NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



(it 



suits of much inqiiiry nx\A exporieiici? therein. 

 However ligiitlv may be thought of a cent on a 

 sing-le meal of victuals, yet when the sum of a 

 years meals is calculated, for a per>on, a fami- 

 ly, and a nation, it becomes striking and impor- 

 tant. A cent for a meal, amounts to three cents 

 a day. 

 One person, at three cents a day. dols. 



saves in the year 1 1 



One family of five persons 55 



A nation of five millions of people 55,000,000 



The cent thus saved by the good house-wife, 

 on every plenlijal meal of the Khotesoiuest food, 

 ivould be sullicient for maintaining the most 

 desperate war by the freemen of America, in 

 defence of their country, against the wiles and 

 the violences of the great enlightened world ! 

 Bordkifs Husbandry. 



>0R THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



1 have observed in your paper. No. 43, a 

 piece on the science of Liinaisin, signed Daniel 

 Staples, and after a long life of observation 

 would remark that I have never had just cause 

 lo accuse the moon of interfering willi my farm- 

 ing business, or officiously disclosing my secrets, 

 and that the science of the moon's iiitluence is 

 beyond my feeble comprehension. Ijiit if the 

 moon has such a powerful influence, 1 would 

 advise my fellow citizens to be cautious how 

 they give her just cause of offence, lest she 

 should retaliate, as her place o( residence is not 

 within our civil or military jurisdiction. 



I believe that the sap or moisture in wood, 

 fermenting and corroding, occasions its rotting ; 

 therefore the season ^ hen the least of that is in 

 the pores of the wood is the right time to fell 

 it to render the »vood most durable, and that 

 opinion is agreeable to what 1 have formerly 

 nrittcn. Neither do 1 believe fro® all my ob- 

 servations that the moon has ever interfered 

 with her inlluence in my orchard, or my time 

 lor grafting ; yet from the numerous accounts 

 that 1 have had from people of credit, I have 

 i;harity to believe that good bearing apjde trees 

 have been raised by sticking limbs in the ground. 

 To learn the time or mode thereof, 1 have tried 

 abundance of experiments, and all in vain. If 

 the limbs that we prune olV our best kind of 

 apple trees could by any ready process be made 

 to grow and llourish equal to young trees, it 

 would be the desideratum of every orchardisl ; 

 and it is most earnestly desired that any gentle- 

 man, having a knowledge of a succe.ssful mode 

 of tills kind, may publish it for the good of the 

 public. SAMUEL PRESTON. 



iitockpurt., i'u. June 5, XV.'i'i. 



Vrota the second volume of the Memoirs of the Board 

 of Agriculture of the State of New York. 



ON THE APPLICATION OF STA131>K MANURES. 

 [By J. BoEL, of .\lbany.] 

 The experiments of .\rlhur Young, and ol' 

 other [)ractical and scientific I'aimers, have de- 

 monstrated, that animal and vegetable manures, 

 which undergo a complete process of fermenta- 

 tion in the cattle yards, or upon the surface of 

 the ground, lose from 30 to 60 per cent, of their 

 fertilizing properties ; and if properly spread, 

 and buried under the soil, that this loss is pre- 

 vented — and that a decomposition does immedi- 

 ately take place, even of dry straw, sufficient to 

 answer valuable purposes to the first crop. Mr. 

 Young, whose correctness and practical knowl- 



edge will not be questioned by any one who 

 knows his biography or his usefulness, measur- 

 ed five equal pieces of ground: upon the first 

 piece he put nothing ; on the second he buried 

 dry straw, chopped tine ; on the third, straw 

 steeped three hours in fresh urine ; ou the 

 fourth, straw steeped fifteen hours ; and on the 

 fifth, straw steeped throe days in like manner. 

 The wholt; was sowed with barley. The pro- 

 duce of each piece, in grain, and in weight of 

 grain and straw, was as follows : 



No. 



This experiment demonstrates two important 

 facts. 1st, that even dry straw, buried under 

 the soil, decomposes, and greatly improves the 

 first crop. 2d, that the urine of animals, which 

 is ordinarily lost to our farmers, is the most 

 fertilizing product of the stable and yard. We 

 have a strong corroboration of the latter in the 

 history of Flemish husliandry. RadclifT, in his 

 report of the agriculture of Flanders, speaks of 

 urine as constituting the most valuable part of 

 the manure used in those highly cultivated pro- 

 vinces. He cites an instance, where the urine 

 of 44 cattle, by the adventitious aid of rape- 

 cake, and the vidanges from the privies, ma- 

 nured in the best manner twenty-one English 

 acres per annum. The urine is collected in 

 large cisterns under ground, into which drains , 

 lead from the stables, where the cattle are kept 

 winter and summer. Although 1 do not expect 

 to see this practice of the Flemings imitated by 

 our farmers, yet I hope the narrative of the 

 preceding fact will not be lost upon them. It 

 shows the importance of conslrucllig concave 

 yards for our cattle, which will retain the urine 

 and moisture, until it is absorbed by the straw, 

 husks, stalks, and other vegetable litter of the 

 yard. 



It has become a pretty well settleiT' principle 

 among good farmers, that we should ne''l'er de- 

 lay applying manure, because it is unfermented 

 or unrotted; but, on the contrary, (hat they are 

 the most profitably applied before fermentation 

 commences, or while it is in an incipient state. 

 The main object of this essay remains to be con- 

 sidered. To what crops shall we apply them 1 



The ex(>ericnce of almost every farmer will 

 testify, that, except on very poor soils, they 

 ought not to be applied, in any considerable 

 quantity, to wheat, rye, barley, or any of the 

 small grains. They often cause, in these, a too 

 luxurious growth, and a greater product of straw 

 than of grain. The straw is tender, is subject 

 to the rust and the mildew, and the grain liable 

 to blast — ^besides, the crop is apt to lodge and 

 spoil, in consequence. Another serious injury 

 is, the propagation of weeds and grasses, the 

 seeds of which are carried out in the manure, 

 and which cannot be extirpated in the growing 

 crop. To apply manures upon the surface of 

 grass lands, unless of a mineral kind, or in the 

 form of a liquid, or impalpable powder, is throw- 

 ing away one half of their value. And peas and 

 flax do not do well under their first operation. 

 Arthur Young's rule, and it is a good one, is, 

 always to apply your mmure to hoeing crops. 



These are Indian '.uiii, potatoes, beans, and 

 the whole family of vegetables. 



bear, and they want, all the gasses which ar« 

 evolved in the first process of fermentation 

 The gasses open the texture of the soil, ; 

 render it pervious to heat, air, and light, antiji 

 impart food to the young plants ; and the hoeing 

 process exterminates all useless plants, and ren, [ij 

 dei> the ground clean and loose. When appliec 

 to the maize crop, the manure should be spreat 

 before the last ploughing. The roots of this ,, 

 grain are numerous, extend to a great length 

 and elongate most where there is nutriment anc y\\ 

 tilth to invite. Placed in the hill, the manurt ,, 

 gives a temporary impulse to the growth of the iJj 

 plant, and fails in its benefits when most wanted 

 to the maturing seed. It answers also best wber Jji 

 spread, for the succeeding crop, which is al- [t, 

 ways some small grain. These reasons all hold ,i 

 good in regard to spreading manure for the bean 

 crop, whether that is cultivated in hills, drills 

 or the broadcast method. For potatoes, whose 

 roots do not extend far, the manure is most ser 

 viceable, when a|)plied to the hills, or dri,lls. — 

 For ruta baga, mangel wnrtzel, cabbage or tur- 

 nips, its benefits are multiplied when it is placed 

 under the ridges upon which these crops arc 

 planted. It renders the recumbent soil light 

 and friable, attracts moisture, and yields at 

 abundance of food where it is alone wanted foi 

 the growing crop. 



Either of these crops, if manured, leave the 

 ground in good tilth, and free from weeds, anc 

 may be followed with advantage by wheat, rye. 

 barley or oats, according to the quality of the 

 soil. The manure, applied in the spring, give; 

 most of the benefits to the small grain crop 

 which it would have done, had it been left tc 

 ferment in the yard ; and then applied to thai 

 in ;he first instance. 



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From the Mass. Agricultural Journal, for Jraie 1823. 

 THE CAROLINA POTATO, OR SWEET POTATO. 

 This plant is not a potato, though there is s 

 vulgar opinion, that the common potato trans- 

 planted to southern regions becomes sweet, and 

 that the sweet potato on being carried to nor- 

 thern climes degenerates into the common po- 

 tato. The common potato is what the botanists 

 have named a Solanum. It is not a running 

 plant. Its native country is probably the high 

 lands of South America — a cold region. It de- 

 lights in cold seasons, and a moist soil, and it is 

 a fact, that it is drier and more mealy, when rais- I-'' 

 ed in such soils, than in dry ones. The best f* 

 potatoes known are raised in the wet, flat and 

 almost overflown grounds of Lancashire in Eng- 

 land ; and in Ireland, so famous for its moisture 

 and verdure, as to have received the appella- J'^ 

 tion of the Emerald Isle. It flourishes admira- 

 bly in the fogs of Nova Scotia and the lower 

 parts of the state of Maine. The sweet potato 

 has no title to be called the Carolina potato. — 

 It is an exotic, or foreign plant with them. It 

 is a native of tropical regions ; has been gradual- 

 ly introduced northerly, like the Lima or Saba, «' 

 commonly pronounced, Civet bean. The sweet fi 

 potato is not a solanum, but a convolvulus ; has 

 all the habits of the tribe of the convolvulus; it f' 

 is a running or creeping plant. It never flow- 

 ers in our country. It is very hardy — is capa- 

 ble of bearing more frost than the common po- 

 tato, but in wet seasons it is watery and less fi 

 sweet. It may prove my great zeal, and some- 

 what theoretical turn, to recommend again the 

 These can culture of this vegetable in Massachusetts, bat 



