vol.. XVIII, SfO. 41. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER 



351 



y III the tiioilels of wliicli improvements exist, in 



im^rtion to tlie advancomont of llie nations 



tliey are to be foinid in civilization, le- 



.iit iuul tlie arts. We niiglit ;jo through 



rith all the ot ceteras of asricnltnrnl labor and ini- 



rovenionls, and find a.siniil.ir state of things r.\ist- 

 ng with regard to carts, wagons, ploughs, hoes, 

 spades, scythes, indeed every thing which is bronght 

 n the culture of the earth, and the ingathering and 

 lecnring of its crops. Now th'" piohlem for solu- 

 ion is, whence come all these differences? • Why 

 loes not the Chinese throw away liis plough, formed 

 rem a model as old as liis empire, or the Polander 

 et his fir-tree grow, root and branch, and adopt the 

 ightj thorough working, labor-saving, cast iron 

 plough that we of these regions of the si.-iting sun 

 o much admire? Simply because they know no 

 )ettcr. Guided by a sort of instinct in these mat- 

 ers, they seek no better things. They are, in (act, 

 ■ery much like the Dutchman, who put his bushel 

 if corn in one end of the bag and a stone of equal 

 veight in the other, to balance it, and threw it 

 .cross his horse to carry to mill. On being en- 

 |Uired of why he did not tlirow away the stone and 

 livide the corn in the bag so as to balance itself, 

 e replied, he had yterer thought of that, but as his 

 atker always used the same stone for similar pur- 

 loses, he was sure it was the best way. Such is 

 he case with nations and individuals, who pass 

 long in the old rutted track of their ancestors, with 

 egard to improvements in agricultural implements. 



hey know of no other — seek no other way. But 

 low are these improvements brought about ? Just 

 3 are those in navigation, travelling by land, pro- 

 ■elling machiuery by water or steam, or any thing 

 Ise is accon:plished — by the application of srience 

 othe cou'pletioQ of the object ; and the effects of 

 t are as positive and as useful in the construction 

 f the humblest tool which the laborer uses in eiil- 

 ivating the earth, as in building steamboats, rail- 

 oads, introducing labor-saving machinery into 

 lanufactories, or "for any other purpose or purpo- 

 es whatsoever"; because these improvements ena- 

 le the farmer to perform more labor, cultivate 

 nore earth, and do it better th-iu it could be done 

 under the discouraging circumstances '.vhich bad 

 lools would necessarily create. 

 I In proportion as the earth is thoroughly cultivat- 

 'd its productiveness is increased ; consequently 

 he farmer receives greater returns for his labor in 

 alio to the number of his acres, and in the same 

 )roportion the surplus for public demand is increas- 

 id ; so that the benefit of this improvement is not 

 estricted to the fariiicr, but e.xtends itself through 

 tvery nerve and muscle of the body politic, inso- 

 nuch that all classes of consumers share iis good 

 iffects. 



We are well aware that it may be said that far- 

 ners are not plough-makers nor wheel-wrights, nor 

 my of these things ; that it belongs to Iho artisan 

 o invent and fabricate his implements. Admitted, 

 ,he mechanic must uiMnufacturc the tools of agri- 

 lulture. He can do it cheaper andin a more work- 

 nanlike manner than one unused to such employ- 

 Tients, and by so doing the obligations of trade 

 neet a happy reciprocation. But then the farmer 

 s the only true judge of the Merits of a plough, 

 ivhether in all its particulars it is most admirably 

 idapled to operate successfully in this soil or that; 

 3r in the construction of a wagon or cart, whether 

 5ne of this constructiim can te most easily drawn 

 Dver his fields and the highways , adjacent thereto, 

 Jr whether a variation of structure would not be 



desirable; and when he has ascertained the fact to 

 his mind's satisfaction, which may be done by mod- 

 els, he may go to his artisan and have one con- 

 structed accordingly. Unnce we,secthe propriety 

 of the farmers understanding the science of me- 

 chanics, one which is by no means restricted to the 

 things herein specified, but as having an e.\tended 

 effect in his operations — in the construction of gates 

 and bars — in building walls — opening drains, lo- 

 cating and working highways and private ways, — 

 indeed in almost every thing. 



The location and construction of roads is a mat- 

 ter of interest to all men, whether of business or 

 pleasure; to the teamster who moves his heavily 

 laden cart sluggishly along, and the bearer of the 

 express which requires despatch. In' hilly regions, 

 where roads must of necessity pass over many <if 

 "earth's protuberances," it is certainly an olij ct to 

 secure their location in such places as that a team 

 will haul a given burden over them with the least 

 fatigue: humanity and interest, the great mover of 

 human effort require it ; and in these rises and de- 

 scenls, must be performed on an inclined plane, 

 more or les.s perfectly constructed. We have some- 

 times seen instances where this was done in the 

 worst way imaginable. It was like passing over 

 the bail of a kettle ; sometime almost perpendicu- 

 larly and than nearly horizontal. There is no ne- 

 cessity for such road.^. Thc;y are laid out and 

 wrought by no fixed principle. The inclination of 

 the plain might invariably have been so regular as- 

 to have been overcome with comparatively perfect 

 ease, insomuch that great labor will be saved in 

 moving a given weight over them. 



These swamps, too, are all of them one d ly to be 

 cleared of their superfluous moisture, and for their 

 owners the sooner it is done the better, for they are 

 e^Wninly in many instances, his deepest, richest 

 soils. One of them in the neighborhood of where 

 we write, over which the western railroad is now 

 building, has been fathomed sixtyfive feet, and 

 there are others around us of less depth of pure 

 mould, and many of them of nearly a water level.. 

 How shall the water which is so abundant in them, 

 be most successfully taken off? Drains must he- 

 constructed to colle&t and carry it away we know ; 

 and that a proper construction of them to do so, is 

 evident; and the utility of the knowledge of hy 

 draulics in giving them a right location andistruc* 

 ture, is fact positive. 



It may, to be sure, so happen that farmers are 

 not their own ditchers: very seldom that they are, 

 and while the present influx of foreigners, among 

 whom there are so many who can do faster, cheap- 

 er, and in many instances better than himself, con- 

 tinues, he will probably find it to his advantage to 

 employ them in these services ; yet it is for him to 

 make the draft and give the plan of the work;tBn(l 

 if a total failure result, he may give credit to his 

 own ignorance. 



The same science which applies to draining 

 lands, by a change of causes calculated to produce 

 alike beneficial effects, teaches the best mode of ir- 

 rigation, — a method of watering dry territories not 

 so much practised among farmers at present as it 

 should, .and eventually will be. How much of the 

 wealth of barnyards is now utterly lost to its own- 

 er in consequence of being allowed to evaporate or 

 pass into the atmosphere, or what is worse, pass off 

 into the highway to create mud, to the great annoy- 

 ance of man and beast, or to some field or land 

 where no salutary effect can be produced from its 

 action? And on our highways too, how often, in 



time of ."howcrs, ilo we see the accumulated waters 

 allowed to course the distance of half a mile or 

 more — not only opening hideous gulleys to entrap 

 the traveller, but bearing a wealth to annihilation, 

 so fc.r as useful purposes are concerned, which, if it 

 had been taken from the road at proper distances 

 and turned upon the neighboring fields, would have 

 given them a wealth indeed, more than sufficient to 

 have compensated the owner for his trouble, and to 

 some extoait would have abridged the vexatiim of 

 raising an enormous highway tax, while the travel- 

 ler as he jogged smoothly and easily over a high- 

 way, which by such care and attentions almost al- 

 ways kept itself in good repair, would mentally at 

 least, express his obligations while passing along, 

 and when he had, after the journeyings of the day 

 are ended and he seeks repose, instead of dreaming 

 of tlie horrors of an inquisition or the tortures of 

 the knout, the airy vigils of his midnight slumbere 

 would lead him through arcadian groves, beside 

 still waters and Howery fields. 



Yours, truly, W. B. 



Moimt Osceola, March W, 1840. 



The subjoined is a well written and instructive 

 essay on the raising of poultry, by one who evident- 

 ly has some practical knowledge of what he is writ- 

 ing about. We hope soon to hear from our frjend 

 Hunt, of Pennsylvania. We trust our readers will 

 not think that the hens make too much cackling in 

 our paper of late. If any married man complains 

 of this, we shall know very well that be is hen- 

 pecked, and is a little disturbed at finding the same 

 dish abroad that he is obliged so often to sit down 

 to at home. We know our Hingham subscribers 

 wilt not find fault — where, good careful souls as 

 we know thera to be, they never suffer a hen to quit 

 the house in the morning until she has paid for her 

 flight's lodging, " cash down." H. C. ■ 



From the Yankee Farmer. 



POULTRY— EGGS. 



Among all nations throughout the globe, eggs 

 and poultry have long been used, and highly prized 

 as articles of food. But for lack pf information, or 

 the bestowal of proper attention in the management 

 of fowls, the small quantity and high price of eggs 

 in New England markets, during the winter season, 

 cause most persons in moderate circumstances to 

 do without them, while those of larger means use 

 them as expensive luxuries. This, it is believed, is 

 quite unnecessary ; and as the Yankee Farmer is 

 ardently devoted to ^all good improvement, I propose 

 to give in its columns, a few practical hints, which 

 are the result of personal observation and experi- 

 ment. 



The first important requisite in henology is, to 

 provide suitable shelter. As cheap and good a 

 method as any is, to erect a shed or 'lean to,' at- 

 tached to a barn or other building; the size for 

 thirty hens and three jirotectors of the flock, should 

 be twelve feet long and eight feet wide, with the 

 earth for a floor. The south side should have rath- 

 er large openings for glass windows — (these win- 

 dows may lie used for the hot-bed in the spring and 

 summer) — in the winter, and grates in the summer. 



At the north side of the room, there should be 

 built at one end, rows of boxes for nests, the num- 

 ber of nests to be about thrce-fif\hs of the number 

 of the flock, leaving a small passage near the end 

 wall, just sufficient for a person to pass between 



