leave 

 them, last much better than those split in winter, as 

 the bark remaining on the wood causes it to retain 

 moisture, which soon rots the rail. When there is 

 bark on the rails, to tarn down so that, as it becomes 

 loose, it can fall off, will promote their last. Small 

 raUs last much longer than large ones. All fences 

 should be torn down and re-set within three years 

 after they are first built. The rails are not then so 

 rotten as to break in throwing about, while the bark 

 has generally become sufheicntly loose to jar off. 

 For durability, Spanish oak is much better than 

 either red or post oak. — Southern Cultivator. 



