54 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Sept. 7, 1827. 



■ 1 77' ■ ,^ io...,„ thorn ■.ftprllmve been intimatelv acniiainled with our great they slial! have suffered from heating, which a 



vorino" to nrp«;prvp notatoes is to leave tnem aiicr navt; ukkh lULiiijaLcij av."-i""iiii.v- t^ ^ , u mr l ■ j »► . 



voring to preseive pouuoes - improvers of cattle, sheep and horses. , very few hours would cause. The bruised mattei 



"Many of our writers on agricultural subjects, must be rolled by the hand into balls of two oi 



such as Sir John Sinclair, Mr Curwen, and many three inches diameter, according to the heat ol 



others, have strongly recommended salt us a vain- the weather. Care must be taken to expose it to 



digging, exposed to the sun and air until they are 

 dry. This exposure generally causes them to 

 have a bitter taste ; and it may be remarked, that 

 potatoes are never so sweet to the palate, as when 



cooked immediately after digging. I tind that ' able manure. I have tried the experiment myself, 

 when potatoes are left in large henps or pits in ! and have seen it tried by others on various soils 

 the crround, that a fermentation takes place which | and in various quantities ; but I could never per- 

 destroys the sweet flavour of the potatoes. In or- 1 ceive the least benefit. As a condiment ior cattle 

 derto prevent that fermentation, and to preserve , and sheep, it is very beneficial by promoting di- 

 them from losing the original fine and pleasant i gestion when used in moderate quantities, 

 flavour, my plan is (and which e.xperience proves " I do not observe in the '• Memoirs any men- 

 to me to have the desired effect) to have them tion of cabbages as a winter food for neat cattle 

 packed in casks as they are digging from the and sheep.— Perhaps your climate is not favoura- 

 ground, and to have the casks, when the potatoes I ble to their growth. Here the Icirire Scotch or 

 are piled in them, filled up with sand or earth, ' drum-hcadcd cabbage is a most valuable winter 

 taking care that it is done as speedily as possible, ! food, as it produces a greater weight per acre 

 and that all vacant spaces in the cask of potatoes ; than turnips. It is peculiarly valuable in some 

 are filled up by the earth or sand; the cask thus i districts, for it will flourish on strong soils which 

 packed, holds as many potatoes as it would were j are not proper for turnips. You are so perfectly 

 no earth or sand used, and as the air is totally ex- j weil informed of tlie state of British agriculture 

 eluded it cannot act on the potatoes, and conse- : that I do not know whether I can give you any 

 quently no fermentation can take place." | new information, unless it be as to the recent use 



In order to preserve potatoes in sand or soil it' of bones as a manure for turnips, and the use m 

 is not necessary to pack them in casks or other 1 the north of England of the improved plough,mnde 

 vessels. They may be mixed with a due quantity wholly of u-oji, without any wood svhatever. The 

 of the earth of the field in which they have grown, 1 bones are first ground to powder in a mill con 

 anti put into bins in cellars, or buried in holes dug 

 in the ground. 



"Hints for Jlmerican Husbandmen, wilh commu- 

 nicalions to the Pennsylvania Agricultural Society. 

 By order of the Directors." 



By the goodness of a highly esteemed fiiend we 

 have received a work with the above title, which 

 is filled with articles of much interest and value. 

 We shall attempt a brief sketch of some of its 

 contents in our present number ; and propose 

 hereafter to give such extracts, abridgements and 

 notices as our limits may permit, and a wish to fill 

 our columns with that kind of information which 

 will prove most usefjl may suggest. 



The work commences with a communication 

 from Bart. W. Rudd, (of England) addressed to 

 -loHN Hare Powel, Estj. "on the ill effects of 

 soiling cattle — the total failure of salt, and the 

 successful application of Bone Dust as manure — 

 the excellence of Mangel Wurtzol and Cabbages, 

 as winter food for live stock — the degeneracy 

 produced by breeding in and in — the advanta- 



structed for that purpose, and iu a powdered state 

 nre sown by the drill along with the turnip seed. 

 Very luxuriant crops of turnips are thus grown 

 without any other manure. Bones have become 

 an article of commerce, and large quantities are 

 imported from various parts of Europe. 



WOAD. 



.T. Atherstonc, in a letter to John Hare Powcl, 

 says, " T cultivated some acres of woad in the 



thefree operation of air, whilst protected from 

 moisture. When dry, it may be stored in heaps. 



The subsequent crops may be twisted off. with- 

 out the use of the knife, as the roots at the latter 

 stages of their growth are sufficiently strong to 

 resist tlie necessary force to remove the leaves. — 

 It may be sown broadcast, but from the extreme 

 lightness of the seeds, great diSiculty is found in 

 distributing them equally. In this mode, of con- 

 sequence, bare patches disfigure the field, and 

 materially affect the amount of its product. The 

 qnestion whether the broadcast or drill system 

 should be employed, must be determined by the 

 relative value of labour and land. 



I shall be very glad to communicate with any 

 gentleman on its cultivation, as its importance to 

 manufacturers makes it an object of great inter- 

 est at this time in America. 



One bushel of seeds, if sown in drills, is suffi- 

 cient for five acres — if sown broadcast, for one 

 acre. It is to be observed, that the woad must 

 undergo the process of couching, before it is fitted 

 for the manufacturer. J. ATHERSTONB. 



INDIAN HARVEST. 



Top the stalks upon your Indian-corn close to 

 the ears, as soon as the ear becomes too hard to 

 boil ; when the weather is fine, bind in small bun- 

 dles and stack in small stacks, the same day, to 

 secure against rains ; your corn will ripen the 

 faster and receive no injury, and your stalks will 

 be more valuable. " If your hay is short, or you 

 wish to sow winter grain afler your Indian-corn, 

 or secure your corn against the effects of early 



state of Ohio, which I cut six times during the ^_ ^^^^_ _ _ 



season, it produced about 30 cwt. to the '^"o, hr ly^^''^^^"'^^^^:^^^'^^^^^ ^^'^^'^ 



which 1 received, when brought to market l-ij„,o„nd_ ;„ f^i^ weather, with a sharp knife- 

 cents per pound, equal to $420 per acre. \^. ^j^j^jg^ ^^^ j^y ^^^.^ ^^^^^ j^^ ^^^^ j^ ^^^j, 

 I have been accustomed to its cultivation in t,y„jigg^ ^^ .^^en you top and secure your stalks ; 

 England, where I used it for thirty years, as a ^.^^ ^^^^ bundles above the ears, and stack the 

 manufacturer. The soil of America is quite as ^^^^^ ^^^ .^ ^^^^„ ^^^^^.^^ gjj,^^^. ^^^^ ^^^ j^^^^^^^ 



well adapted, and the climate of the middle, south- If ur field, or upon an adjoinin<r field; you 

 cm and western states, is better suited to Us | ^^^ ^^^^ pj^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^p^^ j.^,,^^^ ^^^^j^. 



growth, than that of Great Britain. 1 he colour- 1 ^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^j^^,.^ ^^ doubling down the tops, and 

 ing matter was much stronger— the plant was L j^^^^^" ^j^^ ,^^^jg ^^.^j,, ^ p,jj^i,,g ^(^„^ . ^,^;^ ^,j„ 

 ore vigorous and rapid in its growth, and Us pro- 1 ^^.^.j^Jq j,,;. j^^„^^ ^hich otherwise would damage 



duct was larger than that to which I have been 

 eous results of Judicious Crossing evinced in the 1 accustomed in Great Britain. | 



Turf horse and other breeds." The writer ob- 1 It prefers a deep, rich, and light alluvial soil — I 

 serves " You read much in our English publica- 'Its tap-root extends a considerable distance be- 

 tions of llie expediency of soiling cattle in the ' low the surface. Fine tilth is necessary, but it 

 house during the whole year. I do not approve of ; may, like Indian corn, bfe grown upon a sward 

 this practice, for it is surely an unnatural one, as ! reversed. I have found it a better practice to 

 air and exercise, and the selection of their own j sow the seeds in beds, late in the Autumn, or ear- 

 food must benefit cattle, as other animals are ben- ■ ly in the Spring, if the climate be severe in w'in- 

 efitted by them. I can say from actual c.r;)f;7'encc / ter. When the plants have tap roots about four 

 of the two systems that cattle thrive much better in \ inches long, they should be set out, at the distance 

 the fields during the period from the middle ofiof 8 to 10 inches in rows — sufficiently wide apart 

 May to the middle of November, than they do i to admit either a horse and cultivator, or a ton 

 when confined to a house. Soiling cattle is very inch hoe, as the husbandman shall determine, to 

 little practised in England. We read in some keep them free from weeds. When the leaves 

 books, that mangel wurt/el is an unwholesome I are about 9 inches long, but always before their 

 food for cattle, but I agree entirely with you that 

 it is a most valuable and nutritive food." " Our 

 best breeds of horses for the carriage, the road. 



the chase, &.C., our cattle, sheep, pigs, and dogs 

 have all derived their improvement froai judicious 

 crossing. All the cases of failure have been ow- 

 ing alone to injudicious crossing. You know that 

 I have had long experience on these subjects, and 



your corn. This corn will be ripe at the usual 

 time, without the least diminution in its colour, 

 weight, or value : but in the opinion of some of 

 the best farmers, (who arc in the steady prac- 

 tice of this mode from choice,) with an increased 

 value to the grain. The increased quantity and 

 value of your stalks, will richly pay the expense : 

 you may in this way, bring forward the sowing of 

 your winter grain, 2, 3 or 4 weeks, which will 

 again at harvestrepaytheexpenseof clearing your 

 corn-fields. If you house your corn-stacks before 

 you husk your corn, the pitching will be heavy, 

 and your bundles often break, and your places for 

 housing, bo difficult and inconvenient, and often 

 exposed to your cattle ; therefore, husk your corn 

 .on the field, and emptvyour baskets intoyourcart 

 colour begins to change in any part, they must | _^g y^^ ^,,5,^^ always' remcmberin<r to leave the 

 be cut as spinach with a knife— placed in bas- husk upon the stalk, by breaking off the cob -.these 



kots, and carried into a barn, where they must be 

 chopped forthwith, by means of a chaff cutter, or 

 similar instrument, into pieces of about a quarter 

 of an inch. 



will again repay your expense in feeding. The 

 difference in the mode of husking, will at first be 

 considerable ; but a little practice will soon re- 

 move this, and render them equal. It is of high 



So soon as they have been thus prepared, tlioy in,portanco for every farmer to know every mode 

 must he brni-cd ')■.- .n roller or bark mill, betore ; ^f (,yjtu,g^ jhat will afford him successful advan- 



