AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



PUBLISHCn BY JOSEPH BRECK & CO., NO. 62, NORTH MARKET STREET, (A«r..cu,,tural VVahrhouse.)-T. G. FESSENOEN, EDITOR. 



\ OI... XV. 



nOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 12, 1837. 



N- . 40. 



A^Sia-S^lS.II'W^^IS.a 



CFrom tha N. H. Patriot.) 

 E.xtnict from an Jlildress, read before the Merri- 

 mack County .^griciiltiual feoi-iety, at their an- 

 nual Cattle Show and Fair, Ijolden at Concord, 

 N. H., Oct. 1836, liy Cyrus Barton. 



INDIAN CORN. RIDGING. 



There is a mode of culture in practice in some 

 parts of the State, which, in my opinion, is far 

 preferable to that generally practiced in this coun- 

 ty. Preferalile, because more than one lialf of 

 the labor of ploughing and hoeing is saved, and 

 !it the satnc time a better crop is obtained. The 

 mode is this: When a piece of mowing or pas- 

 ture land is to be broken up in the spring for corn, 

 the first thing is to sjiread the manure evenly over 

 the wliolc surface. The ground is next thrown 

 into ridges, by means of a plough with double 

 mould-hoaids" and shares,— so that a furrow is 

 turned up on each side of the plough as it |)asse.s 

 along. Instead of going romul, or "marking oft' 

 a himl," as it is termed, the plough retm-ns on the 

 same side, within 20 or 24 inches of the first fur- 

 row. You then have a ridge — the edges of tlie 

 two furrows coining nearly in contact, the grass 

 is covered up, and all the manure which was 

 spreail over the space occupied, is thrown within 

 the rid^e. A man follows with his lioe to mend 

 up thc'iurf where it breaks and falls back, and to 

 fill up the interstices between the edges of the 

 turf with soil from the furrow. 



As the ground only requires to be ploughed to 

 the dei)th of about four or five inches, two yoke 

 of oxen will easily plough two acres and a half 

 in a day, and which, where the ground is tolera- 

 bly smooth and free from stone, the man who fol- 

 lows will dress and render fit for i)lantiug in the 

 same time— or, as is frequently practised, the corn 

 is dropped and planted, at the same lime the 

 ridges are dressed ; and which is no doubt the 

 better way. 



Here then is a vast saving of labor; for I be- 

 lieve that ploughing one acre, by the [iresent mode, 

 is a good ilay's work ; and on the intervale lands 

 in this town, the services of not less than 3 yoke 

 of cattle are required. But this is not all— for the 

 ground then has to be harrowe<l, cross-ploughed, 

 and furrowed out for planting. So that the dif- 

 ference in labor, of jirepariag grass-land for a corn 

 crop, is as three to one in favor ot ridging. 



But this is not the only advantage. The ground 

 being ploughed at the very time of planting, after 

 the grass had become green, the decomposition of 

 the turf and manure, thrown together within the 

 ridge, causes fermentation to take place, the ge- 

 nial warmth of which causes the com rapidly to 

 spring up, ami come forward with a vigorous and 

 healthy growth, and with the whole of the manure 

 confined within range of its roots, subject neither 

 to evaporation or to be washed away by rains, the 

 corn usually comes to maturity some eight or ten 



days earli.T, than when treated in a difl'ercnt man- 

 ner. 



This mode of ridging has long been practised 

 in Sullivan County. More than twenty years ago, 

 before I left the fiirni for the more arduous and 

 severe labors of the worksho]), I assisted in dres- 

 sing these ridges. The improved plough was at 

 that time unknown, and the ridges were then 

 tnade by ))assing the common plough through both 

 ways in the same furrow. It' is the only mode 

 practised in some of the country towns of that 

 county now, whether the surface be rough or 

 smooth, or the ground wet or dry, when a crop 

 of corn is to be taken from grass land ; and 1 am 

 happy to say that the experiment has been tried 

 here," during the ju'esent season, with the most 

 satisfactory results. 



At the suggestion of Paul Jacobs, Esq., who 

 last year represented the town of Croydon in the 

 Legislature, and who is one of the most extensive 

 and best farmers in Sullivan County, Mr William 

 Low of this town was induced to send for one of 

 the improved ploughs for ridging ; and with which 

 he ridged several acres on the intervale, which he 

 planted with corn, and from which he has real- 

 ized a tolerable crop,betti!r than most of his neigh- 

 bors—though not so good as the average of a 

 good year. Mr Robert Eastman of this town pre- 

 pared a few acres of his ground in the same nuin- 

 nor, and with a like result. This plough may 

 also' he used to great advantage in the cilrivation 

 of potatoes, two acres and a half of which may 

 he ploughed and' planted in a day, with the assis- 

 tance of two ])ersons to drop the seed as th(^ ground 

 is ploughed, and which is covered by the ))!uugh- 

 ing and dressing the ridges. 



After the crop has been taken from ground pre- 

 pared in this manner, the plough is run through 

 the ridges lengthwise, either in fall or spring, and 

 the soil prepared for the succeeding crop. 



If, then, as has been fully denuinstrated, a sav- 

 ing of one half if not two thirds of the labor of 

 breaking up grass land and preparing it for a corn 

 crop, can be realized by this mode of culture, and 

 at the same time a better crop produced, it is cer- 

 tainly worthy the attention of the farmers of this 

 county, who I am satisfied, will give to the sub- 

 ject ail the consideration which its im|)oitance de- 

 mands. 



(rrom the Farmer's Register.) 

 ON TUia ABl'SK 



And proper treatment «/ f-l'ork horses. 

 I was much pleased with a couununication 

 signed W., from Charlotte, in the February No. 

 of your useful and valuable journal, on the feed- 

 ing of work-horses. In no other portion of the 

 globe, where that invaluable animal, the horse, is 

 domesticated, is he more esteemed, more lavisli- 

 ly fed, and yet at the same time, more cruelly and 

 shamefully neglected, than in Virginia, east of the 

 Blue Ri<lge, and I am always pleased to see any 

 effort made to meliorate the condition of this faith- 

 ful and steadfast friend of man. It has been fre- 



quently a matter of astonishment to me, that the 

 Virginians, with their iirovcrbial fondness for the 

 horse, (to say nothing of his acknowledged and 

 indispensable" value) should always have been, and 

 continue to be culpably ignorant or negligent in 

 what I will call horse-husbandry. Nine men out 

 often, pay nwkind of regard either to hiscnmfort 

 or his nature, lie is treated moie as a machine 

 made of wood or iron, than as a living being. In 

 winter he is exposed in wretched hovels, to the 

 " peltings of the intiless stortu," and in snnuner 

 he is imprisoned in the same miserable goals, to 

 inhale the noxious stench and malaria, arising 

 from the putrcsi ent excrement and filth of his 

 stall. After a hard day's work, or ride, the un- 

 thinking (not to say unfeeling) owner (or brute) 

 alights "from the back of this faithful and jaded 

 friend, and instead of going to his stall— in per- 

 son attending to his food— seeing that it is neither 

 too much nor too litlle, and of the right sort, and 

 causing his stifi^ened joints to be rubbed, and the 

 perspiration and dust to be curried from his skin 

 and a soft bed thrown down, upon which the wea- 

 ried creature may repose and resuscitate himself 

 for the morrow's labor, as common gratitude and 

 interest both would suggest, this submissive and 

 uncomplaining servant is coldly consigned over 

 to the tender mercies of the slave ; and too f:e- 

 quently, after a day perhaps of unprecedented la- 

 bor, spends a night of corresponding inquietude 

 and nusery. No wonder tlien, that we so fr.;- 

 quently see such woe-begone and :ni»eralv'e look- 

 ing jades tottering along in orrr teams. No won- 

 der that the horse is becondng short-lived, and as 

 many farmers think unworthy of raising; and no 

 wonder that that long-eared, stubborn, ill-contriv- 

 ed wretch, that thrives upon beating, the mule, is 

 so fast succeeding and shoving out this noble an- 

 imal. Your corresi)Oiident has well observed, 

 " that the master's att.-ntiou is half feed." • Yes, 

 sir, in this word atfent-'on is comprised, the whole 

 wisdom of horse management; and this necessary 

 attention needs no phrenological bump for its de- 

 velopment ; neither need a man " like a poet or 

 a nainter, be born with it,"— for it is so simple 

 that any man, be he while or black, may h\'irn it, 

 or be made to learn it. Were 1 asked what is the 

 best method for kee].ing horses in good order ?_ 

 without stopping even to glance at what kind of 

 fiiod they ate, I should promptly answer attention. 

 This is the whole and only secret ; for whilst 

 some kinds of fond are decidedly better and cheap- 

 er than others, yet ^vilh attention a healthy horse 

 will thrive on any food that he will eat. In the 

 first place, atvend to your stable, make it a com- 

 fortable bouse, let it keep out the rain and ward 

 off the, winter winds. In summer when the wea- 

 ther is fair and hot, «hen you take out of harness 

 at night, feed your horses in a lot adjoining the 

 stable" (leaving the stable dc.or op.n in case of 

 rain)— for it is too bad after a horse has labored 

 hard all day, to cage him up in a narrow cell all 

 night; turn him into a lot and let him wallow and 

 walk about and enjoy the cool breezes. At least 



