NEW EMCJILANB FAHMEK. 



Published by John B. Russell, at JS/o. 53 .Vorth Market Street, (over the Jgiicultural Warehouse). — Tkomas G. Fessemden, Editor. 



VOL. VI. 



BOSTOJN, FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 1828. 



No. 34. 



AGRICULTURE. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



ORCHARDING. 



Not« illistandin? the worth and excellence of a 

 good oiclmrd, tliere ure comparatively few who 

 appf-ar to act as though they coveted its posses- 

 sion. The man of indolence says, I will not 

 trouble myself to plant and cultivate an orchard, 

 as it is uncertain whether I should ever realize 

 any benefit from it, were I to make the attempt, 

 and it is quite enough for me to jjet through the 

 world without concerning myself for the ease and 

 prosperity of tiiose who come after me. But such 

 reiisoninji must be considered as the offspring of 

 a narrow imnd and selfish disposition, altogether 

 abhorrent to the views and feelings of him who is 

 possessed of a spirit of philanthropy and enter- 

 prize. But there are instances within the obser- 

 vation of almost every one, which will go to shew 

 that he th it plauteth an orchard frequently reaps 

 the re.vard of his labor, besides enjoying the re 

 flection that those who succeed him will remem- 

 ber him with gratitude and veneration in view 

 of what he did, not only for his own comfort 

 and convenience, but for the promotion of their 

 vi^ealth and happiness, after he shall have bid 

 adieu to this world an ' its enjoyments. 



One instance from among several within tie 

 sphere of my own observation, I will relate, it be- 

 ing directly to the point undr consideration. A 

 respectable farmer about 35 years ago, just sett- 

 ing out in the world and having noUiing to en 

 courage him but his own industry and enterprize, 

 conceived the project of planting and cultivating 

 an orchard. He first sowed a nursery from which 

 he afterwards took trees and set them out on a 

 rough uncultivated piece of ground, which by 

 proper management he raised to a slate of fertil- 

 ity and productiveness. He then engrafted his 

 trees vvith a variety of the best kinds of fruit, and 

 by devotins the necessary attention to the object 

 of his undertaking, his orchard in a few years be- 

 gan to produce abundantly and he is now receiving 

 the reward of his labor and enterprize, as it af- 

 fords him an annual income, besides furnishing a 

 sufficiency of apples and cider for family use and 

 convenience. Tluis by undertaking and accom- 

 plishing an object so valuable, he not only laid a 

 foundation for a source of profit and enjoyment to 

 himself, but which will continue to be such to his 

 children and others after he shall have finished 

 \i\s course, and gone the way of all the earth. — 

 Perhajis in no way can he who possesses suitable 

 advantages, better provide for the enjoyment and 

 happiness of his children, or those who may inher- 

 it his estate, than by rearing and leaving for their 

 benefit a valuable orchard. All should cherish su 

 much of a philanthropic disposition, as sacredly ^n 

 regard the welfare and prosperity of those who 

 may come after them, not allowing their own in 

 terest or self-gratification, to be the object of their 

 pursuit. Therefore every one who owns but a 

 small portion of land, and especially he who pos- 

 sesses a large territory, and has hitherto neglect- 

 ed to plant and cultivate ;i suitable number of ap- 

 ple trees, ought now to give his attention to the 



subject, and immediately set about a work of so 

 I much importance, and in this way prove to the 

 I world that he is not destitute of a spirit of benev- 

 I olence and manly enterprize. A FAKMER. 



I March, lb28. 



1 FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



I MELONS AND CUCUMBERS. 



I Different kinds of water melon, on arbours, are 

 I cultivated in surprising quantities in the southern 

 ; parts of Russia, from t|ie Don to the Ural, and 

 i particularly along the banks of the Volga. Their 

 (cultivation requires but little trouble; they thrive 

 I in the open air, only to the 52iul de^'iee of nortli 

 latitude. The melon gardens from their si^e, 

 might rather be called fields; they are inclosed 

 with a slight fence, and are divided into long beds 

 between which, in the oriental style, little canals 

 are cut in the soil for wat> ring the plants. For 

 this purpo.--e the gardens are always laid out con- 

 tigous to a pool, or to a streamlet of running 

 water. 



The white (skin) is eaten either raw, with pow- 

 dered sui.'ar, or ginger, or salted in the same man- 

 ner as the cucumber. 



Water melons are cultivated about St. Peters- 

 burgh and Moscow under frames. What is prin- 

 cipally necessary during their cultivation in this 

 manner, is to take particular caie not to injure 

 the very strong and creeping shoots, which the 

 plant sends out during its progress, but either 

 to raise the frames and allov/ them to spread 

 out into an adjoining one, or to keep them, by 

 bending, entirely within its own, which, in that 

 case ouiiht to be long and roomy. The former 

 way I should prefer. It is to neglecting this, that 

 the gardeners in Russia attribute the general 

 failure in the cultivation of the water melon in 

 Great Britain. If the shoots are in any way 

 checked, or injured, during their growth, the 

 plant is observed to suffer considerably, and the 

 future progress of the fruit towards maturity is 

 either intercepted or totally destroyed ; attention 

 to this circumstance is of more consequence than 

 heat, as is satisfactorily and daily proved in the 

 northern parts of Russia. The skin of the melon 

 may be eaten in the manner of celery. 



THE CUCUMBER. 



Large quantities are used in Russia, both dur- 

 ing the summer in their fresh state, and during 

 winter, when artificially preserved. The plant is 

 generally cultivated in long rows along with cab 

 bages ; a cabbage and a cucumber plant alter 

 nately. It requires a rich soil,orsoil well dunged. 

 The Russians pay particular attention to this, cov- 

 ering the root of each plant «ith a small heap of 

 horse or cow dung. For winter use the cucum- 

 ber is preserved in salt. Before being eaten the 

 outer skin is removed ; the liquid which is charged 

 with the salt and with the soluble portion of the 

 vegetable matter, and which fills the cask in which 

 the cucumbers are preserved, is used as a cool- 

 ing laxative in fevers, about a tumbler to a dose. 

 A cask of these was sent to a distinguished mem- 

 ber of the Horticultural society in London, and 

 the cucumbers were much admired for their fine 

 flavour. 



The following is the receipt for preparing and 

 salting the cucumbers. Take lUOU cuciimiiers', 

 weigh out / lbs. of salt, which has been previously 

 well purified, and dried, mi.\ the salt with a quan- 

 tity of cold soft water, sufficient to cover the cu- 

 cumbers, 500 of which may be put into a smal'. 

 light made cask. Having ready plenty of the fol- 

 lowing leaves, which have been gathered when 

 the weather was dry ; oak leaves, black currants 

 leaves; cherry leaves, dill leaves and heads ; mix 

 them together, and place a layer of tiiem at the 

 bottom of the cask ; then a layer of cucumbers, 

 and thus alternately until the cask be completely 

 full: then pour on the salt and water till it rises to 

 the brim, and close the cask tigh.ly. Some peo- 

 ple add a small bottle of vinegar, and a very small 

 bit of garlic to each cask. In two or three months 

 the cucumbers are fit to use. They are brought 

 to table entire, floating among the juice and 

 leaves which cover them while in the cask. A 

 Russian will often eat several at a meal and no 

 bad effect is ever known to arise from their use. 

 The Russian cucumbers have less fibrous matter 

 than the Knulish, which perhaps would not an- 

 swer as well for preserving in this manner. But 

 the Russian cucumber has found its way into En- 

 gland, and has been cultivated with success. The 

 cucumber plants are also cultivated somewhat like 

 grapes on paling and trellises, and in this way 

 are also remarkable strong and the fruit large. 



Cambridge, March 6, 1828. 



TOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



POISONED SHEEP. 



Mr. Fessenden, — This being the season which 

 requires particular attention to sheep, perhaps 1 

 may render some service to my brother farmers, by 

 making public through the medium of your paper, 

 a few practical observations tested by experiments 

 of my own, relating to these profitable and neces- 

 sary animals. Many farmers or wool growers 

 seem to tieat them with too much neglect, and 

 others with too much care ; some confine them 

 closely, while others permit them to range at 

 large Too much confinement does not contribute 

 to their health, and too much liberty exposes them 

 to various evils, one of which is poison. This I be 

 lieve is the sole cause of the destruction of more 

 of thi-i species of animals, than all the dogs in the 

 universe, although the loss by these is very toa- 

 siilerable. It is not my design to write a treatiss 

 on thv iiinagement of sheep, but to state briefly 

 what I know to be the way or manner in which 

 this poison is generally taken, and to point out a 

 specific remedy. Poison is most prevalent among 

 them in the spring of the year, and is taken by 

 them, as the first green herbage to which they 

 genernlly have access in sufficient quantities to 

 sals ly their hunger, in what are commonly called 

 lnurtl and white bush, either of which is greedily 

 eaten by them at this season. The symptoms, or 

 rather the disorder itself, cannot be mistaken, 

 it is a kind of intoxication, or insensibility, which, 

 without proper treatment generally terminates in 

 death, though life, in some instances, continues for 

 many days. Tlie remedy is but to give the poison- 

 ed animal a small lump of butter, (or a quantity of 

 oil or grease of the skunk, by some called polecat 



