178 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



DECEMBER 17, 1S34:. 



in wliich slicep have been kept for years in succes- 

 sion, have iiM|>n)ve(i, and nowyieM more and bet- 

 ter food than they did before sheep were admitted. 

 It is to be feared tliat many tracts of land in Nevv- 

 Enghuid will eventually be abandoned, unless some 

 method is adopted to prevent their deterioration. 



If the above premises are correct, it is very im- 

 portant, indeed indispensable to the prosperity of 

 New England, that sheep husbanilry should be- 

 come general. But in order that it may becume 

 general it must be made |)rofitable ; and none but 

 the best breeds, for the purposes to which tliey 

 are adapted, will be found advantageous for any 

 other object than that of preserving the land from 

 becoming barren in consequence of continued gra- 

 zing. 



As respects the hreeds or races of sheep, the 

 principal <livision is into the long wool and short 

 WOOL kinds. Among those bearing long wool are 

 the Tee.mmtcr, the Lincohshire, the Soxdh Doums, 

 the Bakewdl or Dishloj breeds, &c. The origin 

 of the last mentioned breed of sheep is thus de- 

 scribed by an English writer. 



"Mr. I5;dvewell selected from his own (loci;, and 

 from ihe flocks of others, those sheep to breed 

 from, which possessed in the greatest degree that 

 perfection of form he was desirous to retain and 

 perpetuate. By judiciously crossing thein, and 

 selecting the triost perfect of their progeny, he at 

 length succeeded in forming the breed, which has 

 been distinguished by the name of the New Lei- 

 cester, or Dishley breed ; and having attained this 

 object, lie carefully guarded against any future in- 

 termittun.'.s with other breeds. This breed ex- 

 ceeds all others in its propensity to fatten ; and by 

 crossing his rams with this breed, a wnsidBrable 

 portion of I'le ImiiT-wooled sl-.eep in England has 

 been greatly improved in this respect. 



Merino sheep are said to be the most profitable, 

 although on their first introduction into this coun- 

 try their value was too highly estimated. Mr. 

 Livingston, of New-York, observed that " seven 

 full-bred ewes gave upwards of thirty-sij; pounds 

 of wool ; and one ram fourteen mouths old gave 

 upwards of nine pounds. This wool sold at two 

 dollars a pound. Clear profits on the fleece ol 

 each ewe, tight dollars and seventy-five cents; on 

 the ram, seventeen dollars and twenty-five cents." 

 It has been said that Merino sheep are as profitable 

 for fatting as for the fleece, as they become fiit 

 with a less quantity of food in pro|)orlion to their 

 bulk than any other kind. 



Mr. John Lowell, in speaking of sheep, observed 

 thai " many questions which were once proble- 

 matical, are now settled in favor of the Merino. 

 It was doubted whether it would stand our cli- 

 mate ; it does perfectly ; whether its wool would 

 not degenerate ; — it rather, improves : whether its 

 meat woulil be good for the table ; — it is as fine at 

 least as any mutton we have: whether the wool 

 could be exported to England and sell there at a 

 fair price ; — it has been done, and met such a sale 

 as would yield a much greater profit on Merino 

 sheep than on the connnon sheep." 



III. Swine. Aiiinng other important modern 

 improvements in rural rconomy, the introduction 

 of new and more proliiable breeds of swine is not 

 the least worthy of notice. The lank, long-legged, 

 long-nosed, gamu-bodied hogs, which were for- 

 merly almost or altogether the only animals of their 

 species to be found among farmers, are now gen- 

 erally superseded by swine possessing what con- 

 noisseurs call " the murks of a good hog," viK. 



" a moderate length in proportion to the size of the 

 body ; the nose short ; the cheek plump and full ; 

 neck thick and short ; quarters full ; carcass thick 

 and full ; hair fine and tliin ; with a symmetry 

 adajited to the breed to which it belongs. Above 

 all, it is essential that it be of a kindly disposition 

 to fatten early." 



Dr. OliverFiske, of Worcester, Mass., has ren- 

 dered great service to the community, by introduc- 

 ing to the notice of tarmers in this country, a va- 

 riety of this animal, called the Bedford Breed, 

 which has been highly recommended. Levi Lin- 

 coln, late Governor of Massachusetts, and Presi- 

 dent of the ^Voreester Agricultural Society, has 

 given his opinion of this variety in a letter, from 

 which the following is extracted: 



" I have great pleasure in voluntarily oftering 

 myself as your compurgator in the representations 

 with which you have recently favored the public, 

 of the Bedford breed of swine. The care and 

 perseverance wdiich have marked your attention to 

 the prospects and value of these animals, and the 

 success which has followed your exertions to in- 

 troduce them to the favor of pradica! iarmers, re- 

 ipiire at least, an acknowledgment from all those 

 who have been particularly benefitted by your lib- 

 erality, and from no one more than from myself. 

 This "breed of swine has taken the [ilace of a long- 

 legged, long-nosed, flat-sided, thriftless race, called 

 by some the /m?i breed, by other.i the Prussian, 

 which would barely pay by their weight for ordi- 

 nary keeping, and never for one half the expense 

 of fattening, if indeed grain would make them fat." 



IMPROVEMENT IN VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. 



1st. By change of Crops. This is a method of 

 cultivating different sorts of vegetables, in succes- 

 sion on the same piece of ground, with a view to 

 make the whole series of crops more profitable, 

 and at the same time prevent the land from being 

 exhausted. Some plants ijupoverish land more 

 than others. Indian corn, flax, hemp, &c. quickly 

 exhaust a field of its fertilizing properties. It has, 

 therefore, been found inexpedient to take more 

 than one exhausting cro]) in succession. Moreover 

 some plants take most of their noiuishnient near 

 the surface, and others from a greater depth, which 

 causes advantages to arise by changing from tap- 

 rooted to fibrous-rooted plants, and vice versa. 



2dly. By change and selection of Seeds. Differ- 

 ent plants require diflTerent sorts of nutriinent. The 

 soil may become exhausted of the ))articular spe- 

 cies of food requisite for one, while it may aboimd 

 in matter suited to the healthy and vigorous growth 

 of another desi:ription of pl.-mts. The advantages 

 resulting from rotation of crops originate in this 

 law of vegetable economy. In selecting seeds or 

 plants to ijropagate from, great advantages have 

 been found to arise from choosing the fiiircst, ear- 

 liest ripe, and best in all particulars. Thus the 

 seed ears of Indian corn are best culled in Ihe 

 field, by taking the best ears from such stalks as 

 produced two or more fine and sound ears. This 

 method of improving agricultural products lias 

 been recommended by the example and precepts 

 of Mr. Cooper, a celebrated agriculturist of New 

 Jersey. 



The above items indicate some of the principal 

 sources and means of agricultural itnprovement. 

 To these may be added the advantages accruing 

 from a more correct knowledge of manures, ani- 

 mal, vegetable and mineral ; the means of applying 

 iliein, and the particular crops to which particular 

 sorts of manure are most ajiplicable ; the method 



of using all inatiures of animal and vegetable ori- 

 gin while fresh, before exposure to the sun, the 

 air, and moisture has robbed them of their most 

 valuable properties; the knowledge and means of 

 chemically analyzing soils, and enabling the cul- 

 tivator to ascertain their constituent parts, and thus 

 learn what substances are wanting to increase their 

 fertility ; the introduction of the root-husbandry, 

 or the cultivation of (lotutoes, turnips, maugel- 

 wurtzel, &c., extensively for feeding cattle, by 

 which a given quantity of land may be made to 

 produce much more nutritive matter, than if it 

 were occupied by grain or grass crops, and the 

 health as well as the thriving of the animals, es- 

 pecially in winter, greatly jiromoted ; and the for- 

 mation of Agricultural Societies, together with 

 the institution of Cattle Shows, &c. The Amer- 

 ican public seem fully impressed with the impor- 

 tance of emulous, as well as of scientific agricul- 

 ture, to the strength and prosperity of a nation. 

 The Conimonweallh of Jlassacliusetts has appro- 

 priated considerablfe sums to aitd to the funds of 

 agricultural societies within the limits ol' ti.e state, 

 institutions for the promotion of Agriculture, Hor- 

 ticulture, Domestic Industry, &c., are common, 

 not only in Massachusetts, but in most parts of the 

 United States. The establishment of jieriodica 

 publications expressly devoted to Agriculture an( 

 Kiiral Economy, has also been an eflirient iTiean 

 of improvement. Thejirst of these in point o 

 time was the " American Farmer," established a 

 Baltimore. . The " New England Farmer," at Bos 

 ton,, and many others in diflerent (larts of th 

 United States, have followed, and publications c 

 the kind are now as common as they are usefu 

 The »ibove and many other means and methods < 

 improvement have rendered the agriculture of th 

 present period as much superior to that of our at 

 cestors, as the architecture of a palace or a tempi 

 exceeds that of the wigwam of the savage, or th 

 lou-hutof the first settler in the wilderness. 



THE DORIC PIREPI.ACE. 



We have intended ibr some days to call a 

 tentiou to this new improvement upon stoves, f< 

 such in fact it is, though combining with a vei 

 tasteful form, all the cheerfulness of an open fir 

 place. 



This invention, which is particularly adapt* 

 for the use of Anthracite coal, is certainly superii 

 to any contrivance we have yet seen, but we a 

 not prepared to say that the great desideratum h 

 been yet attained, though a slight alteration in tl 

 "Doric Fireplace" might accomplish it. — It is 

 convert the rectangular chamber on the top oft 

 sto»e into a permanent reservoir for water, and th 

 piesentas broad asnrfacc forevaporation as possil) 



It is only in the apartment where free evapoi 

 iion is continually going forward that the use 

 Anthracite coal, or of an iron stove, ceases to 

 injurious to health. If any one doubts this frt 

 neither bis head or bis lungs being sensibly afiw 

 ed by this dry deleterious beat, let him but ' 

 Ihe test of touch, and the parched feeling of 

 skin will sufticiently indicate that some mei 

 should be adopted for reinforcing the atmosiihq 

 with anew supidy of Hydrogen. 



People who read the Penny Magazine, and stu 

 Dr. Combe's " Principles of Philosophy," v 

 some of these days find out that bad air is at le 

 as injurious to health as bad water; and that I 

 air may be created in other ways than by the ef 

 via of decomposing matter — that comfort in w 



