40 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



From l!ie Genesee Farmer. 



DICTIONARY OF TERMS USED IX AGRI- 



CUI/rURE, 



And in the Scieiires most inlimcitdy connected with 



its ndvnncrment. 



Cabbage. [Brnssica oterucea.) This well known 

 plant is extensively cultivated in most gardens for 

 culinary purposes; and in some places is grown 

 largely in tlie field for feeding to animals, 'i ho 

 cabbage fonned a prominent article in the plan of 

 Cobbett, by whicli one-fourth acre of land was to 

 support a cow the year round. In climates that 

 are suitable, the plant called the tree cabbage will 

 furnish a great amount of food, and is profitably 

 cultivated for animals. The common cabbage re- 

 quires a rich soil, and will thrive the best in loam. 

 It should be planted from four to six feet apart, 

 according to the kind ; some varieties being much 

 larger than others. Cabbages should be planted 

 as early as the ground can be fitted for their re- 

 ception, and those designed for summer use, 

 should be started in hot beds, where this conve- 

 nience is at hand. In the preservation of cabba- 

 ges for use in v^inter, they are generally put in 

 cellars, but they are very apt to mould and rot ; 

 and if the temperature is not very low, the heads 

 will crack open, and the new shoots put forth be- 

 fore the season for transplanting arrives, thus de- 

 stroying the head. Burying in the ground where 

 the earth is dry, the covering of earth comparative- 

 ly slight, is probably one of the best methods of 

 preserving them fresh and in good order. The 

 cabbage will bear a considerable degree of cold 

 without injury, if situated so that the frost is taken 

 out gradually by the earth. Large quantities are 

 annually made into sour krout, an article which 

 forms an important part of all ship stores destined 

 for long voyages, and to the use of which, much 

 of the exemption of sailors from their terrible dis- 

 ease the scurvy, is now to be attributed. There 

 are many varieties of this plant ; but the general 

 properties are the same. 



Calcium. This is the name of a metal discov- 

 ered by Sir H. Davy, and constitutes the basis of 

 lime. It is of a silver color, burns with great 

 brilliance when brought in contact with atmos- 

 pheric air, and absorbs oxygen so rapidly, that it 

 quickly assumes the form of lime. The term cnl- 

 careous as applied to earths containing lime, is de- 

 rived from this word; and in the form of carbonate 

 of lime, or common limestone, there is perhaps no 

 substance more universally diffused, or which acts 

 a more important part in the economy of vegeta- 

 tion. 



, Caloric. This is the name given to that agent 

 which produces heat and combustion, and e.xercises 

 a great influence on the principal phenomena of 

 nature. It is imponderable, and appears to exist 

 in two states — -free, or uncombined, and latent, or 

 combined. Perhaps there is nothing that has a 

 more decided influence in nature than caloric. Un- 

 der God, it seems to be the supporter of all vege- 

 table and animal life ; and it appears certain that 

 a state of absolute cold would be a state of abso- 

 lute death. The opinions of learned men at the 

 present time seem tending to the belief, that calo- 

 ric, electricity, galvanism, magnetism and light, are 

 effects of one and the same agent, depending for 

 the different appearances and effects on its accu- 

 mulation, rest or motion. On agriculture this a- I 

 gent acts with great effect, since the soil is cold or 

 hot according as it retains or parts with the caloric ' 



it receives from the sun. Soils that are black or 

 white receive the least benefit from heat ; the black 

 mould, while it acquires heat with great rapidity, 

 giving it off still more freely ; and the white soils, 

 owing their color principally to clay that retains 

 moisture very strongly, scarcely feel its influence, 

 the heat being carri'jd off in evaporating the water. 

 I he experiments of Rumford and Leslie show, that 

 a vessel covered with lampblack radiated heat at 

 the rate of 100°, while one made of bright tin plate 

 gave out only IS''. Soils in which mould or black 

 earth is properly combi^ned with silex and alumine, 

 will retain heat the longest, as the black gives it 

 out to the others instead of radiating it into space. 

 A melon laid on a bed of powdered charcoal will 

 ripen, when one on common earth will remain green 

 and immature. 



Calves. The young of the cow — bos of Lin. 

 The value of the futule o.x or cow is greatly de- 

 pending on the treatment the calf receives ; and 

 hence much attention has been paid to the rearing 

 of the young animal, in districts where tlie breed- 

 ing of cattle forms an important object to the far- 

 mer. Where circumstances will permit, allowing 

 the calf to run with the cow and draw his food di- 

 rectly from her, is probably the best method, since 

 it is that of nature ; but as the milk for dairy pur- 

 poses is valuable, breeders have substituted many 

 modes of feeding the calf, in which milk is partly 

 dispensed with, some other nutritive substance 

 taking its place. As a general rule, the calf should 

 be aliened to suck the cow till the milk is good. 

 Some allow them to suck a week or fortnight, ac- 

 cording to their strength ; but we have found that 

 where calves were to be taken off, the earlier it 

 was done the better for both cow and calf it was, 

 both making less ado at the separation. Accord- 

 ing to Marshall, a celebrated English breeder, the 

 best method after the calf is taken from the cow is 

 this : " new milk in the pail a few meals ; next, 

 new milk and skim milk mixed, a few meals more ; 

 then skim milk alone, or porridge made of milk, 

 water, oatmeal, and sometimes oil cake, till cheese 

 making commences ; after which, whey porridge, 

 or sweet whey in the field." When fed from the 

 pail, calves require about two gallons daily; but 

 care must be taken not to give it them too cold, as 

 it will cause the calf to purge. When this is the 

 case, one or two sf.ionfuls of rennet in the milk 

 will be a good remedy. Great regularity should be 

 used in feeding calves ; and they should always 

 have sweet grass or good clover hay to nibble up- 

 on in the intervals of feeding with milk. Calves 

 should always be housed in the winter, have good 

 hay, water and occasionally salt. They are easily 

 taught to eat carrots or turnips, and we never knew 

 a lot of calves that had each a good 'nubbin' of 

 corn daily from the hand of the master, and plenty 

 of good hay, that did not go through the first win- 

 ter well. 



(To he«ontinued.) 



Extract of a letter from Ohio, dated July 9. — 

 "There is a general failure of mulberry cuttings 

 in this region. We have all been humbtia-ired into 

 the plan of cutting the trees into single buds ; the 

 consequence is, not more than one-fifth of them 

 have vegetated." 



By another letter from Vermont, the same story 

 about the failure of cuttings is told, with the opin- 

 ion that in our climate the only way to ensure suc- 

 cess, is to lay down the root and stalk ; for where 

 this has been done, tliere is an abundant return of 



AUG. y, 1839. 



vigorous sprouts. Mulberry seed has universally 

 failed ; is it possible that this failure is a safety 

 «£t7 to screen the seller? 



Extract of a letter from Georgia, of July 16 : 



"Our mulberry trees, such as are spared by the 

 unexampled drought, are now growing finely ; 

 some will be from 5 to 10 feet high. VVhile rid- 

 ing out yesterday I passed a garden where I saw a 

 mulberry of this year's growth, and which I judged 

 to be from 10 to 11 feet in height. Respecting 

 the price of trees, T cannot exactly say what they 

 will be worth ; however, I should think 50 cents 

 might be a fair price. One house is offering trees 



of northern growth at 10 cents per foot. S is 



laying down his trees with all despatch, in hopes 

 of making up for the great loss and failure of cut- 

 tings. The large leaf Canton flourishes wonder- 

 fully ; the leaf is large and thick set upon the stalk. 

 Out of 20,000 cuttings only 814 have survived;- 

 and it is understood that some who have suflfered 

 yet more severely, have ploughed up their land 

 and planted it with corn ; but I hope that our few 

 cuttings saved, and what may be increased by lay- 

 ers, will, after all, make somewhat of an imposing 

 yield." — jVorthampion Courier. 



The Philadelphia Ledger says — "The Wash- 

 ington City Silk Company planted about 200,000 

 buds and roots upon about 12 acres of land, admi- 

 rably suited to the growth of Morus Multinaulis, 

 about the 25th of March ; they have now about 

 60,000 trees growing— 140,000 having failed ; they 

 selected the best buds for the planting, and have 

 had much better success than any other planter in 

 this vicinity, who depended upon one bttd cuttings. 

 A near neighbor of ours planted 20,000 buds raised 

 by himself and planted by his own hands during 

 every favorable season in April, and he cannot 

 count more than 200 of them growing; from what 

 I have seen and heard, the number of trees grow- 

 ing in this district this season, will be equal to 

 about one-tenth of the number next year. 1 sup- 

 pose 1,000,000 of worms are now feeding in these 

 ' ten miles square.' " 



From the Genrsee Farmer. 



Owing Hams. — I beg leave to present to tho 

 public my manner of preserving hams. I turn my 

 barrel over a pan or kettle in which I burn hard 

 wood for seven or eight days ; keeping a little wa- 

 ter on the head of the barrel, to prevent it from 

 drying. I then pack two hundred weight of ham 

 in my barrel and prepare a pickle, by putting six 

 gallons of water in a boiler with twelve pounds of 

 salt, twelve ounces of saltpetre, and two quarts of 

 molasses. This I stir sufficiently to dissolve tho 

 salt, &c , and let it boil and skim it. I then let it 

 cool and pour it on my ham, and in one week I 

 have smoked ham, very tender, of an excellent fla- 

 vor and well smoked. Wlien the weather becomes 

 warm, there will be a scuin rise on the pickle. By 

 keeping my ham under pickle, it will keep the 

 year round. 



It is better to have a good white oak barrel than 

 any other. Try it, and if you ever had meat smok- 

 ed earlier after killing, and more palatable, please 

 inform the public through the columns of your pa- 

 per. Yours, &c. 



H. FOWLER. 



Hanover, Mich., March 7, 1830 



