NEW ENGIiANB FARMEH. 



Published by John B. Russell, at Ab. 52 .Vorth Market Street, (ober the Agricultural JFare/.oitsej.-^'f b<'>i a= G. Fessewdlk, Editor. 



VOL. VI. 



BOSTOIN, FIlfDAY, FF-BliUARY 8, 1828. 



No. 29. 



AGRICULTURE 



mU THE NtW ENGLAND FAKHKK. 



V USEFUL ARTICLE OP AMERICAN 

 MANUFACTURE. 



[The following is a copj- of a Letter addressed to the Hon. 

 JosiAH QuiNi-V.EsQ. Mayor of the City of Boston :] 



Sir, I send yon a sample of that article con)- 1 



monly called Grouts, by foreigners. 



I have taken the liberty, (being a citizen of the 

 State of Vermont) to give the article a new name, 

 VEBMOiNT Rict. 



The strain from which this article is manufac- 

 tured, is common in all sei'tions of the United 

 States, particularly in New England. I have been 

 jn the hrtbil of ni:iniifactnring it for about twenty 

 years, and iim decidedly of an opinion, that in thi' 

 New Eng:land Sl;iles it ought to take the place of 

 southern rice. 



Vermont Rice is prepared and cooked in the 

 same manner tlie southern rice is, except that it 

 takes a little longer. It makes excellent puddings 

 to eat with milk, and when prepared and properly 

 dressed, with :fpires, egss, &c. it will make a 

 liaked ptiddiiig supeiior to rice ; and, I have no 

 liesitation in saying, that it is preferable for food, 

 either in health or sickness. It is now kept by 

 all druggists in New England, in a pulverized 

 state ; retailed for medicine, and recommended 

 and approved by all physicians. 



Perhaps, fc^ir, yon will be surprised, on being in- 

 formed tliat this article is nothing more than the 

 iernel of our common oats : I refer you to my 

 communication to the Editor of the New England 

 Farmer, published in vol. I. page 258 of that pa- 

 per. From eommon oats, weighing not less than 

 thirty-two pounds per bushel, I manufacture oat 

 flour and meal. Oats weighing 38 pounds per 

 bjshel and over will answer, when properly man- 

 ufactured, for this species of nee. 



I will observe here, that oats which are design- 

 ed for meal or rice, lequire to be harvested early, 

 and well preserved. Oats which are wet in the 

 field, heat in the mow or bin, are unfit to make 

 either oat flour, meal, or rice. I design to furnish 

 a friend of mine in the city of Boston with the 

 first quantity of oat flour, meal, and Vermont rice 

 of my own manufacture, and the same will be of- 

 fered for sale by the pound or barrel. 



I also manufacture, extensively. Pearl Barley, 

 not equal, however, in point of appearance, to the 

 foreign, but equal in substance. Any gentlemen 

 wishing for more particular information respect- 

 ing the manufacturing of oats, or wishing to pur- 

 chase any quantity of tlic aforesaid manufacture 

 articles, will please address n line to me. 

 Yours, with respect, 



HENRY STEVENS. , 

 Barnet, Vermont, Feb. Isl, 1828. 



[The followiu^ is the communication referred to above] 

 V OATS. 



" The subject which I propose, is that of the 

 more extensive cultivation of oats. Various are 

 the kinds of oats. The Barley or Scotch oats, so 

 called, 1 have cultivated, but not with very great 

 success ; their weight is generally about A2 lbs. 



per busliol. i hav..' scImiiui iieen able to raise 

 more than from "iO to 25 bushels per acre. The 

 black oats I have cultivated ; their weight is a- 

 bout 3() lbs. per bushel, and produce about as 

 ininy bushels per acre as the barley or Scotch 

 oats. The greatest objection I have to the barley 

 or Scotch oats, is, that they must be harvested 

 SLiddeidy after they are fit, in order to prevent 

 waste. The comtnon oats which are raised, I con- 

 sider preferable. jMy average crop of late years 

 has been from 40 to 50 bushels per acre, and in 



le instance 65 bushels per acre. 



'■ I make oats principally, and generally speak 

 ing. my first crop in the line of a rotation of crops. 



1 bveak np the piece intended for this crop in the 

 fall, if possible, and in the spring cross plough 

 and harrow thoroughly before I sow my grain ; 

 then h;irrovj again until the turf is uell pulveriz- 

 ed ; then sow ten bushels of clover seed chaff per 

 acre, and roll if in. As snon as the grain is har- 

 vested, and the young clover has received its 

 growth, I plough it in. This clover with the 

 stuffble, is about equal to a common dressing of 

 compost manure. In the fall, plough ; in the 

 spring I cross plough, after taking from my com- 

 post heap thirty loads per acre, which are careful- 

 ly spread. The lot then being well harrowed and 

 furrowed is ready for planting, either with corn 

 potatoes, or turnip.s. This is my second crop. — 

 For my third crop I again sow wheat, peas, flax, 

 oats, &c. and stock the lot dovvn with herds grass 

 and red top, which I believe make the best of 

 hay. I let the lot remain in grass three years. — 

 Thus you will observe I till three years, and mow 

 or pasture three years. My first and third crop is 

 principally oats. 



I have frequently been told that oats and corn 

 were very impoverishing crops ; but I find no dif- 

 ficulty in enriching my land as above stated. Ten 

 years ago my average crop of corn was from 30 

 to 40 bushels per acre. But in passing over a lot 

 the second time which was managed as above in 

 the summer of 1821, I had the satisfaction of bar 

 vesting 96 bushels of com per acre, and received 

 the Society's premium. My other crops have ad 

 vanced in about the same proportion. 



The inquiry will naturally be made, what I do 

 with my oats ? Well, sir, after I have reserved 

 for my stock and for seed, I take the remainder 

 to my mill and manufacture them into flour and 

 meal. It will be understood that the (fits are kiln 

 dried, then hulled about as clean as rice, then 

 ground, and bolted or sifted, as the case may be 

 That which I bolt is calculated to be mixed with 

 wheat flour for bread ; in which case 'he oat flour 

 being kiln dried, must be scalded before it is mix 

 ed with the wheat flour, otherwise the bread will 

 be too dry. Good oat flour, prep^-red as above, 

 mixed witii wheat flour, half and half, will make 

 as light and pleasant bread as common country 

 wheat flour, and it will trouble good judges of 

 bread to tell it from clear flour bread. Again 

 is excellent to make butter-cake, by the Yankees 

 called slapjacks. The oat meal is calculated for 

 puddings, and is a substitute for rye meal to mix 

 with corn meal for bread, or with rye meal for 

 bread. In either case the oatmeal must be scald 

 ed before it is mixed. 



Thus aftpr supplying my family, the remaindei 

 is for mnrk<t. The oat flour I have generally sold 

 in Boston and New York to the druggists. The 

 meal is al.so purchased by the druggists. I havt 

 generally sold them oat flour for from four to fiv , 

 (iollars per hundred, and the meal from three doi 

 ars fifty to four fifty, which is, by them, retaile.l 

 is medicine, from twelve to twenty cents pet 

 pound. 



The meal is frequently bought by foreigners by 

 the barrel or hundred, for family use. The sale ol 

 oat uieal is at present limited ; the reason is that 

 hut very few people in this country, save foreign- 

 ers, are acquainted with the use of it, e.\cept for 

 meilicine. Foreigners generally prefer oat meal 

 to flour. I really hope both for our health, and 

 the interests of agriculture, that the lime is not 

 far distant, when oat flour and meal will be used 

 in every family for fotfd'. 



Much may be said as to the value of this for mu 

 dicine, as well as for food. It has been a common 

 article for food in Scotland and Ireland for many 

 years. Seldom, if ever, an English, Scotch, or I 

 rish vessel sailed without a supply of oat meal ; — 

 and I may say it would be well for every command 

 er of an American vessel, in making up his order 

 for ship stores, to include a sufficient quantity oi 

 oat meal or flour for his voyage. 



'^s I am one of the homespun family, and wish 

 for infortnation, I hope these few remarks wil- 

 draw something from more able writers. 



H. STEVENS. 



SHEEP AND WOOL. 



[Translated from the ''Bulletin des Sciences Jgric- 

 oles," for July, 1827.— By the Editor of the 

 Hampshire Gazette. 



Sweden was the first nation that imported me- 

 rino sheep from Spain. The earliest attempts to 

 improve the native breeds were unfortunate, buV 

 in 1715 the efi'orts of the Swedish minister were 

 successful — Min-inoes were introduced into Sa.\-* 

 ony in 1765. The number first purchased wa> 

 22!». Saxony has attained to a greater degree of 

 perfection in this branch of industry than any oth- 

 er nation. — In 1775 -Maria-Theresa, bought 300 

 nierinoes in Spain ; these were the first that ap- 

 peared in Austria. — The attempts of Prussia t* 



introduce merinoes were not successful until 18^(^ 

 when the king made large purchases in France 

 — The French government purchased 367 meri 

 noes in Spain in 1786, and placed them at Ram 

 houillet. They have since spread over the king 

 dom. — It was not till 1790 that merinoes were" im- 

 ported into England. They had many prejudices* 

 and much opposition to encounter ; they have not 

 been extensively propagated in that country;. — 

 The English love fat mutton, and prefer those' 

 breeds which will furnish them with the finest ■ 

 meat. They import merino wool from Spain and 

 Saxony. — Italy has never attempted to improve 

 her native breeds. 



M. Ribbe endeavors to prove that there is * 

 greater profit in crossing native sheep with men 

 noes, than in forming flocks entirely of the latter 



[According to the experiments of Dr Parry, «. 

 merino cultivator in England, the fifth cross bring? 

 the wool of the progeny to the same fineness a^ 

 that of the merinoes. 1 



