NEW F.NOl^ANP FAIIMER 



"rullUud „; Uu ^Tyt^Is^^:^^ J^S^^kJ^^^etStre et, (over the ^gncullurallfayelmu3e).-TBo..A, G. FBSSENPEr.. Editor^ 



VOL. VI. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, FEBHUAJtY -22, JS28. 



No. 3 1 



A G R I CJEilXEJLg^ 



FOR THF, NEW ENGLAND FAKMEK. 



HORN PITHS. 



Sib,— One of your correspon.lents asks if horn 

 piths are a manure ? I answer, lln;, nrr, and an 

 excellent one, too. for wheat. Wulun two years 1 

 have used nearly twenty loads, ^vhu■h I procured 

 from the comb makers Attached to them are the 

 roots of the horn, nnd some skin end hair, all ot 

 which induce fertility. My practice is to scatter 

 them over the ground, ant ploujfh them under. 

 Applied this way, they are some lime decompos- 

 ing They would be better for the first crop it 

 pulverized or broken, but they fertili^.e much lon- 

 ger when left whole. I think they are worth four 

 times their bulk of manure from the yard. In 

 addition to these, I use the comb-makers horn 

 shavin.'s, which I think are superior to any other 

 application ; and I prefer them at eiaht cents the 

 bushel, to stable inani.re at twenty five cents the 

 two horse load, ti.e transportation of both beinj 

 two miles and a half J- BUEL. 



mbany, Feb. TJ, 1828. 1 



FOB THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



WINTER EVENINGS. ' 



The human miud cannot continue inactive. If 

 we do not employ it in the acquirement of useful 

 knowledge, it will be broodint; upon mischief, or 

 indulging in visionary schemes of happiness.— 

 Neither can it remain stationary. If it does not 

 advance in knowledge and virtue, it will retro- 

 gade into s.oth and depravity— if our fields are 

 not sown with seeds ot useful plants, thistles and 

 other vicious weeds will spring up. To the farm- 

 er who is bringing up . family of children, these 

 considerations are of momentous concern. It he 

 makes his fireside the scene of innocent recrea- 

 tion and instruction— of kind feelings and affec- 

 tionate intercourse— his children will prize homt 

 before the tavern, or the haunts of dissipation. 

 But he must teach by example. 



The winter evenings, from September to March, 

 estimating three hours to each, amount to thirty- 

 eight days of twelve hours each, or to more than 

 a fifth of the time usually devoted to business and 

 pleasure. The future welfare of children depends 

 much upon the manner in which this fifth part ot 

 the winter is employed. Youth is the period in 

 •which habits generally become fi.xed- it is the 

 seed-time of lift— and whatever is sown, be it 

 good or be it evil, is sure to produce its kind. If 

 The mind is cultivated, and the seeds of useful 

 knowledge sown in youth, the harvest of manhood 

 will bo respectability, wealth, and virtue. 



Impressed with the influence of early habits, I 

 have spent some time in devising a plan to render 

 instruction amusing and to attach my children to 

 home, by diversifying thei. winter evening em 

 ployments, ana by familiar illustrations, adapted 

 to their capacities, of what they read. They have 

 received partial instruction in music and draw- 

 inn-, and I have furnished them with the necessary 

 books and instruments to enable them to pursue 

 these studies. Their readings are such books as 

 tend to improve the heart and expand the intel- 



lect—such as interest, while they instruct, the i 

 young mmd. Afte-" eight, they are indulged with 

 a rubber of drafts or backgammon. I derive plea ! 

 -ure, and profit from those e.xercises New ideas 

 are elicited, and valuable information acquired, 

 from the research and explanations which my task 

 as monitor obliges me to make 



I subjoin the arrantrement for the evenings of 

 the present winter. They may stimulate some of 

 your readers to adopt a better system. 



Monilay — drawing, 



Tuesday — mathematicks, 



Wednesday — reading, 



Thursday — chemistry, 



Friday — music, 



Saturday— drawing, or either of the 



"'Mb^ifj, Feb. 19, 1828. A F ARMER. 



COFFEE TREE. 



Linnajan Botanic Garden, ) 

 Feb. 19, 1828, S 



Mr Fesseinden. — Noticing in your last number, 

 a description of the Coffee Tree, I am also tempt- 

 ed to subjoin some remarks, more especially as I 

 i have the trees now, both in bud and in fruit. The 

 leaves of this tree are about the size of the com- 

 mon Laurel or Kalmia latifolin of our woods, and 

 ' much resemble those of the Lemon. They are of 

 a fine shining green, stand opposite, and being 

 very numerous, impart great beauty to the plant. 

 At each joint the blossom buds are now present- 

 themselves ; they are usually in pairs, of a 

 snowy whiteness and most delicious fragr <nce, 

 and as your correspondent remarks resemble those 

 of the white flowering Jasmine. 



A promenade through a grove or plantation of 

 these trees is said to be delightful in the e.xtreme, 

 where the enlivening verdure of tiieir foliao-e is 

 only surpassed by the delicate blossoms, and the 

 delicious fragrance which is inhaled from them.— 

 In my Hot-house the flowers in general do not 

 fully expand until March, and sometimes not until 

 April ; the fruit from these ripens in aututi.n, at i 

 which period, a second crop of flowers is general- 

 ly produced, but less numerous than the first. 



The size of the berries may be adjudged by sup- 

 posing the union of two grains of the coflfee in 

 one, with a thin pulp to cover them. They con- 

 tinue sreen during the period of growth, and then 

 change to a bright cherry red, and interspersed 

 among the fine foliage, contribute greatly to beau 

 tify the tree. The largest I have, is about six 

 feet in height, of regular form and branching on 

 all sides, and seems to flourish equally as well in 

 the tub in which it is planted as in its native soil. 

 The seeds vegetate treely, and it may also be in- 

 I reased by cuttings, by which modes I have rear- 

 ed a large number of them, about forty of which I 

 have at present. 



On the plantations in Cuba the trees are gener 

 illy kept down to about 6 or 7 feet in height, so 

 as to render it easy for a person standing on the 

 ground to collect the fruit, and it is said the av- 

 erage produce is but little over a pound of cured 

 coffee from each tree. I have taken much pains 

 to obtain the various trees and plants useful in the 

 economy of life, particularly the spices, and have 

 1 now the Cinnamon, Cassia, Piraenta, Black Pep- 



per, &c. Also, the Sugar Cane, Mahogany, 

 Baniiua, Plantain, Mango, Mammee, Alligatoi 

 pear. Granadilla, Soursop, Cherimoyer, Rinyon 

 India papaw, various species of Guava, Annatto. 

 several species of Pine apple, Fustick, Braziletto 

 wo. d. Caper, Cocoa nut. Calabash tree, Roseap 

 pie. Cotton tree, Chinese Ginseng, Bamboo, Rat- 

 tan, about 50 varieties of the Orange. Lemon, Cit 

 ron and Lime, &c. The introduction of ihese and 

 various other rare species, together with the erec- 

 ti.m of the nc.-essary buildings for the accommo- 

 dation of about 20,000 pots of Green house Plant.=!. 

 v> hich form my present collection, has caused the 

 disbursements for this department alone to be 

 very great. But this does not prevent me from 

 going on in the same progressive manner in the 

 introduction of every thing which I consider use- 

 ful or interesting, and at this moment I am mak- 

 ing the arrangements for erectin.; an additional 

 wi'ng to my Hot-houses, which alone will be near 

 100 feet in length ; and for each new house I pay 

 some tribute to your city, for I receive from it all 

 the glass necessary for the purpose, as experience 

 has taught me it is much to be preferred. 

 Yours, most respectfully, 



\VM. PRINCE. 



HEMP AND FLAX. 



We arc indebted to the Hon. Mr. Everett, foi" 

 several pul>lic documents ; among the most im- 

 portant of which, is a report of the .Navy Depart- 

 ment, in relation to experiuionts on American wa- 

 ter rotted hemp, when made into canvass, cables, 

 and cordage. The commissioners of the navy 

 have, for some time, been actively engaged iu 

 testing the quality of cordage manufactured of 

 American hemp, compared with that made of the 

 Russian material ; and to aid their decisions, they 

 have appealed to the experience of manufacturers 

 and merchants, and the result of their enquiries 

 has been, a conclusion that American hemp, pro- 

 perly cultivated, and suitably prepared, would be 

 at least as strong and durable as that of Russian 

 g-owth. The disadvantage under which Ameri- 

 can hemp has hitherto labored, is owing to the 

 pertinacious adherence of our farmers to the old 

 plan of dew rotting— a process so exceedingly 

 slow, as to impair, in a very essential degree, the 

 strength of the fabric. Where water rotting hue 

 been resorted to, belter success has attended the 

 cultivator, the hemp has worn a much handsomer 

 colour, and has proved as strong in cordage as 

 Russian. 



We have, ourselves, iu recent conversation witk 

 gentlemen conversant with the cultivation of hemp 

 and flax, had reason to know that American hemp 

 may be raised with great profit to the cultivator, 

 & with every advantage to the manufacturer. In- 

 deed, one great advantage attends the use of th» 

 American article. That from Russia, as is stat^ 

 in the report, is liable to be exceedingly heated, 

 coming in large bulk in the ship, and to lose bf 

 that process, some of its strength— an evil tt^ 

 which American hemp is not liable. America^ 

 hemp used in the manufactory of sail-cloth, hae 

 not proved so well adapted to the purposes de- 

 signed, and stout flax has generally been used. It 

 is established, that water rotted American flax,^ 



