o 



51 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



FEB. 7, 1S4^ 



A.M> HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



Edited 1>y Josepli Bi-ecli. 



BosTon, VVednksday, Feb. 7, 1844. 



FOURTH AGRICULTURAL .MKETING AT THE 



STATE HOUSE. 



(Conlinutid from page 251.) 



Jlr Stone, of Beverly, remarked that it was n settled 

 axiom now since the science of agriculture was more 

 understood, that no man could be a jrood farmer who 

 did not keep ii plenty of stock ; for, without stock, there 

 could he no manure, and without manure there cituld 

 be no crop ; and if hut little produce, ilie receipts must 

 jiece^sirilv be small. He llionglit it i dvisahle for everv 

 farmer to keep more stork than tfiev generally do. Of 

 the variety of stock to he kept on a place, every farmer 

 must he lijs f.wn judge ; a lair proportion, however, he 

 thought should be swine, 'i he fashions were continu- 

 ally changing All abstinence from labor v< as formerly 

 considered by some, as a criterion of a gentleman. Dr. 

 Franklin's negro servaitt remarked, alter his return from 

 England wiih his master, that *' the hog was the only 

 gentleman there ; for m-tn worke, horse v/orke, tlie ox 

 worke — all worke but the h"g ; he eal, he drink, he 

 sleep — he no worke ; lie lib like a gentleman." Mr 

 Stone remarked that there was a great improvement in 

 swine ns «eli as in men since that lime. It was now 

 no mark of a gentleman lo be idle, and the same feeling 

 seemed to be infused into ihe swine, as they did their part 

 of the farm work, and their services were highly useful 

 and important as agents in decomposing manures. 



He thought it was belter to have water from a runninc 

 stream brought into the barn-yard for the benefit of the 

 calile, than to l-e oblii-ed to keen Ihe boys from school 

 lo drive them to the brook. When cattle do nut have 

 access to water in the yard, they will oftentimes drink 

 so tnuch as lo injure them when driven to it after long 

 abstinence. He fecoinmended lo put hot water in the 

 watering tub in very cold weather for milch cows, to 

 lake the chill from the water. As to food for cattle, 

 they were (ond of a variety ; should have corn-fodder, 

 roots, hay, &c.. New luilcli cows should be learned lo 

 drink swill from the kitchen : that in his experience it 

 greatly increased the milk, and was inure profitable for 

 them logive the swine. As to raising calves, he coin- 

 cided with niucli ihat had been staled, but in his neigh- 

 borhood ihey have a value fur the market. Good veal 

 was an iinportant article, and the great object was to 

 give it a delicate complexion and fine flavor, which was 

 affected by the calves sucking tlie cow, and being tied 

 up in a pen, and kept comfortable with siravv ; for if 

 much exerci.sed by running; with the dam, the veal v^ill 

 be red, tough, and iinsale;ihle. He remarked, that in 

 case a farmer should lose one of his oxen, as is some- 

 times the case, his mate could he trained to work single, 

 like a horse. Hulls can also be trained in the same 

 way, and answer all the [inrposes of a horse. He said 

 carrots were much used in his neighborhood for horses; 

 ihat they throve better with them than when fed on 

 grain. 



Mr Smith, of South Hndley, thought Mr Stone's prac- 

 tice of feeding on slops, better in theory than in practice, 

 and asked the gentleman how large a family must a man 

 have lo make slops for :i dozen cows.' He thought it 

 would cost more than the milk was worth. 



As to raising calves, he 'bought there was some risk 

 in feedinj with meal, for if loo much is given, they will 

 scour. He lakes his calves from the cows at three 

 days old. He feeds liiein three times a day with what 

 is called bonny-clabber, or sour milk. He said a neigh- 

 bor of his found it impossible at fir.st to make his calf 

 drink this; but he determined he should drink it or 

 starve. He made a second offer at iio-'U, but it was re- 

 fused : at night, the calf was glad lo drink the whole, 

 and it seemed as it he would lake p:iil and all. Calves 

 should by all means be kept well ihe first year. He 

 liked the plan of keeping Iheni with sheep, but they 

 need belter food, ond should have a constant supply of 

 waler, living water in tlie cow-yard. He had aqueducts 

 which conveyed waler to his yard^ which saved him 

 more than the interest of ^,500. He thought corn fodder 

 was generally under-rated. He once kept a cow lor 

 Ills hired man ; he' fed iier principally on corn-stover as 

 he did his own cows, in the fore part of winicr- His 

 man complained, and wanted her fed on good hay, to 

 which he acceded, but after trying it awhile, the man 



found the quantity of milk diminishing, and desired his 

 cow might be fed with corn-stover. His wishes were 

 again gratified, and he soon lound the quantity and 

 quality of his milk improving. 



As to salt for sheep, he said a lillle was good ; but he 

 knew a man who lost three-fourths of his flock one win- 

 ter in consequence of enting from a load of hay that had 

 been made very salt in order to keep it from spoiling. 

 The whole flock was affected. He at length recollected 

 that this load of hay had received a large quantity of 

 salt, and removed them from it only in season lo save 

 one-fourth of his flock. 



" Mr Cole said thathe wished to explain, as it seemed 

 thai he was not understood in regard to keeping cattle 

 warm. He recommended a very warm barn, as a pro- 

 tection against very severe cold, and when the weather 

 was mild, the doors should be opened and the barn ven- 

 tilated, thai the cattle might be supplied with pure air. 

 As to following nature, there was not time lo discuss 

 the subject. He would barely remark that if we allow 

 nature to lake her course, we should reap a crop of 

 weeds instead of <^rain. All our labors were to direct 

 nalure. We cut down the hil's, and raise the valleys, 

 build railroads, improving on nature." 



[Col. S. Jaques, of the Ten Hills Farm, Chailestown, 

 next spoke on the subject before the meeting. His re- 

 marks were highly interesting and important lo ihe far- 

 mer. We took copious notes of what he said, for our 

 paper, bnl fearincr we might not do him justice, we ro- 

 quesied him lo give the substance of his speech in a 

 communication, which lie has obligingly done, with 

 some additional remarks, interesting, we think, to our 

 readers. We have also procured an engraving to show 

 the manner of blinding bulls, as described by him. See 

 next page.] 



THE WEATHER— BOSTON HARBOR, &c. 

 According to all accounts, the weather for the last 

 fortnighl has been more severe than il lias for many 

 years past. Some say we have not had so cold a month 

 as January since 1784. The following note to the Cou- 

 rier, will tell the story • 

 To the Editor of the Courier : 



Some curiosity having been expressed to know the 

 comparative temperature of ihe month closing, 1 send 

 you the results of the Cambridge observations as far as 1 

 am iible at this moment to give them. 



Referring to Dr. Farrar's paper on the meteorology of 

 Cambridge, I find that according to observaiions of Dr. 

 Winlhrop, with " HawUesbee's thermometer reduced to 

 Fahrenheit's scale, " the mean temperature of the month 

 of January, from 174'2 to 1774, was 28'^..99 



By Dr Williams'aobservations from 17S3 to 1788, 



the mean temperature of the month was 22°. .50 



According to President Webber's and Prof. Far- 

 rar's observations from 1790 to ISI2, the mean 

 temperature was 24". .97 



The coldest January was that of 1792 — the mean of 

 the month being 17°..o. The warmest, 1S02— 33°. 5. 

 The mean temperature of the month of January for the 

 years, 

 1840, was 20''..20 



41, " 27.. 87 



42, " 27...10 



43, " 28.. .45 



44, " 15. .44 



the Narrows — a distance of 3 miles — and it was ass 

 thai " the Gut," at Point Shirley, where llie curre 

 very rapid, was frozen so completely as to bear ; 

 team— a circumstance said to be unknown to hav 

 currcd within GO yeais. 



IVondcrJul Increase in the Fertility of a Soil.— A 

 respondent of ihe Providence County Journal, n 

 Dr. Jackson say at the third agricultural meeting 

 a soil which had been manured with ashes alor 

 pine barren— had increased in fertility " 300 per ci 

 according to the analysis of Mr Mason and Dr. Jac 

 The reporter made not a very small mistake : il si 

 have been 3 per cent, gain of organic mailer. 



Transactions of the Essex Jlgricultural Societ 

 1643. — We are indebted lo Hon. Allen Dodge fo 

 valuable report, for which he has our thanks. 



Mean of the five last Januaries, 23 .81 



During January, 1844, the mean for the month 

 at sunrise was IO^..i?0 



At 9, A.M. 14. ...'is 

 3, P. M. 21.. 47 

 9, P. M. 15... 10 

 The thermometer was highest on the 17lh, at 3, P. M. 

 45 deg. 



Lowest, on the 12lh, atiunrise, 9 deg. below. 

 Range, 54 deg. 



Cambridge Observatory, ) B. 



January 31, 1844. ) 



Boston harbor has been frozen over as far down as 



COL. JAQUES' REMARKS AT THE FOUl 



AGRICULTURAL MEETING. 

 To the Eduor of the New England Former: 



Dear Sin — Agreeably to request, I herewith 

 you the substance of the remarks made by me a 

 Fourth Agricultural meeting in Boston, with some 

 additional suggestions. 



SAMUEL JAQUE 

 Ten Hills Farm, near Boston, Feb. 2, 1844. 



One great object of these Agricultural Meeting 

 to interchange views and opinion, and thereby gai 

 formation from each other, upon the great inleres 

 Agriculture. I shall therefore, confine my ren 

 mostly lo my own practice. 



On the subject of rearing calves, I difl^er some 

 from the mode which had been presented by the 

 tiemen who have preceded me. To make the mc 

 my calves, I allow them lo suck the cow for the 

 three or four months. Calves dropped in the Spri 

 keep in the stable, the first summer, leading them ti 

 cows morning and evening ; by this means I obtain 

 ter forms, broader loins and hips, wiih fuller bos^ 

 giving greater weight to the most valuable p^rts. 

 about two months old, they would begin to eat hay 

 drink water; and at four months, would f.-ed so \ 

 that If then taken from the cow, and well fed, i 

 would be very little, if any, falling ofl", in their cc 

 lion. Bui if fed upon skim milk porridge, only, us i 

 gentlemen slate, as being their practice, and turni 

 pasture the first season, I think they are more incl 

 10 be narrow in their loins and hips, and become pol 

 lied ; defects which they seldom wholly outgrow 

 has been said that our neat slock have degeneraied 

 wonder, if they have been brought up upon skim 

 porridge. If there is no profit in keeping animals 

 there is less in keeping them poor. In wintering si 

 in our climate, Cows in milk, and oxen daily woi 

 should have comfortable warm lodgings. Yearlingf 

 two year olds, will sometimes do well to run out, u 

 there are conveninl barn-yards, and sheds, with mai 

 underneath, adjacent to the barn, with a door left c 

 With this arrangement you will seldom find the 

 mals in the stable. The same remark will apply ti 

 Horse, whose limbs are badly swollen by hard driv 

 giving what is called a winters run, and taken i 

 ihe spring with proper treatment, has a remark 

 good effect. Milch Cows should have a regular 

 kind system of treatment in their management. ". 

 should bo milked at stated times, and if convenill 

 always by the same person. When milking is iI 

 menced, it should be done with as much desfd 

 03 possible, consistent with mildness ; and be X 



