174 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 91, 1827. 



it will be sown during the next in the different | convert any substance into inareurc, which is good 

 quarters of the Province ; and should it preserve : and wholesome food for man or beast. 

 its present qualities, and continue to ripen as | wood peckers useful. 



early in future years ns in this, it must be regard- 

 ed as a bencfaclion of tiie most important char- 

 acter. Such ail oat, in f,;ct, hiis long been a de- 

 sideratum in our agriculture. The species, v/iiich 



A senseless warfare is often waged by boys, and 



" children of a larger growth," against the wood 



pecker, a bird which is not only harmless, but use- 



., , ,. , , ful. Some have supposed that these birds iiniire 



IS now common in the country, lingers so long , , . .i i i i- u- i. 



, . .^ , ...,.'. J 1 .1 u J apple-trees, and other trees, the bark ot which 



before it reaches imaturily, that It delays the har- , y , • ■ . .u r . rr.u 



, J ., ^ ■ . ■ 1 „,i they perlorale : but this is not the fact. They 



vest beyond the most convenient periods, and ^. '^ ■ c ,_ i , , • . • ■ 



, ., ,. , , . , • L I A . ai'C in pursuit ot the borer, and other insects inju- 



crowrts the larmors labor upon his hauls. An oat .5 ,, ,-, /-. , 



,,.,,. 11 1 r 1 nous to the trees. iVlr Cornelius Cowirio, or 



uhic'i will nuen, as this does, before, or along ., , . ,. ., ^ l 1 . 1 r 1 • .1 



.,, ,, , I .. n . ° Koxbury, mlorms iis that he lately found in the 



with the early-sown wheat, will cause a more re- •" . ■ ■' 



gular distribution of the toils of the harvest, bring 

 the sheaf to the stack or barn in finer condition, 

 and multiply at once the amount of, food both for 

 the family and for the stock. Notwishstanding 

 Dr. Johnson's cynical definition of the oat — we 

 are satislied that the emancipation of Nova Scotia 

 depends upon it — and that the universal introduc- 

 tion of a finer variety of that grain would tend to 

 hasten the happy and prosperous event. — Hi'.lifax 

 A'ovn scot tan. 



stomach of one of these birds, no less than '23 bor- 

 ers, which had been recently extracted, probably 

 from orchards in the vicinity. The toogue of this 

 bird is said to be sharp pointed, and bearded. — 

 Having made a hole with his bill into the habita- 

 tion of the insect, ho impales it on the point of his 

 tongue, and is thus able to extract and convert it 

 to food. 



BREMEN GEESE. 



well as males, they were able to furnish the ne- 

 cessary supplies of young males to farmers whose 

 time was occupied in other pursuits. The prices 

 at which Bakcwell's rams were hired, appear en- 

 ormous. In 1769, he received twelve hundred 

 guineas for the hire of three brought at one birth ; 

 two thousand for seven ; and for his whole letting 

 at least three thousand guineas. — [Encyc. Biil. 

 art. tfigri.) 



By proper management, Mr. Bakewell caused 

 his cattle to be very gentle. His bulls would 

 stand still in the field to be handled ; and were 

 driven from field to field with a small switch. — 

 His cattle were always fat, which he said was 

 owing to the breed. 



"Cross breeding, under judicious management, 

 might probably be often employed to correct the 

 faults of particular breeds, or lo impart to them 

 new qualities." — "Were I," says Sir J. B. Se- 

 bright, "to define what is called the art of breed- 

 ing, I should say it consisted in the selection of 

 males and females, intended to breoid together; 



We have just seen some young geese of this 'in reference to each other's merits and defects, 

 breed, raised by Colonel Jaques of Charlestosvn, ! It is not always by putting the best male to the 



NBW ENGLAND FARMER. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, DEC. 21, 1827. 



Mass. much surpassing any of their species, — 

 which have ever before met our view. There 

 were eigiit of them, hatched in the fore part of 

 May, and fed on grass only, till ten days before 

 they were killed ; heing then about seven months 

 old. They weighed, atlcr being dressed, on an 

 ave.age, sixteen pounds each! and were as fat, 

 fair, and fine as any thing that nn epicure ever 

 flourished a fork over. 



BUEEDS OF DO.llESTIC ANIMALS. 



The choice of the best breed of hordes, cattle, 

 and hogs, which is too little regarded, is of the 

 greatest importance to a farmer, and deserves his 

 nicest attention. The expense is as great — nay, 

 many times greater, in keeping a creature of bad 

 'jreed, as of a good, and the value is very differ- 

 ent. Mr. Bakewell, (of the Dishley farm, in Kiig- 

 land) rendered himself famous by his breed of cat- 

 tle. His principal aim was to gain the best, whe- 

 of seeds will continue stuui for several I ther sheep or cow, which will weigh the most in 

 years, and retain their vegetative faculty ; where- ' the most valuable joints ; and at the same time 

 as others will not gro^v after they areonc year! that he gains the shape which is of the greatest 

 old. This difference is in a g.eat measure owing j value in the smallest compass, he finds by expcr- 

 to their abounding more or less with oil ; as also j ience that he gains a breed much hardier and 

 to tlie nature of the oil," &c. "Seeds of cucum- ' easier fed than others. In his breed of cattle, his 

 bers, melons, and goiir 



To Correspondents.— )t\n arliclo from Plymouth, on Bees. 

 anti aiiollier on Fish PoNbs, Animal MANiiHE.s, &c. will ap- 

 pear uexl week. 



INTRODUCTION OF EoREIGN TLANTS AND SEEDS. 



The article on this subject, which we have giv- 

 en in this day's paper- as emanating from a high 

 official source, must be very gratifying to all who 

 have the agricultural interests of the country at 

 heart. The "directions for putting up and trans- 

 mitting seeds," &c. appear to us to bo (in general) 

 correct aiid judicious. But the following asser- 

 tion, copied from those "directions," is contrary 

 to generally received opinions. They stato, that, 

 "the oily seeds soonest lose their germinating 

 faculty." The dictionary of^Jrl.i. a work quoted 

 by Dr. Deane, in his i>«. K. Parmer, says, "many 



best female, that the best jiroduce will be obtain- 

 ed ; for should they both have a tendency to the 

 same defect, although in ever so slight a degree, 

 it will in general preponderate so much in the 

 produce, as to render it of little value. A breed 

 of animals may be said to be improved when any 

 desired quality has been increased by art, beyond 

 what that quality was in the same breed in a stale 

 of nature ; the swiftness of the race-horse, the 

 propensity to fatten in cattle, and the fine wool in 

 sheep, are improvements which have been made 

 in particular varieties of the species to which 

 those animals belong. What has been produced 

 by art must be continued by the same means, for 

 the most improved breeds will soon return to a 

 state of nature, or perhaps defects will arise 

 which did nut exist when the breed was in its 

 natural state, unless the greatest attention is paid 

 to the selection of the individuals which are to 

 breed together. 



"We must observe the smallest tendency to im- 

 perfection in our stock the moment it appears, so 

 as to be able to counteract it, before it becomes a 

 defect ; as a rope dancer, to preserve his equili- 

 brium, must correct the balance before it is gone 

 too far, and then not by such a motion as will 



The 



will continue good for tei\, fifteen, or twanty 

 ,year.-;,"^&c. — (Gleanivgs in Hushandry.j 



have thick hornv maxim is, the smaller the bones the truer will be 1 . ,. .^ , , ... 



iiavt, uiicu iiorny , r ., , . ., • , ■, n r .t incline It too much to the opposite side 



the make 0. the beast ; the quicker it will fatten, j_ _^ ' ' 



and the weight will have a larger proportio 



cove.ings, and i/.e oii of the seed .fa cold n«fure, j the make of the beast; the quicker it will fatten ^^.^^_,^^,^ ^_^^^^^^ ^^.„ ^ 



t will have a larger proportion of 1 , __,■_,,..., ■' '^ ... 



luable meat. 



APPLE POMACE. 



The practice of Bakewell and his followers, 

 furnishes an instance of the benefits of a division 



degree in which he may happen to possess this 

 particular tal 



' Regard should not only be paid to the qual 



, lurnislies an instance 01 trie oencnts ol aoivisioui . " .. . , , . in , ,. , 

 We are glad that the attention of agriculturists 'of labor, in a department of business, where i^ : ties apparent in animals selected for breeding but 

 is turned to this substance, which in former times kvas little to be e.Npected. Their male stock wnsi'V '^.u' ' T P'^"''^'' '" ^'"^ ^ce from 

 ,.,-,.: <./.n.iiiliiro<i K-itiipr .1 « 1 niii=-nfo 1 1. -i ii .^a •■n'l . . . u I r II , ^iWhicn thoy are descended, as t lev wi 1 always 

 v.'as consiaeieu r<iiiier as a nuisunte man .is an ; let out every vear to breeders, from all parts of i , , •' , , , ■, •' 



..-ti.-l,. r.t' nnv i-ilu.. nn-if-M-n, A ivi-iinr Cnr iho I f i 1 1 .i I, • j ■ • I ' .1 , shuw ttiBmse! vcs sooncT Or later. In the proo-eny : 

 a. tale 01 any value on .1 laini. j\ uincr lor tne [ j|^„crland : and thus, by ludiciously crossing the!. . r .1 ■ .^ . , ,, . 7 ,. 



M !•' Furntpr t«n,= Vnl II nn cr,. "^M-ji-.too in i ii n.i 1 ii . »■ . I i>- • : it IS toT tills reason that we sliould iiot b Teod from 

 JM. ij.rarruei, (see vol. ii. page oi ) slates, in , old races, all the valuable properties ot the Uisii- j _ _,. , , ,,__ , 



subsiance, that he had used pomace for manure, | |ey variety descended, after three or four gene- 

 with good etl'ect, after having mixed it with " a j rations to their posterity. By no other means, 

 quantity of leached ashes, in the amount of one | could this new breed have spread so rapidly, nor 

 qiiartei of the bulk ; this was heaped up and lay I have been made to accommodate itself so easily 

 all suuHi.er to give the alkali a chance to work on j to a change of climate and pasture. Another ra- 

 the acid." 'i'he pomace, tliui prepared, made an ; commendation of this |)lan was, that the rnmhirer 

 excellent manuie for grass l;uid. If it were mix- I [,:ul a choice among the number of males, of soinb- 

 ed with un'.tached ashes, or a small qtiantity of Uvhat different properties, and in a more or loss 

 quick-lime, just sufKcionl to neutralize the acid , advanced stage of improvement ; from which it 

 it would, no doubt, be found valuable as manure. Uvas his busin°ess to select such as suited his par- 

 But we think its best application is that pointed Uicultir object. These were reared by experienc- 

 out by "A Brniher Farmer," in this day's paper. — Ld men, who gave their principal attention to this 

 It is not good economy, .generally speaking.) to | branch alone: and having the best females as 



an uiiunal, liouever excellent, unless we can as- 

 gortainit to be what is called icell bred ; that is, 

 (fbscended from a race of ancestors, who have 

 through se\eral generations, possessed in a high 

 degree Ihi- properties which it is our object to ob- 

 fiiin. The offspring of some aiiiiiials is very un- 

 like themselves ; it is, thcTefore, a good precau- 

 tion, to try the young mules with a few females, 

 the quality of whose produce has been ascertain- 

 ed ; by this means we shall know what sort of 

 stock they beget, and the description of females 

 lo which they are the best adapted. If a breed 

 cannot be improved, or even continued in the de- 



