AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



PUBLISHED BY JOSEPH BRECK & CO., NO. 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, (Aqbicoltueai. Wabehodse.) 



tl.. XMI.] 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANU.VRY 31, 1644. 



[XO. 31. 



N. E. FARMER 



For the New EnglaVid Farmer. 



HOGS' NOSES" vs. "CHEMICAL NOS- 



TRU.MS," AS DECOMPOSERS. 

 Mr Editor — In the accoiiiit in your last papor of 

 • second agricultural iiicetintr at the Slate House, 

 lied from tiie " I'lougliman," one of the speakera 

 eporled to have delivered himself of the foliow- 



■' In the room of lime and ashes, give me hogs' 

 les : * * their ntises will sooner decompose 

 inssock than all the nostrums of the chemists." 

 Noiv I regard this as one of the most important 

 coverics pertaining to agriculture, that has been 

 de within the last century — and as another grat- 

 ing evidence in support of the oft-asserted facts. 

 It " we live in a reuiarkable age," and that ours 

 i a great country." Let it be proclaimed tlirough- 



our borders, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 

 1 from the Arostook to the Sabine, for the ben- 

 , of " the universal Yankee nation," that " hogs' 

 les will sooner decompose a hnssoclc' (or any other 

 dred substance, no suppose,) " ilinti all the nos- 

 m.i of the chemists." It is hardly possiblo to 

 gnify the importance of this discovery, or to 

 3r-cstimate the benefit that must result from its 

 velopoment. 



It lias long been a desideratum with a certain 

 iss of farmers, to find some means of efTocliug a 

 ;nal improvement in our husbandry without the 

 I of the chemists, and their " gallipots, blow- 

 les," gases and salts, — and this at last, it would 

 »m, has, in a grt^at measure, at least, been at- 

 ned. Others had hoped for it — some, perhaps, 

 d predicted it — but it was reserved for tiie gen- 

 man above alluded to, to originate and substan- 

 te it. Yes, to him alone belongs the honor of 

 : discovery — the grand, stupendous discovery. 

 It " hogs' noses," as decomposere, are far superior 

 "all the nostrums of the chemists." 

 Taking this as an established fact, the question 

 curs to me, may there not be a preference in 

 serfs of hogs for this great work of decomposition ? 

 think there is. Mind, reader, the purpose.of 

 eping hogs is to 6e, to "decompose" with their 

 noses" such substances as may be given them to 

 )rk into manure : this is to be the great object 

 reafter in keeping swine. The idea of making 

 oft from their dead bodies, will soon be obsolete. 

 It be not already, — as this is not practicable 

 len pork sells for less than nintpence per poimd, 

 d hardly so even at that rate. And, further, the 

 idcnce is clear that the farmers of New England 

 nnot compete in the pork business with their 

 ethren of the West, who, by the facilities of rail- 

 ads, can undersell us at our own doors, and make 

 fair profit at a price which would impoverish any 

 cw England farmer who should resolve to com- 

 te with them in the pork-raising business. 



Well, then, throwing this matter of profiting 

 )m the dead animal out of the question, (as in 

 ct it is,) what I wish to advance is, whether, in- 



stead of turning our attention to what are called 

 the '' improved" breeds of the day, noted for their 

 rotundity, laziness, and aptitude to fatten — (quali- 

 ties which, it is true, gained them their celobrily, 

 but which will, if this great " decomposing" dis- 

 covery is successful, become reasons for discard- 

 ing them) — instead of seeking for such breeds, I 

 say, will it not rathiT be desirable to get those of 

 contrary characteristics, — less disposed to futlen, 

 more bony, and with longer noses — (the latter being 

 a very essential quality) — and which will, there- 

 fore, be better adapted and more inclined lo work ? 

 I raise the question for discussion, whether, as 

 "decomposers," the " landpike" and "alligator" 

 breeds of the western wilds, (which I have some- 

 where seen pictured, and whose striking appear- 

 ance I shall not soon forget,) will not be preferable 

 to those which have the constitutional defect of be- 

 ing inclined rather to lie down and grow fat, than 

 to keep on their legs and work at " decomposing"? 

 I support the affirmative of the proposition from a 

 common-sense view of the matter; — let any one 

 oppose me who can. 



I have not time, if I had the ability, to do full 

 justice to this eminently great discovery, mi all its 

 important hearings and tendencies. While it will 

 secure its originator an enviable distinction, it will 

 tend to increase the national wealth, and, may I 

 not add, the national renown. It also proves con- 

 clusively, that "the march of mind" with us "is 

 onward" — and is a gratifying evidence that, mau- 

 gre the high-sounded pretensions of chemistry to 

 being the exclusive agent through which all great 

 iinprovemeiit in our husbandry must be effected, 

 thori! is a wisdom out of the laboratory quite as 

 capable of originating such improvement as that 

 within .' 



Respectfully, yours, 



JACK CADE. 



Hull, (near America,} 1844. 



OJ^The remarks of our humorous correspondent 

 were not intended to give any ofience to the worthy 

 gentleman whose observations suggested thorn — 

 and we hope they will be taken in the same play- 

 ful spirit in which we know they were written. 

 Had they been dictated by an intent to give offence, 

 they would not have been inserted in our columns. 

 —Ed. 



Raising Potatoes from Seed. — Our correspon- 

 dent, J. M. Harlan, Esq., gives the following direc- 

 tions for raising potatoes from the seed or ball. 

 "The pulp of the balls should be squeezed out as 

 much as possible. They should then be dried | 

 and laid by till the following spring. The ground 

 should be partially spaded and well pulverized. I 

 placed mine along the pales of the front part of 

 the garden. The bugs are the greatest enemies of 

 the young plants, and should be well watched. 

 The potatoes will not come to their full size until 

 the third or fourth year of planting. I had at least 

 seven distinct kinds, of various shapes and colors, 

 among the potatoes produced from the seed." — 

 ^tb. Cult, 



For the N. E. Katmer. 



NATIONAL INSTITUTE OP AGRICUL- 

 TURE. 



Daniel Lee, of Buffalo, hag addressed the pub- 

 lic in favor of a National Agricultural Institute 

 and Pattern Farm, in the nrii,'hborhood of Wash- 

 ington. An association for this purpose was formed 

 a few years since at Washington, and Hon. James 

 M. Garnett, of Virginia, was put at its head; but 

 for the want of men of means and leisure to press 

 the consideralion of the importance to the country 

 of such an esiablishment, before Congress, it fell 

 through. It had many friends then — il has now 

 more ; but too much dependence was placed in 

 some members of Congress, who probably were 

 too much occupied in their own preferment, to act 

 on a subject like ihis, it being a poor stepping- 

 stone to office and honor in their view. 



Mr Lee's views are correct, and commend them- 

 selves to the consideration of men who have the 

 best interest of the country at heart. I know of 

 no subject of so much importance to this country 

 as such an establishment at such a place as Wash- 

 ington. It is the very place: it will contrast well 

 with their slovenly husbandry : there are public 

 lands enough near the Capitol, and means enough 

 within the intent of the Smithson bequest, judi- 

 ciously managed, to give a new face to our coun- 

 try. Can any one doubt the interest felt on this 

 subject, or the growing interest ? If so, let them 

 look back for about twenty years, when there was 

 not an agricultural journal to be found. Now they 

 are to be found in every State and district. Our 

 common political and religious journals have no 

 hope of success wiihout advocating agriculture. 

 This is a proof, to my mind, of its progress. 



Mr Lee's projects are sound in the main. Such 

 men are scattered through the country : their influ- 

 ence will and must be felt. Let the petilion go 

 forth to Congress ; let the lands be lotted off for 

 this great object ; let there be an appropriation 

 (liberal) to carry the whole project into successful 

 operation. Men can be found who will take 

 charge of the same for a trifling consideralion, not 

 for a living, but to serve their day and generation, 

 and pupils in abundance who would pay more to 

 enter such an inslitution than to bo a graduate of 

 Harvard. NORFULK. 



The great length of Dr. Lee's article, intended 

 to he inserted in connection with the above, com- 

 pels us to defer it until our next issue Ed. 



Tripe and Souse. — Tripe, after being scoured, 

 should be soaked in salt and water seven or eight 

 days, changing the water every other day ; then 

 boil it till lender. It may be pickled in the same 

 manner as souse. 



Souse. — Take pigs' ears and feet, clean thorough- 

 ly, and soak in salt and water for several days, 

 lioil them tender and split them — they are then 

 good fried. They will keep good pickled five or 

 six weeks. Fry them in lard. — Mrs. Ellis's House- 

 keeping. 



