406 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



1 



against fifty gathered ripe. Not only were the 

 ptunls of the former feeble, when compared 

 with the latter ; not only was the produce of 

 the former two thirds less than the latter ; but 

 even the quality of the grain uas not half so 

 good. Many of the ears had smut, which was 

 not the case with those that came from the 

 ripened seed, though the land and the cultiva- 

 tion were, in both cases, the same.* Other 

 writers advise not to reap wheat infected witii 

 smut till lully ripe, and perfectly dry, and ac- 

 cording to Mr. C. wlieat intended for seed should 

 in all cases be allowed to become quite ripe be- 

 fore it is reaped. 



A writer whose observations are quoted with 

 approbation in the ''Complete Farmer," an 

 English work of authority, says " 1 never thresh 

 the sheaves which are to supidy me with seed 

 till just when 1 want to make use of it. I have 

 a notion that the seed keeps better in the cov- 

 ering nature has given it, 1 mean the chafl", than 

 it would do without it ; and I am pretty certain 

 it sprouts sooner in the ground, the husk or 

 bran being preserved in a tenderer and more 

 yielding state than it would be were it exposed 

 to the open air." If new seed is to be preferred 

 to old, (which we believe to be the correct doc- 

 trine on this suliject) wheat, rye, &:c. may easilv 

 be kept in the sheaf, or at least in the chafi; 

 and have no doubt but this will be found the 

 most beneficial mode of iireserving it. 



Weiods M.^iiE USEFUL. — There are some vege- 

 table productions, which we denominate weed.s, 

 such as purslane, pigweed, brakes, &c. which 

 make good food for swine, and should be gath- 

 ered and given to them whether they arc kept 

 in pastures or pens. Even when pigs are suf- 

 fered to run in highways, (a practice by no 

 means to be justified, but sometimes tolerated) 

 it is best to give them every green thing which 

 they will devour. The suckers of corn they 

 will receive with thanks expressed In tlieii dia- 

 lect. But if weeds have so far arrived to ma- 

 turity that their seeds would grow if they had 

 a chance, you will do best to burn them with 

 lire or quick lime, or to bury them in a com- 

 post heap, where they will be a[)t to lose their 

 germinating principle by fermentation. Some- 

 times it will be found expedient to bury them 

 near the spots where l.iey grow, between the 

 rows of your cabbages, corn, kc. and they will 

 furnish food for growing crops, or enrich the 

 .soil for the benefit of your future husbandry. 

 S^very thing which has grown, even if it bea 

 thistle, a brier, or any thing else noxious or 

 cumbersome, may serve as food for some useful 

 product of the earth. The only question is 

 ivhethcr it will cost more to save it for manure 

 than it will be worth when saved. But it should 

 be a general rule to let no vegetable nor animal 

 substance wither or putrefy above ground. Bury 

 your weeds then as you sever them IVom the 

 soil by hoeing if convenient, and if even a mouse 

 dies on your premises, honor his remains with 

 at least one shovel fcdl of earth; and thus en- 

 rich your soil, and save the atmosphere from 

 nnwiioiesome effluvia. When you have dug 

 jintatnes for family use, bury the tops under 

 earth enough to absorb the products which arise 

 during their decomposition, and make some al- 

 lowance for some part of the soil's being wash- 

 ed away by the next shower. And when the 

 vines of your peas, beans, scjuashcs, water me- 



' Aaic-rioan Gardener. 



i Ions, 4:c. &c. have. done bearing, please not to 

 leave them cumbering your premises, rolting 

 j above ground, nor harboring insects, but iiury 

 them in your compost bed, your barn yard, or 

 ) dig trenches (vhere they grew in which Ihey 

 I may be deposited, and let them manurelthe 

 I earth instead of the atmosphere. I 



CJATHiia Herbs for Dkvi.no, Distilling, &k. — 



, Herbs, such a.s mint, balm, penny-royal, sueet 



' marjoram, hyssop, sage, spear-mint, pepjier- 



j mint, tansy, wormwood, lavender, marygnld, 



[camomile, &.c. should be gathered about this 



time in order for distilling, and for family (jse. 



They should be cut in a dry day, when they 



are in the highest perfection, nearly of ^ull 



growth and in full bloom, and spread to dvf in 



a shady place. When sufficiently dried tie/ 



may be put up in paper bags ready for use. 



We think ourselves greatly honored by the 

 following official testimony in favor of the rjan- 

 ner in which the New England Farmer ihas 

 been conducted; and our highest ambition IviU 

 be to continue to deserve the approbation pf a 

 body so competent to appreciate the valuj of 

 our unremitted eiVorts to merit encourageqient 

 from the agricultural part of the community. 

 We are not only pleased with, but proud o/,!our 

 present employment, and when adequate jujgcs 

 inform us that our labors are " highly uselil to 

 the farming interest," we receive a reward, 

 which is more grateful to us than would be the 

 " boast of heraldry, the pomp of power," or all 

 that wealth can bestow. We are fully of opin- 

 ion with Mr. Lowell, (as expressed in the edi 

 torial remarks of the last No. of the Massachu 

 setts Agricultural Journal) that agriculture i* 

 not only " onr of the nio.st but indf&H ihp »iosi 

 important branch of human Industry." If, then, 

 we can i)roniote the interests of agriculture b; 

 our humble efforts, we cannot aspire to anj 

 higher honor, and our ambition cannot form i 

 wish which will not be comi)lctely gratitied. 



At a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Mas- 

 sachusetts Hociely for promoting Jigricuhare, 

 held July V2, 1823— 



Voted, That in the opinion of this Board, 

 the vveekly pai>er entitled the " New Engla.ve 

 Farmer," irom the able manner in which it is 

 Conducted, is calculated to be highly useful to 

 the farming interest, and deserving of more ex- 

 tensive patronage than it has hitherto received 

 we therefore cheerfully offer this expressiou oi 

 the approbation of the Board, and of a hope 

 that there will be found a willingness in the 

 public to increase the subscription so far as to 

 enable the publisher to continue his paper, lud 

 thus secure permanently to farmers, this valua- 

 ble vehicle of agricultural information, wLich 

 we think the best of the kind with which we 

 are acquainted. 



A copy from the record, 



BENJ. GUILD, Assistant Rec. 6'ec. 



.lERUSALEM ARTICHOKE. 

 The observations of Mr. McKoan, in the ar- 

 ticle which commences this day'.s paper, cannot 

 fail to suggest important ideas to every person, 

 who is concerned or feels an interest in the 



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pursuits of agriculture. We have attempted^,,,, 

 procure information relative to a plant wh! ^;j,i,i 

 we have been in the habit of considering to l|,ii 

 little better than the most worthless weed tl ,|j',j 

 annoys the cultivator. The result of our '',„„ 

 quiriesis that the Jerusalem Artichoke is ca|l Jj,i„, 

 by botanists Helianthus Tuberosus, and is of t .||a;, 

 same genus with the Sunflower. Dr. Darti ',,9 

 informs us, (Phytologia, sec. xvi,) that " hoii j,, 

 are fond of the leaves, and swine of the roo 

 both of which are produced in great quantit („ 

 and as the latter contain much sugar, they mt 

 be nutritive ; and in respect to their culina 

 use are remarkably grateful to most palates, 

 well as nutritive, when cut into slices, and ba 

 ed in beef or mutton pies ; but are said to 1 

 flatulent in the bowels of those whose digesth 

 is not very powerful ; a property, which mig 

 be worth attention, where the propensity 

 fermentation is required, as in making bres 

 with potatoes, or in the distillery." 



A writer for the Bath Society Papers, vol. i 

 page 278, with the signature N. l^artley, say 

 " At a considerable expense and trouble, I pr 

 cured of these roots suflicient to plant half « 

 acre of ground ; but I have them now in gre 

 plenty; I find the produce to be about foi 

 hundred and eighty Winchester bushels to th 

 acre ; and I think they are about equal in valu 

 to potatoes for feeding store pigs, such as arlii; 

 not less than five or sis months old. For fattin {■im 

 hogs I do not find they are near so valuable i 

 potatoes. But their chief recommendations ar 

 the certainty of the crop, that they flourish i 

 almost any soil, nnd do not require any manure 

 at least for such a produce as I have stated.— 

 They are proof against the severest frost, an 

 may be taken oat of the ground as occasioi 

 may serve ; whereas potatoes are soon affecle 

 with frost, and must therefore be secured be 

 fore winter sets in. I generally plant three 

 four acres in a season." 



The writer planted his artichokes, in Eng ,fi 

 land, in the beginning of March, in drills thret 

 feet and an half asunder, and the sets or cut 

 ings nine inches apart in the rows. 



The Farmer's Assistant recommends boiling 

 these roots for feeding swine, and says they wil 

 grow well in almost any dry soil, even if it be 

 poor. When cut and ground in a cider mill 

 they make good food for horses, with the addi. 

 tion of a little salt. Mr. Legaux, of Springmill. 

 Pennsylvania, raises this root from Dutch seed, 

 and has them eight or nine inches in diameter. 

 He says they are easily kept through winter in 

 the ground, nothing being requisite further than 

 to dig a trench round them to prevent the wa- 

 ter from injuring them. 



We have "onversed with practical farmers 

 on the subject of cultivating the artichoke, and 

 have always found them opposed to it, princi- 

 pally on account of the diificulty of clearing the 

 ground of this rooi. They say that there is bo 



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