324 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



From the last Paipphlet published by the Essex Agri- 

 cultural Society. 

 COI.. I'UTNAM'S FARM. 



Col. Jesse I'utnam's farm is situated in the 

 North Parish in Dativers, about six miles from 

 Salem. It contains about 111 acres; to wit — 

 44 of tillage — 10 of pasture — and 18 of wet or 

 low-ground meadow. His wood kind is not in 

 Danvers. Most of his tillage land is covered 

 with orchards of apple trees ; of which about 

 1200 are large enough to bear fruit; and 400 

 have been planted, or grafted, from two to six 

 years. He raises his own trees in nurseries ; 

 which he renews from time to time, to supply 

 his own wants. He considers the spring the 

 best time for transplanting trees. In this oper- 

 ation he digs the holes four or five feet in di- 

 ameter, and two feet deep ; into which, in 

 planting the tree, he introduces rich soil, that 

 the tree may sooner recover from the check it 

 receives in the transplanting.* By giving such 

 dimensions to the holes, the roots may be regu- 

 larly spread out in every direction, without 

 being crowded. He disapproves of making 

 nurseries in very rich soils ; because they will 

 generally be transplanted to poorer soils, and 

 so be sensibly and injuriously checked in their 

 first growth. He thinks it better to transplant 

 from a poor to a rich soil, than from a rich to 

 a poor one. Most of his trees are grafted with 

 winter fruit. In selecting his fruits, he is care- 

 ful to choose the kinds that are good bearers, 

 as well as of good qualities ; grafting over again, 

 with other fruits, such trees as are not sudicient- 

 ly productive. Col. Putnam has found it bene- 

 ficial to young trees, to wash them in the spring 

 with a composition of lime, clay, fresh cow 

 dung and water ; as it removes the moss, de- 

 stroys the insects that find harbours in the 

 rough bark, and gives a smooth, vigorous and 

 lively appearance to the trees. He has found 

 it serviceable to vary the manures applied to 

 his trees, according to the nature of 'he soil. 

 He has frequently sown barley, or oti sr grain, 

 around them, and when 18 or 20 inches tiigh, 

 dug it in. This he has thought one of the best 

 modes of manuring them ; and (as well as ev- 

 ery other way of manuring) should estend to 

 three or four feet from the tree, all round ; 

 condnuing this practice at least until the trees 

 have attained a good size, and are in a good 

 thriving and bearing state. 



For several years past, he has annually brok- 

 en up three or four acres of his pasture land, 

 where principally covered with small bushes 

 and moss, and planted the same with potatoes 

 or corn ; and when laid down to grass found 

 himself amply compensated. 



It has been his practice to plough, in the 

 warm weather in August, the land intended to 

 lie planted the ensuing spring ; at which time 

 it is cross-ploughed. By ploughing when the 

 earth is warm, he says the sod is better rotted, 

 and more easily rendered fit for tillage crops, 

 f'loughiiig late in autumn he thinks not advan- 

 tageous. Thus cultivated one or two years, 

 the lai\d will be in a good condition for English 

 grain and grass. The same land will need to 

 be broken up again, as often as once in six or 

 seven years. 



" The raising and curing English hay (he 

 remarks) occupies a large portion of our time ; 



* In planting trees, the roots should be covered with 

 farth at no greater depth than btfurc their removal. 



and rewards our labor as well as any thing that 

 is done on the farm : and the object of cultiva- 

 ting other crops is, in a good degree, to prepare 

 the land for this most important crop. 



The produce of his farm, in 1821 and 1822, 

 as near as he could estimate the same, he 

 states as follows : 



1821. 1822. 



English Hay 24 tons 30 tons. 



Oats for fodder 3 do. 4 do. 



[VVetJ Meadow Hay 8 do. 7 do. 



Barley for fodder do. 3 do. 



Indian Corn 70 bush. 150 bush. 



I'otatoes !iOO do. 300 do. 



Barley 70 do. cut for fodder. 



Onions do. 150 bushels. 



Carrots 40 do. 90 do. 



Turnips 20 do. 150 do. 



Cabbages 10 doz. 30 doz. 



White Beans 2 bush. 7 bush. 



Green Peas for market 4 do. 50 do. 



Summer .\pples 130 do. 150 do. 



Winter Apples 600 do. 600 do. 



Pork 2000 lbs. 2000 lbs. 



Pumpkins 2 tons. 4 tons. 



He kept no particular account of his dairy ; 

 but his cows, six in number, had done well. 



Col. Putnam's mode of making manure, he 

 states as follows : 



" In the autumn I clear the barn yard, and 

 carry the manure into large and compact heaps, 

 in the fields where it is intended to be used. 

 The yard is then covered with turf, loam, or 

 pond mud, and such other mateials as are found 

 on the farm, suited to making manure. These, 

 together with the droppings of the cattle in the 

 winter and stjmmer, and the relics of their fod- 

 der, are mixed together in (he course of the 

 summer, and made into fine manure. This 1 

 use principally on ray grass land ; spreading it 

 from the cart, after the grass is grown several 

 inches. 



" I have a cellar under my barn, in which 

 the winter dung and urine of the cattle are col- 

 lected. By mixing with these, in the cellar, 

 meadow turf (or sod) coarse hay and corn stalks, 

 the quantity is much increased. I also carry 

 large quantities of materials to my hog pen. 

 which is so situated as to be kept moist ; and 

 from the industry of the swine in preparing 

 this manure for the field, I find more benefit 

 from them than in any other way." 



His usual stock consists of six oxen, gig'it 

 cows, one bull, two horses, and several est. ■ 

 cattle to be sold in the spring, and from six l 

 twenty swine. 



Col. Putnam closes his statement as follows : 



" Some of my [wet] meadows have boon con- 

 verted into excellent English mowing grounds, 

 by carrying about six inches of gravel on to 

 them in the winter. In the first place I divide 

 a meadow into lots about three rods wide, by 

 ditches — turning the turf bottom upwards- — and 

 takmg care to have the middle of the lots the 

 highest, so that they may be a little sloping to- 

 wards the ditches. Plough the turf and gravel 

 together, in the spring, and plant it one season 

 with potatoes : the crop will be as good as in com- 

 mon fields. Then carry on one or two inches 

 ot top soil, and a good coating of manure ; and 

 from land thus prepared, I have obtained ray 

 largest and best crops of English hay," 



From the Morristown Palladium. 

 Observing that a premium is offered by the 

 .\gncultur;»l Soc:ety, (or the greatest quantity 

 of butter from three cows, I shall throw togeth- 



er a few unconnected observations, for (he li 

 efit of those who may be inclined to enter 

 the contest. 



Although we all know what a good cow 

 yet, for form's sake, it will be best to begin 

 describing the chief points to be attended 

 She should have horns wide apart and smoot 

 thin head and neck, large dewlap, full hrea 

 broad back, large but not fleshy udder, lo 

 large teats, broad and flesh} buttocks. Ion" t 

 and pliable. Good milkers are not very apt 

 grow fat, as the food runs to milk. 



The size of the cows, and indeed of all ho: 

 ed cattle, should be proportioned to the fertilJ '^' 

 of the ground; large for rich, small for poo' 

 for on short pasture, a large beast will have ' 

 time to rest and ruminate. It has been sa 

 that the longer any land has lain to grass, I 

 better, and the more is the butter it will yiel 

 vvhile the curdy substance of which cheese I 

 formed, abounds more in clover, and new 

 cold and moist pastures. 



1 must complain that the anxiety of our hoi; 

 wives to make butter, injures the calves, whi 

 are killed so young that their meat resembl 

 fish rather than flesh. This might very eas 

 be prevented, and the animals suffered to li 

 a month longer without stopping the churn. 

 .M'ter the first week let the calf be fed w 

 skimmed milk, thickened with two or thi 

 liandfuls of Indian meal, daily, and give it twJ 

 every day two balls as large as a hen's ei 

 made of Indian meal, one egg, and a little Q; 

 seed oil. An experiment was made of t 

 calves, the one was permitted to suck thric( 

 day, the other treated as above, and at the e 

 of a month the last was the largest and the bt 

 Attention to this method would not only impro 

 our veal, but increase our butter. Calves fatt 

 best in the dark, because light is an excitemi 

 which renders them restless. 



The practice of milking thrice a day, esj 

 cially when cows are in good pasture, is reco 

 mended ; each milking will give almost as mu 

 as if only done twice, for, when the udder 

 full, the milk begins to be absorbed intc * 

 body of the animal. This practice will be fou 

 not only to increase the quantify of manure, I 

 of milk. 



Milk should be poured into pans as soon 

 possible, and if carried far, or much shoo 

 never gives abundant or good cream. 



In order to find the richness of the milk 

 your difl'erent cows, pour the first of the mil 

 ing of each into glass tumblers, and when fl 

 cream has risen, you can easily see which bea 

 the thickest coat. Winter's milk, although Ic 

 abundant, will be found to be richer than soi 

 mer's. 



Milk gradually increases in richness, fro 

 the first drop down to the very last. Take 

 tumbler fiill of the first, and another of the las* 

 you will find that the first yields not one teni 

 part as much cream as the last; and the diffei 

 ence of its (piality is as great as that of its quai 

 tity. She who by careless milking, leaves ha 

 a pint in reality, looses not only as much creai 

 as the first five pnits afford, but also all thi 

 part of the cream which gives richness and fl 

 vor to the butter, and dries up the cow into ti 

 bargain. 



A milk pan should not be above three incL< 

 deep. The thickness and quality of cream 

 said to be much improved by pouring the ne 



