374 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



JUKE 3, 1835. 



GOoTO.N, WEUMiiSUAY EVENING, JUNE 3, liad. 



FARMERS' WORK FOR JUNE. 



Raise roots for vour Cattle. — You may be as- 

 sured that it is not good liusbanilry to attempt to keep 

 stock tlirougli our long and cold winters wllliout roots. 

 Your animals may exist, and ifyour hay is first rale may 

 tlirive wijiout roots, but in all cases tliey will be belter 

 and miu'e profitably kept if roots constitute a part of their 

 diet. The routs most valuable for feeding cattle and 

 field cultivation are potatoes, Mangel Wurtzel, and Ruta 

 Baga. We shall give a few remarks on the uses and 

 culture of the' latter. 



A worthy practical farmer, Mr J. M. G. of Weston, 

 Mass. stales in substance that he has found Ruta Baga 

 a very useful root; cattle are extremely fond of it, and 

 the roots will keep in a dry cellar as easy and as long as 

 potatoes. They may be heaped up there, and I have 

 taken them out in Juno as hard and as sound as when 

 they were put m ; I have found the leaves to be valuable 

 towards the end of summer, when the pastures become 

 dry and barren ; they may be pulled off as soon as the 

 stalks of the first leaves become yellow, and come off 

 easily, and are invaluable at that time for milch cows; 

 with a piece proportioned to the number of cows kept, 

 by the time that the first leaves were gathered, the sec- 

 ond would become yellow and ready to be pulled, and 

 so in succession till frost comes, and it is time to gather 

 tJje roots." 



According to Judge Cuel the soil for Ruta Baga should 

 be rich and dry, and the more it inclines 10 a sand loam 

 the belter. " My generil practice has been to manure 

 well a piece of pasture or clover lay, from which the bay 

 has lirst been cut, plough it handsomely over, and harrow 

 It well. Sow in rows, at two and a half or three feet 

 with a drill harrow. The sooner the preceding opera- 

 tions succeed each other the better. I have sown broad 

 cast but the expense of thinning and culture is increased. 

 A man will drill in thfee or four acres a day. We allow 

 a pound of seed to the acre, though half this properly 

 distributed is enough. Sow from the 2Gth of June to 

 the 10th of July." 



The Rev. H. Colman raised 741 bushels of Ruta Baga 

 on an acre, and received a premium therefor of 20 dol- 

 lars from the Massachusetts Agricultural Society. The 

 following is extracted from bis account of their culture. 



" The ground on which they grew is a good soil, 

 neither wet nor dry, and bore last year an abundant 

 crop of onions, and corn the year preceding the last. It 

 was well manured at both times and in fine tilth. It was 

 manured wilh at least six cords to the acre, of barn ma- 

 nure the last spring and sowed again to onions ; but the 

 seed enlirely failing, it was ploughed, harrowed, furrows 

 .struck out, and abtml eight cords of barn manure spread 

 in the furrows; ploughed again so as b3' aback furrow to 

 form a ridge over th(! manure, and the seed sown with a 

 small drill harrow on the ridges, making the rows about 

 20 inches asunder. As soon as the plants were of suffic- 

 ient size, a drill harrow, with small shares fixed to it to cut 

 off all the weeds was passed through the rows; and the 

 plants thinned with asmall weeding hoe to the distance 

 of about eight inches apart, and the vacant places filled 

 up by transplanting from the supernumerary plants," &c. 



Cattle in Pastures, Hoven, ice. — Cattle, especially 

 when turned into iVesh feed, are liable to be hovcn or 

 swollen in consequence of iiaving eating too much green 

 succulent food. The common remedy for this disorder 



* Ste New England Farmer, vol. vj. p. 2138. 



has been to stab the diseased animal with somesharp in- 

 strument, such as a penknife or trocar under the short 

 ribs, and put into the orifice a tube of ivory, elder, quill 

 or something of the kind, to give vent to the confined 

 air. The wound is then dressed with some sort of ad- 

 hesive plaster, and thus, in general the cure is effected. 

 This, however, is a rough and dangerous remedy, and 

 we have been assured thai the following is equally ef- 

 fectual, as well as more simple and less hazardous : 



Make about a pint of lie, either by throwing hot em- 

 bers into a sufficient quantity of water, or by dissolving 

 therein about an ounce of pot or pearlash, and turn it 

 down the throat of ox or cow affected. A proportionally 

 less quantity will answer for a sheep. This is said to 

 give immediate relief by neutralizing or absorbing the 

 carbonic acid gas in the stomach of the animal, which 

 causes the swelling and other symptoms to subside, and 

 speedily effects a cure. 



Wood asues and Salt fob Cattle and Sheep. 

 — When callle or sheep are first turned to pasture it is a 

 common and correct practice to give them salt. And it 

 has been recommended, by a gentleman who had tried 

 the effects of the composition to mix salt with unleach- 

 ed ashes, in the proportion of one quart of fine "salt to 

 one half bushel of ashes, and place the mixture under 

 cover, where the animals can have access to it. This 

 mixture, our informant states, preserves the health ofthe 

 animals, increases their appetite, and he believes would 

 preserve sheep from the rot, and horses from bolts. It is 

 possible, however, that the above mentioned proportion 

 of ashes to salt mighl.be refused hj' some animals. Mr 

 Samuel Denny, of Oakham, Mass., in a communication 

 for the New England Farmer, vol. vi. p. 239, giving an 

 account of his profitable Dairy, states that he mixes wood 

 ashes with salt for cows and horses, beginning with a 

 small proportion of ashes and increasing. *' One cow 

 is so greedy for salt as to lake three parts of ashes to one 

 of salt." 



East Boston CELEBUATioN.^On the 27th nil., TIte 

 East Boston Company entertained a large number of in- 

 vited guests at the Maverick House, a capacious and 

 elegant Hotel beautifully situated, finely constructed and 

 recently completed on ti.e Company's premises. Among 

 the persons assembled were Judges of our Courts, gen- 

 tlemen of the City Government, the President and Fac- 

 ulty of Harvard College, and others of the highest stand- 

 ing and reputation. There were present by invitation 

 the Boston Light Infantry, the Brigade Band and nothing 

 wanting to give interest, dignity and splendor to the 

 celebration. 



The remarks at table were instructive as well as 

 amusing — the toasts were pithy, pertinent and patriotic. 

 The whole proceedings were got up and worked off in 

 that style in which Boslonians are nc plus ultra and 

 their convivial meetings the flc/ftcs of all festivals. We 

 can scarcely say which pleased us most, the landlord. 

 Major Barton ; the splendid establishment in wliieb he 

 was genius loci, or the occasion and management of the 

 assemblage. 



Mr Fessenden. — Suppose you give us your ideas 

 about the transportation of cuttle, sheep and swine by 

 Hail Road to Brighton market. Is there any thing im- 

 practicable about it ? Would not the expense of drivers, 

 of feed and of loss of weight occasioned by the long 

 and tiresome and dusty roads now travelled, bo more 

 than doubly saved ; and the market be supplied with 

 belter slock, particularly thai intended for the table i 



Bij the Editor. — There is novelty at least in the above 

 scheme, and possibly in some future period it may be 



practicable. At present the biped passengers in our rail 

 road cars could hard'y be persuaded to make room for 

 quadrupeds. If rail roads should ever "be plenty as 

 blackberries," and cars as big as cattle yards, our oxen, 

 cows, sheep and swine might ride to market in their own 

 carriages, and thus exhibit the ne plus ultra, of what has 

 been termed the levelling system ; showing that not only 

 "all men," but all animals " are born free and equal." 

 And, whereas, live calves, sheep, pigs, lambs, &c., as 

 well as poultry are sometimes, nowadays accommodated 

 with wagons for their conveyance to market, or the 

 shambles, why not give larger animals the facilities of 

 locomotion which are furnished by steam cars, and air 

 balloons.' No doubt to men of enterprise and of capital, 

 such a speculation would prove a capital enterprise. 



AVooL. — There has been no important change in the 

 market since our last review. Sales are limited, and it is 

 expected that but few operations will be made until the 

 large sale, by auction, takes place, on the 10th inst. There 

 will soon be a belter supply of domestic fleeces as shear- 

 ing time is just at hand, and a large clip is expected. 

 There is but a moderate supply of pulled wool in the 

 marbjt 



MASSACHUSETTS HORTICUIiTURAt SOCIETY. 



FLOWERS exhibited. 



Saturday, May 30, 1835. 



From the conservatory of the Hon. Mr Lowell, 



A slendid Cactus speciosus, of large size, with a pro- 

 fusion of flowers finely grown, attracted the admira- 

 tion of all the visitors. Also some rare specimens of 

 Tulips. 



L. Josselyn, Esq. Some beautiful flowers of Viola 

 grandiflora, a variety of Phloxes. 



Messrs Hovey. Very fine and choice varieties of 

 Tulips. 



E. M. Richards, Esq. A beautiful specimen in large 

 clusters, of the Chinese double flowering Chinese apple. 



Mr Thomas Mason, Charlestown Vineyard. Very 

 fine and choice varieties of Tulips, wilh some well 

 grown and fine Anemones. 



S. Walker, Esq. A great variety of flowers. Among 

 which were Tulips; Dodicathium gigantia; Phlox, 

 two varieties; Violas, grandiflora, alba, purpurea, 

 Prince of Orange, Sir Walter Scott, and several seed- 

 lings. Lychnis, flosci ; Saxifraga grandulala; some 

 very superior new hybrids ofthe Viola grandiflora, &c. 

 For the Committee, 



JoNA. WiNSHip, Chairman. 



'^'' J. B. on Bird killing was received loo late for in- 

 sertion this week. 



The American Lvceum, during their annual session 

 this season, have had an unusual variety of interesting 

 business before them ; and they have instructed their 

 Executive Coinmillee to take measures for the promo- 

 tion of knowlcdrre and education calculated for the 

 benefit of the city and country. 



Among the interesting documents presented, were 

 three valuable and elegant essays on the Fine Arts, 

 written at the request ofthe institution, by three of our 

 native artists. Messrs Dunlap, Cole and Neagle. 



The Executive Committee, we understand, have been 

 instructed by the Lyceum to endeavor to provide for 

 the printing of their Transactions of this year in a vol- 

 ume, but at present they are destitute of resources. 



Among the interesting papers presented we may par- 

 ticularize two; one on Books and Apparatus for the 

 blind, by Dr Russ; one on the Grasses of the United 

 Slates, and one on Education among the Armenians, by 

 Mr Oscanean, a younsr gentlemen of that nation. The 

 information received from Lyceums in different parts of 

 the country, was various and interesting — JYew York 

 Daihj MdvertiscT. 



