126 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Nov. 9, 1827. 



of hay, and cattle being scarce, for the reasons 

 above mentioned, their price is now from 50 to 75 

 per eent. higher than it was last year, and farm- 

 ers, who were so anxious to dispose of them a 

 year ago, would now be glad to buy them back 

 again. 



From those circumstances thefarmcr may learn 

 the following lesson: 1st. Not to giveaway his 

 cattle when hay is scarce, if there is a possibility 

 of wintering them. 2d. Whenever the-crop of hay 

 is likely to fall short, (which may be determined 

 in the montli of June) to secure a sufficiency of 

 food for his stock, by sowing Indian corn, oats or 

 mill"t whii'h misy bo mown and converted into the 

 mo*;! v^Iiirible foililor. — Brrl^skire American. 



JVEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, NOV. 9, 1827. 



the application of lime is matter neither of mystery 

 nor of deep philosophical research. It' the necos- ! 

 .isary quantity be given to land, and properly mix- 

 ed with the soil, it is a thing of much less moment 

 than we are apt to imagine, whether it be applied 

 in its caustic or mild state, and for this reason 

 that there is a natural progression from one to 

 the other." 



Loudon reinarks that " In the application of 

 lime to arable land there are sonic general rules 

 commonly attended to by diligent farmers, which 

 we will give nearly in the words of a recent pub- 

 lication. 



1. As the effects of lime greatly depend on its 

 intimate mixture with the surface soil, it is essen- 

 i tial to have it in a powdery state at the time it is 

 applied. 



2. Lime having a tendency to sink in the soil, it 

 should he ploughed in with a shallow furrow. 



3. Lime may either be applied to grass land, or 

 to land in preparation for green crops or summer 

 fallow, with almost equal advantage ; but in gen- 

 eral the latter mode of application is to be prefer- 

 red. 



'. Lime ought not to be applied a second time 

 to moorish soils, unless mixed up as a compost, af- 



FALL-rtOUGHING, LIME, &C. 



Land which is composed in part of clay, or is 

 what is called a stiff soil should be ploughed in 

 the fall, and laid as light as possible, so as to ex- 

 pose it to the action of the frost, which v.ill great- 

 ly assist in subduing it. Fall ploughing too will 

 destroy grubs, and other insects, by exposing them ter which the land should be immediatelv laid 



to the winter's severity. The fall of ihe year i; 

 likewise a proper season for the application of 

 quick lime to your ploughed fields. With regard 

 to the best mode of applying lime, its quantity, &,c. 

 we can give no belter directions than are contain- 

 ed in an article, published in the Memoirs of the 

 ^few York Board of AgricLlture, vol. iii. page 

 124, communicated by Daniel Buckley, Esq. of 

 Salisbury, Pa. from which the following is ex- 

 tracted : 



"The method of applying lime, which I have a- 

 dopled in common with my neighbors, is, in the 

 first place, to plough up a sod field with a strong 

 team, in the spring or fall, — harrow it the way it 

 is ploughed, and mark the field into as many 

 squares as you intend to put on half bushels, say 



down to grass. 



5. Upon fresh [or new] land, the effect of lime 

 is much superior to that of dung. The ground, 

 likewise, more especially if it is of a strong nature, 

 is more easily wrought ; in some instances it is 

 said that the saving of labour would be sufficient 

 to induce a farmer to lime his land, were no great- 

 er benefit derived from the application, than the 

 opportunity thceby gained of working it in a more 

 perfect manner." — General Report nf Scotland. 



Advantages of lime. — Though there are excep- 

 tions to the rule. yet. in jrcneral, it may be confi- 

 dently asserted, that unless where a soil has by na- 

 ture enough of calcareous matter in its composi- 

 tion, for the purposes of vegetation, it can neither 

 be brought into its most fertile state, nor will 



100 oil the acre, which will bring the furrows other manures be so useful as they ought, if lime, 

 about 20 feet apart each way, and require 50 bush- or gome other calcareous earth, be not previously 

 els to the acre. This quantity I have found to be applied. The utility of lime to turnips is so great, 

 most profitable. When the lime is burnt, and as that thouffh in the sam.e field, where no lime had 

 soon as it is cool enough to handle, it ought to be l.een applied, the crop died away; yet in the limed 

 hauled on the land already marked, and a half part the turnips flourished with unabated vigour, 

 bushel deposited in the centre of each square, in ' [Code of Agriculture. 



as compact a heap as possible. If water is con- i Dr Cooper, in the last PI, ilndelphia edition of 

 venieat, I prefer to slack the lime immediately, i -Willich's Domestic Encyclopedia says, " Oyster 

 rather tlian to wait for rain, as it becomes finer I phfiUs are frequently burnt into lime, to lay upon 

 and can be more easily spread. As soon as it has , land. They are a better manure when ground 



■slacked it is immediately spread .ind well harrow 

 ed. This method I prefer for Indian corn, barley 

 lats, rye and potatoes. On all the above crops 



without burning, owing to the remains of animal 

 matter in them. \ good lime rompost is the fol- 

 lowing : spread on any platform under cover, C 



I have experienced a groat benefit from lime the j inches of mould, then 3 inches of well burnt lime 

 first year after its application. With potatoes, I (slack it with water in which common salthasbeen 



.add about 15 two-horse loads of barn yard manure 

 to t!ie acre, before planting. A second liming is 

 often given, and much approved of, after an inter- 

 valof three or more years. This amalgamates 

 better, and can be more intimately mixed with the 

 soil. 



" There are good farmers who differ as to the 

 ■Quantity of lime that is most profitably applied. — 

 Some sav CO bushels on the acre, some 70. and 

 some more. I have applied 100 on an acre of 

 lime stone land, at a dressing ; but have not been 

 able to di>rnver any benefit from using it thus 

 freely, nor any injury, except in the loss of lime." 



It is observed in " Letters of Agricola" that 



dissolved at the rate of 1 J lbs. of salt to each bush- 

 el of lime ; cover it with 6 inches more of mould. 

 Before laying it on the land turn and mix this 

 compost heap, and lay 300 bushels of it for each 

 acre." 



fiABDEKS. 



The neglect of gardens among the farmers of 

 the United States generally, is a common remark 

 among all observing foreigners who visit us. In 

 England, Scotland and France every cultivator, 

 w.l^ether of his own estate, or of rented land, 

 prides himself in the possession of a neat paled 

 garden, which he renders not only useful to his 



family, but highly ornamental. Every member ol' 

 a household might take a part in the lighter cul- 

 tivation of such a spot, and the exercise, while it 

 added to their bodily vigor, would afford them 

 great satisfaction. The laborious parts of the 

 work, in the spring, being done by the male parts 

 of the family, the keeping the plants free l>oin 

 weeds should bo attended to by the females. Tlie 

 few gardens that are seen among our farmers are 

 miserably overrun with weeds, which are permit- 

 ted to increase, until their removal becomes so 

 serious a job as to appal every one : and hence it 

 is often difficult to fi ul a beet, parsnip, or carrot 

 among the weeds. Whereas, if a few minutes only 

 were regularly bestowed by some one of the fam- 

 ily every day, us the season progresses, the weeds 

 would be kept under, and the vegetables would 

 be increased in size and flavor by the operation of 

 the sun and air. 



PAT.VTS. 



Earthy paints are more durable when exposed 

 to the air than the metallic paints. White lead, 

 in particular, by a small mixture of yellow ochre, 

 produces a more pleasing as well as a lasting col- 

 our than white lead alone, which decomposes in a 

 year or two, in the air. The colour it assumes is 

 a cream colour, and has a full and rich appearance. 

 It has been very extensively tried with success in 

 Philadelphia. 



NOXIOUS VAPOUR EXPELLED FROM WELLS. 



Before any person is sent down into an old wcli 

 to repair it or get anythiBg out which may have 

 fallen in, let a candle be let down. If it burns 

 clear he may safely go down ; if it goes out it is a 

 sign that it contains foul ait, which will destroy 

 life. In this case take a hoop, rather smaller than 

 the well, attach to it round the rim of the hoop, a 

 strong bag or cloth, and tie the bottom together. 

 Then by three strings to equipoise the hoop, sus- 

 pend it to one long rope, and let it down. Raise 

 I it suddenly and it will bring up the bod air, which 

 is much heavier than common air. Do this twice 

 or t: ree times, and in two or three minutes all the 

 bad air may be brought out. Try it with the can- 

 dle, and if that burns, the person may safely go 

 down. 



This experiment, which was suggested by Rob- 

 ert Patterson, Esq. of Philadelphia, has been re- 

 peatedly tried with success. 



TAI.NTED BEEP RESTORED. 



A writer in the Ne*. York Evening Post, sayp 

 "In the last fall I procured an acquaintance ol' 

 mine in the country to put up a barrel of fat beef 

 for my family's use during the winter. The bar- 

 rel of beef was sent me agreeably to contract : 

 b't before I had used one quarter piirt of it, I oh. 

 served it tainted, and so much as to smell quite 

 offensively. The beef bein,! very fat and fine, I 

 was loth to throw it away, 1 made the following 

 experiment: I procured a half bushel of charcoal, 

 and after taking out the beef, and throwing away 

 the offensive pickle, I repacked it in the barrel, 

 laying the pieces of charcoal between the pieces, 

 and makin!,'- a new pickle, and adding a little salt 

 petre. I covered the hoof, and in about six days 

 found it as s>veet and good as it was when first 

 put up." 



BOSTO.V POILTRV MARKET. 



] Our market has been well supplied, lately, with 

 I the greatest variety of wild fowl, and fine poultry. 

 I so as to suit the taste of soy epicure ; cemprisinj 



