Vo).6.— No. 44. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



^49 



PASrURE. 



Some graziers mix a tew ahoep and one or 

 two colts lu oacU pasture, whicU both turn to ac- 

 count, and do In lie injury to the grui^inj; cuttle. — 

 In some cases, slieep are of real beuctit, by eating 

 down and destroying ra^rwort, (Seneci • jacobaa) 

 which disgraces some of iRe best pastures where 

 oxen are only graced. 



So various is trie appetite of animals, that there 

 is scarcely any plant which is not chosen by some, 

 and left untonclied by otticrs. The following eco- 

 nomical e.xperiini'nt is well known to the Dutcii, 

 that when eight cows have been in u pasture, and 

 can no longer get nourishment, two horses will do 

 very well there for some days, and when nothing 

 is left for the horses, four sheep will live upon it ; 

 this not only procecUs from iheir dift'ering in their 

 choice of plants, but from the formation of their 

 mouths, which are not equally adapted to lay hold 

 of tiie grass. 



New grass, stocked very hard with sheep, 

 curbs the partial luxuriancy of the seeds, and 

 makes the grass unite and mat at the bottom, 

 forming a tender and inviting herbage. 



Mlernatdy mowing and /'eediiig land greatly 

 improves it. 



In Cardiganshire and Yorkshire, it is custo- 

 mary to put up Uieir tields as early in iWay as they 

 can, for the sumiuer sea.soii, with no other atten- 

 tion than eradicating dock, or cutting down this- 

 tles, &c. In tnat state they continue tU iNoveai- 

 ber or December, when all the stock is turued >.n, 

 and every animal is in e.xcellent condition, wiUi- 

 out the aid of hay, straw, or oats, and the butter 

 is as good as in any part of the year. The frost 

 sweetens the grass, and snow does not injure ; — 

 but while It is buried, dry food must be resorted 

 to. Ill the spring of the year, young shoots of 

 grass are very forward under the shelter of the 

 old, and botn together are eaten with avidity. — 

 The land which was before mossy, from being o- 

 verstocked and graced too bare, is soon filled with 

 palatable and abundant food, and the moss disap- 

 pears without the aid of the plough, or surface- 

 manure. 



In turning out horses to grass in the spring, 

 it is usual to choose the forenoon of a fine day to 

 do it in ; the natural consequence is, the horse fills 

 his belly during the sunshine, and lays down to 

 rest in the cool of the night ; thereby, probably 

 exposing himself to disorders. In some parts of 

 Yorkshire a better practice prevails ; the horse is 

 turned out at bed time ; the consequence is, he 

 eats all night, and sleeps in the sunshine of the 

 ne.xt day. 



In Gloucestershire the best cheese is made 

 from the coldest and least productive soils ; over- 

 run with rushes, &c. intermixed, however, with 

 better herbage, .'^nd in North Wiltshire (famous 

 for cheese) some daiiyuien mi.x sheep with the 

 cows, to impoverish the pasture ; in the proportion 

 of about one sheep to a cow. 



The bottom of an old hay stack is esteemed 

 an e.xcellent manure for pasture land, as besides 

 the nourishment it alFords, it contains a quantity 

 of grass seeds, which furnishes a new set of plants. 

 It should never be sufifered to mi.x with manure 

 for corn lands, as it will then raise grass and oth- 

 er plants, which, though of use in the pasture, are 

 weeds among the corn. — Glemtings ai Husbandry. 



A society has been formed in Philadelphia, un- 

 der the name of the "Horticultural Society of Penn- 

 svlvania." 



HOP BEER. 

 ! For a half barrel of beer take half a pound of 

 hops and half a gallon of mola.sses ; l;he latter 

 must be poured by itself into the cask. Boil the 

 hops, adding to them a te.i-cupfull of powdered 

 ginger, in about a pailfull and a half of water, that 

 it, a quantity sufficient to extract the virtue of the 

 hops. When sufficiently brewed, put it up warm 

 into the cask, shaking it well in order to mix it 

 with the molasses. Then fill it up with water quite 

 to the bung, which must be left open to allow it 

 to work. You must be careful to keep it constant 

 ly filled up with water whenever it works over. 

 When sufficiently wrought to be bottled, put about 

 a spoonfuU of molasses into each bottle. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMEU. 



BOSTON, 1''R1DAV, MAY 33, 1828. 



PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES. 



i To one pound of ripe strawberries put one pound 

 of powdered loaf sugar, laying alternately on a 

 deep dish a layer of each. Let them lemain tliiis 

 for twenty-four hours, when boil them in a sirup 

 till they are all of a color. In order to determine 

 when they are done enough, cut one of theoi open. 

 Then, taking them out, boil the sirup to the con- 

 sistence of a jelly, let it remain till cool, then put 

 in your strawberries, and let them boil up once, 

 take them off, and when cool, put them into a pot 

 for use. 



The justly celebrated M. de Pradt, is now en- 

 gaged in forming an experimental farm, as a school 

 o' practical husbindry for the central part of 

 France. It is situated about a league from Allan- 

 dies on the great road from that city to Bort, in 

 the department Correze. 



Magnetic needle. — Professor Eaton proposes that 

 the needles of compasses should be tipped with 

 silver, brass, &.c. This not only preserves the 

 points from rust, but withdraws the poles froui any 

 attractive power in the brass, whether it arises 

 from hammering, or from any particle of steel or 

 iron which may have been accidentally left in the 

 brass. — JVew Bedford Mtrcury. 



Hare' — During the past winter a number of 

 I gentlemen procured a large number of hares to be 

 collected in the western counties, fifty of which 

 ; have been brought down, and turned loose in dif- 

 ferent places on Ijong Island. It is a harmless an- 

 imal, and does no injury to the farmer. It is 

 , therefore to be hoped that they may be suffered to 

 i increase and multiply for a little time. They are 

 really game ; they afford much fine sport for the 

 lovers of liuntiug ; and they are said by connois- 

 eurs to be superior to the English hare, a- brace 

 of which costs a guinea in that country. They 

 'are more like the French hare, an article much 

 esteemed by epicures. The meat is black as that 

 of the deer, and is exceedingly delicate. — Com. 

 Advertiser. 



Meat may be preserved fresh many months, by 

 keeping it immersed in molasses. A joint of meat 

 or any provision, suspended in a flannel bag, will 

 keep sweet much longer than by most of the 

 modes commonly practised. The cooler and drier 

 the meat is, when the flannel is put round it the 

 better, and the fiannel should be perfectly clean. 



Cart Horse John Kane was tried, convicted, 



and sentenced to the penitentiary for si.t months, 

 at hard labor, for unmercifully beating his hofse. 

 He is a gray headed man— ftJ years old, — A". Y. 

 Advertiser. 



OUt'llAIti.* 



HoiC. Any soil is suitable for nn orchard, which 

 produces good crops ot gruin, gross, or garden ve- 

 getubles; but a good dcc). sanoy loam not too dry 

 nor very moiat i.-i to be prelerred. In the silliest 

 part of the ground you may plant pear tiees ; in 

 the lighter, apples, plums, and cherries, and in the 

 hghtesi, peach, nectarine, and apricots. 



Aspect. A south eastern aspect is generally re- 

 commended ; but when this exposes the trees to 

 tiie sea winds, a south western may Ue better. — 

 Some recommend a northern aspect, and planting 

 tiees the north side of a wall to prevent them Irum 

 budding and blowing so early in the spring as to 

 expose them to frosts. 



Preparation of tlie ground. If the land be sward- 

 ed It should be broken up and tilled at least one 

 year before tue trees are planted. 



Manure. Rotten leaves, or the mould formed 

 by the decomposition of leaves, is recommended 

 by Forsyth. Compost, or rich earth, is said to be 

 preferable to dung, which encourages iu.sects and 

 blight. iVlcMuhou says, "it is well known that 

 where hog.s and poultry are constantly running 

 over the ground, the trees seldom fail of a crop— 

 which is the best proof that manure is necessary. 

 Any manure will suit an orchard ; but the sweep- 

 ings of cow-houses, hog-pens, slaughter-houses, 

 poultry and pigeon houses, emptying of drains, &.C. 

 are more disposed to facilitate the growth of fruit 

 trees than stable manure. However, any kind of 

 manure is better than none at all." — "Hog dung 

 is accounted to have a peculiar virtue in invigor- 

 ating weak trees. Rotten turf, or any vegetable 

 refuse, is a general manure — excellent for soils, 

 not already too rich. For an exhausted soil^Avhere 

 a fruit tree, which has been an old profitable occu- 

 pant is wished to be continued, a dressing of ani- 

 mal matter is a powerful restorative, such as hog's 

 or bullock's blood, offal from the slaughter- bouse, 

 refuse of skins and leather, decomposed carrion ; 

 also urine diluted with water. In a soil which 

 does not effervesce with acids, a little lime, dug 

 in a spade deep is beneficial to fruit trees. — Aber- 

 crombie. 



Distance of trees in an orchard. It should be 

 considered at the time of planting to what size the 

 trees are likely to grow. And they should be set 

 so far asunder that their limbs will not be likely 

 to interfere with each other, when they arrive at 

 full growth. In a soil that suits them best they 

 will become largest. Twenty-five feet may be the 

 right distance in some soils ; but thirty-five feet 



will not bo too much in the best, or even forty 



Deane. 



Cropping. It is proper to crop the ground a- 

 mong new planted orchard trees, for a fe\v years, 

 in order to defray the expense of hoein:.' and cul- 

 tivatinjr it ; which should be .done until the tem- 

 porary plants are removed, and the whole be sown 

 down to grass. But it is by no means advisable to 

 carry the system of cropping with vegetables to 

 such'an excess as is frequently done. If thd bare 

 expense of cultivating the ground, and the rent, 

 be paid by such cropping, it should be considered 

 enough. As the trees begin to produce fruit, be- 

 gin also to relinquish cropping. When by their 

 productions they defray all expenses, crop no lon- 

 ger. I consider these as being wholesome rulefff,. 

 both fbr the trees and their cwKersi — houdon'. 



