For ihe New Ciiglawl Farmer. 



JIk Kditor, — During my residence abroad, I 

 spent one suminer and a part of the autumn at 

 Merton, in Surry, domiciled will) a Mr Raine, ten- 

 ant to Mr xMidilleton, author of the Agricultural 

 Survey of Middlesex, with whom I was acquainted. 

 It was a hay and grass farm, and the management 

 of it was of the best description. It consisted of 

 160 acres, all improved as meadow, no plough 

 being used on tiie place except in the garden. The 

 course adopted was as follows. 



Early in the spring tlie fields were all shut up. 

 As soon as the hay was secured, and this was a 

 great labour, the teams commenced currying it to 

 London for sale, loading back with nianure. And 

 now comuienced that course of jiulicions conduct 

 which excited my warmest admiration at the tiuie, 

 and has remained my beau ideal of good manage- 

 ment ever since. The second growth of grass 

 being well shot up, Mr Raine went to the cattle 

 fair, and bought large beeves, in high condition. 

 In his rich and clean meadows, these were soon 

 ready for Smithfield market, to which they were 

 sent, and their place supplied by other beeves, still 

 in high condition, but of much smaller size. On 

 the removal to the shambles of the second herd, 

 still smaller cattle in fair condition, were bought 

 to be initiated into a still higher preparatory degree 

 of fatting. These were sold oft', and were suc- 

 ceeded by small lean cattle from the Welsh moun- 

 tains, to be improved as stores. The fifth set of 

 temporary tenants of the farm were small sheep, to 

 be wintered. 



The farm, as I have remarked, consisted of 160 

 acres. The rent paid was £2 10s per acre, at 

 $4,80 the pound sterling. Twelve dollars per 

 acre, £1,920 for the farm. Paying this enor- 

 mous rent, — saddled with heavy taxes, and at 

 a large outlay for manure, and farm servants, Mr 

 Raine was still accumulating large riches upon it. 

 His house was in the style of a gentleman, and his 

 expenditures on a most liberal scale, but he owed 

 nobody a farthing. 



We are poor farmers in this country, Mr Col- 

 man, very poor farmers, as Alfred Jingle would say, 

 very. Those of us who do best, are very far from 

 doing as English farmers do. They make more 

 profit per acre from the borders of their Jields than 

 we make from our best intervale ; realize as much 

 gain in the shifting stock to consume the herbage 

 of a single summer, as we do from growing for 

 three years the same number of head. Every 

 thing there is made to produce profit. As large a 

 capital is invested as we invest in a thrit\y commer- 

 cial business. No man can rent a farm who has 

 not a sufficient capital to stock it, work it, and lay 

 out of the price of a year's harvest. The outlay of 

 capital on a large farm is very great. A fair esti- 

 mate of the required sum on a farm of a thousand 

 acres, is five thousand pounds sterling. It 

 would astonish the American farmer to see the 

 book of " bills receivable and payable" of an Eng- 

 lish lessee of a farm. ' Yours, 



J. A. I. 



From the Farmer's Cabinet. 



BROOM CORN CULTURE IN SALEM, N.J. 



Your letter of the 20th July was received on the 

 following day, asking information respecting the 

 cultivation of broom corn, and the quantity raised 



on my land per acre. In ansver thereto, I say 

 that my land is a loamy soil, and in good condition, 

 producing generally about sixty bushels of Indian 

 corn per acre — of wheat, from twenty to thirty — 

 and of barley from thirty to fifty. 



My usual method is to cart out all my manure 

 from the barn-yard through the winter and early in 

 the s|)ring, so that the greater part thereof is upon 

 the fields by the time the plough can be put into 

 the land. The cultivation of the broom corn by Mr 

 Brown, (the paper you say heretofore sent to you 

 being lost, giving an account thereol") and by him 

 attended to until the brooms manufiictured by him 

 were sent to market, amounted according to his 

 estimate furnished me, to $9ti 50. While in con- 

 versation with him, he drew from his pocket a 

 paper containing the following words : — " Was 

 raised on eight acres of land, the |)roperty of Rob- 

 ert G. Johnson, broom corn that made four hundred 

 dozf'u of brooms, which weighed one and a quarter 

 pound each. Many of the stalks measured six- 

 teen feet six inches in length, and produced four 

 hundred and thirty bushels of seed. 



Israel E. Brown." 



I would observe that I commonly manure my 

 land at the rate of from thirty to forty loads per 

 acre — such was the dressing the land got preiious 

 to the planting of the broom corn. '! he laud being 

 in high tilth, produced, from careful attention, a 

 most luxuriant crop of stalks ; I think they must 

 have averaged from fourteen to sixteen feet in 

 height throu'fhout the whole field. I have not been 

 inclined to encourage the rearing of broom corn 

 more than a sufficiency for family use. I consider 

 the broom corn a much more exhausting crop to the 

 soil than any other grain. There appears to be an 

 oleaginous quality peculiar to it, and somewhat 

 analagous to flax seed, which in my judgment has 

 a tendency to produce the impoverishment of the 

 soil. The seed makes excellent food for hogs and 

 cattle. 



Its nutricious quality may easily be discovered 

 from the fine colour and taste which it imparts to 

 butter from the cows which are fed on it. 'I he 

 best way to use the grain is to grind it with a por- 

 tion of oats — say about one third of outs to two 

 thirds of the seed. Indeed it is so hard and flinty, 

 that it should always bo ground before feeding it to 

 any kind of stock. 



Good broom corn seed weighs about fifty pounds 

 to the bushel. Its value compared to oats may be 

 considered as about half as much again ; so that 

 should the market price of oats be, say twentyfive 

 cents per bushel, the broom corn seed would be 

 worth thirtyseven and a half cents. 



I think there is a difference of twentyfive, if not 

 thirty per cent, in the quality of brooms sent to 

 market from such as I generally use in my family. 

 I always endeavor to procure from the manufactur- 

 er, and for which I pay hirn an extra price, such as 

 are made from the stalks before the seed ripens on 

 them. A broom made from such tops will last 

 much longer than one made from the ripe bush. 

 But the peculiar excellency of the broom consists 

 in its fibres being more soft and elastic, and per 

 forming the act of brushing or sweeping, similar to 

 the brush made of bristles, without injuring the 

 carpet if used prudently. After the broom shall 

 have been used in sweeping the parlor, and the 

 finer parts worn away, it will then be as good to 

 sweep the other parts of the house, as the best new 



broom made from the ripe corn. Ladies who set 

 so deservedly such a high value upon their beauti- 

 ful Turkey and Brussels carpets, should purchase 

 none other than such as are made from tlio unripe 

 bu-ih. The broom made from such may be easily 

 known by the colour ol the straw, which is that of 

 tea or sage; the fibre or straw is much finer and 

 of a softer feel than that of tho broom made from 

 the ripe corn — the colour of which is red, or in- 

 clining to red. Yours very respectfully, 



ROBERT G. JOHNSON. 



From the Franklin Fanner. 



SAVING CLOVER SEED. 



Ihe difficulties of saving the seed are imaginary ; 

 the process is simple and easy. After the clover 

 field has been cut or grazed, let the second come 

 on. When about two-thirds of the heads have 

 turned brown, cut with a cradle, throwing the 

 grass into double swaths, and cure. When cured, 

 rake up in the morning while the dew is on, into 

 convenient parcels for loading with a pitchfork, 

 and, as soon as all danger from heating is obviated, 

 get it under shelter, either in the barn, or protected 

 in the field. Be careful not to put it away while 

 any moisture remains in the plants; and (m the 

 other hand, don't handle it ruilely when very dry, 

 where you don't want the seeds to fall, for in that 

 condition the heads spend freely. Having shelter- 

 ed it, you may wait, if you choose, till winter 

 affords leisure for thrashing or treading out. Sow 

 in the chaff", as it is more certain than the cleansed 

 seed. A bushel in the chaff will abundantly seeii 

 an acre ; but we would advise the mi-Kture of blue 

 grass, timothy and orchard grass with it. We shall 

 say more of sowing, however, at more seasouible 

 date. 



The second crop produces more seed then the 

 first, and hence the economy of the first cutting or 

 grazing the field ; though from that cut for hay, a 

 prudent, careful husbandman might easiy save 

 enough seed for his own use. It is beli-'ved that 

 more seed may be saved by mowing nnen about 

 two thirds of the heads have turned brown than at 

 any other period, because, if cut sooner, too many 

 seeds are unripe, and if later, too many shatter out 

 of the heads in cradling and handling. If the 

 heads break off" artd fall through t'le fingers in 

 cradling, cover with cotton or linen cloth. Every 

 farmer may easily save his own seed 



The Farrikr. Try before y)u buy.—U you 

 meet with a horse you like, and are desirous of buy- 

 ing him, do not fall in love witk him before you 

 ride him, for though he may be handsome, he may 

 start or stumble. 



To discover a stumbler. — If/ou go to buy of one 

 that knows you, it is not unrsasonable to desire to 

 ride him for an hour. If refused, you may suspect 

 he has some faults ; if not, mount him at the door 

 of the stable whore he stands ; let him neither feel 

 your spurs, nor see your wtiip ; mount him easily, 

 and when seated, go gently off" with a loose rein, 

 which will make him careless ; and if he is a stumb- 

 ler, he will discover himself presently, especially if 

 the road in which you ride him be any thing rough. 



The best horse indeed may stumble (a young one 

 of spirit, if not properly broken in, will frequently ; 

 and yet if he moves nimbly upon the bit, dividing 

 his legs true, he may become a very good saddle 

 horse,) I say, may stumble ; but if he springs out, 

 when he stumbles, as if he feared your whip or spur, 

 depend upon it he is an old ofFeader. 



