NEW ENGLAND FARxMER. 



From the jyiassucliusetia Spy of July 'J4. 



Mr. F-ditor — The foilowin": communicition from an 

 iiitcllii'cnt prncti'-^a AKhcnltiiralist, c-mbrcici's a subjict 

 of si-asonablc and iiiiiiortaut inti-rost to the fanutr*. — 

 The question of tlic tffict produced upon the crop of 

 Indian Corn by rirno\ ill? tlie Siickirs, and Ihr proper 

 manner and time for doing it, are yet to be decided t\v 

 more frequent and accurate experiments tlian ajipear 

 to have been made, the results having been very differ- 

 ent, in the instances heretofore communicated. As the 

 season has nov.' nearly arrived, in which the experi- 

 ment may be repeated, it is hopi d that every Farmer 

 will give so much of his time and atti iition to the sub- 

 ject, as to take the suckers from at least a single row 

 of his corn, and carefully note the time and manner of 

 doing it, with tlie comparative proihict of a similar 

 quantity on which the suckers sliall be permitted to 

 remain — and if he will still further ascertain the differ- 

 ence between cutting the stalks and ka\ ing tlieni to 

 be harvested with thi' Corn, and communicate the re- 

 sult of all his observations to this Society, be would 

 add much to the stock of useful information, and great- 

 ly oblige his fellow-laborers in the business of Hus- 

 bandry. L. LINCOLN, Cor. Htcrilary o/Ihe 

 H'orcester ^^ricullural Sucitly. 



To the Worcester Agricultural Society. 

 In the spring of cisrhteen htimlrcd tind ttvenfy- 

 one, I proposed to try the expcfiinetU of raising' 

 Corn, by planting it in rows. 1 ploughed the 

 ground, as usual, twice ; then carted twenty- 

 seven loads of bam manure on an acre, wliich 

 took two men with a yoke of oxen one day. — 

 As soon as the manure was ^vanned by the in- 

 Ihience of the stm, I then spread the same, and 

 ploughed the ground for the third time. On 

 the eighteenth of May, I furrowed it out, three 

 feet six incites from centre to centre of the fur- 

 row — then carried on twenty-five loads ot loom, 

 which was carted into my hog-yard the preced- 

 ing Autumn, and spread the same in the furrows, 

 which took tliree men and a yoke of nxpn cue- 

 day — I then planted one halt the ground in two 

 rows, six niches apart, the remainder about 

 nine. Immediately after weeding it, I spread 

 two bushels of plaster on the rows — at a suita- 

 ble growth gave it a second hoeing ; the second 

 week in July, hoed it the third time ; at that 

 period the growth was very rapid, and there 

 appeared to be a greater quantity of suckers 

 from the bottom of the stalks than I ever saw- 

 before. The observation struck me, that it 

 would be worthy the attention of our Agricultu- 

 ralists to try the cxperimcntof cutting the suck- 

 er from the stalk, which I did from most of it. 

 By observing, I found that such a proportion of 

 juice from the stalk wept out where the sucker 

 was taken off, that the growth was not po large, 

 and the car set higher ui)on the stalk : on the 

 part where the suckers were not taken off, the 

 corn was thicker set and more promiiKfit — the 

 ears set ten or twelve inches nigher the ground, 

 and were a good proportion larger. That part 

 <if the field that was jilanted thinnest, was the 

 Ltrgest growth ; the stalks and ears thicker set, 

 and the corn set nigher the groutd. The 

 quantity of corn that grew on an acre was 

 eighty-one bushels. From the best observa- 

 tions that I have made, I would recommend to 

 any gentleman, wishing to try the experiment of 

 planting in rows, to furrow the groundfour feet 

 apart from centre to centre — to platit the corn 

 in two rows, nine inches apart, diamond fitshion. 

 It is a very simple process, to level the manure 

 when spread in the furrows, and take a pair of 

 small wheels, with cogs in them, made for that 

 purpose, put Ihcra on an axle-tree nine iitches 



apart, which will dot the ground with accuracy, 

 when drawn across the field, so that a child of 

 ten years may drop the corn with.iut the lea^t 

 difficult V. LE.MLEL DAVIS. 



Hold'cn, March 13, 1823. 



We are inclined to believe that Mr. iJavis would 

 have had a larger crop of corn if it had not been plant- 

 ed so thickly. " Three feet six inches from centre to 

 centre of the furrow" with two rows " six inches" or 

 even " nine inches" apart, if the corn was of the com- 

 mon size of our New England corn might, perhaps, over 

 stock the ground with plants. 



^^\■ are told that Mr. Stevens, of Herkimer CcuntJ- in 

 New York, raised oni hundrtd and c'ghtttn Inuhels of 

 Indian corn to an acre. He planted his seed in double 

 rows about < ight inches apart, and the seeds were set 

 diagonally (or diamond fashien as Mr. Davis (xprcsses 

 it) the stune distance from each other in the rows. jBe- 

 txcetn each nfllie double roicsjcaa left a space of five and 

 an half feet. 



Mr. Ludlow, of the same county, raised ninety-eight 

 bushels to the acfe. He planted his seed in smi:h 

 rates, four feet apart, with the prrains set eight inches 

 asunder. His land was not so highly manured as that 

 of Mr. Stevens. 



Mr. Hunnewell, of Massachusetts, raised <me hun- 

 dred and eleven bushels of corn from an acre of ground, 

 which was furrowed out at a distance of fout feet (if 

 we ncoHiCl rightly, as we have not the statcntent now 

 before us) leaving each furrow a foot wide the seed 

 planted in the drill on each furrow, making three rows 

 to each furrov/, and care taken to drop the corn as near 

 six inches apart as possible without wasting time. 



With regard to taking suckers from corn we would 

 recommend, in addition to the experiments suggested 

 by the Hon. Mr. Lincoln, that trial be made of bending 

 them to the ground, and covering them with earth suf- 

 ficient to kill them, which has frequently been stated 

 as the best mode of disposing of them ; as they thus, it 

 is said, serve as manure to the principal stocks. 



Long IVoolled and Broad Tailed Sheep of Africa. 



The Hon. Dudley L. Pickman, of Salem, has 

 presented to the Massachusetts Agricultural So- 

 ciety a Ram of this breed, just imported. 



A Ham and Ewe, of the first race introduced 

 into this country, were presented bj' Gen, F.a- 

 toti to the Hon. Timothy Pickering, then resi- 

 dent in Pennsylvania, by the name of the liar- 

 bary Mountain Sheep. The President of the 

 Philadelphia Agricultural Society some years 

 afterwards, gave the following high chanictcr 

 of the breed, in the memoirs of that Society : 



" I know not any breed of sheep superior and few 

 equal to it. Its fleece is of the first (pirtlity ; and the 

 valuable parts singularly good. No other Afi-ic:in 

 Sheep is to be comp.ared to this species, either for fleece, 

 fattening, or hardihood. It bears our severest winters 

 without shelter. Some of the best lamb and mutton 

 sold in our market are of this breed ; which is now 

 spread through many parts of this State and Jersey." — 

 (Memoirs vol. 1. page 163.) 



General notice is hereby given to the Farmers 

 of Massachusetts, that the Ram now at E. ller- 

 sey Derby's, and at the disposal of the Trus- 

 tees of the Society, will be delivered to any 

 gentleman who is desirous to obtain a cross from 

 this breed, free of cost, and upon the sole con- 

 dition of good treatment of the animal, and to 

 be kept within the State. Application to be 

 made immediately to either of the subscribers. 



E. HERSEY DERBY, Solan. 



JOHN PRINCE, lioxbury. 



From the Mass. Agricultural Repository for June. 



Dr. Dcane's JS'cx;) England Farmer. 



In our last ntmiher we mentioned that Me-sr- 

 Wki.ls & Liiiv had caused this valuable, and ;i 

 we thiidv, standard work to be revised at thii 

 own expense, and had put it to press. .\ wis 

 to render it as perfect as they could, to incoi 

 porafe in it most of the improvements vvhic 

 have taken place in agriculture since the put 

 lication of the second edition, and to oxpung 

 from it all superfluous matter, or opinions whic 

 arc now exploded, has delayed the work to th 

 time. 



It will probably appear in the course of a fc 

 weeks. We have no other interest in introdu< 

 ing this subject again to the notice of otir reai 

 ers and subsci'ibers, than the wish to diflu> 

 correct agricultural knowledge. Dr. Deane 

 work was certainly as good a compendium f( 

 its size, as cnidd be found in Europe at th 

 time it was ptiblished. It had the special me 

 it, for Its, of adapting European modes of cti 

 ture to our soil and climate. Even in its in 

 proved state, it is not pretended that the wot 

 supersedes the necessity, with intelligent cull 

 vators, of an extensive agricultural library, b' 

 it is calculated, and well calculated, to aid tl 

 experience, and enlighten and direct the pra 

 tice of all descriptions of farmers. It has be< 

 necessary so far to enlarge it, in consequence 

 the great modern improvements in agricultur 

 that it may prove too expensive for small fan 

 ers, but tve think all farmers in easy circtit 

 stances will find it a very cheap book. Mai 

 thii»gs will not be new to them, but even the 

 they will find enforced by new reasoiis and s 

 guments. Though written principally with 

 view to the New England States, there is i 

 part of the United States in which it will n 

 h'-' found of great value, and perhaps it may n, 

 be and ought not to be its smallest recomme 

 dation to the farmers of the United States, th 

 excepting the Rev. Jared Elliot's small tract, 

 was the earliest and by tar the most rcspectah 

 at^ricultural work ever published in the Unit 

 Slates. The Farmer's .\ssistant by Mr. Nic 

 olson, of the State of New York, a very n 

 perlable work, is apparently modelled upon 

 and I presume the author will admit^ what i 

 tleed his pages prove, the great assistance ! 

 derived from this work. 



But in New England, it was thought best 

 republish Dr. Deane's work, with additions a 

 corrections, not with the wish, in any degrt I 

 to interfere with the other work alluded to. 

 Air from if, Messrs. Wells & Lilly, to our knov 

 edge, contemplated and proposed to the writ 

 of this notire, the republication of Dr. Deani 

 work, before the Farmer's Assistant went 

 the press. 



We repeat, that as Editors of this joum 

 and as individuals, we have no other inter< 

 in, or wish to promote the circulation of t 

 new edition of Dr. Deane's New England F; 

 mer's Dictionary', than the advancement 

 sound principles in agriculture. We wish wi, 

 to all agricultural publications of merit, and » 

 we have alluded to the Farmer's Assistant, \ 

 ought to add, that we think that work is o 

 which deserves this character. We trust t 

 demand often millions of people will be gr(( 

 enough for both, and in a few jears, for ma 

 others. 



