200 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



(the number of pounds allowed to each superficial 

 foot of cattle measuring less than seven and more 

 than five in j^irth) makes seven hundred and thirteen 

 pounds. Where the animal measures less than nine 

 and more than seven in girth, thirty- one is the 

 pounds to each superficial foot. Again, suppose a 

 pig, or anj' small beast, should measure two feet in 

 girth, and two along the back, which multiplied to- 

 gether make four square feet ; that multiplied by 

 eleven, the number of pounds allowed each square 

 foot of cattle measuring less than three feet in girth, 

 makes forty-four pounds. Again, suppose a calf, a 

 sheep, &c., should measure four feet six inches in 

 gii'th, and three feet nine inches in length, which 

 multiplied together makes fifteen and one fourth 

 square feet ; that multiplied by sixteen, the number 

 of pounds allowed to all cattle measuring less than 

 five feet, and more than three in girth, makes two 

 hundred and sixty-five pounds. The dimensions of 

 the girth and length of horned cattle, sheep, calves, 

 or hogs, may be as exactly taken this waj' as it is at 

 all necessary for any computation or any valuation 

 of stock, and will answer exactly to the four quar- 

 ters, sinking the offal, and which everj'man who can 

 get a bit of chalk can easily perform. — Chambers's 

 Itiformation for the People. 



BUCKWHEAT OR POLYGONUM FAGO- 

 PYRUM. 



Buckwheat is said to bo a native of Persia, and is 

 usually sown on poor land, although, like other cul- 

 tivated plants, it does best on a good soil with good 

 culture. Its blossoms yield considerable food for 

 bees, although the honey thus obtained is inferior to 

 that made from clover. Buckwheat meal or flour is 

 much used in some sections of the United States for 

 making griddle cakes. The seeds of this plant con- 

 tain fifty per cent, of starch, and one and one half 

 per cent, of earthy matter. It is often sown and the 

 crop plovighed in, to fertilize poor land. From one to 

 two bushels of seed are put on. 



Buckwheat without Grit. — Did any person, 

 who eats buckwheat cakes, ever have the good for- 

 tune to get any containing not a particle of grit ? A 

 method not generally known was lately stated to 

 us by a practical farmer, who says that buck^^•heat 

 raised in this way is entirely free from the difficulty. 



The buckwheat is sown at the usual time ; but 

 before harrowing, a bushel of rye is sown with it to 

 the acre : they both come up together, and the buck- 

 wheat, being much the most rapid in growth, soon 

 obtains the ascendency, the i ye only forming a smooth, 

 green carpet beneath, which completely prevents the 

 dashing of the grit of the soil by rain upon the buck- 

 wheat, when it is cut, and otherwise keeps it clean. 

 After the crop of buckwheat is removed, the rye ob- 

 tains sufficient growth before winter, and the next 

 season affords a good crop of itself. Thus the buck- 

 wheat is protected, and two crops obtained from a 

 single seeding. — Pennsi/lvania Cultivator. 



TO MAKE FARMING PROFITABLE. 



General Josiah Newhall, in his excellent address 

 before the Essex Agricultural Society, last fall, shows 

 the importance of energy and timely attention in 

 order to make farming profitable. We make the 

 following extract : — 



Farming may be so conducted as to be made prof- 

 itable, or merely to afford a living, or to run out 

 the farm. Taking the land as it averages in the 

 fNtate, this depends more on the farmer than on the 

 soil. The man who makes no provision for the rais- 



ing of his crops, cannot reasonably expect any. 

 Agriculture, like all other business, to be made 

 profitable, must be conducted with some method as 

 well as energy. What would be thought of the 

 merchant, who should neglect to load his ships, and 

 let them lie deteriorating at his wharf, or send them 

 to sea half loaded or manned, and without funds for 

 a return cargo ; or the manufacturer, who should 

 run his machinery without system or order, and let 

 it stand still upon every trivial occasion, while the 

 pay of his operatives was going on ? Would not 

 such a course bring irretrievable ruin ? And can 

 the result be more favorable to the farmer, who, 

 though possessing hundreds of acres of land upon 

 which he is annually paying taxes, and who makes 

 no adequate provision for the cultivation or improve- 

 ment of which, witli the exception of a few acres, 

 and that cultivated in such a manner as not to afford 

 a compensating return for the labor bestowed ? Al- 

 though the soil, in some parts of the county, is grav- 

 elly or sandy, still it may be made to produce rich 

 han-ests. The farmers have within their reach am- 

 ple resources to convert their lands to a state of 

 great fertility. The farmers of no section of the 

 state are more highly favored in this respect. 

 On the eastern border of the county, the broad At- 

 lantic rolls in upon the beaches her fertilizing ma- 

 terials in great abundance. Upon the rocks, be- 

 tween high and low water, grow weeds, containing 

 the elements of vegetable nutrition in a high degree. 

 At some seasons r-f the year, a certain kind of fish 

 may be taken along the shore, with seines, in great 

 quantities, and be made valuable in the formation of 

 compost, or in the direct application to the land. 

 The ba)-s and inlets along the coast abound in beds 

 of muscle of great value ; and in different sections 

 of the count}' there are vast deposits of peat, amount- 

 ing, in the aggregate, to many thousand acres. Provi- 

 dence seems to have made ample provision by these 

 bogs for the fertilization of the soil for ages to come. 

 While in tropical climates the decay of vegetable 

 matter is complete, and becomes resolved into its 

 original elements, in this temperate region the pro- 

 cess is less rapid, and in certain situations abounding 

 with water, the decomposing process is arrested, and 

 peat accumulates. In this situation it abounds with 

 acidit}', and is inert when applied as the food of 

 plants. Within a few years, peat lands were consid- 

 ered among the least valuable, having been sold from 

 five to ten dollars an acre, while their intrinsic value 

 is hundreds, nay, thousands of dollars for the piirpose 

 of manure ; to say nothing of their value as an arti- 

 cle of fuel, some of which is but little inferior to 

 coal. This substance, to be rendered available in 

 agriculture, should be dug in the autumn and ex- 

 posed to the ameliorating influences of the atmos- 

 phere during the severity of the winter. Farmers 

 having barn cellars (and none should be without) 

 will find that by using this material largelj^ under 

 their stables, to absorb the liquid and mix with 

 the solid deposits of their animals, they may double 

 or triple the amount of their manure, and the qual- 

 ity will be far better than that not protected from 

 the wasting influence of the elements. The whole 

 may be well mixed, and suffered to ferment so far as 

 to expel any remains of acidity ; and the whole mass 

 becomes equally valuable for all thin and gravelly 

 soils as clear animal manure, and having a more 

 permanent effect. 



SANDY PLAINS. 



Clay, ashes, decomposed or rotten manure, with 

 clover, it is said, has proved to be the best nieans of 

 improving sandy plain lands. Plaster is useful in 

 situations where it will act. This can be ascer- 

 tained by trial. 



