No. 38— Vol.6. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



801 



Siipposiuff the disease broken down, I left him for 

 lliree days, pre^uniinsr he would grndu;illy recov- 

 er, but on e.xamination 1 found no improvoiuent. — 

 T ordered him bled :{(» (loiimls, and repented Uu- 

 same bleedinij the following day, with sm'h mark- 

 ed benefit thnl I liecauie coiivim ed the intlamma 

 lion was still unsubdued. I repeated the tdceding 

 at different intervals until the loss of hhuid amount- 

 ed to 170 pounds, when the horse rncovered his 

 liealth and strength, and his constitution was un 

 impaired by the disease. Yours, &c 



F. V.\NDEllBURGH. 

 A'cm York, March mih, 1828. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



FOXTAIL. 



AIr. Fessenpen, — Allow me to call your atten- 

 tion rtnd that ot your readers, to a kind of grass 

 richly deserving the notice of the farmer. I refer 

 to the proper fo\tail. (.-Jlopaciirins pralcnsi-i) in its 

 general .ippeariince closely resembling timothy, or 

 lierds-grass. I have looked in vain for an account 

 of it in the agricultural journals of Massachusetts, 

 •where many other grasses, less meritorious, have 

 received consiilerahle attention. Compared with 

 lierds-grass, it has the following advantages: 1st 

 It comes to maturity a month or six weeks sooner 

 and may be cut accordingly. I have often seen 

 the full grown heads on stalks more than five feet 

 in length, as early as the last of May. 2d. In 

 quality, I believe it will be found equal with herds 

 grass ; in England it is considered superior, as a 

 fodder for cattle. Our farmers arc in the habit of 

 cutting early in June, what is called speargrass 

 (JPoa pralensis) ; foxtail is earlier than this, and 

 in every respect superior. 3d. Foxt.-nl, it is said, 

 grows equally well on dry or moist land ; the lat- 

 ter, I believe to be more favorable to it, which its 

 early growth seems to denote. It does not re- 

 quire any more attention than herds-grass. 



If I mistake not, there are fields of it in your 

 vicinity ; if so, perhaps the statement I have made 

 wiU receive some notice from those who cultivate 

 it, as confirmed or contradicted by (heir exper- 

 ience. Yours, &c. G. F. 



Saco, Me. April 5, 1828. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



PLANTING OF TREES. j 



Mr. Fessenden, — In looking over the 5tli Vol. j 

 of the New England Farmer, I was not a little! 

 pleased in finding so much urged in favor of plant- 

 ing trees. I should be highly gratified if I could 

 suggest any thing that would aid in furthering so 

 desireable an object. Even as a matter of rural 

 speculation, what project could be adopted that 

 would so surely add profit to pleasure. Some one 

 has said of an industrious and beneficent citizen, 

 ■ that he may be followed by his track ; these few 

 words fully poiirtray the cares of a worthy man, 

 who in cultivating the earth, leaves marks of his 

 industry, and of his love for those who mav fuc- 

 n^f^d hi;n. 



One of the greatest defects of a farm, snys an 

 excellent French writer, is the lack of wood — not 

 only for fuel, but for general use. A proprietor 

 who well understands his interests, ought to find 

 on his ovvn lands all the wood necessary for pur- 

 poses of building, &c. Little is planted and much 

 e.xtirpated by those attentive only to the fruition 

 of the present moment ; but the prudent father of 

 a family, who places his consolation in thinking 



that he lives again in his children, will plant much, 

 and fell little. The Tartars of Dagestan, all Tar- 

 tars as tlicy are, inhabiting a sterile country, have 

 an excellent custom which they carefully observe, 

 and which they hold as a law. No person with 

 them can marry before having planted in a cer- 

 tain indicated place, an hundred fruit trees ; so 

 that there are actually found every where in the 

 uiountains of that country of Asia, grand forests 

 of fruit trees of every species. Cyrus caused Asia 

 Miuor to be covered with fruit trees ; and it was 

 from its spoils that poor Ei;rope was enriched. It 

 was a dogma of the religion rif the Guebres, that 

 one of the actions, the most agreeable to the Su- 

 preme Being, was the planting a tree. 



Cato said it was necessary to reflect a long time 

 before building, but that the making of plantations 

 should not be deferred an ins'ant. 



But presumin.j New England cultivators are 

 now sufficiently appri;'.ed of the utility and impor- 

 tance of planting, both fruit and forest trees, I 

 need only offer some remarks on the manner of 

 arranging them to the best advantage. I would re- 

 commend the ancient quincuncial mode of plant- 

 ing. The advantages of this method are, more 

 trees, at any given distance apart, may be planted 

 on a given space than in the customary way ; and 

 each tree will be at more freedom to flourish, be- 

 ing equidistant from its neighbors in every re- 

 spect — as if planted in the centre of a circle, or 

 rather hexagon. The explanation of the quincunx 

 in Dr. Deane's Georsical Dictionary is entirely 

 erroneous ; and the description of it in Dr. Reos' 

 Cyclopedia is inaccurrate, and not easily intelligi- 

 ble. The quincunx order is not a plantation of 

 trees disposed in a square, consisting of five trees, 

 one at each corner and a fifth in the middle — re- 

 peated again and again. It has its name from the 

 numeral V; — three trees bein? planted in that 

 form, are called the single quincunx. The double 

 quincunx, is the V doubled, which makes an X — 

 being four trees planted oblongly with a fifth in 

 the centre, like the ffve of spades in playing cards. 

 This being often repeated, forms the following fig- 

 ure, a connected series of equilateral tria.iglcs : 



excellent demulcent, soothing reine .y in cougjis, 

 the potato belonging to a narcotic trilie ot plants. 

 From this experiment, I think it may be inle red, 

 that the long red potatos are preferable to others 

 for live stock. Wislnng you increasing succesE 

 in your laudable exertions, I am, yours, &c. 



!SOLOMO.\ DIKJWN. 

 Foster, R. I. Jpril 2, 1628. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMi:R. 



PEDIGREE OP HORSES 

 Mn. Fessende.n, — I send you the pedigrees of 

 the horses John Richards and Rattler. I'he first 

 is highly esteemed as a stallion, in the State of 

 New Jersey, where he has covered two seasons. 

 The second covered one aea.son in the vicinity of 

 the city of New York ; and his stock, now rising 

 two, is very good. 



John Richards, a brown bay horse, foiled in 

 1810, bred in Northampton, North Carolina; got 

 by Sir Archie ; dam hy Rattler (uy Shark); gran- 

 dam by English Medley ; g. grandam by English 

 Wildair, out of Nonpareil mare. He was assert- 

 ed to be the best horse of his year in the South at 

 four years old ; but was then lamed, lie is own 

 brother to Betsey Richards, who has been the 

 best mare in the States. 



Rattler, (I believe a chesnut horse, I do not 

 I know where foaled), bred in Mecklenburg, Vir- 

 i ginia ; got by Sir Archie ; dam hy Kiiglish Robin 

 1 Redbreast ; grandarn by Enulish Obscurity ; g. i 

 grandam by English Willnir, out. of an English 

 ; Cub mare. He is own brother to Flirtilla, .vho 

 has beaten the best Norti . J. L. E. 



EK-.LAND I'J 



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Cabbages, beans, strawberries, potatos, &c.may 

 also be thus planted. I mention the potato, to in- 

 duce an experiment made in my family above a 

 dozen years ago. When about making starch, it 

 was concluded to try which would yield most, the 

 common round [English white] oi- long rod [La 

 Plata] potatos ; supposing the last most nutritive, 

 as they are preferred by cattle and swine. Six- 

 teen pounds of each, weighed after paring, were 

 made into starch separately by the usual process. 

 When dried, the starch from the long red weigh- 

 ed tvf.ent.y-fowr ounces — that from the round white 

 fourteen ounces. As potato starch is an article 

 in great demand, this experiment may be of use 

 to those who manufacture it. This starch is an 



TEASELS. 



Mk. Fessenden, — As teasels are an article 

 which have lately come into use in this country, 

 if you or any of your correspondents have any 

 facts relative to their cultivation, you will confer 

 a favor on the public by makinsr t: em known. 



The following questions I should like to have 

 answered : What kind of soil suits best.' What 

 time ought they to be planted, and how? -Wheth- 

 er in drills, broad cast, or hills ? And, what time 

 arc they fit for the market ? Yours, li. W. B. 



Bristol, R. I. Jpril 5, 1823, 



[From tl:e New V'mk Farmer.] 



MODE OF PLANTING THE GRAPE. 



The months of March and April, being, in this 

 country, the most favorable season for plamincr 

 the grape vine, I thought it iniglit be interesting 

 to those who r.'ish to undertake the cultivation of 

 this precious plant, to offer some remarks on the 

 best mode of performing it. With this view, I" 

 take the liberty of addressing to you the follow- 

 ing lines, which you are welcome to insert in your 

 journal if you think them useful. 



The grape vine is produced eitlier from tlie slip 

 taken from good and wholesouie vines, or by trans- 

 planting the roots themselves. By the first mode, 

 it requires six or seven years before the vine can 

 be in full bearing ; and for the two first years, 

 you have to replace the plants which have failed, 

 and v.'liich may be generally estimated at one 

 third pirt of the whole that has been planted. — 

 The second mode is far the best — for, by being 

 supplied with good roots, about two or three years 

 old, there is no danger of losing them, and on the 

 second year, they will yield fruit. 



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