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AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



PUnLISHED BY JOSEPH BRECK & CO., NO 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, {Agricultural Warehouse.) 



VOL. XVII.] 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 5, 1838. 



[NO. 3(4. 



AGRICULTURAL. 



THINGS TO BE REMEMBERED. 



Wiiilor is coming-; — the long files of wild geese 

 on their way to the " sunny south," long since fore- 

 told its approach ; and ihe fleecy flakes have already 

 heralded its advent. Ready, or unready, it will 

 Boon be upon us ; and much of our prosperity as 

 farmers, and our comfort as individuals, is depend- 

 ing on the preparation we are making, or have 

 made, to meet it. The man has little pretension 

 to the character of a good farmer, who has not 

 already made ample provision for his flocks and his 

 herds ; and prepared indoor and out, for the wants 

 and comforts of his family ; suc'i will not be of- 

 fended if reminded of things by them already an- 

 ticipated, while the heedless and the negligent 

 need continual prompting to keep up with the 

 months. 



It should be remembered that an animal in high 

 order the first of December is already half winter- 

 ed. The quantity of food required to keep such 

 an animal in good heart through the winter, and 

 bring hira out smart and active in the spring, is 

 much less than when he is poor in the fall, and the 

 danger of loss is reduced to the lowest possible 

 rate. See then that your stock is in good condi- 



It should be remembered that an animal provided 

 with a good warm stable or bed, will, to winter 

 equally well, require only three fourths of the food 

 necessary for one that runs at large and is exposed 

 to the severity of the weather. Never undertake 

 to fat an animal, without first making it comfortable. 

 Much is annually lost by neglecting this precau- 

 tion. 



It shotd^' be remembered that where grain is fed 

 to stock, cooking it will cause it to afford at least 

 one fourth more nourishment than if given raw. 

 Grinding aids its nutritive effect materially; but 

 cooking, as by steaming, still more. Thus it has 

 ■ been found by actual experiment, that half a bushel 

 of corn, ground into meal and made into pudding, 

 is equal in effect to three pecks, fed to swine in 

 the usual way, a saving of no small moment vhere 

 numbers of hogs are fed. In feeding potatoes, the 

 saving by steaming or boiling is equal to one half. 

 Cobs and corn-stalks, made fine and steamed, will 

 keep a horse or cow in better condition than the 

 best hay ; and these things are usually wasted. 



It should be remembered that it is miserable 

 policy to burn green wood ; yet how many there 

 are who rarely use any other. Did you ever cal- 

 culate the quantity of dry wood it takes to drive 

 off in steam the water from a green oak or beech 

 stick ? — if you have, you can estimate the direct 

 loss there is in the use of unseasoned wood. Add 

 to this the vexations consequent on loss of time, 

 temper, and comfort, and you will hesitate before 

 you conclude to pass the winter by drawing and 

 burning one green stick at a time. Wood cut in 

 October will not season as well as if cut in the 

 early part of the year ; but the winds will carry 



off some of the moisture, and the wood will be 

 much better than if direct fj-om the forest or 

 stump. No wood, however, should lie long after 

 being cut into fire wood, without being placed under 

 cover. 



It should be remembered that the winter is the 

 farmer's time to store his mind v.'ith useful know- 

 ledge ; and his books and papers should be provided 

 accordingly. In the winter, if he has calcula- 

 ted his affairs aright, the farmer is prepared to en- 

 joy himself ajid the society of his friends ; tq_study 

 books relating to his business, or those on subjects 

 of general interest; and to attend to the education 

 and welfare of his children. No farmer should be 

 without a shelf of well selected books, among 

 which should be found some of the best works on 

 agriculture, such as the manuals of Chaptal or 

 Davy; and no farmer who values his profession, or 

 wishes to conduct his operations understandingly 

 and profitajly, will fail of having at command, 

 one or more of the agricultural periodicals of the 

 country. 



It should be remembered tliat ergot will produce 

 disease in animals, and he who, knowing this fact, 

 undertakes to winter Ids cattle on this substance, 

 or on hay that contains it in large quantities, must 

 e.xpect little sympathy, if he finds his stock of 

 catile sadly decreased in the spring by the hoof-ail. 

 It should be remembered that all animals require 

 shelter, and none p^thaps more ?o tl-.an sheep ; yet 

 the barbarous and irrational custom prevails of 

 giving them the "cold side of the barn," and al- 

 lowing them to endure the severest storms without 

 protection of any kind. Is it wonderful then that 

 multitudes of these valuable animals perish yearly ; 

 or that farmers pay dearly for their inattention in 

 this respect ? 



It should be remembered, that care, prudence 

 and economy, are necessary to success in life in 

 any department, and in none more so than in that 

 of the fanner. Riches are of no value, any fj.r- 

 ther than they furnish the means of benefiting our- 

 selves and others. The greater part of the men 

 who have attained competence and wealth in this 

 country have done it by tlieir own unaided exer- 

 tions ; and the men who have made themselves the 

 most distinguished in the annals of our country, 

 have come up from the ranks of the people, sup- 

 ported only by their industry, integrity and- talents. 

 A farmer has no right to be ignorant, he has no 

 right to be idle ; — industry and intelligence take a 

 bond of fate, and ensure success. The favors of 

 fortune are open to all ; but no matter of what 

 nature they may be, they can only be won by intel- 

 ligent and well directed toil. — Genesee Farmer. 



In the fall, after we have had two or three freez- 

 ing nights, collect as many solid heads of cabbage 

 as you wish to preserve, salt up, (say fifty for a 

 family of 6 or 8 persons,) take off all tbe green 

 and impLM-fect leaves, cut each head lengthwise 

 through the heart, and cut that clean out. A cab- 

 bage knife should now be procured on which the 

 cabbage should be cut fine, and a strong cedar or 

 other barrel, previously well soaked and cleaned at 

 hand, the bottom of which to be laid over with cab- 

 bage leaves ; fine salt now to be well mixed with 

 portions of the cabbage in the proportion of a pint 

 of the former to a heaped bushel of the latter, and 

 those gradually packed in the barrel by gently 

 st-imping with a suitable wooden rammer. When 

 the barrel is nearly full, it should be placed in a 

 cool dry cellar, on boards, the bottom secured from 

 pressing out ; a barrel head or pieces of boards 

 laid on the tup of the cabbage, and a heavy weight 

 laid on them. In a week or ten days the pickle 

 should cover the cabbage, or a weak brine must be 

 prepared and poured over when fermentation will 

 commence ; and from this time to the end of the 

 season, once a week, the froth should be skimmed 

 off, and the boards, weight, and sides of the barrel, 

 cleanly washed. At the end of two weeks it will 

 be fit to cook ; and as much of its savory and sal- 

 utary quality depends on this, I will describe the- 

 manner I do it. I take np at a time as much as 

 will mskc two mf^sses, i as, -warming up -what is left 

 the first day is no injury to it :) put it. to. a tin bi.nl'- 

 er with a piece of fat pork ; and, if I have it,, * 

 spoonful or two of goose- or other dripping, and 

 just sufficient water to boit it nearly dry over a 

 smart fire in three hcurs. Boiled potatoes should 

 always be eaten along with sour krout, as alone it 

 is too fat, cooked in this manner, to niake a meal. 

 The potatoes are better boiled in a separate vessel, 

 but they can be boiled with fche krout; though very 

 apt to get heavy. Sour krout should be all used 

 before the approach of warm weather, as the quan- 

 tity of salt here recommended is too small to pre- 

 serve it. When it is intended to be used on ship 

 board in a warmer climate, more salt is necessary, 

 and in that case it should be rinsed or soaked in 

 fresh water before cooking. Winter Diet. 



(From the Genesee Farmer.) 

 SOUR KROUT. 

 Ma Tdcker, — The manner of preparing this 

 article of food, is not as generally known as its 

 value entitles it to be ; and with a desire to extend 

 it to the benefit of your readers, I have written this 

 for publication in your paper. 



THE MOUNT VERNON FARMER. 

 The fame of Gen. Washington as a soldier and 

 statesman is universally known and highly admired 

 by all who appreciate talents, worth and love of 

 country ; but his character as a farmer was less 

 known in his day, and his memory in this respect 

 is not venerated according to its desert. Posses- 

 sing ample means and the most ardent love of rural 

 life, he was one of the first experimental and prac- 

 tical farmers in Virginia. His estate at Mount 

 Vernon consisted of 10,000 acres of land in one 

 body, equal to about fifteen miles square. It was 

 divided into farms of convenient size, at the dis- 

 ! tance of two, three, four and five miles from his 

 mansion house. These farms he visited every day 

 in pleasant weather, and was constantly engaged 



