AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



J;^ 



PUBLISHED BV JOSEPH BRECK & CO., NO. 62 NORTH MARKET STREET, (AoEioniTUBAt WAaBHousE.) 



xxii.l 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 27, 1843. 



tNO. a«. 



N. E. FARMER. 



For the New England Farmer. 



)RT.\NCE OF A THOROUGH PREPA- 

 ^TION OF SOIL FOR A CORN CROP. 



• Editor — Much is said, and eome of it well 

 respcciiiii; the brst methods of cuUiv;itiiig the 

 mid, ns every liint, however trifling it may 

 r, is, iipverlheltss, worth a passing notice, in 

 to reuiind the more negligent portion of our 



ctablo yeomanry of what may prove liighly 

 icial to them, i will give you the "sequel" of 

 d crop of corn, for our section of country, 

 1 I raised on a small piece of ground. It was 

 ted by all, I believe, who saw it, to bo the 

 ield in town. 



w, I suppose, my method was similar to that 



ny, if not most of our farmers in this part of 



)untry ; but in my immediate neighborhood, 



s somewhat different. And, now, for the 



^el." ! •.,-'.. a pieco of g.u..i.J vrhich h^i 



:ultivated to potatoes, principally, for three 



and had produced a tolerable crop of these 



root?, beside an abundant crop of weeds, 



had been suffered to seed on the ground. 



onie of my neighbors advised me not to plant 



:ause of the labor it would require to keep 



the weeds. I, however, planted it to Indian 



after preparing the ground in the following 



;r : 



owed it n good depth, and as soon as it be- 

 dry and friable, harrowed it fine. In two or 

 days after, I carted on long manure, and 

 1 it thinly over the ground and plowed across 

 rrows, harrowed again, furrowe<l, and ma- 

 in the hill with a mixture of almost all ma- 

 made about the farm, with a small proportion 

 od nsbes. Planted it on the 22d May, and 

 twice. From the extreme drought, the weeds 

 not troublesome ; neither did the crop seem 

 ^er, although most other fields in this vicinity 

 )m it. 

 w, Mr Editor, I attribute a good deal of my 



• s in this instance, to the extra plowing, for 

 t was in this n'-igliborhood, as most farmers 

 3Ut nnce, and are generally careful not to go 

 ep. 



id not manure abundantly, but took pains to 

 my ground mellow and light. 

 ive been of the opinion for some time, that 

 rmers here suffer a loss in the cultivation of 

 anus, by reason of plowing too shallow and 

 lU. Their grounds are more likely to suffer 

 Irought, require more labor in hoeing, and, I 

 return a smaller compensation for the tillage, 

 oil think any of your subscribers are siiffer- 

 om sucli a source in their agricultural inte- 

 nd this imperfect sketch may be in any wise 

 , in reminding them of their duty in coming 

 you are at liberty to use it for their good. 



Very rospectfiilly, A. G. 



uate, Dec. 14, 1843. 



For the N. E. Farmer. 



DANGER OF USING EARTHEN POTS FOR 

 PICKLES, &,c. 



Mr Editor — Sir — The article in your valuable 

 paper of Ibis week, headed " Apple Poison," has 

 attracted my attention, and seems to me to demand 

 some further romnrks. After stating the fact of 

 several families having been poisoned, and suffered 

 severely therefrom, " by eating apple butter pre- 

 served in new earthen pots ;" it then says, that 

 " new ware should be well scalded before it is 

 ijsed." This Inst clause, I think, is calculated 

 to mi.slend the uninformed respecting the chemical 

 action of acid upon the glazing of earthen ware, 

 and should, therefore, receive attention. 



It is, no doubt, unsafe to put any thing that con- 

 tains an acid into earthen vessels for keeping, as 

 the acid acts chemically on the glazing, extracting 

 (herefrom the lend, and communicating its poison- 

 ous quality to the contents. When I was a stu- 

 dent of medicine, a family, one after another, was 

 taKen ill in pretty quick succession, and soon be- 

 came very sick with a stomach and bowel com- 

 plaint. The disease, however, had some peculiari 

 ties about it, unusual for simple inflammation, which 

 for awhile baffled the skilful physician. At length, 

 an inquiry was made if they had used any article 

 of diet, such as pickles, apple sauce, preserves, 

 sour milk, &c., that were kept in earthen ware ; to 

 which inquiry an affirmative answer was given. 



They had procured large earthen pots, in which 

 they had preserved pickels, apple sauee, &c., and 

 had made use of these articles for a some little time. 

 Those of the family who ate most freely of these 

 things, were the first attacked with the disease, 

 and so on. One, an elderly lady, escaped the sick- 

 ness, and she informed ns that she had not made 

 use of the above named articles. 



I am very confident thut much sickness has 

 been produced in families from the too common 

 practice of using earthen vessels for the keeping 

 of articles of diet which contain an acid. All such 

 articles, therefore, should be preserved in wooden 

 or stone vessels. 



Yours, respectfully, A. G. 



Scitunte, Ms, Dec. 14, 1843. 



Falling Hos;3. — Near Dugsburg, in Westpha- 

 lia, celebrated for its fine hams, the hogs are prin- 

 cipally fattened on chestnuts and potatoes. The 

 hogs are made nearly fat by running in the woods 

 abounding in chestnuts, and where they cannot run 

 at large, the nuts are gathered and fed to them in 

 pens. In the last stage of fattening, otter their 

 range in the woods is over, they are fed on pota- 

 toes, which are hciked. Large ovens are used for 

 this purpose, and it is found that thus prepared, 

 (he potato is the most fatteninj of all food, while 

 the peculiar flnvor of the Westphalia hruns is 

 thought to be owing to this manner of cooking the 

 potato Alb. Cult. 



It is better to meet danger than to wait for it. 



NECESSITY OF MANURING. 



It is obvious that the manuring of a farm should 

 only be limited by the ability of the owner. On a 

 plentiful supply of manures, is depending the fer- 

 tility of his soils, the amount of his crops, and con- 

 sequently tlie extent to which his labor is reward- 

 ed. There is no expenditure on a farm, so safe 

 as that for manure; and the labor required to in- 

 crease it, is never labor lost ; at least, if directed 

 by an ordin.iry share of agricultural knowledge and 

 skill. Every source of supply should be made 

 available: nothing capable of fertilizing should bo 

 lost. Tlie farmer who takes t'rom his soil more 

 than he returns to it, is surely impoverishing it ; 

 and if he escapes such a calamity himself, he 

 leaves to his successors a worn-out farm. If ho 

 returns as much as he receives, his farm will re- 

 tain its original fertility only ; but the true farmer 

 will scarcely be content with this. To increase its 

 fertility, and the amount and quality of the crop 

 taken from ttie soil, should be the aim of the bus- 

 bandman. This done, his labor is lessened h\n 

 profits are greater, his farm is worth more ; nor 

 must the pleasure arising from beautiful fields, 

 golden harvests, fine animals, accumulating pros- 

 perity, he omitted in making up our estimate of the 

 advantages of successful culture. 



Manure may be a homely subject, but on its 

 preparation and u?e every thing is depending. 

 Without it, the deep green of our pastures, the 

 golden yellow of our corn-fields, and the fine beef 

 and white loaf of our tables, could not exist. To 

 the farmer, manure must be the first thing, and it 

 must be the last thing; with it, he can do every 

 thing — without it, nothing. — Mb. Cult. 



HINTS TO YOUNG FARMERS. 



Consider your calling both elevated and impor- 

 tant : never be above it, nor be ashamed of the 

 frock and apron. 



Never hire a man to do a piece of work which 

 you can do yourself 



Instead of spending a rainy day idly, repair 

 whatever wants mending, or post your accounts. 



By driving your business before you, and not 

 permitting it to drive you, you will have opportu- 

 nities to indulge in the luxury of well applied lei- 

 sure. 



Never trust your money in the hands of that man 

 who will put his own at hazard. 



Take an agricultural paper, and some good fam- 

 ily paper, and pay for them in advance. 



Remember that economy and industry are the 

 two great pillars of the fanner's prosperity. 



Never run in debt without a reasonable proba- 

 bility of paying at the time agreed. 



Never buy any thing at auction because the ar- 

 ticle is going cheap, unless you have use for it. 



In December, reckon and settle with all those 

 with whom you have accounts — pay your shop. bills 

 and your mechanics, if not promptly done at the 

 time. 



Put off no business for tomorrow that can b« 

 done today. — Ohio Jiepository. 



