VOL. Xin. NO. 48. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



379 



dependence, IMr King, an old man, who has since 

 paid the debt of nature, informed me tliat more 

 than thirty years agfo he was among the first set- 

 tlers on tliis spot ; few houses of more respecta- 

 ble appearance, or neater farms are to be found 

 than his. 



The whole passage throngh this winding val- 

 ley, and U|) the ascent of the Hoosic mountain, is 

 extremely picturesque, curious and suhlime ; and 

 though the road is in some places rather startling, 

 esi)ecially where it | asses directly on the edge of 

 a jirecijice, and in one place over a treacherous 

 briilge, urider whicii' a largo slide from the side of 

 the mountain has fallen into the river, leaving a 

 frightful precipice of several himdred feet; yet it 

 may be travelled with comfort and safety; and 

 an ample compensation for any fatigue or lahor 

 in the ascent wi 1 be found in the extraordinary 

 grandeur and magnificence of the scenery, which 

 comitiiies to increase in interest until you reach 

 tlie sumndt of the Hoosic mountain. This is in 

 Florida ; and here the traveller should pause, and 

 looking hack upon his course he traces the 

 curious passage of the Deerfield river, as it finds 

 its very crooked way among the hills, sometimes 

 exhibiting its glossy surface for a considerable 

 distance, and then hiding itself from his sight 

 among the deep forests iutd the dark gorges ot 

 the mountains ; and he sees in the distant pros- 

 pect, as far as the eye can reach, mountains crowd- 

 ing upon mountains, and presenting various pic- 

 turesque forms of beauty and grandeur. 



The ascent of the Hoosic mountain is steep 

 and rough, though it is passed daily by the mail 

 stage, from the Connecticut river to tlie Hudson. 

 This api lies especia ly to the first mile; but the 

 ascent continues for nearly three miles. A brave 

 and enterprising sett'er has placed his house and 

 barn directly on the side of the mountain, about 

 one mile from its base : and though few situations 

 cou'd he more forbidding in their general aspect, 

 yet his buildings were of decent a[)[ earance ; and 

 he seemed to have collected around him all the 

 common conjforls of life. It is about seven 

 miles across the mountain from where you com- 

 mence the aseent to the foot of it on the western 

 side; but, after the first rise of about two mi!es, 

 tlie surface is undulating and comparatively even 

 for some distance. Here are a number of good 

 farms, indicating care and thrift, devoted of ne- 

 cessity, to grazing, aftbrding pasturing of the 

 finest description. A great many cattle were 

 seen in them, whose appearance indicated the 

 abundance and the excellence of their feed. The 

 haying season was just commencing (7tli August.) 



The descent of the Hoosic towards North Ad- 

 ams is even itmch steeper than the eastern side; 

 by the frequent turnings of the road, advantage is 

 taken of the nature of the ground, and the pas- 

 sage is rend red safe, and tolerable easy. The 

 coLintry on this side of the mountain and in the 

 neighbinhood of this villagi-, is rough and poor; 

 abounding in limestone and marble, and miserably 

 cultivated and iidiabited. 



North Adams is one of those mushroom villa- 

 ges so thickly scattered in New England since 

 the encouragement given by the government to 

 domestic labor. It abounds with factories, shop.s, 

 taverns, and the usual accompaniments of a man- 

 ufacturing town. Several extensive establish- 

 ments are a'ready in operation anil others in the 

 process of erection. Passing from this to Wil- 

 Jiamstovvn, about six miles, on the southern side of 



the river, where I passed about the same distance 

 on my return, I foimd a hungry, gravelly, rocky 

 soil, with little cultivation, thinly inhabited, and 

 an execrable road. — JVew York Farmer. 



CATTLE PEED IN SEVERE WINTER. 



The editor of the Maine Farmer, in that valua- 

 ble journal, of the 22d ult., observes that "the un- 

 paralleled severity of the weather during the last 

 winter, and the duration of it even into the mid- 

 dle of May have brought the great majority of 

 farmers into a distressing situation. Some cattle 

 have starved, — others have been killed to prevent 

 their dying a lingering death. Some farmers have 

 given all the grain which they had reserved for 

 their family's use, to their cattle and are buying 

 more at a high price. Some farmers are feeding 

 their cattle on wheat to save their lives." 



In pointing out the means of avoiding such ca- 

 lamities in future, the writer states, "we have ob- 

 served that those farmers, and we know of several 

 who have done it, who cultivated a large quantity 

 of roots, such as potatoes, ruta baga, &c., and 

 who, when winter commenced, sat down and said 

 to themselves, I have so many mouths to feed at 

 my barn and I have such a quantity of hay, and 

 so many bushels of roots. If the winter is as 

 usual ray hay will be sufiicient for them, but I can 

 give each mouth so many roots per day. I shall 

 thereby save half, perhaps, of my hay to sell or to 

 use another season. Those who have done this 

 have come out well, while others, who have said, 

 I have hay enough, I care nothing about roots, 

 have either had to sutTer their cattle to starve or 

 to buy of their more provident neighbors. Here 

 is a rap on the knuckles from the old schoolmas- 

 ter " experien(;e." If you trace back in your 

 memory the times of scarcity of hay, &c., we 

 think you will find the leriodsfrom three to five 

 years from each other, and that this old fellow 

 gives you this rap about so often. Would not it 

 be wise to attend to him ? Would not it be well 

 to put in the roots of various kinds for your cattle 

 somewhat liberally ? They are easily raised and 

 easily preserved, and save abundance of other fod- 

 der,and inakeyoirr cattle healthy, sleek and ha| py. 



" 1 he other mode is a very simple one. It is 

 using a little machine called a straw cutter. Now, 

 good friends, and we have one or two of you in 

 view, )'ou may turn up your noses as much as 

 you please, and scoff about farming by ma- 

 chinery and all that. It is a serious and indispu- 

 table fact that much fodder can be saved by using 

 a straw cutter. Enough in one year to pay for 

 the machine and the using of it. It has been 

 tried out and out by those who are well qualified 

 to try the thing, and who would have no interest 

 in making a false report, and they abundantly con- 

 firm the above statement, and yet how many do 

 you su| pose there are who have one, or ever 

 thought of having one? Sjeak to some farmers 

 in the country about a straw cutter and they will 

 ted you, " Phoo I my cattle can eat as much hay as 

 I can give them." True, and at the same time 

 waste one third as much as they cat. In common 

 years this waste is not heeded, but it is a waste 

 nevertheless, and once in three or five years some 

 of you feel it most sensibly." 



New York American Silk SociETy — A soci- 

 ety, having for its object the introduction and 

 extension throughout the country of the knowl- 

 edge and practice of cultivatiug and raising mul- 



berry trees, of feeding and managing silk worms 

 and reeling silk froiri cocoons in the most approved 

 method. 



The importance of this knowledge will appear 

 from the fact that the nett profit of land d<iVoted to 

 the culture of Silk, is double, if not triple, to that 

 derived from any other crop which can be put 

 upon it, it is also a fiict, that every moderate farm- 

 er can raise several hundred dollars worth of silk, 

 without interfering with his ordinary agricultural 

 operations. But in order to avail himself of this 

 facility to obtain competency and wealth, which our 

 soil and climate have given him, he nuist possess 

 himself of information on the subject — for with- 

 out it his attempts will be fruitless. It is, there- 

 fore, tlie object of the Committee to diffuse this 

 information as extensively as possible. 



This Society was formed in this city on the 

 15th of May, 1835. — Lo7ig Island Star. 



[(■'orttie New England Farmer,] 

 THE SEASON. 



Vegetation has come forward in the course of 

 the last week with imcxam|iled rapidity. Trees 

 were in their fullest bloom on Friday the 29th ult., 

 and on Wednesday succeeding the fruit was visi- 

 ble, — Cherries, Gooseberries, and Currants are 

 quite forward, the grass has come forward promis- 

 ing well, but should judge not so well as on an 

 average for the last seven or eight years: our pas- 

 tures are very backward as all will be able to dis- 

 cover by the high price given for poor butter ; we 

 must have patience for one week long' r before we 

 can have it in perfection, as the season has left the 

 pastures, if nothing else, ten days in arrears. 

 Se?ds have come np remarkably well and quick 

 (I only speak of such as I had from the New 

 England Seed Store), and if the warm weather 

 continues the Farmers work will press heavily 

 upon him for a while. 



June 4th, 1835. F. 



(For ttie New England Farmer.) 

 SAVEET FLAG. 



Mr Fessenden — Permit me to suggest to the 

 readers of your valuable paper, what I consider 

 a partial extermination for the growth of the Sweet 

 Flag. It has been my practice for years past, in 

 the month of June, in one of those what the 

 farmers call a scalding hot day, to mow and rake 

 them from the jlace, and the growth of the grass 

 afterwards gets the better of the flag, leaving not 

 more than I should choose to give a who esome 

 fragrance to the hay. The experiment is not a 

 hazardous one, and the gain is well worth the 

 cost. F. 



The Crops. — From Chester, Lancaster, Bucks, 

 Berk aud Northampton countiis Peun., in as 

 also from the upper part of New .lersey, we have 

 favorable reports of the crops of grain. Also 

 from Delaware and the eastern shore of Maryland. 

 Our recent advices from Richmond, Va. are rather 

 of a discouraging character. In some sections of 

 the country, the Hessiau Fly are committing sad 

 ravages. — Long Island Star. 



The Wheat crop in Virginia, it is admit- 

 ted will, from the effect of the severe winter and 

 the fly combined, be one third less than last year. 

 Col. Taylor advises to put in as large a crop of 

 corn as possible, as this indigenous, invaluable 

 grain of our country, is as he justly says, " meal, 

 meat, and manure. — lb. 



