VOL. vvii, NO. r. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



53 



the number of fifteen. This great number dying 

 out of eighty, caused me to doubt the efficacy of 

 the remedy or that the disease was too rapid for its 

 effect. Shortly after, they were put up to fatten, 

 which tliey did very readily, and I was left in 

 doubts as to the etfects of the medicine, until the 

 day I butchered, when I found lumps of coagulated 

 matter, in the jowls of many, about the size of a 

 hazel nut or larger, without any signs of inflamma- 

 tion around tliem. I then came to the conclusion 

 that they would have died had it not been for the 

 remedy applied, and that the disease of those that 

 died had advanced too far to be cured by any 

 remedy. Observing that hogs kept in styes never 

 had the quinsy, I attributed it to the wholesome 

 (]uality of food they ate, and on the contrary, the 

 cause of their having it out of styes, to the perni- 

 cious qualities of hard dry grasses. Since 1830, 1 

 have invariably given my hogs during the spring 

 and summer months when grazing, slop or swill 

 once a week or oftener, consisting of kitchen slop 

 with cooked vegetables of various kinds, apples, 

 &c., with bran or a little meal, mashed to a paste, 

 salted and cooled off by adding a quantity of wa- 

 ter, and occasionally brimstone or saltpetre. Since 

 the above date, my attention has been directed to 

 the raising and fattening of hogs on the products of 

 a small farm, and have never yet lost a hog "by this 

 disease nor in my recollection by any other. My 

 opinion is still further supported as to the cause of 

 the swelled tliroat, by its being less frequent since 

 the practice lately adopted in putting the hogs to 

 to graze when the clover is young and tender, and 

 taking tfiem oft' when it is old and tough. 



Every body knows that tlie young and old hogs 

 should be kept apart in winter ; and yet how shame- 

 fullv this important matter is neglected by many. 

 Young and old, great and small are crowded to- 

 gether, day and night, mashing and smothering ; 

 and yet many will look on with heedless regard 

 at the great destruction of their young stock, with- 

 out separating them. When young and old are 

 fed together, the old will always get more than 

 their share, thereby the young become poor and 

 diseased, making little or no progress in growth. 



The breed of hogs best calculated for our gen- 

 eral purpose is yet to be ascertained. Within a 

 few years, great exertions have been made, at con- 

 siderable expense, to procure the best breeds, but 

 whether any of them answer our expectations, I 

 think very doubtful. The breeds imported here, 

 were improvements made to suit the purposes of 

 others under different circumstances, different soil 

 and climate, different food and management, and 

 under a different method of disposing of the pork ; 

 and according to our present mode of farming ; thus 

 differing from the metliods abroad, whence tliese 

 hogs have been brought, and our surplus pork being 

 chiefly driven to the south, I think ultimately they 

 will not do except in the event of the successful 

 completion of the railroad from Lexington to 

 Charleston. Then the smaller and earlier matured 

 hogs, the Byfields, the Berkshires, the Bedfords, 

 &c. will be more profitable than the larger breeds. 

 But should this all-important improvement to the 

 West, prove abortive, the hog that will be best 

 calculated for our interests, is yet to be improved 

 by some judicious cross from our present great 

 variety of breeds. The fat varieties, as the Bed- 

 ford, Berkshire, &c., from their early propensity to 

 fatten, are best for family use and home con- 

 sumption ; but owing to their incapability to travel. 



they must measurably give way to the longer 

 legged hog, until the railroad from Lexington to 

 Charleston is complete. BIRD SMITII, 



Member Ky. State Jig. Socidy. 



For Ihe New England Farnii 



SOWING CORN BROADCAST SUMMER 



SOILING, &c. 



Mr Editor — By summer soiling European wri- 

 ters mean tiie cutting of green food for cattle and 

 feeding it out without curing. And European wri- 

 ters frequently enlarge upon the advantages of this 

 practice. 



Some of the advantages of summer soiling are 

 said to be the following : — The same ground will 

 furnish food for cattle, in the proportion of from 3 

 to 5 by summer soiling ; ^here but one would be 

 kept without it. 



The cattle kept in well shaded yards, or well 

 ventilated stables will be guarded from the biting 

 flies, and the scorching sun, and will feed in com- 

 parative comfort, and of course will thrive on a 

 smaller amount of food. By summer soiling also 

 the quantity of manure may be greatly increased, 

 and may be used at any time and place which is 

 desired. The keeper will find however, that it is 

 somewhat more laborious to tut green food, and 

 to place it in the mangers before the cattle, than it 

 is to turn the cattle into the field and let them se- 

 lect and trample down for themselves. But in this 

 country there seemed to be a difficulty in finding 

 a succession of green crops for summer soiling 

 through the season, particularly in the latter part of 

 sununer. To obviate this difficulty a gentleman of 

 New London, Conn, sowed southern, long kernelled, 

 or horse tootli corn. This corn come on after the 

 first crops of grass were gone, and it come on too 

 at a time when pastures were frequently dead or 

 dried up. I have now been a number of years in 

 the practice of sowing horse tooth corn, broadcast, 

 for summer soiling, and the following experiment 

 made two years ago, was attended with results very 

 similar to the common results of experiments made 

 in other years : — 



ExPERtMENT. — On the 1.5th June 1836, about 

 16 square rods of ground which had been well ma- 

 nured, and well ploughed, were sown broadcast 

 with horse tooth corn, at the rate of four bushels of 

 seed to the acre. The seed was then lightly ploughed 

 in with a small horse plough, after which the ground 

 was harrowed and rolled. 



On the 19th of August following we began to 

 cut upon the crop of corn stalks which grew on 

 the above described ground. The crop which 

 gTew from the 16 rods of ground before mentioned 

 afforded forage for a horse from the i9th of Au- 

 gust to the 8th of October, and also afforded the 

 principal part of the food for a cow from the 5th 

 September to the 8th of October. Making 50 days 

 keeping for the horse and 33 days for the cow. 



On the 5th of September when this corn was 

 from 5 to 8 feet high, but had not eared or tasselled 

 out, tlie produce of one square rod was cut up, and 

 while green it weighed 375 lbs. This was at the 

 rate 30 tons to the acre. This 375 lbs. which was 

 cut from one square rod of grain was dried and on 

 the 27th October 1836 it weighed 86 1-4 lbs. which 

 is at the rate of 13,800 lbs. or 6 9-10 tons to the 

 acre. 



An acre of horse tooth corn, sowed in this way 

 on good ground, would probably affiird green forage 

 for 30 cows a month, or for 8 horses the same length 



of time. And we think such a crop of corn stalks, 

 is far superior to any crop of guinea grass, or cow 

 cabbage, which we could reasonably expect to grow 

 in this country. It is proper to remark hero how- 

 ever, that in order to make the horse active and 

 strong for business a little provender is very use- 

 ful. 



While the horse was eating the corn stalks as 

 before mentioned, he was allowed two ([uarts of 

 shelled corn per day, and with this allowance he 

 was more active and strong for business than when 

 he had his two quarts of siielled corn, and as much 

 good dry hay as he would eat. I may add, that 

 though cows eat the green corn stalks voraciously 

 for the first two or three days. If kept wholly on 

 the green stalks they are apt to get cloyed, and af- 

 terwards not to eat as well. The stalks are not 

 easily cured into good dry fodder. 



The advantages of sowing the horse tooth corn, 

 instead of some of the smaller sorts, are, the horse 

 tooth corn being a taller kind makes a much great- 

 er amount of fodder. 



It is a later kind, and therefore keeps green, and 

 in a fit condition to be foddered out much larger, 

 than the earlier sorts. 



There is considerable difference in the sweet- 

 ness of the stalks of different kinds of corn. And 

 it might be worth the attention of Agricultural 

 philosophers, to make experiments to decide, not 

 only which kind of corn stalks, yields the greatest 

 number of pounds to the acre, but also which yields 

 the greatest amount of nourishment to the acre. 



For those who are apt to be short for summer 

 pasture, particularly in August and September, will 

 not the cultivation of a patch of horse tooth corn, 

 sown broadcast be found to be a matter of consid- 

 erable practical importance ? 



Yours, respectfully, 



ASA M. HOLT. 



East Haddam, 15th August, 1838. 



TncK IN TOCR RUFFLE. — "We have a few nails 

 to make," said a blacksmith to his son as he come 

 from school at 12 o'clock Thomas tucked in his 

 ruffle and took off his coat, and was a blacksmith 

 till he earned his dinner, and eat it with a good 

 relish. " Put out your ruflle, Thomas, it is school- 

 time now," said the father. This is the picture of 

 the day ; but it would answer just as well for a 

 good many others. Thomas expected it ; and was 

 as happy with his ruffle tucked in, as his mates at 

 their play. 



It would be no bad notion, "in these hard 

 times " for many a young man to tuck in his ruffles, 

 and swing an axe, or hold a plough, or make a nail 

 — for many a young man, whose expectation of 

 riches from tlie gains of trade are sadly disappoint- 

 ed to earn a living in some calling which the world 

 honors less but pays better — some humble occupa- 

 tion, whicli while it holds out no delusive hope of 

 immense wealth by a single speculation, assures 

 him of competent food and raiment. 



We would here recommend Agriculture, in a 

 special manner. Not such farming as consists in 

 first running in debt for lands and mortgaging 

 them back for payment ; and then borrowing mon- 

 ey to put up fine buildings, and then hiring men to 

 carry on the farm. No ! this is not the way. — 

 But lay your own shoulder to the wheel — tuck in 

 your ruffle, and earn your bread by the sweat of 

 your brow. It will be the sweetest you ever ate. — 

 Franklin Farmer. 



