346 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



MAY 10. ig-.r. 



Mr Prentiss: — As it is now about time to 

 tliiiiU of souiiig Wlieat, i vvi!l state tlie method 1 

 liavo folUnved for more tlian twenty years past to 

 raise wheat. In the first plaee, in the winter of 

 1814, 1 went to Vermont, and there piirehased 3 

 different kinds of wheat. In the spring; follow- 

 ing, I sowed of each kind one half Imshel, on the 

 same field, wljieh was similar in quantity and 

 qualify of soil. That seed which did the best, 

 was said to have been raised 'ri Colcliester in Ver- 

 mont, from which 1 selerted my seed whieli I 

 have sowed e\ery year since — having liad within 

 the time, tlirea other different kinds of wheat, 

 which 1 liave sowed some tv/o or three years, lull 

 finding none to do so well as the Colchester wheal, 

 I have continued to sow of that to the i>rescnt 

 thne, and do not know but it does as well now as 

 at first. 



In preparing my wheat fi>r sowing, I take a 

 lui> that will hold 4 or 5 paildils, fill it with wa- 

 ter, S) that half a bushel of wheat will make the 

 water rim over, or nearly so. Then winnow half 

 a bushel of wheat into the water, by which time 

 most of the foul seed will rise and run off, or may 

 be skimmed olT; then drain the tub of water and 

 fi 1 it again, with the wheat in, anil while the 

 wheat is agitated with the Hater, by stirring, turn 

 qnii kly off the second quantity of water, with 

 what rises between the surface of the water 

 and the good gr.in below. In this way you may 

 cletu- your seed from almost ;dl its impurities. — 

 Perhaps a few kernels of good grain mny, in drain- 

 ing oft the water, rise to the surface, which the 

 smallest touch will settle to the good wheat be- 

 l(.w. After tiie wheat is sufficiently drained of 

 water the second time, I mix slaked lime or ashes 

 in sufficient quantity to make the wheat dry 

 enough to sow. Sow it the stmie day, or within 

 three days, as yon please. 1 have sometimes put 

 half a bushel of aslies to otie bushel of wheat, 

 which answers the same purpose as lime. Forty 

 quarts of wheat are iis much as I generally sow 

 oil one acre. I do not knjw tliat 1 have ever seen 

 a siTiulty kernel, or had a l)lasted crop within the 

 time above slated. I do not rei-ollert having i--aised 

 more than 22 bushels from sowing one bushel, nor 

 less than 12 from the same quantity of seed. I 

 have raised 32 bushels from one and a half bush- 

 els from the last year's crop, which was 19 1-2 

 bushels from 40 quarts' sowing. I have 45 lbs. 

 of flour when ground and bolted at our best flour- 

 ing mills, from one bushel, after being tolled. 



Marlborough, April, 1837. [JV. H. Sent. 



"A Rolling Sto.ne gathers no Moss." — We 

 liave often had occasion to observe the restless 

 and discontented disposition exhibited by some 

 men, ivho always seem to think they could do 

 jTiuch better iii some other employment than that 

 ill which they are engaged, and who are lliere- 

 fore constantly shifting their business. Such men 

 jievcr become wealthy, because they are always 

 learning new kinds of business, and are engaged 

 in no one kind long enough to acquire that supe- 

 rior skill and knowledge in it which can alone 

 enable any one to carry it on advantageously, es- 

 pecially where he has to encounter competition. 



People in the country are a;it generally to be- 

 lieve that those who reside in the city, all lieco.me 

 enormously rich, and their fate is therefore an en- 

 vialile one ; hence we so often see those who pos- 

 sess good farms in the country, and are getting 

 ftlong well, who live independently, and ooght to 



live contentedly, selling them, and with the mon- 

 ey thus obtained, comnh'iicing business — business 

 which they know nothing about — in the city — 

 The almost invariable result of this attempt to 

 carry on a new bn.<iness in a new place, is fail- 

 ure, l)ankru|)tcy and disappointment; ending of- 

 ten in insanity or besotted drnnkenness. Nor is 

 the idea entertained by people in the country, 

 that those in the city make money with ease and 

 abundantly, correct. A!cn undergo more priva- 

 tion and labor harder in the city than they do in 

 the country. Their risks are also much greater, 

 and their cares and anxieties are of course pro- 

 [lortionably increaseil. True, individuals there 

 are, who acquire larger fortunes in a city than are 

 found in the country ; but, compared with the 

 whole number who start in the race of competi- 

 tion, how few thiTe are who are tlius successful ? 

 The thousands and hundreds of thousands who 

 fail, drop by the way-side and are crushed by the 

 moving mass, are never heard of; it is only those 

 who win — who live in large houses, give parties, 

 drive their carriages, wield a powerful influence 

 in banks, and become giants on Change, who at- 

 tract notice (Uid envy ? 



Again, how often is it fliat even these individ- 

 uals, whose happy h't (false estimate) excite the 

 envy of their fellow mortals, are seen to strut their 

 brief hours iipoi the stage — the ruling slar of the 

 day — and be then suddenly hurried from their 

 proud eminence, by reverse of fortune to the 

 depths of poverty and wretchedness! Is the lot 

 of such an one, an object to excite envy ? No ; 

 a thousand — ten thousand times happier is the 

 farmer who ploughs his field, tends his cattle, 

 gathers his crops, eats his bread moistened by the 

 sweat of his brow, and relishes his food and sleep 

 with an appetite which labor and contentment 

 alone can give. 



The folly of tniling night and day for years, to 

 acquire wealth, has been strikingly exemplified by 

 m.nny cases of failure within two weeks past, both 

 in Philadelphia and New York. The philosophai 

 and man of observation see in these cases lessons 

 of wisdom — the thoughtless pass them by unno- 

 ticed. — P/ii7. Com. Htr. 



Canal Tolos. — The Albany Argus states that 

 the amount of canal tolls received at the Collec- 

 tor's oflice in that city on Saturday last, tlie third 

 day of navigation, was $5461,23, and the number 

 of boats cleared was 54. The accoimt for the 3 

 first days of navigation for the last 4 years, stands 

 as follows : 



15oats. Total Receipts. 



1834 80 $5007 23 



1835 83 7056 44 



1836 52 6800 40 

 1S37 140 14,888 70 

 This result, says the Argii.s, is certainly calcu- 

 lated to Sxcite some surprise, wiien the prevailing 

 depression in money matters is considered ; and 

 it must be deemed a satisfactory i)roof that the 

 substantial interests of the country liave not been 

 materially affected, although many business men 

 in New York have fallen victims to the pressure. 



Wool — Many of the wool growers in this part 

 of New Hampshire and Vermont, have their last 

 year's stock on hand, lioping to realize much high- 

 er prices than those which it then would com- 

 mand. A large quantity of a superior quality is 

 kept in this way. Some mixed lots have been 



sold this spring to stijiply the demands of manu- 

 facturers in this section for 62 cents, but the grow- 

 ers generally prefer holding on to their best, to 

 disposing of it at reduced prices. 1 he new clip 

 is coming in soon, and it certainly will be re- 

 markable, if in the present depiessed state of 

 things, the stoppage and suspension of many man- 

 ufacturing establishments — the difficulty of real- 

 izing any thing upon their goods, which lie idle 

 at home, or in the hands of their factors — this 

 great Northern staple should not ex|ierience a de- 

 cline. — jV. H. Easle. 



A.MIF.Tr THE FREqUENT CaUSE OF I.NDIGES- 



TICK. — A prevalent cause of indigesti.":n is the de- 

 pressing influence of anxiety. In the present ilay 

 with men engaged in business, the mind is scarce- 

 ly ever free from care ; for men of business, is not 

 now as formerly, a simple matter of buying and 

 selling, and living by the profits ; it is now a mat- 

 ter of speculative gaining. Every trader alrtiost 

 is a speculator, and his mind is constantly kept 

 perpetually vibrating between hojie and fear, for 

 le knows and feels that the tiirningof a straw may 

 make him or mar him forever. Never was the 

 maxim, " Habcrem," &c., more religiously ob- 

 served than in the present day. No man is satis- 

 fied to live and rear his family to tread in his own 

 stejis. Every man is striving to be wealthy, — 

 Metropolitan Mag. 



Potato Chekse. — The Prussians appear to ex- 

 cel llie Irish in their fondness for potatoesas well 

 as various modes of preparing them for use. A 

 recent traveller states that he has frequently on 

 one occasion, seen tiiem served in si.x different 

 forms, the bread made from them, the soup thick- 

 ened with them, frieil potatoe.s, potato saiab, and 

 potato dumplings ; and lastly, potato clu^rse, which 

 besiiles being extremely palat.dde, will keep some 

 years. 



Brick Machine. — We call the attention of Me- 

 chanics and Builders to the new Brick Making 

 Machine, just put in operation by Mr T.L.Smith, 

 at Evans's Old Brick Yard bilou the Methodist 

 Church. This machine mixes and ti:mpers the 

 clay, and delivers the moulds in a surprising and 

 rapid manner; and the Bricks thus moulded pre- 

 sent a beautiful and even appearance. We wish 

 the ingenious an 1 enterprising proprietor niiich 

 success. — Macon {Geo.) Tel. 



Smoky Chimneys. — It has been d.-arly demon- 

 strated by science and practical experiment, that 

 this great drawback upon domestic comfort, is re- 

 meilitid by an unerring and simple process, viz: 

 a slight but continued enlargement, cmnmencing 

 at the bottom of the flue, and extending to the 

 top. This is sure to (jroduce a draft, and it is 

 presumed that in most instances of defective chim- 

 neys, an inattention to thissim[)le rule, in the orig- 

 inal constriiMion, would be found the cause of the 

 evil. — J^iag. D..m. 



Industry. — We imdeistand that John L. Tap- 

 pan of East Kingston, N. W., a young man about 

 20 years of age, has made with his own hands in 

 the usual way, with the exception of the closing, 

 760 pair of men's thick pegged brogan shoes — a 

 good and substantial article, ^iiis is one of many 

 instances of like character in that section of the 

 State. 



