170 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



DECEMBER 5, IH 3S 



in making experiments for the improvement of ag- 



riciiltvire. 



Sonne idea of the extent of his farming opera- 

 tions may be formed from the followiufj facts : in 

 178;! lie had 500 acres in {^rass — sowed (iOO bushels 

 of oats — 700 acres witii wheat, and prepared as 

 mucli more for corn, barley, pntatnes, beans, peas, 

 &c_ and 150 with turnips. Hi*; stock consisted of 

 140 horses, 112 cows, 985 working oxen, heifers 

 and steers, and 500 sheep. He constantly employ- 

 ed 250 hands, and ktpt 24 plouirhs going during 

 the whole year, when the earth and the state of 

 the weather would permit. In 178(), he slaughter- 

 ed 150 hogs, weighing 18,5C0 lbs., for the use of 

 his family, besides provisions for his negroes. — 

 iSi7/i Culturist. 



(From the Pawtuckcl Gazelle.) 



FARMING. 



It is a source of regret to see in this country so 

 little attention paid to agriculture. With a climatic 

 of almost every variety, a soil of almost boundless 

 extent, iind in point of richness and fruitfulness 

 surpassed by none under heaven, and able men 

 enough to cultivate it, yet we annually import from 

 the populous kingdoms of the old world ship load 

 after ship load of grain and liay. This is a singu- 

 lar fact, but not less true than singular. 



In these degenerate days il is considered more 

 fashionable by our young men to measure tape by 

 the yard and molasses by the gallon, to tinker in 

 a jeweller's shop, or stick type in a printing offlct-, 

 to sit behind the counter of a bank, or learn to 

 shave notes in a broker's office, to prescribe physic, 

 or practice law, than it is to cultivate the soil* — 

 Hence the sons of our farmers, as soon as they'.ure 

 capai>le of entertaining three ideas, become restless 

 a.nd wish to leave the farm and paternal roof, and 

 Tush into some city or town, there as they fondly 

 imagine, to become rich and happy. They detect 

 not their error until it is too late to retrace their 

 steps ; the Rubicon is passed, and they must go 

 on. Hundreds of them might perhaps return 

 were it not for " pride, erring pride ;" but when 

 they are about to embark on their fortune-seeking 

 expedition, in their last interview with their half 

 iveeping sister or sympathizing cousin, with the 

 pomposity and consecpiential air of a corporal in 

 miniature, they make it known in words big with 

 the fate of young fortune hunters, that their coun- 

 tenances will not be again seen by a country lass, 

 till their pockets are filled with the world's wealth, 

 and their heads with the world's wisdom. 



The consequence of all tiiis, is, that almost every 

 branch of business in our cities and largo towns is 

 crowded with practitioners, and ceases, in a great 

 degree, to be either honorable or profitable. Only 

 a very few ever rise to eminence, but how many 

 more drag out a wretched existence, and go down 

 to the grave " unwept, unhonored, and unsung !" 

 and not a few are followed to the tomb by the 

 curses and maledictions of those whom they have 

 injured. 



Could those who are about to •■inbark on the 

 rough sea of life be taught wisdom without expe- 

 rience, how difierent would they shape their 

 course. But they are like the child who wished to 

 go to the show, and was refused permission by its 

 parents. 



" You used to go," was the plea of the child. 

 " Ves, my dear ; but we have seen the folly of 

 it" 



" Well, I want to see the folly of it too." And 

 a young man may be told by older people the folly 

 of certain acts, hut, like the child, " he wants to 

 see the folly of them too." 



Tlie life of the farmer is better calculated than 

 any other to secure happiness to him who performs 

 its duties. He is not subject to those vicissitudes 

 of fortune which drive slumber from the fevered 

 pillow of the trader, speculator and gambler. The 

 winter's storm disturbs not his peace, for he has 

 no ship at sea to be wrecked by the winds and 

 waves ; a fall in tlie price of merchandise affects 

 him not, nor is it of importance to him whether 

 the banks discount or not. He is elevated above 

 the wrangler of the city ; independence is his 

 shield and buckler ; in the spring be sows his seed 

 and if Ood prospers the labor of the husbandman, 

 an ample harvest will be the reward of his toil. 



Nor do we think it necessary for those who live 

 by tilling the soil to leave their own New England. 

 Our land needs nothing but proper cultivation to 

 make it yield sufficiently to satisfy all our reasona- 

 ble desires. At present it is neglected. We know 

 that in the far west labor is less required to raise 

 the same amount of produce, but there are disad- 

 vantages to be encountered there which more than 

 offset this single circumstance. Besides, man is 

 supposed to be bound by ties creditable to his na- 

 ture to the scenes of his childhood and the tombs 

 of his fathers. These ties should not be ruthlessly 

 severed. The first and principal reason urged by 

 the savage against removing to a new place of 

 abode, is, that he will have to leave the ashes of 

 his fore-fathers -behind him. Should this noble 

 principles be less active in the breast of the Chris- 

 tian than of the savage ? There are a thousand 

 objects around the place of our nativity ever 

 dear to memory. The west niiiy possess much 

 to recommend it — its mountains, rivers, and 

 prairies — 



" No, never arched the blue sky oVr 



A land more fair and free ; 

 But the stream around my father's door 



Is dearer far to mc." 



There are other considerations which should 

 bind us to " this our native land." The pilgrims 

 landed here, and consecrated tlie soil to civil and 

 religious liberty. If, as many think, innovations 

 are made on the rights of individuals, let us endea- 

 vor to correct the evil, but not desert the home of 

 our ancestors. New England will ever be cele- 

 brated for the part she acted in our revolutionary 

 struggle, and her sons may ever feel proud, under 

 all circumstances, to point to her as their home. 



" Land of tlie forest and the rock. 



Of clear blue lake and mighty river. 

 Of mountain reared aloft to mock 

 The storm's career, the ligntning's shock, 



My own green land forever. 



O, never may a son of thine, ' 

 Where'er his wandering steps incline, 

 Forget the sky that beamed above 

 His childhood like a dream of love." 



SWINE. 



There is a groat number of breeds of swine, 

 highly recomnjended before the public'; some pre- 

 ferring claims to favor of one kind, and some of 

 another. Some fat easy, are quiet, and orderly, but 

 are not heavy enough for the farmer, as it is said ; 

 as the Chinese in its pure or nearly pure state. 

 Another sort are large and heavy, but require a 



long time to perfect their growth and get fat, are 

 restless and uneasy, and evidently have little or 

 none of the quiet eastern blood in their carcasses. 

 Of this kind are the large Hampshire and W oburn 

 breeds, from which many of the varieties of the 

 swine in this country are descended. There are 

 other kinds, such as the Berkshire, and what is 

 called the smaller Woburn and Bedford swine, 

 who unite in a great measure the quick fattening 

 properties of the Chinese, and the greater weight 

 of the heavier varieties, and are evidently fortunate 

 crosses of some of the English k nds with the 

 Chinese pig. 



Of the several varieties in this country the kind 

 most esteemed are the Chinese, of which there are 

 comparatively few pure blooded animals, and these 

 are principally kept for the purpose of crossing ; 

 the Mac Kay breed from the vicinity of hoston, 

 and quite as favorable in that section, but evidently 

 a cross from the Berkshire, with souie other breed 

 of English derived hogs, most probably from color 

 and form the Cheshire white pig, a very valuable 

 and fortunate cross however, and the Berkshire 

 variety, which has been widely disseminated 

 through the northern states, and has proved of su- 

 perior value and well worthy of the notice it has 

 received. 



That new varieties of the hog may be produced, 

 ad infinitum, is evident from the nature of the case, 

 and there can be no good reason given, why by 

 fortunate and skilful selections from the different 

 and most esteemed kinds, a breed or breeds supe- 

 rior to any yet known may not be produced ; com- 

 bining in the greatest possible degree the requi- 

 sites of size, quiet easy feeling, and fine flavored 

 meat, which it is clear all the present kinds do not 

 possess. In the making of pork the color of the 

 animal should weigh but little, still an inferior 

 variety of white, would meet with more favor, than 

 a superior one, if unluckily it was of a black or 

 dark color ; this has been seen in the case of the' 

 Berkshire, a prejudice as unworthy the farmer, as 

 that which still leads many to prefer the old fash- 

 ioned red cow or ox, be they ever so badly built, to 

 clean handsome formed Durham, because the latter 

 is spotted. 



Numbers of the best Berkshire swine have within 

 a few years been introduced into this country ; 

 some by Mr. Hawes of Albany county, from which 

 Mr. Bement's valuable stock are derived; and still 

 more lately by the Messrs Brintnall of Orange 

 county, some of which have attained a very great 

 weight, two at eighteen months each weighing 

 .500 pounds each. Parkinson in his treatise on 

 live stock, after de.-cribing the Berkshire pig, as 

 being thin skinned, hair curled, and without bristles, 

 says : — " The pigs of this kind I took to America, 

 received the appellation of Parkinson's no-bristle 

 ]>igs. The Americans were so partial to this breed, 

 that I sold sucking pigs weighing '20 to ;{2 lbs. 

 each, at 20 dollars a sow, and 25 dollars a boar. I 

 knew a pig of this kind, killed at the a.-e of 15 

 months which weighed 574 lbs." 



A letter *rou. the Hon. Oliver Fiske, in the 3d 

 volume of the Now England Fanner, gives a ver- 

 sion of the introduction uf these pigs by Parkinson, 

 rather different from the above, and which shows 

 the origin of the excellent breeds of swine around 

 Boston, such as the Mac Kay, Worcester, Bedford, 

 &c. By the way this same ''English farmer" 

 Parkinson, is the individual who on his return to 

 England, published a book on agriculture, in which 

 he asserts, — that the American cattle are kept so 



