AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



PUBLISHED BV GEORGE C. BARRETT, NO. 52, NORTH MARKET STREET, (Agbicultoral Warkbouse.)-T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



VOL. XIII. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JULY 8, 1835. 



NO. 52. 



fFitr Ilie .Vew Ciiglaiid l*'ariner.J 

 NOTES BY THE WAY. \0. 1, 



Mr Editor — Boing a constant reader of your 

 weekly sheet, and feeling a deep ir.terest in every- 

 thing which concerns the prosperity of the farmer, 

 I always take pleasure in my pilgrimages through 

 our smiling New Eng'and in inquiring ahout 

 their welfare, the management of their farms, &c. 

 — Perhaps this interest is increased from sundry 

 reminiscences of many years spent in the lahors of 

 the farm, — and mayhap the recollection of " liusk- 

 ing frolics and red ears," "raisings," "country 

 sleigh rides and snow drifts," and the many by- 

 gone sports of the farmer boy still dwell on my 

 mind's eye, and cherish and renew ray interest in 

 the farmer. I find in my note book sundry sage 

 reflections and ideas, which, (if you think they 

 are worth the room,) are at your service for the 

 columns of the Farmer. 



B- 



,N. H. JoNE, 1835. 



In passing through the "Granite State" the 

 raveller cannot but notice in how great a degi-ee 

 ler prosperity and advancement depend on the 

 armer, — for a very large proportion of her popu- 

 ation must, from their situation and the nature of 

 he country, depend on the culture of the soil. 

 i\t first view, her interminable hi'ls and rocks 

 eem to oflTer but little encouragement for tillage, 

 md in too many cases this view of the matter ap- 

 )ears to have preponderated with the owner of the 

 loil, and liis large but thinly cullivated fields, the 

 ime-woru buildings and fences of many, the infe- 

 ior breeds of cattle, the orchards, in many cases 

 ;onfined to the old and unimproved varieties of 

 r-uit, the absence of the many cDnveniences of 

 he systematic farmer, oflfer but little inducement 

 r temptation to embrace the life of the cultivator 

 f the soil. But on a closer examination there 

 nay generally be found land as strong and pro- 

 ductive as most of the New England States, and 

 icilities which, if improved, may make the farm- 

 r's life, what it ought to be, one of which he may 

 le envied the enjoyment. 



In riding ahmg througli the upper part of the 

 5tate, one of the first things which strikes 

 lie eye of one aitcnstomed to the comfort and 

 eatness of most of the vvell cultivated farms in 

 lassachusetts is, the great extent of land around 

 lany of the farm houses which lies uncultivated 

 nd unimproved, which now is not only unpleasant 

 the eye, but from the taxes which the farmer 

 ays for all this and the expense of keejiing it 

 roperly inclosed, must be a heavy drawback on 

 le profits of the whole farm. As a general rule, 

 le farmer, by judicious management and a proper 

 otation of crops, might here, as in many other 

 tales in New England, raise as much from one 

 alf as he now does from the whole of his farm ; 

 ia profits from tliis half would be very much 



"everlasting hilis," might still remain on their na- 

 tive soil, and make happier if not better men 

 than when transplanted to the counters or work- 

 shops of the city, or compelled to seek in the far 

 West a subsistence which they ought to draw from 

 " their own, their native" soil. 



Whence arises this want of knowledge of his 

 best interests? — It is from a reverence for old 

 customs and ancient usages. It is too often the 

 case that the farmer practises on the old-fashioned 

 modes of cultivation |)ursucd by his ancestors, — 

 uses the antiquated and unwieldy tools they used, 

 neglects and despises the improvements in farming 

 and domestic economy of a later day ; and if he is 

 told there are better and more economical modes 

 of culture, v/hich will make him more indepen- 

 dent and render his labors lighter, as well as more 

 profitable, his usual retort is, "All this is very well 

 to talk ahout, — it looks well on paper — but I don't 

 like book farming, nor newfangled notions — I've 

 got along well enough so far, and made a liv- 

 ing, and why should I trouble myself about im- 

 proving ?" — This " well enough" is what keeps 

 half the world contented in their original obscurity, 

 represses the promptings of a laudable and honest 

 ambition to improve themselves and their pos- 

 terity — were I emperor or king for a day I w ould 

 condemn every person who professed himself a 

 disciple of this " well enough" school to thetread 

 mill for a year. I often wish, Mr Editor, when I 

 hear such answers, that I had a moiety of your 

 brain as manufactured into the " Complete Farmer," 

 or a vohwne of your weekly hebdomadal, that I 

 might act as a missionary-at-large, and leave one 

 at the house of every one of these farmers, — with 

 the request that during the long winter evenings 

 they would read and " inwardly digest" its practi- 

 cal residts, its pithy precepts, its sage maxims, 

 and its black and tohite demonstrations, so plain 

 that the most obtuse could see and learn tlie ad- 

 vantages of good, scientific farming — be it book- 

 farming or not, so long as it be practical. Were I 

 to resort to farming once more, I hardly know how 

 I could do without one or both of the above 

 works : and 1 would suggest to the Ofiicers of the 

 various Agricultural Societies in New England 

 the more gentrul adoption of the plan of 

 giving, instead of a small premium, a volume of 

 some valuab'e Agricultural work — It would, be- 

 side the value of the matter of the work, keep 

 the sulijcct constant'y in the mind of the farmer, 

 and incite him to new exertions. — It has been 

 very beneficial wherever adopted, and would help 

 to sustain our now feebly supported agricultural 

 works. Will some of the ofiicers of Agricultural 

 Societies who have ado; ted this plan give us, the 

 uninitiated in the plan, the results of their experi- 

 ence in this matter.' 



The fact is, the farmer and everybody else 

 knows, that " what man has done man can do 

 again," and when he reads of such rich and pro- 

 fitable results from good farming, the farmer must 



I Iiave wandered somewhat from my " way" 

 on this subject, which I deem of such great im- 

 portance. If you think these "Notes" worth 

 the room, you shall hear from me again in a 

 few more remarks on this subject and on some 

 others which I find in my note book. 



Your friend, Rusiicus m Urbe. 



iFor the New England Famier.] 

 SOILIKG WITH MERINO SHEEP. 



Friend Fessende.n, 



If it is thought that the following would be 

 useful to the wool-growers it may be published. I 

 should like to have sonic of them at least, try it, 

 and publish the result of their experiment in the 

 New England Farmer. 



It is two weeks since I commenced keeping my 

 Merino slieep twenty liours in the twentyfour, 

 under a well ventilated shed, and supplying them 

 plentifully with cut grass three times a day; al- 

 lowing them to run out in an adjoining lot about 

 two hours in the morning and two in the evening ; 

 keeping their shed well littered with straw, and 

 the remnant of their fodder. Every few days 

 we put a layer of earth for the pur|;ose of sweet- 

 ening the pen and making compost. So far as 1 

 have tried the cxpci ii.icnt, the sheep look well, 

 and, I think, are improving. 



Several advantages may be found in thi.s kind of 

 sheep management. 1st. They are kept out of 

 the dew, rains and hot sim, which are said to in- 

 jure both sheep and wool. 2d. We can keep our 

 sheep frotri running over the cattle pasture, which 

 we believe to be injurious to feeding cattle. 3d. 

 A large stock of cattle may be thus kept as well 

 as sheep. 4lh. It adds to our stock of manure. 

 .5th. The sheep are kept from dogs. The manure 

 will fully compensate for the trouble. 



Respectfully, M. P. 



Chester Countj, Penn. Gth Month, 23, 1835. 



Barn-yard Hog Pen. — Sir— My father, who.<ie 

 farm I inherited and took possession of two years 

 ago, had his hog-stye detached from his barn yard. 

 Immediately on entering upon the farm, 1 remov- 

 ed my pen by enclosing a j ortion of the barn yard. 

 I keep my stye well littered with straw, leaves, 

 weeds, soil from the woods, and meadow earth 

 obtained from ditching, by carting, together with 

 that put into the yard, from two to ten loads per 

 week. I sometimes put a few handfuls of rye in 

 different places in the yard and let in hogs. Feed- 

 ing them thus for a few days, they completely stir 

 up and commute the contents of the yard. I am 

 confident that I make four times the quantity of 

 manure that my father did, and with no increasa 

 in number of stock — and of a better quality too, 

 comparatively none of its strength being washed 

 away by the rains, and eva; orated by the sun. 

 My farm consists of nearly 70 acres, princij>al y 

 in tillage. I am confident that I shall, in the 



course of a short time, get it all in a state of high 

 lore than it is now from the whole, and the hardy see where Lis true interest lies,aud go and do like- cultivation, without laying out any money in tha 

 ons of our fanners, born and bred among her wise. 'purchase of manure. Yarikee Farmer. 



