354 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



APRIL 28, 1840. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



BosTONj Wednesday, April 22, 1840. 



TRANSACTIONS OF THE ESSEX AGRICULTU- 

 RAL SOCIETY— 1839. 



We have much pleasure in announcing the appearance 

 of tlie annual publication of the Essex Agricultural Socie- 

 ty ; a pamphlet of about 150 pages, and full ofinteresliiig 

 matter. It embraces the excellent address of Allen Put- 

 nam, Esq., of Danvers, wfiich we iiave already given to 

 the readers of the N. E. Farmer, and which we know 

 Ihey must have perused with instruction and pleasure; 

 and various reports of their committees on manures, on 

 milch cows and heifers, on the diseases of animals, on 

 reclaimed meadows, on the dairy, on fruits and vegeta- 

 bles, on domestic manufactures, on ploughing, on work- 

 ing stock, on forest trees and mulberry trees ; to which 

 is added the Commissioner's report of the first agricultu- 

 ral meeting, held at the State House in Boston, the cur- 

 rent year, containing Mr Webster and Prof. Silliman's 

 speeches on that occasion, witli copioue^notcs on housing 

 •heep, on cultivating turnips, on draining, on redemption 

 of peat meadow, on irrigation, on cultivating the bean I 

 and the tare, on the product of sheep, aod on agricultural I 

 statistics. I 



These together constitute a valuable pamphlet, -and I 

 add to the obligations which the public are alreiidy. uhuer 

 to this exceedingly well-managed and useful sooiely. 



This periodica! publication of the transactions of the 

 Society, is one of the most useful measures which could 

 be adopted by them to promote their objects ; and the 

 members of the Society are not insensible how much 

 they are indebted for it to the intelligence, zeal and inde- 

 fatigable and public spirited efforts of their secretary, to 

 promote the agriculture nf tlie county and the prosperity 

 of the Society. 



It is very much to be wished that ibe other societies 

 in the commonwealth would adopt a similar plan, in or- 

 der to preserve their often highly interesting reports. — 

 These pamphlets in the first place, embody much valua- 

 ble local information. Thoy serve in the ne^t place, to 

 give a permanent record to the names sf the successful 

 competitors for premiums. In the next place, they brin" 

 the society more constantly before tht' public and excite 

 a strong interest in its conci^rns. This mu.st often serve 

 to remind its members of their duty to the society and 

 to the subject ; and lead likewise, to a regular increase 

 of members. 



We shall take leave here to repeat suggestions which 

 we have often made, respecting the form in which prcmi 

 ums are generally distributed by our agricultural societies 

 With the exception of the Berkshire Agricultural Socie- 

 ty, they are usually given in money, vvkliout any for- 

 mality whatever. Tha-nameof the successful competitor 

 is barely announced, and he calls quietly upon the Trea- 

 surer for his money, which commonly goes at once into 

 the general purse for expenditures, and is seldom heard 

 from or thought of afterwards. Not so where the premi- 

 ums are bestowed in the form of silver plate or some ar 

 tide of value with the name and occasion endorsed. 

 Then it is preserved and shown with honest pride in the 

 family, and is transmitted to others, and operates as a 

 constant incentive to excellence In Berkshiio the pre- 

 miums are given, where it can be done, in puhlic, at the 

 close of the annual address. This has an excitin" and 

 excellent influence. 



We shall give to the public such extracts from tliis 

 pamphlet as are likely to be interesting; and begin witli 

 the publication of a valuable paper from Mr Kcely, of 



Haverhill, on the subject of ploughing in green crops for 

 manure. H. C. 



[From ' Transactions of the Essex Agricultural Society.'] 

 ON TURNING IN GREEN CROPS AS A MANURE. 



The committee on the subject of turning in green crops 

 as a manure, report : 



That they have examined Mr Keely's communicaiion, 

 and are of opinion that his experiment i; not such as to 

 entitle him 1o the Society's first premium, inasmuch as 

 the plants turned in are not the most succulent fin the 

 purpose of em idling the soil ; also, because the experi- 

 ment was extended only to a single year, without refe- 

 rence to the future improvement of the soil 



Tlie commiltee are of opinion that a part of the field 

 should have been manured in the usual way, in order to 

 test with exactness, the comparative advantages of the 

 two processes ; but do not hesitate to express their satis- 

 faction at the result of Mr Keely's experiment, as far as 

 it went, and would recommend that a gratuity often dol- 

 lars be awarded him for his valuable communication 

 For the Committee, 



JOSEPH Kn TREDGE. 



Dee. 31, 1839. 



JOHN KEELY'S STATEMENT. 



To ike Conmitiee of the Esse, 

 insr in Green Cr 



cuUural Society on turn- 

 a Manure: 



Gentlemen — Perceiving that for several years no claim 

 has been entered for preaiiunv.on green crops, and deem- 

 ing the subject one of great importance, I have concluded 

 to present you with a statement on this subject. And I 

 do it more vviih the hope that perhaps others may be- 

 come incited to try the efficacy of this niorle of manur- 

 ing, than on account of the great result abstractedly con- 

 sidered. 



The experiment was made on the same estate where 

 the crop of rye was raised, on account of which I obtain- 

 ed the Society's premium, in 1832, but on a part which is 

 very inferior in quality to the piece on which that crop 

 was raised. It is indeed so poor that nothing bnt sorrel 

 grows upon it spontaneously. 



But although I have long been firmly convinced of the 

 great efficacy and economy of green crops, yet I thought 

 sorrel alone scarcely fit e^-eri to plough in for manure, 

 until the following circumstance convinced meof the co4i- 

 trary. 



At the close of Juj]p, 1837, the ground then being too 

 wet to hoe, (as a storm was just clearing off,) I began to 

 plough the piece of land, on which I intended to sow 

 rye, principally, to prevent the sorrel from seeding. The 

 ne.xt day was fine, and I left the remainder unploughed 

 until September, w'hen the whole was ploughed and 

 sown together. The following spring a difference was 

 seen on that part where the sori-el had been ploughed in, 

 which difference became so striking that my neighbors 

 saw it and inquired to know the reason. This determin- 

 ed me to try the experiment, which is here presented. 



At the {lose of June, 1838, while the sorrel was yc( in 

 blossom, I ploughed it in immediately after a heavy rain, 

 and sowed upon the furrow one bushel of buckwheat per 

 acre On the 6th and 7th of August immediately afier a 

 rain, and while the buckwheat was in blos.-som, that was 

 also ploughed in. On the 13lh September it was sowed 

 with winter rye. The present season, the striking dif- 

 ference between this rye and that in the same neighbor- 

 hood on land of better quality, was seen and remarked 

 by several individuals, and some persons who have known 

 the estate for more than forty years, say that they never 

 before saw such heavy rye on that part. The whole 

 piece contains nearly 2 3 4 acres ; and it yielded 48 bush- 

 els of rye, of excellent quality, weighing 59 lbs. per bush- 



el. I should remark that about one-third of an acre of 

 this piece is so poor that no sorrel ever grew there ; the 

 buckwheat was very light, and of course the rye was al- 

 so. I should judge that upon rather more than two acres 

 the produce was twenty bushels per acre. The previous 

 crop on the same piece in 1837, did not average quite six 

 bu.shcis per acre. 



You will perceive that the whole extra expense of this 

 experiment is one ploughing and one harrowing, and one 

 bushel of buckwheat per acre, which would cost about 

 three dollars and a half per acre, and the extra produce 14 

 bushels per acre. 



Although this crop is not large compared with other 

 crops upon rich land, yet for land of this poor poor quali- 

 ty, I consider it very large. Nor is this all. This crop 

 was not obtained by extra expense, to force tiie land to 

 yield more than it could continue to produce*; it is only 

 the first of a series of crops, which if continued by the 

 same management, undoubtedly will, in a few years, 

 double its fertility, instead of exhausting it ; and especial- 

 ly if the stubble is ploughed in soon after the crop is har- 

 vested, for this with the weeds amongst it, will furnish a 

 third green crop, and the scattering grain which would 

 otherwise be lost, will then grow and very materially in- 

 crease the first green crop the ensuing season. 



You will allow me to remark that experience and close 

 observation upon the management of green crops, have 

 convinced me that three things, among others which may 

 be more obvious, are essential to a successful result.— 

 First, it is absolutely necessary that the plough used is of 

 good construction. Second, that some method be devis- 

 ed to prostrate the crop before the plough, or it will not 

 be covered. I use a wooden roller about four inches in 

 diameter and sixteen inches long, fixed on the end of the 

 plough beam in a frame temporarily put on for the purpose. 

 Third, it is necessary that the land should be ploughed 

 very soon after rain, while it is moist, or the plough will 

 crewd the furrow instead of turning it handsomely. It 

 will also be of considerable advantage to roll the land 

 after each ploughing 



Very respectfully, 



JOHN KEELY. 



Haverhill, Sept. '^ith, 1839. 



THE SEASON. 

 The impression seems to be general that fruit trees 

 from appearances, have never passed through a winter 

 with less injury, and that the promise of an abundant 

 yield was never stronger. The months of December and 

 January were remarkable for the intensity of the cold. 

 Febru.ary and March were remarkable for the mildness 

 of the temperature. April has been variable ; sometimes 

 frowning and sometimes smiling. The season however, 

 must be regarded as early ; and the opportunities for 

 ploughing and the usual spring work were seldom more 

 favorable. It is a little extraordinary, that in spite of all 

 the complaints of hard times, labor commands a high 

 price, and laborers in most cases make their own terms. 



H. C. 



Importation of Eogs. The sloop A. M. P., Capt. 

 Brightman, has regularly, for twenlythree years, made 

 tsventyfive trips a year from '^^ nslport. Mass , to this port, 

 during which period she has brought to our market, on 

 an average, five hundred dozen of eggs eacli trip, making 

 a total of 3,450,000, averaging twelve cents per dozen— 

 I amounting to thirtyfour thousand five hundred dollars'. 

 J'rotidcnce Jour. 



It is stated that there is corn enough in Alabama to 

 last the inhabitants two years. 



