XII. NO. 39. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER 



307 



Report on Root Crops. 

 inimittee nppointcJ to report on iho pre- 

 r root crops, hive received an application 

 Harvey Dmlge, of Sutton, forlhe premium 

 y your Society, for tlie best crop of ruta 

 half tin acre. Tlie committee think that 

 tied to it, and therefore recommend that 

 ium of t<'n dollars be given to Mr Dodge, 

 Rpsprctfullv, 

 FRANCIS C. LOWELL, 

 1, Feb. JO, 1844. for the Committee. 



From the American Agriculturist. 



LTLTURE OF CRANBERRIES. 

 S been frequently addressed by gentlemen 

 katp, upon the subject of cultivatinj the 

 ?, I beg leave through yonr paper to an- 

 m, by replying tn the following queries of 

 y correspondents, just received. 

 ; the plants obtained from the berry .-' It 

 inion they are not, as I have repeatedly 

 experiment of endeavoring to grow them 

 seed, and have known others to do the 

 t without success. 



Tianure necessary in the rows or hill ? I 

 link It was not, for our greatest yield of 

 les in their wild state, is obtained from 

 r lands. 



qat time in the spring or fall should the 

 planted .' I had always followed plant- 

 e spring, till the fall of 184'2. The vines 

 that fill, yielded a few berries the suc- 

 autumn of 1843, but not so abundantly ac- 

 to their time, as those planted in the 

 This, howi^ver, may be owing to the cold 

 i^e had ; for the cranberry here, generally, 

 short last year, 

 le manner in which I commenced the cul- 

 hem, and success up to this date ? In the 

 f 1840, I planted half an acre with roots, 

 in drills 18 inches apart, and 2 inches from 

 ler in the drills. The following autumn, 

 gathered 12 quarts of fine cranberries. The 

 umn I gathered 28 boxes, measuring onc- 

 ihel each box, of which 6 boxes were sent 

 American Institute, and were awarded a 

 . The fall of 1642, I gathered 81 boxes 

 3 half acre, and again was awarded a diplo- 

 he American Institute for such as 1 showed. 

 St two years have been very bad seasons 

 cranberry, the crop having fell short of its 

 ield greatly ; but not so much so as the 

 1 wild cranberry. I have set out plants 

 ear smce 1840, taking the most thriving I 

 nd, and have always had a good yield, 

 he season was reasonably favoroble. 

 one wishing to obtain roots, will please ad- 

 le, stating the number of square rods they 

 ia:ited, when I will give mv prices for the 



SULLIVAN BATES. 

 ingham, Mass , Jan. 25, 1843. 



From the American Agriculturist. 



DRAINING SWAMP LANDS. 



A farmer upwards of 70 years of age, in this vi 

 cini'y, having subscribed (or an agriculturul paper, 

 and observing in it an article upon draining %vamp 

 lands, immediately bethought him of what could be 

 done with about siv acrrs near his own dwelling. 

 It was a perfoct frog-pond, thinly covered with 

 lamerack, spruce and alders. He dug a ditch 

 round the whole of it, with an outlet at one corner, 

 and the winter following, when the swamp was 

 frozen, went on and cut down all the wood and 

 brush, carried oft' tho wood, and heaped the limbs 

 and brush for burning. The next siimiiicr, being 

 a dry one, he burned off nearly everything com- 

 bustible. The next year, what was previously 

 swamp, became dry and compact enough to bear a 

 heavy yoke of oxen. He then had an anchor made, 

 with three sharp flukes or prongs, which would 

 catch under the roots, and with this he dragged 

 out nearly every stump nnd root on the six acres. 

 These were heaped up into piles, and when dry, 

 burned. 



He now marked the wet spots, and the winter 

 following, sledded from a gravelly hill joining the 

 swamp, sufficient dirt to make those spots dry and 

 hard. The next year, he harrowed the land and 

 sowed with timothy, clover, and red top, and, in- 

 stead of an unsightly frog-pond, and rookery for 

 blackbirds to harbor and destroy his corn, ho has a 

 beautiful meadow, yielding three tons of hay to the 

 acre. He has given it a light top-dressing of ma- 

 nure to warm and sweeten it, and now wonders 

 that generation after generation should have passed 

 away without having made this simple improve- 

 ment. J- THOMAS. 

 ff'orcesler, Mass., Jan. 4, 1844. 



I previously filled with a composition formid of ash- 

 es, salt, muck, puudretti", lime and charcoal-dust, 

 in nearly equal (inanlities, except salt, a small por- 

 tion of which only was used. The quarter of an 

 acre produced I'JO bushels, and would, in my opin- 

 ion, have yielded one-third more, liad ihe blossoms 

 been cut off. ROB'T L. PELL. 



Ptlham, Ulster c«., Jan. C, 1844. 



From the same. 



ra for the Rtrkshires. — The Louisville Jour- 

 les that Mr T. 15. Spillinan, of Carroll co., 

 lently slaughtered 9 Berkshire hogs, full 

 if one litter, 20 months old, weighing ."3,429 

 'hey were kept on common faro. MrAsahel 

 lof Berkshire Co., Mass., slaughtered a Berk- 

 log last January, 2 years and 8 months old, 

 ssod weight of which was 708 1-2 lbs. The 

 June last, he was estimated to weigh only 

 The clear pork was 10 inches thick. 



CULTURE OF POTATOES, &c. 

 At yoiir request, 1 send you a specimen of the 

 Pink-eye Kidney potato, which is a fair sample of 

 mv last year's crop, together with the mode of cul- 

 ture. 



On the first of May, the ground, a sandy loam, 

 on which turnips had been grown the previous 

 year, was plowed very deep, harrowed, and fur- 

 rowed three feet apart — the f'^rrows filled with I 

 rotted manure, incorDo'--'gj „j^f, oyster-she'i iiine 

 and chnrco*', j^st. The largest potatoes were 

 then Selected for seed, cut into single sets of one 

 eye each, and planted on the manure, eight inches 

 ^Pirt, "".nd covered with the p!'S^'/.■ After this the 

 fiCld was top-dressed wilhiime and charcoal dust, 

 in equal quantities, at the rate of 200 bushels to 

 the acre, and harrowed. 



The potatoes were hoed and plowed twice dur- 

 ing the season. On the 12th of October they 

 were dug, and although the furrows were too far 

 apart, and the potato a shy bearer, the produce 

 was 432 bushels per acre, free from decay or dis- 

 ease. My object in liming was, to destroy any 

 worm or insect that might be concea.led in the soil. 

 Contiguous to the potatoes, I sowe J a quarter of 

 an acre with ruta baga seed in dril Is. O" ""* 

 crop I did not use lime or charcoal du >l : the con- 

 sequence was the entire loss of Ihe crop, which was 

 destroyed by worms. Adjoining, I so *ed a quar- 

 ter of an acre with Oninge carrot eet'd, which were 

 soaked in strong ley J8 hour?, and | own '" drills, 



HARROWING GRAIN. 



We have often found great benefit in harrowing 

 winter grain in the spring of the year, as soon as 

 the ground is well settled, and dry, more especially 

 wheat somewhat winterkilled. It stirs tlie earth, 

 encourages tillering, and adds to the vigor of the 

 growth of the plant. The harrow should be fol- 

 lowed by the roller, so as to replace the roots of 

 the plants which may be laid bare by the harrow, 

 and crowd them into the earth. It is hanlly nec- 

 essary to add, that the harrow should be light, with 

 short, fine teeth. Among the German population 

 of this country, we have seen wooden-tooth har- 

 rows frequently made use of fortius purpose. 



We believe that barley, oats, and all spring 

 crops of grain may he harrowed to advantage, 

 whenever the surface of the ground becomes some- 

 what hard and encrusted, which all clay soils are 

 liable to after a hard rain. Harrowing tlie hemp 

 crop under such circumstances, we were informed 



ill Kentucky, has been found highly beneficial 



Amer. JigricuH. 



Cominunicated, 

 Mr Editor — In Carey & Hart's edition of John- 

 son's Farmers' Encyclopedia, edited by Emerson, 

 page G49, column 1st, it is s stated that "Some re- 

 cent experiments of Sausstire, go to prove that 

 plants do assimilate hnmus, contrary to the views 

 of Liebig, who regards it only as a medi.im by 

 which nourishment is absorbed and subsequently 

 given out." Now as this subject seems to be one 

 of considerable practical agricultural and horticul- 

 tural importance, if yon or some of your learned 

 and valuable correspondrnts will furnish a copy of 

 those experiments through the columns of the N. E. 

 Farmer, you will very much gratify and oblige 



One ok your Co.nstant Readers. 

 We should be glad to receive from any one, a 

 Copy of the experiments above alluded to.— Ed. 



Communicated. 

 Mr Editor— \ noticed in your report of one of 

 the agricultural meetings at the State House, that 

 ..Pickering's, or the conical brush," -'-^J^'°;^- 

 mended as the best caterpillar destroyer that can 

 be used. Now, sir, I would say that a common 

 eorn-coh fastened to the end of a pole, is equal, if 

 not better, than any " conical brush"-and as every 

 farmer usually has cobs on hand, consequently 

 thousands of dollars can be saved annually by the 

 useofthecob.brush. ^- "*''^- 



Rock Bottom, Mass. 



If any farmer permits caterpillar nests to remain 

 on his trees after this, he will deserve lo be cobbed 

 _a species of flaggellation which, though not re- 

 cognized by the dictionaries, had a s(r./f.ng s.gnifi- 

 cancy amoog our playmates" long time ago. —Ld. 



In your spring purchases of animals he guided 

 not so much by the cheapness as by the quality of 

 the animal. The best are the cheapest. 



